Ivan Goll (a.k.a. John, Yvan, Iwan Goll, birth name Isaac Lang; pseudonyms: Tristan Torso, John Lasang; Die Sen, 1891. - Paris, 1950.) was a poet, writer and dramatist. His law studies in Strasbourg were interrupted by WW I, prompting his move to Switzerland where he continued studying at the University of Lausanne. Goll lived in Switzerland (Zurich, Lausanne, Ascona) from 1914 until 1918; and participated in the social circle surrounding the pacifist, Romain Rolland. In 1916 he met Claire Studer, his future wife. in 1919 Goll settled in Paris, where he associated with a circle of poets and painters, who were followers of Apollinaire. His artwork, previously marked by Expressionism, became informed by Cubist and Futurist aesthetics. Goll's Cubism anticipated his later Surrealist inclinations as presented in the only issue of his magazine "Surréalisme", published in 1924, a month before the Surrealist Manifesto by André Breton.

In 1939 Goll emigrated to U.S.A. where he edited the French-American literary magazine "Hemispheres" which published authors such as St. John Perse, André Breton and Henry Miller. Poor health caused Goll to leave the U.S.A. and return to Paris in 1947.

J. Kršić alleged that  B. Tokin  introduced I. Goll to Lj. Micic and "Zenit". In the first issue of "Zenit", Tokin, under the title European poet Ivan Goll, presented a comprehensive work of Goll from his days in Paris, which stressed his dedication to the new artistic and cultural environment. The basis for collaboration with Zenit was Goll's acceptance of Zenit's philosophy. He incorporated this philosophy into his own art practice, positively marked by cosmism of zenith and the sun. His work was also marked by Primitivism which motivated his rejection of Expressionism, and became the basis for his aesthetics and poetics. Goll also employed genre of poem (Paris brennt), slogans about the collapse of the West (in this case Europe), and the polarization between East and West. In terms of Zenit's program, Goll's most important contribution was the futuristic-cubist platform for the renewal of poetic language, which Zenitists consistently applied. Micić's cycle Word In the Space upgraded Goll's concept with dimensions of space. In addition, Goll, as co-editor with Micic, introduced Zenitists and Zenit with the works of the collaborators of Expressionist magazines Der Sturm and Die Aktion, as well as to the literary and visual art works of Berlin Dadaists.

Vida Golubovic