Mihail Cruceanu (December 13, 1887 – July 7, 1988) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n poet. He was born in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

to Mihail Cruceanu, a doctor, and his wife Ecaterina (''née'' Petrovanu). He attended high school in

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a Municipiu, city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Ble ...

and

Pitești Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș (river), Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in th ...

, earning his degree in 1906 at

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

's Saint Sava High School. Cruceanu enrolled in the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

, where he took degrees in law (1911) and literature and philosophy (1913). He subsequently taught high school at

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...

and Bucharest. He made his poetic debut in ''Revista literară'' in 1904. Although he associated with the '' Literatorul'' circle of

Alexandru Macedonski Alexandru Macedonski (; also rendered as Al. A. Macedonski, Macedonschi or Macedonsky; 14 March 1854 – 24 November 1920) was a Romanian poet, novelist, dramatist and literary critic, known especially for having promoted French Symbolism (arts ...

, he was closer to Ovid Densusianu's '' Vieața Nouă'' group. His first published volume was the 1912 ''Spre cetatea zorilor''. Between 1911 and 1913, he interviewed a series of cultural figures, recording the encounters in ''Rampa''; these included Macedonski, Densusianu,

Alexandru Vlahuță Alexandru Vlahuță (; 5 September 1858 – 19 November 1919) was a Romanian writer. His best known work is '' România pitorească'', an overview of Romania's landscape in the form of a travelogue. He was also the main editor of ''Sămănătoru ...

, Ioan Alexandru Brătescu-Voinești,

Dimitrie Anghel Dimitrie Anghel (; July 16, 1872 – November 13, 1914) was a Romanian poet. Anghel was of Aromanian descent from his father. His first poem was published in '' Contemporanul'' (1890). His debut editorial ''Traduceri din Paul Verlaine'' was publ ...

, Ioan A. Bassarabescu and

Mihail Dragomirescu Mihail Dragomirescu (March 22, 1868 – November 25, 1942) was a Romanian aesthetician, literary theorist and critic. Born in Plătărești, Călărași County, he completed primary school in his native village in 1881, followed by Bucharest's ...

. Reviews that published his work include ''Farul'', ''Vieața Nouă'', ''Sărbătoarea eroilor'', ''Versuri și proză'', ''Revista celorlalți'', ''Flacăra'', ''Adevărul literar'', ''Îndreptar'', ''

Românul ''Românul'' (, meaning "The Romanian"; originally spelled ''Romanulu'' or ''Românulŭ'', also known as ''Romînul'', ''Concordia'', ''Libertatea'' and ''Consciinti'a Nationala''), was a political and literary newspaper published in Bucharest, Ro ...

'', ''Zorile'', ''Revista Fundațiilor Regale'', ''Luceafărul'', ''

Viața Românească ''Viața Românească'' (, "The Romanian Life") is a monthly literary magazine published in Romania. Formerly the platform of the left-wing traditionalist trend known as poporanism, it is now one of the Writers' Union of Romania's main venues. ...

'' and ''

România Literară ''România Literară'' is a cultural and literary magazine from Romania. In its original edition, it was founded on 1 January 1855 by Vasile Alecsandri and published in Iași until 3 December 1855, when it was suppressed. The new series appeared ...

''. Cruceanu entered the labor movement in 1919 and joined the

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ; PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave an ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that would replace the social system ...

upon its 1921 foundation, holding various leadership posts. The party was banned in 1924, and he was arrested and imprisoned on various occasions for his political activity. After the 1944 Coup against Romania's pro-Axis dictator and the party's legalization, he continued to be active in the social and political realm. From 1950 to 1970, he was a professor at the University of Bucharest's Romanian language and literature faculty. He also served as president of the Bucharest chapter of the Society of Philological Sciences. Cruceanu's

Symbolist Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

poetry appeared in ''Altare nouă'' (1915), ''Fericirea celorlalți'' (1920) and ''Lauda vieții'' (1945); the last had socialist realist touches. The 1968 anthology ''Versuri'' revived a poet whose milieu and expressions belonged to the early 20th century. The 1924 prose work ''Povestiri pentru tine'' was a foray into fantasy literature;

Perpessicius Perpessicius (; pen name of Dumitru S. Panaitescu, also known as Panait Șt. Dumitru, D. P. Perpessicius and Panaitescu-Perpessicius; October 22, 1891 – March 29, 1971) was a Romanian literary historian and critic, poet, essayist and fiction wr ...

commented on its sure style and hints of an "essential lyricism". His memoirs, published in 1973 as ''De vorbă cu trecutul'', included an original series of recollections.

Bibliography

*''Spre cetatea zorilor'', Târgoviște, 1912 *''Altare nouă'', Târgu Jiu, 1915 *''Fericirea celorlalți'', Craiova, 1920 *''Povestiri pentru tine'' (fantasy sketches and short stories), Bucharest, 1924 *''Lauda vieții'', Bucharest, 1945 *''Poezii alese'', Bucharest, 1957 *''Versuri'', Bucharest, 1968 *''Al. Dobrogeanu-Gherea'', with Fl. Tănăsescu, Bucharest, 1971 *''Pălării și capete'', Bucharest, 1972 *''De vorbă cu trecutul'', Bucharest, 1973 *''Poeme alese'', Craiova, 1974 *''Poeme'', Bucharest, 1985 *''Lauda vieții'', ed. F. Firan, Craiova, 1987 *''Scrieri în proză'', ed. C. Mohanu, Bucharest, 1987

Notes

1887 births 1988 deaths Writers from Iași Saint Sava National College alumni University of Bucharest alumni Academic staff of the University of Bucharest Romanian male poets Symbolist poets Romanian male short story writers Romanian fantasy writers Romanian schoolteachers Romanian Communist Party politicians Romanian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Romania Romanian men centenarians 20th-century Romanian poets 20th-century Romanian short story writers 20th-century Romanian memoirists {{Romania-poet-stub