''Sburătorul'' was a

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

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

literary magazine and

literary society A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of writing or a specific author. Modern literary societies typically promote research, publish newsle ...

, established in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

in April 1919. Led by Eugen Lovinescu, the circle was instrumental in developing new trends and styles in

Romanian literature Romanian literature () is literature written by Romanian authors, although the term may also be used to refer to all literature written in the Romanian language. History The development of the Romanian literature took place in parallel with tha ...

, ranging from a new wave of Romanian Symbolism to an urban-themed Realism and the

Avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

. The review, subtitled ''Revista literară, artistică şi culturală'' ("The literary, artistic, and cultural review"), was published between April 1919 and May 1921, and again from March 1926 to June 1927 (a weekly magazine entitled ''Sburătorul Literar'' was published between September 1921 and December 1922). During its last period in print, ''Sburătorul'' engaged in a polemic with partisans of a more traditional style, especially figures grouped around the ''

Sămănătorul ''Sămănătorul'' or ''Semănătorul'' (, Romanian for "The Sower") was a literary and political magazine published in Romania between 1901 and 1910. Founded by poets Alexandru Vlahuță and George Coșbuc, it is primarily remembered as a tribune ...

'' magazine. Lovinescu himself argued against

Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (; sometimes Neculai Iorga, Nicolas Jorga, Nicolai Jorga or Nicola Jorga, born Nicu N. Iorga;Iova, p. xxvii. 17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet ...

's ethnocentric views on Romania in the Middle Ages.

Name

Romanian mythology The folklore of Romania is the collection of traditions of the Romanians. A feature of Romanian culture is the special relationship between folklore and the learned culture, determined by two factors. First, the rural character of the Romanian ...

, '' Zburătorul'' (of which ''Sburătorul'' is an antiquated variant, used notably in the works of Ion Heliade Rădulescu) was the embodiment of

lust Lust is a psychological force producing intense desire for something, or circumstance while already having a significant amount of the desired object. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality (see libido), money, or power. It c ...

, a beautiful but eerie young man with demonic features who visits adolescent girls in their dreams. Lovinescu explained the choice in his first editorial:

"Vague thrills, warmth and coldness, yearnings for impossible beauty, and, at once,
torpor Torpor is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually marked by a reduced body temperature and metabolic rate. Torpor enables animals to survive periods of reduced food availability. The term "torpor" can refer to the time ...
, a deep unsettling of the entire soul, bashfulness and insane certainty, an escape from the world and realities, blended with a belief in chimaera, restlessness and a thirst for rest... hese come fromthe very same ''Zburătorul'', the same pale master of youthful dreams, the same kiss of warm lips on cool foreheads, the same
mystical Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...
engagement to whatever will be. ..Those who begin issuing this magazine have received ''Zburătoruls kiss a long time ago. They are halfway through on the path of life. They have not, however, forgotten the thrills of yesteryear, nor taste and disgust for the world, the impossibility of fitting in and belief in impossible chimaera. They have not forsaken their
idealism In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected t ...
."Lovinescu, ''Sburătorul'', 1919, in ''Din presa...'', p. 24

Members and contributors

* Felix Aderca * Ion Barbu * Gheorghe Brăescu * Sergiu Dan * Lucia Demetrius * Victor Eftimiu *

Benjamin Fondane Benjamin Fondane () or Benjamin Fundoianu (; born Benjamin Wechsler, Wexler or Vecsler, first name also Beniamin or Barbu, usually abridged to B.; November 14, 1898 – October 2, 1944) was a Romanian and France, French poet, critic and Existentia ...

* Anton Holban * Ion Minulescu * Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu *

Camil Petrescu Camil Petrescu (; 9/21 April 1894 – 14 May 1957) was a Romanian playwright, novelist, philosopher and poet. He marked the end of the traditional novel era and laid the foundation of the modern novel era in Romania. Life Petrescu was born in Bu ...

* Ion Pillat * Victor Ion Popa *

Liviu Rebreanu Liviu Rebreanu (; November 27, 1885 – September 1, 1944) was a Romanian novelist, playwright, short story writer, and journalist. Life Born in Felsőilosva (now Târlișua, Bistrița-Năsăud County, Transylvania), then part of the Kingd ...

* Eugen Relgis * Al. T. Stamatiad * Nicolae Steinhardt * Vladimir Streinu * Francisc Șirato *

Caton Theodorian Caton Theodorian, or Teodorian (May 14, 1871 – January 8, 1939), was a Romanian playwright, poet, short story writer and novelist. A maternal nephew of the politician Eugeniu Carada, he was, through his Oltenian father, a scion of the boyar no ...

Tudor Vianu Tudor Vianu (; January 8, 1898 – May 21, 1964) was a Romanian literary critic, art critic, poet, philosopher, academic, and translator. He had a major role on the reception and development of Modernism in Romanian literature and art. He was m ...

I. C. Vissarion Iancu Constantin Vissarion (born Iancu Visarion, also credited as Ion Vissarion; 2 February 1879 – 5 November 1951) was a Romanian prose writer, poet, and political agitator, also known as an inventor, esotericist, and promoter of pseudoscience ...

Ilarie Voronca Ilarie Voronca (pen name of Eduard Marcus; 31 December 1903, Brăila—8 April 1946, Paris) was a Romanian avant-garde poet and essayist. life and career Voronca was of Jewish ethnicity. In his early years, he was connected with Eugen Lovine ...

Notes

References

*Eugen Marinescu (ed.), ''Din presa literară românească (1918-1944)'', Ed. Albatros, Bucharest, 1986 Defunct magazines published in Romania Defunct literary magazines published in Europe Romanian writers' organizations Magazines established in 1919 Magazines disestablished in 1927 Magazines published in Bucharest Romanian avant-garde Romanian-language magazines Literary magazines published in Romania Avant-garde magazines {{italic title