Zaharia Stancu (; October 7, 1902 – December 5, 1974) was a

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

n prose writer, novelist, poet, and philosopher. He was also the director of the

National Theatre Bucharest The National Theatre Bucharest ( ro, Teatrul Naţional "Ion Luca Caragiale" București) is one of the national theatres of Romania, located in the capital city of Bucharest. Founding It was founded as the ''Teatrul cel Mare din București'' ("Gra ...

, the President of the

Writers' Union of Romania The Writers' Union of Romania (), founded in March 1949, is a professional association of writers in Romania. It also has a subsidiary in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova. The Writers' Union of Romania was created by the communist regime by taki ...

, and a titular member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

Biography

Stancu was born in 1902 in Salcia, a village in

Teleorman County Teleorman County () is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the historical region Muntenia, with its capital city at Alexandria. The name ''Teleorman'' is of Cumanic ( Turkic) origin. It literally means ''crazy forest'' ...

, Romania. After leaving school at the age of thirteen he worked at various jobs. He worked as tanner, shopkeeper in a grocer's store and in a tobacco store, and clerk at the prefecture. In 1921, with the help of

Gala Galaction Gala Galaction (; the pen name of Grigore or Grigorie Pisculescu, (the quarter "Pantelimon" is presumed to preserve his memory) ; April 16, 1879—March 8, 1961) was a Romanian Orthodox clergyman and theologian, writer, journalist, left-wing a ...

, he became a journalist. In 1933 he finished his studies in literature and philosophy at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...

. His first volume of poetry, ''Poeme simple'' (''Simple Poems''), appeared in 1927, receiving the Romanian Writers' Prize. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, he was imprisoned for his opposition to the

fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

government of

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and ''Conducător'' during most of World War II. A Romanian Army career officer who mad ...

(''see

Romania during World War II Following the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, the Kingdom of Romania under King Carol II officially adopted a position of neutrality. However, the rapidly changing situation in Europe during 1940, as well as domestic political up ...

''), and he spent time in the

Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu () is the capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the city: Bârsești, Drăgoieni, Iezureni, Polat ...

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...

for

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although nu ...

s. In 1946, he became a director of Romania's National Theater. After the

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

was established, he was an elected titular member of the Romanian Academy and the President of the

(1966–1974). He won the Romanian State Prize for Literature and, in 1971, he was awarded the

Herder Prize The Herder Prize (german: Gottfried-von-Herder-Preis), named after the German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), was a prestigious international prize awarded every year from 1964 to 2006 to scholars and artists from Central and So ...

by the Austrian government. Between 1926 and 1944 Stancu published six volumes of poetry. In 1948 his first important novel, ' (''Barefoot''), was published. It has been translated into thirty languages. Other important novels are ' (''The Gypsy Tribe''), '' Jocul cu moartea'' (''A Gamble with Death''), and '' Pădurea nebună'' (''The Mad Forest''). The latter two novels were made into films, Through the Ashes of the Empire and .

References

Venera E. Dumitrescu, "In Memoriam - Zaharia Stancu (1902-1974)", in ''Observatorul'', 11/7/2002. 1902 births 1974 deaths People from Teleorman County University of Bucharest alumni Romanian male novelists Romanian male poets Titular members of the Romanian Academy Members of the Great National Assembly Chairpersons of the National Theatre Bucharest Inmates of Târgu Jiu camp Romanian communists 20th-century Romanian novelists 20th-century Romanian poets Herder Prize recipients 20th-century Romanian male writers Burials at Bellu Cemetery {{Romania-writer-stub