Ștefan Octavian Iosif (; 11 October 1875 – 22 June 1913) was an Austro-Hungarian-born

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, a ...

n poet and translator.

Life

Born in

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census ( 2011), Brașov has a po ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the ...

(part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

at the time), he studied in his native town and in

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

before completing his education in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. While in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, he met Dimitrie Anghel, who would become a long-time friend. 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 ...

, Iosif, Anghel and Emil Gârleanu created a

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 ...

(1909), the Romanian Writers' Society; Iosif later became associated with ''

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 trib ...

''. His friendship with Anghel came to an abrupt end after the two writers fell in love with the same woman, Natalia Negru. She was first married to Iosif, but divorced him in order to remarry Anghel. The latter was drawn to despair by her infidelities, and committed suicide in 1914. Iosif had died the year before, at a hospital in Bucharest, after having suffered a stroke. He was buried at Bellu cemetery.

Works

*''Patriarhale'' (1901) *''Romanțe din Heine'' (1901) *''Poezii'' (1902) *''Din zile mari'' (1905) *''Credințe'' (1905) 1875 births 1913 deaths Romanian people of Aromanian descent Austro-Hungarian emigrants to Romania Burials at Bellu Cemetery People from Brașov Romanian Austro-Hungarians 20th-century Romanian poets Romanian male poets Romanian translators Austro-Hungarian writers 20th-century translators 20th-century Romanian male writers 19th-century translators {{Romania-writer-stub