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

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 and translator.

Life

Born in

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

(part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

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

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

before completing his education in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. While in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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

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 ...

, Iosif, Anghel and Emil Gârleanu created a literary society (1909), the Romanian Writers' Society; Iosif later became associated with '' Sămănătorul''. 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 Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. He was buried at Bellu cemetery.

Works

*''Patriarhale'' (1901) *''Romanțe din Heine'' (1901) *''Poezii'' (1902) *"Amintire" (1902) *''Din zile mari'' (1905) *''Credințe'' (1905)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iosif, Stefan Octavian 1875 births 1913 deaths Romanian people of Aromanian descent Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to Romania Burials at Bellu Cemetery People from Brașov Romanian Austro-Hungarians 20th-century Romanian poets Romanian male poets Romanian translators Writers from Austria-Hungary 20th-century translators 20th-century Romanian male writers 19th-century translators Matei Basarab National College alumni