Al. Gherghel

Al. Gherghel (; April 27, 1879 — December 20, 1951) 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, a ...

n Symbolist poet. Born in

Pitești Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the 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 the historical re ...

into a family of intellectuals, his father Ion was a German teacher in

Câmpulung Câmpulung (also spelled ''Cîmpulung'', , german: Langenau, Old Romanian ''Dlăgopole'', ''Длъгополе'' (from Middle Bulgarian)), or ''Câmpulung Muscel'', is a municipality in the Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is situated among ...

. He spent his childhood and adolescence in the latter town, where he first began writing verse. He attended his first two years of high school at

Saint Sava National College The Saint Sava National College (Romanian: ''Colegiul Național Sfântul Sava''), Bucharest, named after Sabbas the Sanctified, is the oldest and one of the most prestigious high schools in Romania. It was founded in 1694, under the name of ...

in the national capital

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 ...

but completed his secondary studies in Pitești. He and

Ion Minulescu Ion Minulescu (; 6 January 1881 – 11 April 1944) was a Romanian avant-garde poet, novelist, short story writer, journalist, literary critic, and playwright. Often publishing his works under the pseudonyms I. M. Nirvan and Koh-i-Noor (the latte ...

, a year his junior, edited a literary magazine called ''Luceafărul'' for a short period before it was shut down by the headmaster. Entering 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 Princ ...

in 1904, where he studied at the Law and Literature faculties, he studied under

Titu Maiorescu Titu Liviu Maiorescu (; 15 February 1840 – 18 June 1917) was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the '' Junimea'' Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Romanian culture in the second half of ...

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 ...

, and was a classmate of

Vasile Pârvan Vasile Pârvan (; 28 September 1882, Perchiu, Huruiești, Bacău County – 26 June 1927, Bucharest) was a Romanian historian and archaeologist. Biography Vasile Pârvan came from a modest family, being the first child of the teacher Andrei P� ...

Panait Cerna Panait Cerna (; Bulgarian: Панайот Черна, ''Panayot Cherna'', born Panayot Stanchov or Panait Staciov; August 26 or September 25, 1881 – March 26, 1913) was a Romanian poet, philosopher, literary critic and translator. A native ...

Ion Petrovici Ion (Ioan) Petrovici (June 14, 1882 – February 17, 1972) was a Romanian professor of philosophy at the University of Iași and titular member of the Romanian Academy. He served as Minister of National Education in the Goga cabinet and Minist ...

Oreste Georgescu ''Oreste'' ("Orestes", HWV A11, HG 48/102) is an opera by George Frideric Handel in three acts. The libretto was anonymously adapted from Giangualberto Barlocci’s ''L’Oreste'' (1723, Rome), which was in turn adapted from Euripides' ''Iph ...

and

I. Dragoslav I. Dragoslav or Ion Dragoslav (), pen names of Ion V. Ivaciuc"Dragoslav Ion"
, biographical note i

. Enache Puiu
"Restituiri. Un simbolist dobrogean: Al. Gherghel" ("Restitutions. A Dobrujan Symbolist: Al. Gherghel")
, i

, 8/2003, p.12. ISSN 1221-8855 His debut volume, ''Cântece în amurg'' ("Songs in Twilight"), appeared in 1906. Drawn into the capital's literary circles, he became close to
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 in hi ...
's circle as well as to that of
Ovid Densusianu Ovid Densusianu (; also known under his pen name Ervin; 29 December 1873, Făgăraș – 9 June 1938, Bucharest) was a Romanian poet, philologist, linguist, folklorist, literary historian and critic, chief of a poetry school, university professor a ...
and his '' Vieața Nouă'' review. He would meet fellow writers at the
Kübler Coffeehouse Kubler or Kübler may refer to: People with the surname ''Kubler'' * Françoise Kubler (born 1958), French operatic soprano * George Kubler (1912–1996), American art historian * Ida Ivanka Kubler (born 1978), visual artist * Jason Kubler (born ...
on
Calea Victoriei CALEA may refer to: * Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, an act by the US Congress to facilitate wiretapping of U.S. domestic telephone and Internet traffic * Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, a private accred ...
. In March 1908, several months after finishing his studies in Bucharest, he went to Berlin to study law at
Humboldt University The Humboldt University of Berlin (german: link=no, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick Willi ...
, but soon had to return home due to lack of funds. At this point, he began a career as a bureaucrat. Passing an examination, he became a ''
plasă ''Plasă'' (, plural ''plăși'' ) was a territorial division unit of Romania, ranking below county (''județ'') and above commune. It was headed by a '' Pretor'', appointed by the county Prefect. The institution headed by the Pretor was calle ...
'' administrator at
Brăhășești Brăhășești is a commune in Galați County, Western Moldavia, Romania with a population of 7,692 people. It is composed of four villages: Brăhășești, Corcioveni, Cosițeni and Toflea. At the 2011 census, 68.3% of inhabitants were Roma and 3 ...
, followed by the same post in the Iași neighborhood of
Târgu Cucului Târgu (Romanian for "the market") starts off the names of several places in Romania: * Târgu Bujor * Târgu Cărbunești * Târgu Frumos * Târgu Gânguleşti *Târgu Jiu * Târgu Lăpuș * Târgu Logreşti * Târgu Mureș *Târgu Neamț * Târgu ...
and at Cotești. In September 1911, he settled in Constanţa. After teaching for a time, he devoted himself to practicing law and writing poetry, of which he published six volumes. He died in the home of a retired ''
Căile Ferate Române Căile Ferate Române (; abbreviated as the CFR) is the state railway carrier of Romania. As of 2014, the railway network of Romania consists of , of which (37.4%) are electrified. The total track length is , of which (38.5%) are electrifie ...
'' employee.

Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gherghel, Al. 1879 births 1951 deaths People from Pitești University of Bucharest alumni Romanian poets Romanian male poets Symbolist poets