Alexandru Piru (August 22, 1917 – November 6, 1993) was a

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 literary critic and historian. Born in Mărgineni,

Bacău County Bacău County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with its capital city at Bacău. It has one commune, Ghimeș-Făget, in Transylvania. Geography This county has a total area of . In the western part of the county there a ...

,Alex. Ștefănescu
"Al. Piru"
, in ''România Literară'', nr. 10/2002 his parents were Vasile, a notary, and his wife Elena (''née'' Chelaru). In 1936, he graduated from Ferdinand I High School in

Bacău Bacău ( ; , ; ; ) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. With a population of 136,087 (as of 2021 census), Bacău is the 14th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the ...

, thereupon enrolling in the literature and philosophy faculty of the

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in , Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former was converted to a university, the University of , as it was named ...

. He graduated in 1940, and completed the pedagogical academy 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 ...

the following year. From 1943 to 1944, he taught at the National College in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

. Piru then settled for good in Bucharest. In early 1946, he became a teaching assistant in

George Călinescu George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899 – 12 March 1965) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the most important Romani ...

's department at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

. In mid-1947, he received a doctorate; the thesis dealt with the works of

Garabet Ibrăileanu Garabet Ibrăileanu (; May 23, 1871 – March 11, 1936) was a Romanian-Armenian literary critic and theorist, writer, translator, sociologist, University of Iași professor (1908–1934), and, together with Paul Bujor and Constantin Stere, fo ...

. In 1967, he was awarded a doctorate in philology. Excluded from teaching and from public life by the new

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

in 1948 for political reasons, he worked as a surveyor, lathe operator, and methane gas fitter until 1955. He was allowed to return to higher education the following year. Piru eventually became a full professor and chairman of the Romanian literature department. He was a titular member of the academy of social and political sciences. Late in life, following the

Romanian Revolution The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent Civil disorder, civil unrest in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily ...

of 1989, he served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for the National Salvation Front. Piru's first published work appeared in ''Jurnalul literar'' in 1939. He also contributed to ''Ramuri'' (where he was editor-in-chief from 1969 to 1974), '' Luceafărul'' and ''

România Literară ''România Literară'' is a cultural and literary magazine from Romania. In its original edition, it was founded on 1 January 1855 by Vasile Alecsandri and published in Iași until 3 December 1855, when it was suppressed. The new series appeared ...

''. His first book, the 1946 ''Viața lui G. Ibrăileanu'', was immediately followed by ''Opera lui G. Ibrăileanu'', published only in 1959. Barred from publishing during his years as a laborer, he collected his postwar criticism as ''Panorama deceniului literar românesc 1940-1950'' (1968). The two-volume ''Poezia românească contemporană. 1950-1975'' (1975) also focused on contemporary literature, as did ''Debuturi'' (1981). ''Literatură română veche'' (1961) and ''Literatură română premodernă'' (1964), originally adapted from courses, were re-edited as ''Istoria literaturii române de la origini până în 1830'' (1977). The same approach of synthesis, combined with a feeling for the ineffable rare among historians, is visible in his studies of a monographic nature: ''Liviu Rebreanu'', 1965 (translated into French, English and German), ''C. Negruzzi'', 1966; ''Poeții Văcărești'', 1967; ''I. Eliade Rădulescu'', 1971; ''Introducere în opera lui Vasile Alecsandri'', 1978; and ''G. Călinescu''. Some of these were collected as ''Permanențe românești'' (1978). Other studies, not as extensive but covering the entire breadth of Romanian literature, are found in volumes of the ''Varia'' series, as well as in ''Analize și sinteze critice'', ''Valori clasice'', ''Marginalia'' and ''Reflexe și interferențe'', attempts at comparative literature. His historical synthesis was brought up to date in ''Istoria literaturii române de la început până azi'' (1981). He supervised and prefaced numerous editions of classic and modern writers, from

Mihai Eminescu Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanians, Romanian Romanticism, Romantic poet, novelist, and journalist from Moldavia, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Emin ...

and Ion Creangă to

Tudor Arghezi Ion Nae Theodorescu (21 May 1880 – 14 July 1967) was a Romanian writer who wrote under the pen name Tudor Arghezi (. He is best known for his unique contribution to poetry and children's literature. Biography Early life He graduated from Sai ...

George Bacovia George Bacovia (; the pen name of Gheorghe Vasiliu ; – 22 May 1957) was a Romanian symbolist poet. While he initially belonged to the local Symbolist movement, launched as a poet by Alexandru Macedonski with the poem and poetry collection (" ...

Emil Botta Emil Botta (; 15 September 1911 – 24 July 1977) was a Romanian actor, poet and prose writer, the younger brother of poet-essayist Dan Botta. Though born in Western Moldavia, the two boys were raised by their Corsican mother in Muscel County; ...

and Călinescu, whose ''Istoria literaturii române de la origini până în prezent'' he revised and enlarged into a second edition in 1982. According to critic Cornel Moraru, Piru's novel ''Cearta'' (1969) and his verses in ''Jurnalul literar'' confirm his literary talent. finds that the novel, which deals with the mores of the intellectual class, with an emphasis on erotic relations, was an unsuitable medium for Piru, who remained precise and prosaic even when attempting jocularity. He notes that it is a ''

roman à clef A ''roman à clef'' ( ; ; ) is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people and the "key" is the relationship between the non-fiction and the fiction. This m ...

'', like Călinescu's ''Bietul Ioanide'', but minor in comparison. Initially, Piru's criticism was far too indebted to Călinescu, later diverging on an independent course. This was not so much deliberate as a natural result of allowing his own talent to flourish. He came to be regarded as among the most important of his country's critics and literary historians. In 1973, Piru was awarded the Bucharest writers' association prize, and in 1977 took the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) 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 bylaws, the academy's ma ...

's B. P. Hasdeu award. His wife Elena was herself a critic.Cornel Moraru, "Piru Alexandru", in Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 366-67. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. In 2006, he was posthumously elected to the Academy.Membrii Academiei Române din 1866 până în prezent
at the Romanian Academy site

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piru, Alexandru 1917 births 1993 deaths People from Bacău County Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni Academic staff of the University of Bucharest Members of the Romanian Academy elected posthumously Members of the Senate of Romania Romanian literary historians Romanian literary critics Romanian magazine editors Romanian schoolteachers Romanian novelists