Alexandru Sahia (

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

of Alexandru Stănescu; October 11, 1908 – August 12, 1937) 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 ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

writer.

Biography

Born in

Mânăstirea Mânăstirea is a commune in Călărași County, Muntenia, 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 ...

Călărași County Călărași () is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Muntenia, with the county seat at Călărași. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 285,050 and a population density of 56.02/km2. * Romanians – 94.1% ...

, as the son of a small landowner, he was enrolled in the

Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...

Military College, which he deemed "oppressive". In 1926, he published his first story in the journal ' (The Falcons). The following year, he concluded that he was not suited for a military career, and left the college. He finished his

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

in the

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 th ...

, then started law studies 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 ...

. Dissatisfied with life at the university, he became a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

in the Cernica Monastery in 1929. He apparently failed to find what he was looking for, and left after only a year to visit the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

. While there, he decided to adopt the name "Sahia", which is Arabic for "truth". From 1931 until his death, he provided sketches and reportage for several popular Romanian newspapers and journals, including ', ', and ''

Adevărul (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published during the Kingd ...

''. In 1932, he helped create the proletarian literary journal, ', but it suffered from censorship and low readership. Still in search of something to give meaning to his life, he visited the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1935. He was impressed with what he saw and, upon his return, wrote ''USSR Today'', in praise of their accomplishments. The following year, he joined the

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ; PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave an ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that would replace the social system ...

(RCP).

In 1937, he died in Bucharest of untreated

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. In 1946, after the Communist takeover, he was promoted as a hero of the working class and the manner of his death enabled the RCP to portray him as being the son of "poor peasants". Several of his works have been made into films. In December 1952, the Romanian state company Romfilm was renamed the "Alexandru Sahia Film Studio"; in July 1991 the studio was reorganized as Sahia-Film.

References

External links

* * (Mentions the hypocrisy of Sahia's myth being encouraged by the Party.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sahia, Alexandru 1908 births 1937 deaths People from Călărași County Saint Sava National College alumni Romanian Communist Party politicians 20th-century Romanian journalists Romanian male short story writers Romanian short story writers Romanian travel writers Members of the Romanian Academy elected posthumously 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Romania