Călin Gruia (; born Chiril Gurduz ; March 21, 1915 – July 9, 1989) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n writer, author mainly of children's fairy tales and poems. Born in Trifești, Orhei County, in the

Bessarabia Governorate The Bessarabia Governorate (, ) was a part of the Russian Empire from 1812 to 1917. Initially known as Bessarabia Oblast (Бессарабская область, ''Bessarabskaya oblast'') as well as, following 1871, a governorate, it included ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, from 1918 to 1940 a part of

Greater Romania The term Greater Romania ( ro, România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea. As a concept, its main goal is the creation ...

and today in

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

, his parents were the peasants Vartolomeu and Alexandrina (''née'' Galbură). He graduated from the normal school in

Orhei Orhei (; Yiddish ''Uriv'' – אוריװ), also formerly known as Orgeev (russian: Орге́ев), is a city, municipality and the administrative centre of Orhei District in the Moldova, Republic of Moldova, with a population of 21,065. Orhei ...

in 1936 and from the reserve officers' school the following year. Between 1937 and 1939, he was a teacher in

Tvardița Tvardița ( bg, Твърдица, ''Tvǎrdica'') is a town in Taraclia district, Moldova. It was founded following the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829 by Bulgarian refugees from Tvarditsa, a town just south of the Balkan Mountains, and the ...

, Tighina County, and in

Umbrărești Umbrărești is a commune in Galați County, Western Moldavia, Romania with a population of 6,628 people. It is composed of six villages: Condrea, Salcia, Siliștea, Torcești, Umbrărești, and Umbrărești-Deal. Umbrărești-Deal was establishe ...

Tecuci County Tecuci County was a county (Romanian language, Romanian: ''județ'') in the Kingdom of Romania, in the historical region Moldavia. The county seat was Tecuci. The county was located in the central-eastern part of Greater Romania, in the south of ...

. He performed his military service in 1939–1940, fought on the Eastern Front of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

from 1940 to 1944 and was one of the

Romanian prisoners of war in the Soviet Union By the end of World War II, the number of Romanian prisoners of war in the Soviet Union was significant. Up to 100,000 Romanian soldiers were disarmed and taken prisoner by the Red Army after the Royal coup d'état of August 23, 1944, when Romania ...

from 1944 to 1948. Between 1951 and 1969, he edited the children's programs at Radioteleviziunea Română.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 699. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. He was one of the creators of the show and wrote over 50 radio scripts for it. In 1958, the program changed from a radio format to a television format and had been continuously running for 50 years in 2007. Among the magazines for which he wrote were ''Roza'' and ''Basarabia literară'' from

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...

, ''Cutezătorii'', ''Luminița'' and ''Arici Pogonici''. His poetic and prose debut came in 1938, in Orhei's ''Speranța''. His first published work was a small 1942 volume of poetry, ''Litanii de seară'', followed a decade later by the selection of stories ''Nucul lui Toderiță''. Further publications included stories and legends, several novels and books of stories for adults. In 1980, he published the poems he wrote between 1940 and 1970, republishing part of them in 1988. He also wrote for history-themed films. Part of his output was translated into a number of languages. The literary magazine ''Observator Cultural'' listed Gruia as one of the leading writers of children's literature in Romania, among others such as

Dumitru Almaș Dumitru Almaș (; pen name of Dumitru Ailincăi ; October 19, 1908 – March 12, 1995) was a Romanian journalist, novelist, historian, writer and professor. His prolific output included children's literature, historical novels and textbooks. He ...

, Gica Iutes, Octav Pancu-Iași,

Mircea Sântimbreanu Mircea Sântimbreanu (January 7, 1926 – August 19, 1999) was a Romanian writer, journalist, screenwriter and film producer. Sântimbreanu was the director of the publishing house Albatros, and is best remembered as a writer of children's literat ...

, and Ovidiu Zotta. In 2012, his works were still being presented at children's theater performances.

Published works

*''Litanii de seară'' (1942) *''Nucul lui Toderiță'' (1952) *''Nuielușa de alun'' (1954) *''Ciuboțelele ogarului'' (1954) *''Poveste mică pentru cei mici'' (1954) *''Povestea lăcrămioarelor'' (1955) *''Profesorul cel nou'' (1955) *''Izvorul fermecat'' (1956) *''Minunata-mpărăție cu palate de hârtie'' (1957) *''La 'Drumurile lumii'' (1959) *''Poiana lunii'' (1960) *''Onică'' (1962) *''Vineri la amiază'' (1962) *''Drumul spune povești'' (1963) *''Di-Di-Ri'' (1964) *''Ograda'' (1965) *''De-a visele...'' (1966) *''Ospățul'' (1966) *''Povești'' (1967) *''Jucăușul'' (1967) *''Domnița de rouă'' (1969) *''Vântură-lume'' (1970) *''Măriuca'' (1970) *''Cu ochii ca iarba...'' (1972) *''Acolo colinele ard...'' (1974) *''Ramura de măr înflorit'' (1974) *''Peretele de lut'' (1975) *''Scrisori pentru fluturi și pietre'' (1976) *''Prințul de hârtie'' (1977) *''Prietena mea, Cateluța'' (1979) *''Moara lui Elisei'' (1980) *''În norii ce vin și se duc'' (1980) *''La valsul dimineții'' (1981) *''Poiana de argint'' (1982) *''Pânzele mamei'' (1984) *''Nălucile nopții'' (1985) *''Călătorii'' (1988) *''The Hound Boots'' (1995) *''Izvorul fermecat'' (1997) *''Fata cu părul de aur'' (1998)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gruia, Calin 1915 births 1989 deaths People from Rezina District Romanian military personnel of World War II Romanian prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by the Soviet Union Romanian children's writers Romanian screenwriters Romanian male poets Romanian male novelists Male screenwriters 20th-century Romanian poets 20th-century Romanian novelists 20th-century Romanian male writers 20th-century screenwriters