Dan Botta (; September 26, 1907 – January 13, 1958) 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 poet and essayist.

Life

Born in

Adjud Adjud (; ) is a city in Vrancea County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It has a population of 15,178 inhabitants (as of 2021). It lies at a railway junction which has a classification yard and a passenger station. Adjud, situated north of the poin ...

, his parents were the physician Theodor Botta and his wife Aglaia (''née'' de Franceschi), an orphanage director; his brother was poet and actor

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; ...

. His father was descended from an old Transylvanian family, the noble status of which was confirmed by

Christopher Báthory Christopher Báthory (; 1530 – 27 May 1581) was voivode of Transylvania from 1576 to 1581. He was a younger son of Stephen Báthory of Somlyó. Christopher's career began during the reign of Queen Isabella Jagiellon, who administered the east ...

in 1579, and related to Bishop

Ioan Bob Ioan Bob, (1739 – 2 October 1830) was Bishop of Făgăraş and Primate of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church from 1783 to his death in 1830. Life Ioan Bob was born from a noble Romanian family in October or November 1739 in Orman, near Iclod ...

. Theodor Botta, caught in the national struggle of Transylvania's Romanians during the rule 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 ...

, took refuge in the

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

region of the

Romanian Old Kingdom The Romanian Old Kingdom ( or just ''Regat''; or ) is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independent Romanian nation state, which was composed of the Romanian Principalities: Wallachia and Moldavia. The union of the ...

after completing his medical studies at

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. A doctor for the ''

Căile Ferate Române Căile Ferate Române (; abbreviated as the CFR) was the state railway carrier of Romania. The company was dissolved on 1 October 1998 by splitting into several successor companies. CFR as an entity existed from 1880, even though the first ra ...

'' state railway, he took part in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and died in 1921. Aglaia was the daughter of Francesco Maria de Franceschi, a Corsican who settled in Moldavia in 1872 and worked as a technician at the

Sascut Sascut is a commune in Bacău County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of seven villages: Berești, Conțești, Păncești, Sascut, Sascut-Sat, Schineni, and Valea Nacului. Natives * Teodor Negoiță Teodor Gheorghe Negoiță (Septe ...

sugar factory. Botta attended primary school in his native town, followed by high school in

Focșani Focșani (; ) is the capital city of Vrancea County in Romania on the banks the river Milcov, in the historical region of Moldavia. , it has a population of 66,719. Geography Focșani lies at the foot of the Curvature Carpathians, at a point of ...

( Unirea High School until 1921) and

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 ...

(

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 ...

, 1921–1923). He attended 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 ...

from 1923 to 1927, studying Latin and Greek literature and law. In 1927, he also completed studies at the physical education institute, perhaps reflecting a nostalgia for ''

paideia ''Paideia'' ( /paɪˈdeɪə/; also spelled ''paedeia''; ) referred to the rearing and education of the ideal member of the ancient Greek polis or state. These educational ideals later spread to the Greco-Roman world at large, and were called ''h ...

''. While a student, he contributed to ''Calendarul'' and ''L'Indépendance Roumaine'' magazines, publishing articles about literature, art and music. He later wrote for ''Rampa'', ''

Gândirea ''Gândirea'' ("The Thinking"), known during its early years as ''Gândirea Literară - Artistică - Socială'' ("The Literary - Artistic - Social Thinking"), was a Romanian literary, political and art magazine. Overview Founded by Cezar P ...

'', ''Vremea'' and ''La Nation Roumaine''; in 1941, together with

Emil Giurgiuca Emil Giurgiuca (December 27, 1906–March 3, 1992) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian poet. Born in Diviciorii Mari, Cluj County, in the Transylvania region, his parents were Ioan Giurgiuca, a priest, and his wife Pelaghia (''née'' Băie� ...

and Octavian Codru Tăslăuanu, he founded ''Dacia'' magazine. He took part in the ''Criterion'' group's symposiums, joining the editing committee in 1943. From 1938, he formed part of the leadership at

Dimitrie Gusti Dimitrie Gusti (; 13 February 1880 – 30 October 1955) was a Romanian sociologist, ethnologist, historian, and voluntarist philosopher; a professor at the University of Iași and the University of Bucharest, he served as Romania's Minister ...

's project '' Enciclopedia României''. At one point a member of the

Iron Guard The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...

, he spent time in prison under the

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 ...

. Andrei Oișteanu, ''Narcotice în cultura română'', p. 244. Bucharest:

Polirom Polirom or Editura Polirom ("Polirom" Publishing House) is a Romanian publishing house with a tradition of publishing classics of international literature and also various titles in the fields of social sciences, such as psychology, sociology, and ...

, 2010. Botta's first book was the poetry volume ''Eulalii'' (1931,

Romanian Writers' Union The Writers' Union of Romania (), founded in March 1949, is a professional association of writers in Romania. It also has a subsidiary in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova. The Writers' Union of Romania was created by the communist regime by taking ...

prize), the only one published during his lifetime. His other cycles, ''Rune'', ''Epigrame'', ''Cununa Ariadnei'' and ''Poem în curs'', appeared posthumously in 1968. His verses are incantational and erudite, anti-Romantic out of principle, full of linguistic invention, in line with European and domestic purism. His essays, which deal with artistic creation in general and the philosophy of Romanian culture in particular, are also full of original ideas, employing a lyrical and imaginative style: ''Limite'' (1936, Romanian Writers' Union prize) and ''Charmion sau Despre muzică'' (1941). Botta authored the ''

féerie ''Féerie'' (), sometimes translated as "fairy play", was a French theatrical genre known for fantasy plots and spectacular visuals, including lavish scenery and mechanically worked stage effects. ''Féeries'' blended music, dancing, pantomime, ...

'' plays ''Comedia fantasmelor'', ''Alkestis'', ''Deliana'', ''Soarele și luna'', and, in 1943, a stage adaptation of

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 ...

's '' Poor Dionis''. He published ''Balade și alte poeme'', a translation of works by

François Villon François Villon (; Modern French: ; ; – after 1463) is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities. Villon wrote about some of these e ...

, in 1956. From 1944 until his death, he worked on a philological treatise dealing with the Thracian substrate in the Romanian language, ''Roma – Threicia''.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 200. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. He died in Bucharest in 1958.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Botta, Dan 1907 births 1958 deaths People from Adjud Romanian people of French descent People of Corsican descent Romanian nobility Saint Sava National College alumni University of Bucharest alumni Romanian poets 20th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights Romanian newspaper editors Romanian philologists Members of the Iron Guard Prisoners and detainees of Romania Romanian prisoners and detainees 20th-century Romanian translators 20th-century philologists Burials at Bellu Cemetery