Gib I. Mihăescu (; born Gheorghe I. Mihăescu; April 23, 1894 – October 19, 1935) 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 prose writer and playwright. Born in

Drăgășani Drăgășani () is a city in Vâlcea County, Romania, near the right bank of the Olt river, and on the railway between Caracal and Râmnicu Vâlcea. The city is well known for the vineyards on the neighboring hills that produce some of the best ...

, his parents were Ion Mihăescu-Stegaru, a lawyer, and his wife Ioana (''née'' Ceaușescu). He attended primary school in his native town from 1901 to 1905, followed by high school in

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 ...

(1905-1906), in Slatina (1906-1907), and

Râmnicu Vâlcea Râmnicu Vâlcea (formerly ''Râmnic'', ) is a city in Romania. Located in the south-central part of the country, in the historical province of Oltenia, it is the seat of Vâlcea County and its main urban settlement. According to the 2021 Romanian ...

(1908-1909). He returned to school in Craiova in 1909, finally graduating from Carol I National College in 1914. Mihăescu's lack of interest in learning, along with the grief provoked by the illness and death of a brother in 1907, account for his mediocre performance and the many years he spent before finishing. In 1914, he entered the law faculty of 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 ...

at his father's insistence. He left in 1916 when Romania entered World War I; in any case, Mihăescu had not passed any exams during two years of study. Mobilized in autumn 1916, he attended an officers’ school in

Botoșani Botoșani () is the capital city of Botoșani County, in the northern part of Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga and Grigore Antipa. Origin of the ...

for three months. He saw action at the

Battle of Mărășești The Battle of Mărășești (6 August 1917 – 3 September 1917) was the last major battle fought by the Central Powers against the Kingdom of Romania and Russian Empire, Russia on the Romania in World War I, Romanian front during World War I. ...

and in the Muscel area, and was decorated. Demobilized in 1918, Mihăescu spent a year at Drăgășani, restoring his health. His first published work was the short story “Linia întâi”, which appeared in '' Luceafărul'' in 1919. Readmitted to the law faculty, which had expelled him, he passed his first exam in 1920, six years after starting. In 1919, he became an editor at ''Țara nouă'' newspaper. He resigned in 1920, when he left for

Cluj Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

, recently incorporated into

Greater Romania Greater Romania () is the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union or the related pan-nationalist ideal of a nation-state which would incorporate all Romanian speakers.Irina LivezeanuCultural Politics in Greate ...

. There, together with

Cezar Petrescu Cezar Petrescu (; December 1, 1892–March 9, 1961) was a Romanian journalist, novelist, and children's literature, children's writer. He was born in Cotnari, Hodora, Iași County, the son of Dimitrie Petrescu, an engineer and a teacher. Af ...

and Adrian Maniu, he founded ''

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 ...

'' magazine. He returned to Bucharest in 1922 and took his law degree the following year. He quit newspaper work and practiced law, including for a short time at

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

. Afterwards, he taught civics and labor law at a Drăgășani apprentices’ school from 1926 to 1929. Mihăescu's first published book was a short story collection, ''La „Grandiflora”'' (1928), followed by ''Vedenia'' (1929). His contributions appeared in ''Viața literară'', Hiena'', ''Vremea'', '' Boabe de grâu'', ''Voința'', ''Adevărul literar și artistic'', ''

Viața Românească ''Viața Românească'' (, "The Romanian Life") is a monthly literary magazine published in Romania. Formerly the platform of the left-wing traditionalist trend known as poporanism, it is now one of the Writers' Union of Romania's main venues. ...

'', '' Flacăra'', ''

Sburătorul ''Sburătorul'' was a Romanian modernist literary magazine and literary society, established in Bucharest in April 1919. Led by Eugen Lovinescu, the circle was instrumental in developing new trends and styles in Romanian literature, ranging f ...

'' and ''Gândirea''. His 1928 play ''Pavilionul cu umbre'' achieved a resounding success at the

National Theatre Bucharest The National Theatre Bucharest () is one of the national theatres of Romania, located in the capital city of Bucharest. Founding It was founded as the ''Teatrul cel Mare din București'' ("Grand Theatre of Bucharest") in 1852, its first director ...

, with Maria Ventura in the lead role. His novels were ''Brațul Andromedei'' (1930), ''Rusoaica'' (1933), ''Femeia de ciocolată'' (1933), ''Zilele și nopțile unui student întârziat'' (1934) and ''Donna Alba'' (1935). He settled in Bucharest in 1930; with the help of friends, he was hired at the Press and Information Bureau of the Foreign Ministry. Suffering from tuberculosis, he checked into the Martin Luther Hospital in

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

in 1935. He was then sent to Bucharest, where he died the same year.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, pp. 99-100. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mihaescu, Gib 1894 births 1935 deaths Carol I National College alumni People from Drăgășani Romanian male novelists Romanian male short story writers Romanian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Romanian novelists 20th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Romanian short story writers 20th-century Romanian male writers Romanian military personnel of World War I Romanian magazine founders Romanian newspaper editors University of Bucharest alumni 20th-century Romanian lawyers Romanian schoolteachers Romanian civil servants Tuberculosis deaths in Romania 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis