Grigore Vieru (; 14 February 1935 – 18 January 2009) was a Moldovan poet, writer and unionist advocate, known for his poems and books for children. His poetry is characterized by vivid natural scenery, patriotism, as well as a venerated image of the sacred mother. Vieru wrote in the

Romanian language Romanian (obsolete spelling: Roumanian; , or , ) is the official and main language of Romania and Moldova. Romanian is part of the Eastern Romance languages, Eastern Romance sub-branch of Romance languages, a linguistic group that evolved fr ...

. In 1993 he was elected a correspondent member of 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 ...

Early life

He was born in Pererîta village,

Hotin County Hotin County was a county ( ținut is Middle Ages and Early Modern Period, județ after) in the Principality of Moldavia (14th-18th centuries), the Governorate of Bessarabia (1812–1917), the Moldavian Democratic Republic (1917–1918), and the K ...

, at the time, part of

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 ...

(today part of

Briceni district Briceni () is a district () in the north-west of Moldova, with the administrative center at Briceni. The other major city is Lipcani. As of January 1, 2011, its population was 75,300. History The first documentary attestation dates back to distri ...

, Moldova). His parents, Pavel and Eudochia Vieru (''née'' Didic) were farmers. In 1950, he graduated from the 7-grade school of his native village, after which he attended the middle school in Lipcani, which he graduated in 1953.

Personal life

Vieru had been married to Raisa Vieru since 1959; they had two sons, Teodor and

Călin Vieru Călin Vieru (born 29 June 1965) is a Moldovan politician. Biography Călin Vieru was born to Raisa and Grigore Vieru. He has been a member of the Parliament of Moldova The parliament of the Republic of Moldova () is the supreme represen ...

Creative work

His first publishing debut was in 1957, a booklet of poems for children, «''Alarma»'' («''Alarm''»), appreciated by literary critics.The following year, Vieru graduated from the

Ion Creangă Pedagogical State University An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

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 ...

with a degree in history and philology. He was employed as an editor in the magazine called «''Scînteia Leninistă»'' (''«The Leninist Spark»'') designed for children, currently it is called «''Noi»'' («''We»''), and the newspaper «''Tînărul leninist''» («''The Young Leninist»''), currently «''Florile Dalbe»'' («''Glowing Flowers»''). In 1959, he became editor at the «''Nistru''» («''

Dniester The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...

»'') magazine, currently «''Basarabia»'', a publication of the

Writers' Union of Moldova The Writers' Union of Moldova () is a professional association of writers in Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 millio ...

. From 1960 to 1963, he served as editor in chief of the «''Cartea Moldovenească»'' («Moldavian book») publishing house. In 1967, Vieru's book «Poetry for Readers of All Ages» (published in 1965) was awarded the Moldavian Prize for Youth Literature. The following year, his book «Your Name» became part of the contemporary literature curriculum in Moldavian universities He wrote another children's story/picture book «Bread and Dew» which features Doru, a 4 or 5-year-old boy who lives in Chișinău with his parents. Many moldavian composers were inspired by the poetry of Grigore Vieru (songbook «Poftim de intrați», «Cine crede» etc.), the poet himself is the author of a lot of melodies («Să crești mare» etc.) and since 1964 he began to collaborate with composer Yulia Tsibulskaya («Soare, soare», «Clopoțeii», «Stea-stea, logostea», «Ramule-neamule», «Cîntînd cu iubire» etc.). He was a frequent guest of the «Poetry House»in Cociulia village,

Cantemir District Cantemir () is a district () in the south of Moldova, with the administrative center at Cantemir. As of January 1, 2011, its population was 62,800. History Localities with the earliest documentary attestation of the district are: Haragîș, ...

. The famous book for preschoolers «''Albinuța»'' was also written here. 1968 was turning point for the poet's destiny; this year became remarkable by the volume of lyrical «''Numele Tău''» («Your name»), with an introductory written by

Ion Druță Ion Druță (3 September 1928 – 28 September 2023), also known as Ion Drutse, was a Moldovan writer, poet, playwright and literary historian. He was an honorary member of the Romanian Academy. Biography Ion Druță was born on 3 September 192 ...

. The book was appreciated by literary critics as the most original poetic appearance. In the year of it publishing, it became a subject of the study at the university within the courses designated for the contemporary national literature. Three poems in the volume are entitled: ''

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 ...

'', ''

Lucian Blaga Lucian Blaga (; 9 May 1895 – 6 May 1961) was a Romanians, Romanian philosopher, poet, playwright, poetry translator and novelist. He is considered one of the greatest philosophers and poets of Romania, and a prominent philosopher of the twenti ...

'', ''Brâncuși'', and another two are dedicated to

Nicolae Labiș Nicolae Labiș () (December 2, 1935 in Poiana Mărului, Suceava County, Romania – December 22, 1956 in Bucharest) was a Romanian poet. Early life His father, Eugen, was the son of a forest brigade soldier and himself fought in World War II; ...

and

Marin Sorescu Marin Sorescu (; 29 February 1936 – 8 December 1996) was a Romanian poet, playwright, and novelist. His works were translated into more than 20 countries, and the total number of his books that were published abroad rises up to 60 books. He h ...

. For the first time, in the post war period, such dedications has appeared in the Bessarabian lyrics. Ion Druta si Grigore Vieru

Political activity

In his youth, Grigore Vieru was a member of Komsomol Organisation. In 1971, he joined the Communist Party. In 1973, Grigore Vieru passed the

Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates on the eas ...

within a delegation of Soviet writers. He participated in the meeting with the editors of the «20th Century» magazine: Dan Haulică,

Ștefan Augustin Doinaș Ștefan Augustin Doinaș (; pen name of Ștefan Popa) (April 26, 1922 – May 25, 2002) was a Romanian Neoclassical poet of the Communist era. He wrote 23 books of poetry, as well as children's books, essay collections, and a novel. Doinaș was ...

, Ioanichie Olteanu, Geo Șerban, Tatiana Nicolescu. At his request, he has visited monasteries of Putna, Voroneț,

Sucevița Sucevița () is a commune in Suceava County, in the historical region of Bukovina, northeastern Romania. It is composed of two villages, namely Sucevița and Voievodeasa (). Sucevița Monastery, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Wor ...

, Dragomirna, Văratec. He returned to Chișinău with a bag of books. Later the poet makes the following confession: In 1974 and 1977, invited by the president of the

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 ...

, Vieru visited

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 ...

Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...

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 ...

, and cities in

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

. In 1978, the «

Junimea ''Junimea'' was a Romanian literary society founded in Iași in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi. The foremost personali ...

» publishing house printed «The Friday Star», Vieru's first work published in

. In 1989 he was elected member of Moldova's Parliament and campaigned for the

unification of Moldova and Romania The unification of Moldova and Romania is the idea that Moldova and Romania should become a single sovereign state and the political movement which seeks to bring it about. Beginning during the Revolutions of 1989 (including the Romanian Revolut ...

. The following year he was elected Honorary Member of the

. In 1992, the Romanian Academy recommended Vieru for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

. In 1995, he became a member of the Board of the

Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company (), informally referred to as Radio Romania (), is the public radio broadcaster in Romania. It operates FM broadcasting, FM and AM broadcasting, AM, and webcast, internet national and local radio channels. ...

, and in 1996 he won several Romanian literary awards. In 2000, Vieru was awarded the « Eminescu» Medal by the

Romanian government The Government of Romania () forms one half of the executive branch of the government of Romania (the other half being the office of the President of Romania). It is headed by the Prime Minister of Romania, and consists of the ministries, variou ...

Involvement in the Bessarabia National Liberation Movement

At the end of the

80s Ribosomes are a large and complex molecular machine that catalyzes the synthesis of proteins, referred to as translation. The ribosome selects aminoacylated transfer RNAs (tRNAs) based on the sequence of a protein-encoding messenger RNA (mRNA) an ...

, Grigore Vieru is in the first line of the National Liberation Movement in Bessarabia, his texts (including the songs laid on his lyrics) playing a big role in awakening of the national consciousness of Romanians in Bessarabia. Vieru is one of the founders of the People's Front of Moldova and is among the organizers and leaders of the Great National Assembly of August 27, 1989. He actively participates in the debates of the 13th session of the Supreme Soviet of the SSR, in which the

is voted as the official language and the transition to Latin spelling.

Death

On January 16, 2009 Vieru suffered a serious traffic accidentDeath Of A Moldovan Poet
rferl.org and was admitted to the Emergency Hospital in Chișinău. Grigore Vieru was in critical condition with polytrauma, closed cranio-cerebral trauma, cerebral contusion, and closed chest trauma, contusion of the heart and lungs and contusion of the abdominal organs, with minimal chances of survival. The road accident took place on the night of January 15 to 16, at 1:30 am on the R-3 route Chișinău – Hâncești – Cimișlia – Basarabeasca. At the driver’s seat was Gheorghe Munteanu, emeritus artist of the Republic of Moldova and deputy director of the "Joc" folk dance troop of Chișinău, who being in an easier state. At the time, he was out with friends celebrating the birthday 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 ...

, a 19th-century Romanian poet. Vieru died on January 18, 2009, in the Emergency Hospital in Chișinău two days after the accident, following a cardiac failure from which he could not be resuscitated. Grigore Vieru was buried on January 20, 2009, in Chișinău, at the Central Cemetery on Armeana street. The funeral was attended by tens of thousands of people, ''the divisions of Grigore Vieru'', as professor Dan Dungaciu called them in his article. Chișinău had not known such funerals since the burial of the spouses Doina and Ion Aldea Teodorovici. The day of January 20, 2009, was declared a day of mourning in the Republic of Moldova, at 10:00 the whole republic having a moment of silence. Vieru's funeral was also broadcast live by Teleradio Moldova.

Legacy

Several schools in the Republic of Moldova, a boulevard in Chișinău and a street in Iași are called in honour of Grigore Vieru. On February 11, 2010, three days before his birthday, the poet's bust was installed in the Alley of Classics. A street in

Buzău Buzău (; formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu'') is a city in the historical region of Muntenia, Romania, and the county seat of Buzău County. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carp ...

is called in honour of Grigore Vieru: ''Grigore Vieru Street''.

Awards

In 1996 he won several Romanian literary awards, and in the same year on August 23, he won

Order of the Republic (Moldova) The Order of the Republic () is Moldova's highest Order (decoration), order. It is awarded by the President of Moldova for exceptional merits in all fields which benefit Moldova and humanity as a whole. The order was established in July 1992 and i ...

. The Romanian president

Traian Băsescu Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a Romanian politician who served as the president of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian minister of transport on multiple occasions between 1991 and 2000, ...

has posthumously awarded Grigore Vieru with the

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...

, Grand Cross.

Moments in Vieru's life

In the volume of lyrics designed for children ''"Trei iezi"'' (''Three baby goats'') published in 1970, there was also the poem called ''"Curcubeul"'' (''The Rainbow''), in which Vieru, used the metaphor of the rainbow with three colours, praised the flag of all Romanians. In short period of time after the book publishing, the Soviet censorship withdrew the book from the bookstores, and the author was accused of diversion. Also in 1970, has appeared ''The Abecedarul'' book developed by Vieru in collaboration with the writer Spiridon Vangheli. Even nowadays, this textbook, which was edited many times over time, still teaches the first class little Bessarabians. In 1989, Vieru and Vangheli also made the Latin alphabet version of ''The Abecedarul''. Vieru wrote, among many others, the lyrics for the soundtrack of the cartoon film '' Maria, Mirabela'', and the Vieru’s poem ''"Dragă Otee"'' (''Dear Otee'') has been sung by Iurie Sadovnic. Later, the song was taken over by

Zdob și Zdub Zdob și Zdub (; , onomatopoeia, onomatopoeic for the sound of a drum beat) is a Moldovan folk punk band, based in Chișinău. The band Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, represented Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kyiv ...

. In 1988, in the newspaper '' Literatura şi Arta'' (''Literature and Art'') in Chișinău, the first Latin-written text from post-war Bessarabia has appeared. The author was Grigore Vieru. In June 1989, Vieru has got the approval of the Soviet authorities to publish the weekly ''Literatura si Arta'' in Latin writing, the editors of the newspaper mentioned that in all Soviet Moldova there were no typewriter of Latin letters, except the one from the Academy of Sciences of the MSSR and of professor Iulius Popa from

Bălți Bălți () is a city in Moldova. It is the second-largest city in terms of population, area and economic importance, after Chișinău. The city holds the status of municipiu. Sometimes called "the northern capital", it is a major industrial, cu ...

. Under these conditions, Grigore Vieru and the editor-in-chief of ''Literatura și Arta'', Nicolae Dabija, went to

to get the typewriter for the newspaper. The Romanian authorities were delaying the answer, and the antiquarian shop from which they could buy such a device was closed these days because of some technical issues. However, Vieru and Dabija were helped by the priest Vasile Țepordei, who brought to the station a bag containing the 31 metallic signs of the Latin alphabet, cut by him from his own typewriter. In Chișinău, the Latin signs are welded to a typewriter instead of the Cyrillic ones, so ''Literatura și Arta'' magazine became the first newspaper of Bessarabia to start systematically coming out in Latin spelling. In 1994, the neo-communists of the Democratic Agrarian Party, who came to power in Moldova, gave up to the state hymn ''

Deșteaptă-te, române! "" (; ) is the national anthem of Romania. It originated from a poem written during the Wallachian Revolution of 1848. The lyrics were composed by Andrei Mureșanu and published during the Wallachian Revolution of 1848, 1848 revolution, initiall ...

'' (''Awaken thee, Romanian!'') and proposed to the poet Grigore Vieru and the composer

Eugen Doga Eugen Doga (1 March 1937 – 3 June 2025) was a Moldovan composer. He made significant contributions to various forms of music during his career. He created ballets, ''Luceafărul'', ''Venancia'', and ''Queen Margot'', the opera ''Dialogues of ...

to compose the lyrics and music for a new hymn. They both refused. Grigore Vieru wrote in the ''Literatura și Arta'' magazine the following:

Works

* 1957 – ''"Alarma"'' (''Alarm'') (lyrics for children); * 1958 – ''"Muzicuțe"'' (''Musical notes'') (lyrics for children); * 1961 – ''"Făt-Frumos curcubeul și Bună ziua, fulgilor!"'' (''Făt-Frumos the rainbow and Good morning, the flakes!'') by the "Cartea Moldovenească" publishing house; * 1963 – ''"Mulțumim pentru pace"'' (''Thanks for peace'') (lyrics) and ''"Făgurași"'' (lyrics, stories and songs); * 1964 - The magazine ''"Nistru"'' published the poem ''"Legământ"'' (''The Covenan''), dedicated to poet Mihai Eminescu; * 1965 – ''"Versuri pentru cititorii de toate vârstele"'' (''The lyrics for readers of all ages''), with an introductory word written by Ion Druță and for this lyrics the poet was awarded ''The Comsomol Republican Prize'' in the field of children's and youth literature (1967); * 1967 – ''"Poezii de seama voastră"'' (''Poems of your age'') ("Lumina" publishing house); * 1968 – ''"Bărbații Moldovei"'' (''Moldova’s Men''), designed to the "nationalist" Nicolae Testimițeanu ("Nistru" magazine). The whole circulation was stopped, and the dedication taken away; * 1969 – ''"Duminica cuvintelor"'' (''The Words of Sunday'') by "Lumina" publishing house with illustrations by Igor Vieru, a book much loved by pre-schoolers, which is present in every kindergarten; * 1970 - ''"Abecedarul"'' ("Lumina" publishing house) - in collaboration with Spiridon Vangheli and painter

Igor Vieru Igor Vieru (23 December 1923 – 24 May 1988) was a painter from Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldov ...

; * 1972 – ''"Trei iezi"'' (''Three baby goats''); * 1974 – ''"Aproape"'' (''Nearby'') (lyrics, with color illustrations by Isai Cârmu); * 1975 – ''"Mama"'' (''The Mother'') ("Lumina" publishing house - book for the little ones, illustrated by Igor Vieru); * 1976 – ''"Un verde ne vede!"''(''A green one sees us!'') ("Lumina" publishing house – for this volume of lyrics the poem is awarded the State Prize of the Republic of Moldova (1978); * 1989 – ''"Metafore Albastre"'' - ''Сини метафори'' (''The Blue metaphors'') - ("Narodna cultura" publishing house,

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

- in the collection Globus poetic, translation into Bulgarian by Ognean Stamboliev; * 2010 – ''"Mi-e dor de piatră"'' - ''Жал ми е за камъка'' (''I miss the stone'') – publishing house Avangardprint, Bulgaria - translation into Bulgarian and preface by Ognean Stamboliev - 100 poems. It is present in: * Streiflicht – Eine Auswahl zeitgenössischer rumänischer Lyrik (81 rumänische Autoren), - "Lumina piezișă" (''Pie light'') the bilingual anthology consisted of 81 Romanian writers, translated by Christian W. Schenk, Dionysos Verlag 1994, * ''Blauen Metaphern'' - translation into German and preface by Christian W. Schenk, 1995, Dionysos.

Music on lyrics by Vieru

Maria Mirabela

Dragă Otee

Pentru Ea

Răsai

Eminescu

La mănăstirea Căpriana (Clopotul Învierii)

Lăsați-ne în legea noastră

Două lacrimi gemene (Chișinău și București)

O serenadă

Melancolie

Ultima oră

Reaprindeți candela

Mi-e dor de tine, mamă

Codrul e frumos cu floare

Gallery

File:Grigore Vieru monument in Soroca park.jpg, Grigore Vieru in

Soroca Soroca is a city and municipality in northern Moldova, situated on the Dniester River about north of Chișinău. It is the administrative center of the Soroca District. History It is known for its well-preserved stronghold, established by t ...

File:Grigore Vieru din Bălți.jpg, Alley of Classics, Bălți File:Galati biblioteca din Eurogara CFR Calatori.jpg, Eurostation of

Galați Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...

Grigore Vieru library

References

External links

*
Grigore Vieru – virtual monument
*

* * *
Valerian Ciobanu-Vieru: Pe cer a mai urcat o stea
poezie.ro *
La moartea lui Grigore Vieru
*
GRIGORE VIERU - Evocare de NICOLAE DABIJA
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vieru, Grigore 1935 births 2009 deaths People from Briceni District Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Popular Front of Moldova politicians Members of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union Moldovan poets Male poets 20th-century Romanian poets Romanian male poets 20th-century Romanian male writers Moldovan male writers Ion Creangă State Pedagogical University alumni Corresponding members of the Romanian Academy Recipients of the Moldavian SSR State Prize Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour Recipients of the Order of the Republic (Moldova) Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Road incident deaths in Moldova Burials at Chișinău Central Cemetery