Ion Iovescu (August 6, 1912–August 9, 1977) 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. Born in

Spineni Spineni is a commune in Olt 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 to the west, S ...

Olt County Olt County () is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (the regions are separated by the Olt River, Olt river). The capital city is Slatina, Roma ...

, his parents were poor peasants. He attended high school in Slatina and

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 ...

, followed by the literature and philosophy 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 ...

. Until 1968, he worked as a high school teacher, traveling salesman, clerk and librarian. From 1932 to 1936, he was a participant in the ''

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 ...

'' circle. He made his published debut in 1934 in ''

România Literară ''România Literară'' is a cultural and literary magazine from Romania. In its original edition, it was founded on 1 January 1855 by Vasile Alecsandri and published in Iași until 3 December 1855, when it was suppressed. The new series appeared ...

'', then edited by

Liviu Rebreanu Liviu Rebreanu (; November 27, 1885 – September 1, 1944) was a Romanian novelist, playwright, short story writer, and journalist. Life Born in Felsőilosva (now Târlișua, Bistrița-Năsăud County, Transylvania), then part of the King ...

. His first novel was the 1936 ''Nuntă cu bucluc'', which came with an appreciative preface by

Eugen Lovinescu Eugen Lovinescu (; 31 October 1881 – 16 July 1943) was a Romanian modernist literary historian, literary critic, academic, and novelist, who in 1919 established the ''Sburătorul'' literary club. He was the father of Monica Lovinescu, and the ...

, who called him "

Muntenia Muntenia (, also known in English as Greater Wallachia) is a historical region of Romania, part of Wallachia (also, sometimes considered Wallachia proper, as ''Muntenia'', ''Țara Românească'', and the rarely used ''Valahia'' are synonyms in Ro ...

's Creangă". Among his other books are ''O daravelă de proces'' (1941), ''Lacrimi pe pâine'' (1967), ''Soare cu dinți'' (1974) and ''Marea vâlvătaie'', vol. I (1977). Publications that ran his work include ''Sburătorul'', ''Vremea'', ''

Revista Fundațiilor Regale ''Revista Fundațiilor Regale'' ("The Review of Royal Foundations") was a monthly literary, art and culture magazine published in Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and ...

'' and ''Argeș''. His prose has a dialogue-like character that cultivates picturesque aspects of language and ethnography. Iovescu's setting is the slum-like village, where he brings stories to life, peppering them with his large fund of proverbs, which in fact form the basis for many of his tales. He died in Bughea de Jos,

Argeș County Argeș County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Muntenia, with the county seat at Pitești. Demographics At the 2021 Romanian census, 2021 census, the county had a population of 569,932 and the population density was . At the 2011 Ro ...

.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 786. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iovescu, Ion 1912 births 1977 deaths People from Olt County University of Bucharest alumni Romanian male short story writers Romanian schoolteachers Romanian librarians 20th-century Romanian novelists 20th-century Romanian short story writers 20th-century Romanian male writers