Ion Vinea
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Ion Vinea (born Ioan Eugen Iovanaki, sometimes Iovanache; April 17, 1895 – July 6, 1964) 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, novelist, journalist, literary theorist, and political figure. He became active on the
modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
scene during his teens—his poetic work being always indebted to the Symbolist movement—and founded, with
Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, c ...
and
Marcel Janco Marcel Janco (, ; common rendition of the Romanian language, Romanian name Marcel Hermann Iancu ; 24 May 1895 – 21 April 1984) was a Romanian and Israeli visual artist, architect and art theorist. He was the co-inventor of Dadaism and a leading ...
, the review '' Simbolul''. The more conservative Vinea drifted apart from them as they rose to international fame with the
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
artistic experiment, being instead affiliated with left-wing counterculture in World War I Romania. With
N. D. Cocea N. D. Cocea (common rendition of Nicolae Dumitru Cocea, , also known as Niculae, Niculici or Nicu Cocea; November 29, 1880 – February 1, 1949) was a Romanian journalist, novelist, critic and left-wing political activist, known as a major but c ...
, Vinea edited the socialist '' Chemarea'', but returned to the international avant-garde in 1923–1924, an affiliate of
Constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in the Soviet Union in t ...
,
Futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...
, and, marginally,
Surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
. Vinea achieved his reputation as the co-founder and editor or ''
Contimporanul ''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of the Romanian word for "the Contemporary", singular masculine form) was a Romanian (initially a weekly and later a monthly) avant-garde literary and art magazine, published in Bucharest between June 1922 ...
'', Romania's major avant-garde publication throughout the 1920s, where he also published his fragmentary prose. He expounded his social critique and his program of cultural renewal, fusing a modernist reinterpretation of tradition with a cosmopolitan tolerance and a constant interest in European avant-garde phenomena. He drifted away from artistic experimentation and literature in general by 1930, when he began working on conventional newspapers, a vocal (but inconsistent)
anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...
publicist, and a subject of scorn for the more radical writers at '' unu''. After a stint in the Assembly of Deputies, where he represented the
National Peasants' Party The National Peasants' Party (also known as the National Peasant Party or National Farmers' Party; , or ''Partidul Național-Țărănist'', PNȚ) was an Agrarianism, agrarian political party in the Kingdom of Romania. It was formed in 1926 throu ...
, Vinea focused mainly on managing Cocea's '' Facla''. By 1940, he was an adamant
anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
and
anti-Soviet Anti-Sovietism or anti-Soviet sentiment are activities that were actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the Soviet Union. Three common uses of the term include the following: * Anti-Sovietism in inter ...
, ambiguously serving the
Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and Mareșal (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''Conduc ...
dictatorship as editor of ''
Evenimentul Zilei ''Evenimentul Zilei'' is a formerly physical and now exclusively online newspaper in Romania. Its name translates to "The event of the day" or "Today's event". History and profile ''Evenimentul Zilei'' was founded by Ion Cristoiu, Cornel Nisto ...
''. Spending his final two decades in near-constant harassment by communist authorities, Vinea was mostly prevented from publishing his work. Driven into poverty and obscurity, he acted as a
ghostwriter A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...
for, then denouncer of, his novelist friend, Petru Dumitriu. He held a variety of employments, making his comeback as a translator of
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...
and
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. He died of cancer just as his own work was again in print. Vinea had by then been married four times, and had had numerous affairs; his third wife, actress-novelist
Henriette Yvonne Stahl Henriette Yvonne Stahl (January 9, 1900 – May 25/26, 1984) was a Romanian novelist, short story writer and translator. Biography Born in Sankt Avold, Alsace-Lorraine, in the German Empire (now Saint-Avold in the Moselle department of Fran ...
, was still redacting his unpublished novels. These fictionalize episodes of his own life in the manner of decadent literature, establishing Vinea's posthumous recognition as an original raconteur.


Biography


''Simbolul'' years

Born in
Giurgiu Giurgiu (; ; ) is a city in southern Romania. The seat of Giurgiu County, it lies in the historical region of Muntenia. It is situated amongst mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the Danube facing the Bulgarian city of Ruse on the op ...
, the future Ion Vinea was the son of Alexandru Iovanaki and Olimpia (''née'' Vlahopol-Constantinidi). Although, in adulthood, Vinea categorically denied his Greek ethnicity, at least one of his parents was of documented Hellenic origins. While a paternal grandfather was officially listed as "of Romanian nationality and origin", his wife was French—and her surname of "Chauvignac" is the origin of the pen name "Vinea".Constandina Brezu, "Ion Vinea — fișier", '' Luceafărul'', Vol. IX, Issue 42, October 1966, p. 7 The poet also belonged to the upper strata, through both his paternal and maternal lineages. Alexandru, a nephew of Prince Cariagdi (and his protégé, after Alexandru's parents committed suicide), took an engineer's diploma from the École Centrale. Known to the authorities as either a "winemaker" or "unemployed", he always lived off on a country estate in Drăgănești. Olimpia, a classics teacher, was a Graeco–Ottoman immigrant, whose parents still resided in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
during the 1890s. Accounts differ as to her more distant ethnic origins, with some claiming that she was an Aromanian, and others a Romaniote Jew. She was nine years younger than her husband, who, in his thirties, became seriously ill. According to one account, Ioan was Iovanaki's son in name only, conceived by Olimpia, a woman of outstanding beauty, Sanda Cordoș
"Răsfățatul vitregit"
''
Revista 22 ''Revista 22'' (''22 Magazine'') is a Romanian weekly magazine, issued by the Group for Social Dialogue and focused mainly on politics and culture. History and profile ''Revista 22'' was started in 1990. The first edition of the magazine was prin ...
'', Issue 1222, August 2013
with Henry C. Dundas, the British consul in
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 ...
.
Paul Cernat Paul Cernat (born August 5, 1972 in Bucharest) is a Romanian essayist and literary critic. He has a Ph.D. summa cum laude in philology. Cernat has been a member of the Writers' Union of Romania since 2009. As of 2013, he is lecturer of Romanian l ...

"Senzaționalul unor amintiri de mare clasă"
''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Issue 130, August 2002
Throughout his life, the writer was colloquially known as ''Englezul'' ("The Englishman").Magda Ursache, "Să revenim la argument!", in ''Confesiuni'', Vol. V, Issue 38, January 2017, p. 10 When Vinea was still an infant, the Iovanakis moved from Giurgiu to
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 ...
, capital of the Romanian Kingdom, where, in 1905, they had another son, Nicolae. Ioan always had a conflicted relationship with Alexandru, and, according to his friend Nicolae Carandino, "was raised by his mother".Carandino, p. 169 In his childhood, he trained himself to read in both Romanian and French, also speaking good Latin and German; he much later taught himself English.Mircea Vaida, Elena Vinea, "Vinea — 5 ani — Remember. 'Ieși dintr-un sertar, melancolie'. Interviu cu soția poetului", in '' Tribuna'', Vol. XIII, Issue 30, July 1969, p. 4 While attending primary school at Sfânta Vineri Institute from 1902, he was neighbors and friends with musician Lily Haskil, who gave him piano lessons. Iosif Sava, Zoe Dumitrescu-Bușulenga, "Muzica și literatura. Ion Vinea sau stratul adînc al muzicii", in '' Ramuri'', Issue 7/1987, p. 16 In some accounts, he is depicted as a childhood friend of her more famous younger sister, Clara Haskil, though he only met the latter as late as 1937. Vinea himself discovered a talent for the piano, and later took private lessons alongside Haskil and Jacques G. Costin, both of whom remained his friends for life. Music remained a secondary pursuit throughout his life, but he was generally shy about performing in public—his most noted performance came later in life, when, while visiting violinist
George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanians, Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor, teacher and statesman. He is regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history. Biography En ...
, he was persuaded into accompanying Enescu on the piano. From 1910, when he enlisted at Saint Sava National College, Vinea applied himself to
philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...
, covering modern French literature—then
Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...
, which became his main focus. He had the older Symbolist
Adrian Maniu Adrian Maniu (February 6, 1891 – April 20, 1968) was a Romanian poet, prose writer, playwright, essayist, and translator. Born in Bucharest, his father Grigore, a native of Lugoj, was a jurist and professor of commercial law at the University o ...
for a school tutor, but generally did poorly, averaging 8.33 in literature and philosophy (less than the 9.75 he got in choral music). In October 1912, together with Saint Sava colleagues
Marcel Janco Marcel Janco (, ; common rendition of the Romanian language, Romanian name Marcel Hermann Iancu ; 24 May 1895 – 21 April 1984) was a Romanian and Israeli visual artist, architect and art theorist. He was the co-inventor of Dadaism and a leading ...
and
Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, c ...
, Vinea set up the literary magazine '' Simbolul''. Although juvenile and short-lived, it managed to attract contribution from some of Romania's most visible Symbolists:
Alexandru Macedonski Alexandru Macedonski (; also rendered as Al. A. Macedonski, Macedonschi or Macedonsky; 14 March 1854 – 24 November 1920) was a Romanian poet, novelist, dramatist and literary critic, known especially for having promoted French Symbolism (arts ...
, N. Davidescu, Emil Isac, Ion Minulescu, Claudia Millian, Al. T. Stamatiad, and Maniu. ''Simbolul'' was also a public signal of Vinea's anti-establishment fronde, openly taunting writers associated with traditionalism or ruralizing
Poporanism Poporanism is a Romanian version of nationalism and populism. The word is derived from ''popor'', meaning "people" in Romanian language, Romanian. Founded by Constantin Stere in the early 1890s, Poporanism is distinguished by its opposition to Ma ...
. Nevertheless, his own poems, published therein, were generally tame, heavily indebted to the likes of Macedonski, Minulescu, and Albert Samain. Shortly after the ''Simbolul'' episode, Vinea vacationed in Gârceni, on Tzara's estate, and at
Tuzla Tuzla (, , ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inha ...
. The Tzara–Vinea collaboration produced a new species of self-referential modernist poetry, which transcended the Symbolist conventions. Both youths were also fascinated with the same "neurasthenic girl", who appears in their works as Sașa (Sacha), Sonia, or Mania, their relationship with her was apparently broken up when she was hospitalized for her mental condition.


Post-Symbolist "new faith"

From mid 1913, Iovanaki was a columnist and left-leaning lampoonist at
N. D. Cocea N. D. Cocea (common rendition of Nicolae Dumitru Cocea, , also known as Niculae, Niculici or Nicu Cocea; November 29, 1880 – February 1, 1949) was a Romanian journalist, novelist, critic and left-wing political activist, known as a major but c ...
's '' Facla'' and '' Rampa'', working under a variety of pen names: "Ion Iovin", "Evin", "Ion Japcă", "Ion Eugen Vinea", "Crișan", "I. Iova", and, possibly, also "Stavri" or "Puck". Constantin Beldie took him on board at '' Noua Revistă Română''. Finally adopting the ''Ion Vinea'' signature in 1914, he quickly matured into a "feared and merciless" polemicist with "infallible logic", writing "texts of elegant vehemence, bearing the clear imprint of his intellect." As noted by literary historian
Paul Cernat Paul Cernat (born August 5, 1972 in Bucharest) is a Romanian essayist and literary critic. He has a Ph.D. summa cum laude in philology. Cernat has been a member of the Writers' Union of Romania since 2009. As of 2013, he is lecturer of Romanian l ...
, he took care not to define himself not as a professional and "classifying" critic, but rather as an independent thinker in the manner of
Remy de Gourmont Remy de Gourmont (4 April 1858 – 27 September 1915) was a French symbolist poet, novelist, and influential critic. He was widely read in his era, and an important influence on Blaise Cendrars and Georges Bataille. The spelling ''Rémy'' de Go ...
and
Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...
; however, his efforts were aimed at compensating for the lack of Symbolist critics and exegetes. Looking for references outside Symbolism, then finding them in
Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...
,
Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire (; ; born Kostrowicki; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist and art critic of Poland, Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the ...
, and
Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; ; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopher who was influential in the traditions of analytic philosophy and continental philosophy, especially during the first half of the 20th century until the S ...
, he prophesied that a "new faith" and an anti-sentimental literature were in the making. As a culture critic and artistic doctrinaire, he found affinities with the Western European
Futurists Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...
,
Cubists Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...
, and especially Simultanists, whose non-static art, he believed, was a more accurate representation of the human experience. Like the Futurists, young Vinea cheered for
industrialization Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...
and
Westernization Westernization (or Westernisation, see spelling differences), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the ''Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt what is considered to be Western culture, in areas such as industr ...
, giving enthusiastic coverage to the
Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908; ) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. Revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II ...
. He was thus also an advocate of
social realism Social realism is work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers, filmmakers and some musicians that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structures ...
, praising
Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (;  – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an aut ...
and, in later years, Dem. Theodorescu,
Vasile Demetrius Vasile Demetrius (pen name of Vasile Dumitrescu; October1, 1878March15, 1942) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian prose writer, poet and translator. Born in Șcheii Brașovului, his parents were Dumitru Ogea, who built and ma ...
, Ion Călugăru, and Panait Istrati. Vinea's hobbyhorse was defending cosmopolitanism against traditionalist nationalism: he publicized the formative contribution of Greeks,
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and Slavs to old and new
Romanian literature Romanian literature () is the entirety of literature written by Romanian authors, although the term may also be used to refer to all literature written in the Romanian language or by any authors native to Romania. Early Romanian literature inc ...
, and ridiculed the conservative antisemitism of critics such as Ilarie Chendi, Mihail Dragomirescu, and
Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet and playwright. Co-founder (in 1910) of the Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), he served as a member of Parliament ...
. Luminița Marcu
"Incendiarul ziarist Ion Vinea"
''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Issue 154, February 2003
Other noted targets were moderate "academic" Symbolists, including Anna de Noailles, Dimitrie Anghel, and especially Ovid Densusianu; and modernists of uncertain convictions, among them
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 ...
—to whom Vinea reserved some of his more bitter sarcasm. In a 1916 piece, he imagined Lovinescu as "a youth, already a bourgeois, already bloated and probably soft". Vinea was himself greatly charismatic, variously described by his peers as "enviable", "beautiful and serene",Funeriu, p. 14 but also "spoiled". According to fellow modernist
Felix Aderca Felix Aderca (; born Froim-Zelig ''Froim-ZeilicAderca; March 13, 1891 – December 12, 1962), , in '' Realitatea Evreiască'', Nr. 280-281 (1080-1081), August–September 2007 Boris Marian, , in '' Realitatea Evreiască'', Nr. 292-293 (1092-109 ...
, Vinea sacrificed himself to "originality" and "style", mocking his inferiors and only picking up on "the finest poetic waves". He made a point of showing that he despised literary cafés, the gathering spots of "poets with no muse". He did however attend Terasa Oteteleșanu and other such bars, mixing in with the literary crowd. Consumed by his involvement in public life, he graduated from Saint Sava in 1914 with the mediocre average of 6.80.Funeriu, p. 8 This period saw the start of World War I, with Romania settling into a tense neutrality that lasted until August 1916. Vinea involved himself even more in political and social debates: writing for
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 ...
and Gala Galaction's ''Cronica'', he defended a schoolgirl accused of fornication, and helped propel the issue to national prominence. He kept a lasting grudge against Arghezi, who frequently censored his "revolutionary" outbursts; for his part, Arghezi noted in 1967 that he always "loved and admired" Vinea. Also at ''Cronica'', he published praise for poets Maniu and George Bacovia, who best agreed with his ideal post- and para-Symbolist aesthetics. Vinea was also featured in
Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești (; born Alexandru Bogdan, also known as Ion Doican, Ion Duican and Al. Dodan; June 13, 1870 – May 12, 1922) was a Romanian Symbolism (arts), Symbolist poet, essayist, and art and literary critic, who was also known as ...
's dailies, ''Libertatea'' and '' Seara'', where he also inducted Costin.Cernat (2007), p. 188 He preserved a keen interest in wartime politics, but did not explicitly share the "
Germanophile A Germanophile, Teutonophile, or Teutophile is a person who is fond of Culture of Germany, German culture, Germans, German people and Germany in general, or who exhibits German patriotism in spite of not being either an ethnic German or a German ...
" agenda that supported the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...
, although it was prevalent at ''Cronica'', ''Seara'', and ''Libertatea''.Boia (2010), p. 129 Like Arghezi, Bogdan-Pitești and Cocea, he maintained a lasting hatred for the establishment National Liberal Party (PNL), which translated into sympathies for either conservatism or socialism. At the time, he decried Romanian politics as one of intrigues and "latrines", caricaturing Ion I. C. Brătianu and
Take Ionescu Take or Tache Ionescu (; born Dumitru Ghiță Ioan and also known as Demetriu G. Ionnescu; – 21 June 1922) was a Romanian Centrism, centrist politician, journalist, lawyer and diplomat, who also enjoyed reputation as a short story author. Sta ...
as egotistical tyrants. Adina-Ștefania Ciurea
"Publicistul Vinea"
''
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 ...
'', Issue 37/2003


''Chemarea'' and World War I

From October 4 to October 11, 1915, together with Demetrius, N. Porsenna, and Poldi Chapier, Vinea directed his own review, '' Chemarea'', best remembered for hosting Tzara's radical poetry. It also issued Vinea's ''Avertisment'' ("Warning") a "clearly iconoclastic"
art manifesto An art manifesto is a public declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of an artist or artistic movement. Manifestos are a standard feature of the various movements in the modernist avant-garde and are still written today. Art manifestos ...
. As the unsigned columnist, Vinea briefly discussed the "stupid war" and mocked those who supported the
Entente powers The Allies or the Entente (, ) was an international military coalition of countries led by the French Republic, the United Kingdom, the Russian Empire, the United States, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Empire of Japan against the Central Powers ...
as "jackals", calling out their support for the annexation of
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 ...
and
Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...
as hypocritical and imperialistic; he praised pacifist socialists for their "civic courage". He reserved scatological outbursts for the Ententist Vasile Drumaru and his "National Dignity" paramilitaries, also decrying the "populist imbecility" of nationalist authors such as Popescu-Popnedea or Constantin Banu. Once Romania declared war on the Central Powers, Vinea was drafted into the
Romanian Land Forces The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Force ...
, training with the third heavy artillery regiment. He kept close company with two young women, Maria Ana Oardă and Aurica Iosif (sister of the late Transylvanian poet
Ștefan Octavian Iosif Ștefan Octavian Iosif (; 11 October 1875 – 22 June 1913) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian poet and translator. Life Born in Brașov, Transylvania (part of Austria-Hungary at the time), he studied in his native town and in Sibiu befor ...
); the three all contributed to a diary, which mainly records Iosif's own enthusiasm for "
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 ...
" throughout the early Romanian offensive. Serving continuously, but behind the lines, from August 1916 to 1919,Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', Vol. II, p. 813. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. Vinea followed the army on its hasty retreat to
Western Moldavia Western Moldavia (, ''Moldova de Apus'', or , also known as Moldavia, is the core historic and geographical part of the former Principality of Moldavia situated in eastern and north-eastern Romania. Until its union with Wallachia in 1878, the P ...
, settling for a while in
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 ...
, the provisional capital. In October 1916, "I. Iovanache Vinea" was enlisted by the artillery school in Iași, serving in the same battery as Porsenna, Alfred Hefter-Hidalgo, Ion Marin Sadoveanu, Ion Sân-Giorgiu, poet Alexandru Rally, and philosopher Virgil Zaborowski. Together, they sent "warm regards" to Dragomirescu, who had been their teacher. In his spare time, Vinea resumed work in the press, initially at Cocea's newspaper ''Omul Liber'',Funeriu, p. 9 but also in
Octavian Goga Octavian Goga (; 1 April 1881 – 7 May 1938) was a Romanian far-right politician, poet, playwright, journalist, and translator. Biography Early life Octavian Goga was born on 1 April 1881 in the village of Rășinari, on the northern sl ...
's nationalist propaganda paper, ''România''. His absence from the front was later used against him by the nationalist press, which referred to him as a "wartime truant". From June 1917, he and Cocea, alongside various ''Simbolul'' writers, reissued ''Chemarea'' as a radical-left and republican newspaper. Its rhetorical violence made it an object of scrutiny for military censors, and ''Chemarea'' avoided closure only by regularly changing its name. He and Cocea alternated as editors-in-chief: under Vinea's management, the paper was more artistic than political, but (according to his own claims) Vinea also conspired with Cocea and others on a "revolutionary republican committee". Ion Vartic
"Petru Dumitriu și 'negrul' său (II)"
''
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 ...
'', Issue 16/2005
On November 23, 1917, Vinea married his girlfriend Oardă—who, as "Tana Qvil" (or "Quil"), was also publishing verse in ''Chemarea'', and whose estate helped fund the magazine. Looking back on the period in a 1966 letter, she noted that Vinea, "alone, utterly lost and disoriented, ill-fitted for life in the barracks, was sinking into neurosis".Cordoș (2017), p. 12 While Vinea struggled at ''Chemarea'', Tzara and Janco found international success with the '' Cabaret Voltarie'' in Switzerland, birthing the
anti-art Anti-art is a loosely used term applied to an array of concepts and attitudes that reject prior definitions of art and question art in general. Somewhat paradoxically, anti-art tends to conduct this questioning and rejection from the vantage poi ...
movement known as "
Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...
". Vinea was kept informed about the developments by Tzara himself, and sent in congratulatory letters which, according to researchers, give clues that he was envious; he also sent Tzara a poem of his, but this proved too tame for Dada standards, and was never taken up. Vinea boasted that he was working on a Dada-like collection of stories, ''Papagalul sfânt'' ("Holy Parrot"). This promise also failed to materialize. In early 1918, following disagreements with Cocea, Vinea left ''Chemarea'' and joined the staff of ''Arena'', a daily put out by Hefter-Hidalgo. In early March he was contemplating a lifelong stay in Iași, "alone with my wife", remarking that he no longer missed Bucharest. In April, as Romania contemplated surrender to the Central Powers, Vinea wrote his most pessimistic editorial of the era, suggesting (wrongly) that the Entente was losing on all fronts. He soon regretted his ''Arena'' affiliation, confirming Hefter's bad reputation as a blackmailer, and returned to ''Chemarea''. An undated letter to Qvil, which researcher Sanda Cordoș proposes is from around that time, suggests that Vinea returned on his own to pacified Romania, and was summering with his father in Drăgănești. Tzara's international magazine, also called ''Dada'', announced in May 1919 that "Jon Vinea" had just published a volume called ''Păpușa din sicriu'' ("Doll in Casket")—which was in fact non-existent. Later that year, shocked by his brother's death in a freak riding accident (which he would always refer to as "the onset of loneliness"), Vinea took a sabbatical. He was pursuing an adulterous relationship with the aspiring actress Dida Solomon, who was working as a typist. In September 1921, he confided to Tzara that he had tried ending that affair by journeying alone to
Mangalia Mangalia (, ), ancient Callatis (; other historical names: Pangalia, Panglicara, Tomisovara), is a city and a port on the coast of the Black Sea in the south-east of Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. The municipality of Mangalia als ...
, and then to
Valea Călugărească Valea Călugărească is a commune in Prahova County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of fifteen villages: Arva, Coslegi, Dârvari, Pantazi, Rachieri, Radila, Schiau, Valea Călugărească, Valea Largă, Valea Mantei, Valea Nicovani, Valea Poie ...
, but that he greatly missed her. They were back together in 1922, with Vinea directly involved in ensuring her new-found theatrical success. Especially for her, he translated
August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...
's ''Simoom'' and
Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...
's ''
Seagull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...
'' (upon its production, she was billed as "Dida Solomon-Vinea"); he also wrote her a
one-act play A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. The 20-40 minute play has emerged as a popular subgenre of the one-act play, especially in writi ...
, which was only published decades after both had died. The Vinea–Qvil couple was by then separated, but without any legal formalities; in 1922, they were officially divorced.


Setting up ''Contimporanul''

Vinea studied off and on at the
University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in , Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former was converted to a university, the University of , as it was named ...
Law School alongside Costin, only graduating in 1924. He never submitted his written thesis, and never became a practicing attorney.Funeriu, p. 10 Again making Bucharest his main residence, he edited for a while at ''Facla'': with Cocea jailed for ''
lèse-majesté ''Lèse-majesté'' or ''lese-majesty'' ( , ) is an offence or defamation against the dignity of a ruling head of state (traditionally a monarch but now more often a president) or of the state itself. The English name for this crime is a mod ...
'', the newspaper was overseen his father, Colonel Dumitru Cocea. Vinea mediated between this autocratic manager and the liberal staff. Before 1922 Vinea became a regular contributor to central dailies such as ''
Adevărul (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published during the Kingd ...
'' and '' Cuget Românesc''. His literary chronicles attest his positive reevaluation of selected, "fanfare-less", Cornel Ungureanu, "Ion Vinea și iubirile paralele ale poeților", '' Orizont'', Issue 5/2007, p. 3 traditionalists, from
Mihail Sadoveanu Mihail Sadoveanu (; occasionally referred to as Mihai Sadoveanu; 5 November 1880 – 19 October 1961) was a Romanian novelist, short story writer, journalist and political figure, who twice served as acting President of Romania, head of st ...
to Victor Eftimiu, from
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 ...
to Ion Pillat. Blaga reciprocated in 1926, when he stated his love for Vinea as a "poet of pleasant surprises", and as the only avant-garde figure worth celebrating. Vinea was also an occasional contributor to ''
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 ...
'', the Transylvanian modernist-traditionalist review. Romulus Dianu, "Mărturii. Ion Vinea", in '' Ramuri'', Vol. VIII, Issue 12, December 1971, p. 16 Later, he was even featured in ''
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. ...
'', a magazine established by the Poporanists, which was itself becoming a soft promoter of modern literature. He was still a vocal opponent of the academic traditionalists, satirizing Dragomirescu and the Romanian Writers' Society for their purge of Germanophile talents such as Arghezi. With an acid editorial in ''Chemarea'', he tackled the creation of a Romanian Upper Dacia University in Transylvania, describing it as the result of a contrived and overconfident nationalist push. At ''Luptătorul'' newspaper, he resumed earlier discussions about the "parasitical" nature of literary criticism. These claims were soon completed by sarcastic notes on the inflation of novels and novelists in Western countries, and their relative scarcity in Romania. Vinea argued that Romanian literature could develop without the novel: "its absence isn't necessarily a reason to feel melancholy." He envisaged a literature of the lampoon, the
prose poem Prose poetry is poetry written in prose form instead of verse form while otherwise deferring to poetic devices to make meaning. Characteristics Prose poetry is written as prose, without the line breaks associated with poetry. However, it make ...
, the
reportage Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...
, and the '' greguería''. His columns on Dada moved from half-hearted support, visibly annoyed by Tzara's "buffoonery", to chronicling of the movement's "ephemeral" nature and inevitable demise. Ignored by Tzara, Vinea began reciprocating: he claimed that Dada was not Tzara's making, but had deeper Romanian roots in the avant-garde stories of a (still obscure) suicidal clerk, Urmuz, and in the work of sculptor
Constantin Brâncuși Constantin Brâncuși (; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was a Romanian sculptor, painter, and photographer who made his career in France. Considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century and a pioneer of modernism ...
. He depicted the primitivist streak of high modernism as a more authentic current than traditionalism, in particular Transylvanian traditionalism, and saw
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 ...
as the cradle of authentic urban culture. This led to publicized polemics with Alexandru Hodoș, the nationalist columnist at '' Țara Noastră'', but also with Benjamin Fondane, the more cautious Moldavian modernist. In June 1922, accompanied and sponsored by the returning Janco, he set up ''
Contimporanul ''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of the Romanian word for "the Contemporary", singular masculine form) was a Romanian (initially a weekly and later a monthly) avant-garde literary and art magazine, published in Bucharest between June 1922 ...
'', a review of art and, "rather implicitly", left-wing politics: its "not quite dogmatic" socialist militancy targeted the PNL's continuous dominance. The money came from Costin, who was also its most constant intellectual affiliate. From the onset, the magazine was not just cosmopolitan, but also
antifascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...
and anti-antisemitic, lampooning the "hooliganism" of the
National-Christian Defense League The National-Christian Defense League (, LANC) was a far-right political party of Romania formed by A. C. Cuza. Origins The LANC had its roots in the National Christian Union, formed in 1922 by Cuza and the famed physiologist Nicolae Paulescu. ...
(LANC) and the far-right tinges of the People's Party. Returning to Iași in 1922, Vinea and his employee I. M. Sadoveanu were seriously injured in a scuffle with LANC students. ''Contimporanul''s original contributors included Nicolae L. Lupu of the left-leaning Peasants' Party. Vinea railed at "reactionary" forces that crushed European revolutions, spoke out against
Italian fascism Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...
, gave ambiguous support to communism in
Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...
, and decried the persecution of
Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ; PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave an ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that would replace the social system ...
activists by PNL governments. Petre Pandrea, who organized the legal defense for some of the imprisoned communists, alleges that, as early as 1923, Vinea took Soviet money sent to him by a leading party member,
Ana Pauker Ana Pauker (born Hannah Rabinsohn; 13 February 1893 – 3 June 1960) was a Romanian communist leader and served as the country's List of Romanian Foreign Ministers, foreign minister in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Ana Pauker became the world' ...
. In that context, Vinea produced an editorial eulogy to
Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
, Sanda Cordoș
date=2015-07-04 "În câte revoluții a crezut Ion Vinea?"
'' Apostrof'', Issue 11/2012
and, as he later noted, supported "all the rallies and campaigns organized by the
labor movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...
", being a combatant for Dem. I. Dobrescu's League for Human Rights. Dumitru Hîncu
"Polemistul Ion Vinea"
''
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 ...
'', Issue 39/2008
The longest-running avant-garde publication, ''Contimporanul'' openly affiliated with "
Constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in the Soviet Union in t ...
" after 1923. This move showcased not merely modernism, but also Janco and Vinea's disillusionment with Dada. Vinea explained that true modernism included a search for authenticity and a "creative path" forward, not the deconstruction of tradition. Still eclectic, the journal acquired international ambitions, reprinting pieces by Tzara (which had been backdated by Vinea) and letters from
Ricciotto Canudo Ricciotto Canudo (; 2 January 1877, Gioia del Colle – 10 November 1923, Paris) was an early Italian film theoretician who lived primarily in France. In 1913, he published a bimonthly avant-garde magazine entitled ''Montjoie!'', promoting Cubism ...
, together with
advertorial An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of editorial content. The term "advertorial" is a blend word, blend (see portmanteau) of the words "advertisement" and "editorial". Merriam-Webster dates the origin of the word to 1946. In printed pub ...
s and reviews for '' 391'', ''
Der Sturm ''Der Sturm'' () was a German List of avant-garde magazines, avant-garde art and literary magazine founded by Herwarth Walden, covering Expressionism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism, among other artistic movements. It was published between 1910 a ...
'', ''
De Stijl De Stijl (, ; 'The Style') was a Dutch art movement founded in 1917 by a group of artists and architects based in Leiden (Theo van Doesburg, Jacobus Oud, J.J.P. Oud), Voorburg (Vilmos Huszár, Jan Wils) and Laren, North Holland, Laren (Piet Mo ...
'', '' Blok'', '' Ma'', and '' Nyugat''. This activity peaked in May 1924, a watershed moment for Romanian modernist history: ''Contimporanul'' issued its "activist" manifesto, with principles ranging from primitivist anti-art and Futurism to constructive patriotism and the taking up of modern city-planning. It demanded that Romanians topple art, "for it has prostituted itself", and also "dispatch
heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...
dead". Vinea, Janco, M. H. Maxy, and
Georges Linze Georges may refer to: Places *Georges River, New South Wales, Australia * Georges Quay (Dublin) * Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses * Georges (name) * ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas * "Georges" (song), a 1 ...
were curators of the ''Contimporanul'' art show, which opened in November 1924, bringing the group to national attention, and sampling the major tendencies of European Constructivism. That year, ''Contimporanul'' was joined by Ion Barbu, who soon became its poet laureate, alongside the more senior Arghezi and Vinea himself. Vinea shared with Barbu a favourite pastime, the consumption of recreational drugs, most probably
cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
and sulfuric ether, Andrei Oișteanu
"Scriitorii români și narcoticele. Drogurile în viața personajelor"
''
Revista 22 ''Revista 22'' (''22 Magazine'') is a Romanian weekly magazine, issued by the Group for Social Dialogue and focused mainly on politics and culture. History and profile ''Revista 22'' was started in 1990. The first edition of the magazine was prin ...
'', Issue 1099, March 2011
but was less keen on frequenting literary hotspots such as
Casa Capșa Casa Capșa is a historic restaurant in Bucharest, Romania, first established in 1852. At various times it has also included a hotel; most recently, it reopened as a 61-room hotel 17 June 2003. "...long a symbol of Bucharest for its inhabitants ...
. Nicolae Tzone
"Interviu inedit cu Vlaicu Bârna despre Ion Vinea — poet, prozator și ziarist de mare clasă"
''
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 ...
'', Issue 36/2002
For decades, they would compete not just as poets, but also as womanizers, keeping score of their sexual conquests. ''Răsturnica'' ("Miss Tumble-over"), Barbu's ribald ode to a dead prostitute, was published by, and is sometimes attributed to, Vinea. With ''Contimporanul'' launched, Vinea declared himself a member of Romanian and
Balkan The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
artistic-revolutionary elite, which was to educate the passive public and bring into the modernist fold—as argued by Cernat, this showed Vinea's "peripheral complex", his feeling of being stuck in an "accursed" cultural backwater. He delved in art criticism, with short essays on exhibits by Janco and Maxy, and with eulogies for
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...
and
abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...
. He continued to deride, or simply ignore, Lovinescu, whose ''
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 ...
'' competed for the role of modernist guardian. As Cernat notes, his scorn had a personal and political, not artistic, motivation. ''Contimporanul'' managed to neutralize and absorb smaller Futurist magazines such as Scarlat Callimachi's '' Punct''. However, it was chronically plagued by financial setbacks, and almost shut down several times; during such episodes, Vinea took up work for Cocea at ''Facla''.


Deradicalization

At ''Contimporanul'' and, for a while, at Eugen Filotti's '' Cuvântul Liber'', Vinea diversified his literary contributions. He gave a mixed review to the ''
Surrealist Manifesto The Surrealist Manifesto refers to several publications by Yvan Goll and André Breton, leaders of rival Surrealism, surrealist groups. Goll and Breton both published manifestos in October 1924 titled ''Manifeste du surréalisme''. Breton wrote ...
'', praising the surrealists' focus on "organic" revolt against "the hegemony of the conscious mind", but noting that its debt to
psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...
was defeating the purpose. Shortly before his death, he recalled having participated in a Parisian surrealist session, alongside Tzara,
Louis Aragon Louis Aragon (; 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the Surrealism, surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littératur ...
,
André Breton André Robert Breton (; ; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') ...
,
Robert Desnos Robert Desnos (; 4 July 1900 – 8 June 1945) was a French poet who played a key role in the Surrealist movement. Early life Robert Desnos was born in Paris on 4 July 1900, the son of a licensed dealer in game and poultry at the '' Halles'' ma ...
, and
Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...
. The groups was venting its frustration at being barred from publishing in ''
L'Humanité (; ) is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organisation of the SFIO, ''de facto'', and thereafter of the French Communist Party (PCF), and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, would not exist." History ...
''; Vinea looked back on their demands as "aberrant", since they would have compromised "a great working-man's newspaper."
Ilie Purcaru Ilie Purcaru (5 November 1933 – 10 October 2008) was a Romanian journalist and poet, much of whose writing was in support of the Socialist Republic of Romania, communist regime. A native of the Oltenia region, he had an early debut in the R ...
, "De vorbă cu Ion Vinea despre poezie și traduceri", '' Luceafărul'', Vol. VI, Issue 12, June 1963, p. 2
In 1925, he put out the
sketch story A sketch story, literary sketch or simply sketch, is a piece of writing that is generally shorter than a short story, and contains very little, if any, plot. The genre was invented after the 16th century in England, as a result of increasing publ ...
volume ''Descântecul și Flori de lampă'' ("Incantation and Lamp Flower"), followed in 1927 by the embryonic piece of his novel ''Lunatecii'' ("The Lunatics"), printed in ''Contimporanul'' as ''Victoria sălbatică'' ("Savage Victory"). His father died that year, leaving him to look after Olimpia Iovanaki; an adoring son, he remained by her side and closely followed her advice. He had separated from Solomon, who went on to marry Callimachi in August 1924. On the night just before the wedding, she wrote Vinea to inform him that she still felt love for him, and proposing that they elope to commit a double suicide; over the following months, she published in ''Punct'' poems alluding to Vinea and her own "mangled heart". For some ten years, Vinea was unhappily married to actress Nelly Cutava, divorcing her . She was the sister of a more successful actress, Tantzi Cutava-Barozzi. Șerban Cioculescu, "Breviar. Scrisori către Camil Petrescu (III)", 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 ...
'', Issue 27/1981, p. 7
A journalist colleague, Romulus Dianu, argues that Vinea's interwar activities were implicitly "revolutionary", and that he was one of the "anti-bourgeois forces working for bourgeois newspapers". Within this setting, he was a builder, or "garden", who allowed others to embark on more adventurous enterprises. In his articles and interviews, Vinea himself complained that independent journalism was a dying art, but also an exhausting occupation. Ion Simuț
"Patrimoniul clasicilor de izbeliște?"
''
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 ...
'', Issue 33/2005
His socialist radicalism slowly discarded and his literary activity curtailed voluntarily, Vinea courted, and eventually joined, the centrist
National Peasants' Party The National Peasants' Party (also known as the National Peasant Party or National Farmers' Party; , or ''Partidul Național-Țărănist'', PNȚ) was an Agrarianism, agrarian political party in the Kingdom of Romania. It was formed in 1926 throu ...
(PNȚ) and began a two-year stint Răzvan Voncu
"Publicistica lui Ion Vinea"
''
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 ...
'', Issue 10/2013
at
Nae Ionescu Nae Ionescu (, born Nicolae C. Ionescu; – 15 March 1940) was a Romanian philosopher, logician, mathematician, professor, and journalist. Life Born in Brăila, Ionescu studied Letters at the University of Bucharest until 1912. Upon graduati ...
's '' Cuvântul'', a right-wing (later fascist) daily. It was there that he met the newspaper impresario
Pamfil Șeicaru Pamfil is a Romanian given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: * Pamfil Polonic (1858–1943), Romanian archaeologist and topographer * Pamfil Yurkevich Pamfil Danilovich Yurkevich (; 28 February 1826 – 16 October 1874) w ...
, who would offer him employment later in life. In tandem, Vinea seemingly grew tired of Futurism, publishing in 1925 a French anti-manifesto for ''la révolution de la sensibilité, la vraie'' ("that true revolution, of sensibility"). In November, he entertained
Henri Barbusse Henri Barbusse (; 17 May 1873 – 30 August 1935) was a French novelist, short story writer, journalist, poet and political activist. He began his literary career in the 1890s as a Symbolist poet and continued as a neo-Naturalist novelist; i ...
, the French pacifist novelist and known affiliate of the
Communist International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...
, who had come in Romania to campaign for the Tatarbunary rebels. In describing Barbusse for his ''Facla'' readers, Vinea compared him to the glowing figure of Jesus Christ in Leonardo's ''Last Supper''. By 1926, he was visiting Bădăcin, a Transylvanian fief of PNȚ leader
Iuliu Maniu Iuliu Maniu (; 8 January 1873 – 5 February 1953) was a Romanian lawyer and politician. He was a leader of the National Party of Transylvania and Banat before and after World War I, playing an important role in the Union of Transylvania wi ...
, and trying to attract the politically ambitious novelist
Camil Petrescu Camil Petrescu (; 9/21 April 1894 – 14 May 1957) was a Romanian playwright, novelist, philosopher and poet. He marked the end of the traditional novel era and laid the foundation of the modern novel era in Romania. He was a member of the Sbur ...
into a secretive collaboration with the same Maniu. Carandino claims that Vinea subsequently acted as an adviser to some main PNȚ figures, namely
Armand Călinescu Armand Călinescu (4 June 1893 – 21 September 1939) was a Romanian economist and politician, who served as 39th List of Prime Ministers of Romania, Prime Minister from March 1939 until Assassination of Armand Călinescu, his assassination six ...
and
Virgil Madgearu Virgil Traian N. Madgearu (; December 14, 1887 – November 27, 1940) was a Romanian economist, sociologist, and left-wing politician, prominent member and main theorist of the Peasants' Party and of its successor, the National Peasants' Par ...
, as well as diplomat
Nicolae Titulescu Nicolae Titulescu (; 4 March 1882 – 17 March 1941) was a Romanian politician and diplomat, at various times ambassador, finance minister, and foreign minister, and for two terms served as president of the General Assembly of the League of Nati ...
. In conversation with Aderca, Vinea demanded that ''Contimporanul'' be remembered not for "political fighting", but for "its influence on our artistic life". The magazine was taking a more conciliatory view of Italian fascism, while also praising the
council communists Council communism or councilism is a current of communist thought that emerged in the 1920s. Inspired by the November Revolution, council communism was opposed to state socialism and advocated workers' councils and council democracy. Cou ...
at '' Die Aktion'' and pushing for a détente with the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
(although remaining critical of Soviet totalitarianism). Vinea still issued the occasional anti-bourgeois satire, notably in I. Peltz's ''Caiete Lunare'', which resulted in a conflict between Peltz and the Censorship Directorate. Running in the December 1928 and June 1931 elections, Vinea represented the constituency of
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
in the Assembly of Deputies to 1932. A story rendered Pandrea places Vinea at the center of intrigues between the PNȚ factions: allegedly, Vinea and
Sergiu Dan Sergiu Dan (; born Isidor Rotman or Rottman; December 29, 1903 – March 13, 1976) was a Romanian novelist, journalist, Holocaust survivor and political prisoner of the communist regime. Dan, the friend and collaborator of Romulus Dianu, was n ...
conspired to deceive
Mihail Manoilescu Mihail Manoilescu (; December 9, 1891 – December 30, 1950) was a Romanian journalist, engineer, economist, politician and memoirist, who served as Foreign Minister of Romania during the summer of 1940. An active promoter of and contributor to ...
, the
corporatist Corporatism is an ideology and political system of interest representation and policymaking whereby corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, come together and negotiate contracts ...
theoretician, into buying a forged anti-monarchy document that they attributed to Madgearu. Manoilescu paid them some 150,000 lei before the forgery could be exposed. In 1930, Vinea published his volume ''Paradisul suspinelor'' ("A Haven for the Sighs") with Editura Cultura Națională, illustrated by Janco. He was already credited as a translator of books by
Romain Rolland Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...
(1924) and
Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly (2 November 1808 – 23 April 1889) was a French novelist, poet, short story writer, and literary critic. He specialised in mystery tales that explored hidden motivation and hinted at evil without being explicitl ...
(1927), but these were in fact penned by Tana Qvil; she had asked he former husband to lend her his more prestigious signature. He had also made a publicized return to the mainstream press, with opinion pieces and lampoons in ''Adevărul'', '' Cuvântul'', and the PNȚ organ '' Dreptatea'', and with literary prose in '' Mișcarea Literară''. He was for a while a member of ''Dreptatea''s editorial team. His links with the avant-garde were waning: he still published Romanian or French-language poetry in ''Contimporanul'', and prose in more radical magazines such as ''Punct'', ''75HP'', and '' unu'', but his modernist credentials were coming under critical scrutiny. At ''Contimporanul'', he organized a lavish reception to the former Futurist
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti (; 22 December 1876 – 2 December 1944) was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist and founder of the Futurist movement. He was associated with the utopian and Symbolist artistic and literary community Abbaye de ...
, who was also an official celebrity of Italian fascism. There followed a split between ''Contimporanul'' and ''unu'': at age 35, Vinea came to be denounced as the prototype "Old Man" whom the avant-garde wanted silenced. The controversy was political rather than artistic: ''unu'', dominated by communist hardliners Sașa Pană and Stephan Roll, was perplexed by the ambiguity surrounding Marinetti's politics, and also by the acceptance at ''Contimporanul'' of "reactionaries" such as Mihail Sebastian and
Sandu Tudor Sandu Tudor (; born Alexandru Al. Teodorescu, known in church records as Brother Agathon, later Daniil Teodorescu, Daniil Sandu Tudor, Daniil de la Rarău; December 22 or December 24, 1896 – November 17, 1962) was a Romanian poet, journalist, th ...
. Around 1930, Vinea and Roll still had regular meetings with each other, but largely because Roll was tutoring his elder colleague in
amateur boxing Amateur boxing is the variant of boxing practiced in clubs and associations around the world, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as at the varsity sports, collegiate level. Amateur boxing bouts comprise three ...
; the two men engaged each other in
sparring Sparring is a form of training common to many combat sports. It can encompass a range of activities and techniques such as punching, kicking, grappling, throwing, wrestling or submission work dependent on style. Although the precise form varies, ...
matches. Gheorghe Dinu, "Popasuri. Album contimporan: Ion Vinea", '' Timpul'', April 18, 1940, p. 2 At that stage of his life, Vinea reconciled with Lovinescu, with whom he now shared a moderate outlook and liberal agenda. His friendship with Barbu cooled after 1927, when the latter left ''Contimporanul'' for ''Sburătorul''. Vinea never allowed him to return. Vinea continued to write prose, and, in 1931, with the celebratory 100th issue of ''Contimporanul'', announced that he was putting out ''Escroc sentimental'' ("Philanderer"), an early draft of ''Lunatecii''. According to Cordoș: "Decades before it was an actual book, Vinea's novel was a legend in the Romanian literary milieu." Sanda Cordoș
"''Lunatecii'' – un mare roman de redescoperit"
''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Issue 683, July 2013
Critic
George Călinescu George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899 – 12 March 1965) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the most important Romani ...
noted at the time that "Ion Vinea ..enjoys the nimbus of poets who do not publish, surrounded by that mysterious air"; Carandino attests that he himself took pains in convincing Vinea to reach a wide audience with his poems: " wasgoing as far as to presenting them without the author's knowledge or consent. That didn't work. He found out at the last moment and had them withdrawn, with a spat of verbal violence." Peltz also writes that "rarely have I met a writer who appeared so indifferent about his own work", noting that Vinea had planned to publish more systematically only after turning 60. While postponing his contributions, Vinea led a bohemian lifestyle, which, together with his lasting passion for chess, made him a friend and confidant of a fellow aristocrat, Gheorghe Jurgea-Negrilești. From 1930 or 1931 to 1944, Sanda Cordoș
"Ion Vinea în paginile Henriettei Yvonne Stahl"
''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Issue 749, November 2014
Tudor Crețu, "Opiaceele Henriettei Yvonne Stahl", '' Dilemateca'', Issue 80, January 2013, p. 8 Vinea was married to
Henriette Yvonne Stahl Henriette Yvonne Stahl (January 9, 1900 – May 25/26, 1984) was a Romanian novelist, short story writer and translator. Biography Born in Sankt Avold, Alsace-Lorraine, in the German Empire (now Saint-Avold in the Moselle department of Fran ...
, an actress and award-winning novelist, as well as a famed beauty. They lived a largely secluded life in
Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...
, owing to Henriette's health problems. Unbeknown to the world, the couple were recreational
morphine Morphine, formerly also called morphia, is an opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin produced by drying the latex of opium poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as an analgesic (pain medication). There are ...
users and avid oneiromants. Stahl tried to get Vinea to join her in studying theological and paranormal investigations by
Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (; ; born Emanuel Swedberg; (29 January 168829 March 1772) was a Swedish polymath; scientist, engineer, astronomer, anatomist, Christian theologian, philosopher, and mysticism, mystic. He became best known for his book on the ...
, but found his "obtuseness" unsettling.


''Facla'' years

''Contimporanul'' went bankrupt in 1932, by which time Vinea had by then replaced the retiring Cocea as editor of ''Facla'', and was writing for the minor political newspaper ''Progresul Social''. He was either using his own name or resorting to familiar pen names: "B. Iova", "Dr. Caligari", "Aladin". Together with Carandino and Leon Kalustian, he ran ''Facla''s column ''Panerul cu raci'' ("The Crabs' Basket"), also sharing the pseudonym, "Kalvincar". The editorial politics here changed to reflect the PNȚ line. Vinea renounced his republicanism and paid homage to the returnee
King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930, until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. As the eldest son of Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I, ...
. Mirel Anghel
"Tribulațiile unui ziarist de stânga"
'' Apostrof'', Issue 12/2012
Carandino writes that, as a rule, Vinea "took very little care of ''Facla''": "We got used to seeing our director as an 'outside' contributor, as he was so rarely present in the gazette pages". Vinea "wrote very rarely, and did so in that type that was most uncharacteristic—prompted by the day's news. But what he wrote was that which absolutely needed to be written: exact and perfect." For a while in 1929 and 1930, he was in France on an extended trip, and later bragged about making friends with F. Scott Fitzgerald. According to Dianu, he spent all the money from his book sales on entertaining a young lady. During his leave of absence, he assigned Olimpia Iovanaki as manager of ''Facla'' and its dwindling finances; Dianu wrote several columns that he signed using Vinea's name (and which Vinea never even read), while Lucian Boz was assigned as the literary reviewer. Despite having promoted Marinetti and "tend ngto align himself with right-wing intellectuals", Vinea expressed his leftist antifascism to such degrees that the editorial office was repeatedly vandalized by either the LANC or its younger rival, 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 also drifted away from PNȚ politics, deploring the party's failure to address the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, while also giving his endorsement to the
Grivița Strike of 1933 The Grivița strike of 1933 was a railway strike which was started at the Grivița Workshops, Bucharest, the Kingdom of Romania in February 1933 by workers of Căile Ferate Române (Romanian Railways). The strike was brought about by the increa ...
.Funeriu, p. 12 A vocal adversary of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
, Vinea described
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
as a "half-learned hunchback", and in July 1934, shortly after the
Night of the Long Knives The Night of the Long Knives (, ), also called the Röhm purge or Operation Hummingbird (), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Adolf Hitler, urged on by Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler, ord ...
, optimistically announced that " Hitlerite national pederasty" was "in agony" (''Nazional pederastria hitleristă în agonie''). He also deemed the Soviet Union a "natural ally of all those who support peace without erritorialrevisions." ''Facla'' opened its pages to Communist Party militants Alexandru Sahia (whose main contribution, however, was not given the censors' approval, and was only preserved by Vinea in his personal archive) and Gheorghe Petrescu-Ghempet; it also hosted fragments from Aragon, Lunacharsky, Pozner, and polemics regarding A. L. Zissu's defense of
Trotskyism Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
. Vinea still argued that communism and "Romanianism" were irreconcilable, but suggested that Romania had nothing to fear from the Soviet Union—the Iron Guard, Vinea contended, was much more dangerous. Ideologically, he was closest to the moderate-left
Social Democrats Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...
, and, unlike the ''unu'' group, was never placed under surveillance by ''
Siguranța ''Siguranța'' was the generic name for the successive secret police services in the Kingdom of Romania. The official title of the organization changed throughout its history, with names including Directorate of the Police and General Safety () ...
'' policemen. In March 1934, after the Iron Guard's '' Nicadori'' assassinated
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
Ion G. Duca, Vinea opined in ''Facla'' that fascism's quest for a dictatorship was senseless: Romanian democracy, being "corrupt and catastrophic", was "in reality a dictatorship". (As noted by historian Zigu Ornea, Vinea "consciously exaggerated" the point, so as to attack both fascism and his old National Liberal enemies.) According to fellow journalist Paul Teodorescu, Vinea "the democrat, with pronounced sympathies toward the workers' movement," exposed himself to the far-right's retribution once he questioned "totalitarian obscurantism".Paul Teodorescu, "Vinea — 5 ani — Remember. Ziaristul", in '' Tribuna'', Vol. XIII, Issue 30, July 1969, p. 5 On October 5, 1934 (or in 1936, according to Vinea and Carandino), ''Facla'' was nearly destroyed by the LANC, an attack which left Vinea physically injured. In another incident, recounted by Dianu, a "crazed man" visited the offices brandishing a revolver, and threatened to kill Vinea for publishing articles which "keep making references to me". He averted this crisis by congratulating his assailant for his "deductive intelligence", winning his confidence and camaradery, and then sending him on his way. Another tense moment came in 1936, when Stahl was disfigured in a road accident. Vinea became unfaithful, pursuing "complicated" affairs with other women, but also frequenting the Bucharest brothels. Critical recognition of Vinea's work first peaked in 1937, when Șerban Cioculescu penned a monograph on him and the "centrist position" of his poetry, calling him "a classic of the literary movement." A minor scandal occurred in modernist circles when Carandino allowed
Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; ; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre#Avant-garde, French avant-garde th ...
to publish a ''Facla'' piece calling Vinea "the greatest Romanian poet", next to whom "Tudor Arghezi is not worth a damn." Vinea himself issued a disclaimer, carried in his own newspaper. Spurred on by Alexandru Rosetti, he was working on a definitive edition of his verse, to be published by Editura Fundațiilor Regale as ''Ora fântânilor'' ("The Hour of Fountains"). He soon tired of the project, and the manuscript lingered in the archives for three more decades.Funeriu, p. 13 Also in 1937, the far-right
National Christian Party The National Christian Party () was a far-right authoritarian and strongly antisemitic political party in Romania active between 1935 and 1938. It was formed by a merger of Octavian Goga's National Agrarian Party and A. C. Cuza's National-Chr ...
came to power, fully censoring ''Facla''s content. Around that time, Vinea established clandestine links with the
Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
underground, informing them about German funds laundered through Romanil Company, which went to finance Romania's far-right; his contact was Jean Cohen, who reported to Tivadar Fischer. A quasi-fascist
National Renaissance Front The National Renaissance Front (, FRN; also translated as ''Front of National Regeneration'', ''Front of National Rebirth'', ''Front of National Resurrection'', or ''Front of National Renaissance'') was a Romanian political party created by King Ca ...
(FRN), presided upon by
King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
Carol II Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930, until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. As the eldest son of Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I, ...
, took over in 1938, with all other parties outlawed and freedom of speech curtailed. ''Facla'' survived this clampdown, but the regime reduced its circulation, forcing it to become a weekly. Starting that year, Vinea served several terms as president of the Union of Professional Newspapermen (UZP), continuously to 1944. As Teodorescu reports, he used this position to question censorship, and also assigned funds to "journalists who had been imprisoned or were unemployed." At some point in 1939, he completed, but never published, a satirical piece mocking the Iron Guard for its practice of
blacklisting Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...
men of other political persuasions, including himself. Following the death of his political enemy, Nae Ionescu, Vinea penned his obituary in ''Facla''. Ionescu disciple Mircea Vulcănescu found it to be a "vibrant and understanding" tribute. In June 1940, the FRN became a more totalitarian "Party of the Nation", tightening its grip on the lesser corporate bodies. On the occasion, Vinea endorsed the king's
personality cult A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an ideali ...
, writing him that the entire UZP would submit to "the Nation's Supreme Flag-bearer
ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is i ...
a tenacious faith in a grand national destiny". The start of World War II had isolated Romania from the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
, but also brought shocking revelations about a Nazi–Soviet Pact. As reported by ''unu''s
Miron Radu Paraschivescu __NOTOC__ Miron Radu Paraschivescu (; 2 October 1911 – 17 February 1971) was a Romanian poet, essayist, journalist, and translator. Born in Zimnicea, Teleorman County, he went to high school in Ploiești, after which he studied fine arts, first ...
, Vinea reacted by sealing down his communist contacts and regretfully expressing his preference for the Nazis: "I would rather be a lackey of some prestigious house than the servant of yokels like Molotov and
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
." Troubled by the inaccuracies of his earlier predictions, Vinea was reading and reviewing "great"
Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...
's anti-Stalinist texts. Later that year, the Nazi–Soviet dissolution of
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 ...
enraged Vinea and pushed him into open
anti-Sovietism Anti-Sovietism or anti-Soviet sentiment are activities that were actually or allegedly aimed against the Soviet Union or government power within the Soviet Union. Three common uses of the term include the following: * Anti-Sovietism in inter ...
.Corneliu Vasile, "Cronici. Activitatea publicistică a lui Ion Vinea", ''Sud. Revistă Editată de Asociația pentru Cultură și Tradiție Istorică Bolintineanu'', Issues 11–12/2019, p. 18 That series of events also resulted in Carol's downfall and the inauguration of Iron Guard rule: a "
National Legionary State The National Legionary State () was a Totalitarianism, totalitarian Fascism, fascist regime which governed Kingdom of Romania, Romania for five months, from 14 September 1940 until its official dissolution on 14 February 1941. The regime was led ...
", aligned with the
Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...
and having
Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and Mareșal (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''Conduc ...
as '' Conducător''. Guardist ascendancy signaled the end of ''Facla'', forcibly shut down in September 1940.


Antonescian career

In January 1941, Antonescu and the Iron Guard fell out with each other, which led to a brief civil war—Vinea witnessed from the side (and with some amusement) as fascist Barbu was convened to patrol a Guard precinct; in Bucharest, a pogrom erupted, during which Vinea time hid and protected Sergiu Dan. Costin's brother Michael was captured and lynched by the Guard; both Costin and Janco fled to
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
later that year. In June, Romania became a participant in Germany's attack on the Soviet Union. Vinea was again drafted, this time, on Șeicaru's suggestion, as a military reporter in the
Naval Forces A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operati ...
; he wound up mostly stationed on the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
coast. He was then assigned editor of ''
Evenimentul Zilei ''Evenimentul Zilei'' is a formerly physical and now exclusively online newspaper in Romania. Its name translates to "The event of the day" or "Today's event". History and profile ''Evenimentul Zilei'' was founded by Ion Cristoiu, Cornel Nisto ...
'', a propaganda daily published by Șeicaru, while also working at Șeicaru's '' Curentul''. He was followed there by one of his ''Facla'' subordinates and a close friend, Vlaicu Bârna. According to the latter, ''Evenimentul Zilei'' existed as a "somewhat democratic version" of the pro-fascist ''Curentul''. Upon Lovinescu's request, Vinea also hired a young writer,
Marin Preda Marin Preda (; 5 August 1922, Siliștea Gumești, Teleorman County, Kingdom of Romania – 16 May 1980, Mogoșoaia, Ilfov County], Socialist Republic of Romania) was a Romanian novelist, post-war writer and director of Cartea Românească p ...
. Preda's accounts of life in that environment include claims that Vinea once eloped "with some whore" to German military administration in occupied France during World War II, occupied France, leaving his first editor to ghostwrite his columns. Vinea still authored a posthumous encomium to his former rival
Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet and playwright. Co-founder (in 1910) of the Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), he served as a member of Parliament ...
, who had been assassinated by the Guard. He also partook in debates splitting the literary community: in 1941, he responded to George Călinescu's overview of Romanian literature (in which Vinea himself made a frustratingly brief appearance), dismissing it as an
impressionistic Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
, and therefore highly subjective, contribution. Vinea's activity in 1941–1944 became a subject for scholarly scrutiny and political disputes. In the 1970s, biographer Elena Zaharia-Filipaș argued that Vinea largely remained "his own man", who refused to publish "eulogies to tyranny and murder as one finds in the aggressive editorials of other official newspapers published during the epoch." Vinea himself claimed that he "sabotaged" war propaganda and censorship; Teodorescu similarly states that Vinea's texts featured transparent rejections of "German imperialism". However, according to literary historian Cornel Ungureanu, he had transformed himself "into an ace of official politics". This was also the position taken in that time by Paraschivescu, allowed by the Antonescu regime to publish his "Open letter to Vinea" in ''Tinerețea'' magazine. Here, Vinea was exposed as an overzealous and servile government asset, his "hawkish and vigilante-like" demeanor clashing badly with a "fragile and forever juvenile" appearance. Vinea's columns display a rejection of
Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...
and suggests that Nazism, a more palatable successor of revolutionary socialism, would eventually liberalize in the wake of Soviet defeat. According to
Monica Lovinescu Monica Lovinescu (; 19 November 1923 – 20 April 2008) was a Romanian essayist, short story writer, literary critic, translator, and journalist, noted for her activities as an opponent of the Romanian Communist regime. She published severa ...
, daughter of Vinea's competitor, such pieces are praiseworthy, "lucid ndcourageous". During the battle for Moscow, Vinea received attention for his retrospective editorial on
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
, "the Mongol revolutionist" and his "desperate, moronic" followers, including "the Great Priest" Stalin. Some of his texts celebrate the "New European" order emerging from Germany's continental domination. However, Vinea also found himself in trouble with the Nazi Ministry of Propaganda for eulogizing Swiss neutrality and journalistic objectivity. In June 1942, he wrote an editorial describing the "universal alliance" that, he believed, was naturally emerging in favor of
world peace World peace is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would come about. Various relig ...
. Though Antonescu tolerated the newspaper, his ''Siguranța'' grew alarmed by reports that ''Evenimentul Zilei''s editorial secretary, Stăncescu, was secretly affiliated with the banished Iron Guard. In autumn 1942, they raided the newspaper offices, and discovered a
submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine (firearms), magazine-fed automatic firearm, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to descri ...
, stashed away by Stăncescu, who was immediately arrested, facing the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
; Vinea, acting alongside Antonescu's confidante Veturia Goga, managed to obtain Stăncescu's pardon. Vinea still endorsed the annexation of
Transnistria Transnistria, officially known as the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic and locally as Pridnestrovie, is a Landlocked country, landlocked Transnistria conflict#International recognition of Transnistria, breakaway state internationally recogn ...
, but, later in life, also took credit for helping rescue Jews slated for extermination at
Tiraspol Tiraspol (, ; also /; , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Transnistria, a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the third-largest city. The city is located on the eastern bank of the Dniester River. Tiraspol is a regional hub of cul ...
and elsewhere. He also maintained contacts with the local Zionist resistance, represented by Zissu and Jean Cohen, sending them economic and social data which reached the Allies. Vinea similarly reported to the Zionists on the anti-German views of Romanian generals, beginning with Iosif Iacobici, as well as on the PNȚ's attempts to establish links with the Allies. Other reports allegedly included details on the PNȚ's right-wing leadership, grouped around
Iuliu Maniu Iuliu Maniu (; 8 January 1873 – 5 February 1953) was a Romanian lawyer and politician. He was a leader of the National Party of Transylvania and Banat before and after World War I, playing an important role in the Union of Transylvania wi ...
, Romulus Boilă, and Ilie Lazăr, being criticized by leftists such as Gheorghe Zane; these reports implied that much of the PNȚ was also "chauvinistic and antisemitic". As noted by Cohen, Vinea and Zissu, assisted by Șeicaru, also obtained from Antonescu promises of clemency toward
Hungarian Jews The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived ...
who had fled for relative safety in Romania during 1944. "Around 1943", Vinea, Stahl and Carandino where inducted by ''Revista Română'', a "progressive" magazine founded by Zaharia Stancu and
Krikor Zambaccian Krikor is a Western Armenian given name, equivalent to Eastern Armenian given name Grigor and the English equivalent Gregory and its variants in different languages. A diminutive of the name is Koko. A variant is Kirkor. Notable people with the n ...
. After the turn of tides on the Eastern Front, Vinea debated with members of the democratic opposition who were willing to accept a Soviet occupation, noting that Stalin was set on "enthroning a communist regime". Meanwhile, in ''Curentul'', he published thinly veiled criticism of Nazi terror in France. On August 23, 1944, a coalition of monarchists and communists removed and arrested Antonescu, denouncing the Axis alliance. In issues of ''Curentul'' which appeared between August 25 and August 29, Vinea, as the leading columnist, turned to open praise of the Allies and suggested that Soviet occupiers were Romania's friends. Days later, the Communist Party daily ''
România Liberă Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central, 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 the east, and the Black Sea t ...
'' hosted a piece denouncing Vinea's anti-Sovietism. In October, '' Revista Fundațiilor Regale'' carried Vinea's disquieted poem, ''Cobe'' ("Jinx"). By then, he had joined Galaction, Rosetti, Petre Ghiață, Isaia Răcăciuni, Valentin Saxone, and Tudor Teodorescu-Braniște, in setting up the democratic-liberal club ''Ideea''.


Banishment and arrest

A stern demand for full censorship was published in November 1944 by the left-wingers at '' Orizont'' magazine. They referred to Vinea and other Antonescian journalists as having "died on August 23". Shortly after, Vinea received an interdiction to publish from the Propaganda Ministry, and was even threatened with prosecution for war crimes, but the order was revoked by Premier
Petru Groza Petru Groza (7 December 1884 – 7 January 1958) was a Romanian politician, best known as the first Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister of the Romanian Communist Party, Communist Party-dominated government under Soviet Union, Soviet Sovie ...
in 1946. Sanda Cordoș
"La telefon, Ion Vinea"
''
Observator Cultural ''Observator Cultural'' (meaning "The Cultural Observer" in English) is a weekly literary magazine based in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...
'', Issue 611, February 2012
His hopes of reviving ''Facla'' were quashed. An "utterly discreet" presence while the country underwent rapid communization, Vinea focused almost entirely on his new career, that of a translator from English and French. Returning from Palestine in 1945, Costin also took up that "obscure activity". Vinea, "panicked by the prospects of old age and failure", changed his lifestyle drastically, giving up smoking and drinking. He returned for a while to writing ''Lunatecii'', but found himself rejected by two publishing houses, and exasperated by misunderstandings "with the three women I love, and with those other women who will not leave me alone." His standing as the keeper of three women, which are known to have included novelist Sidonia Drăgușanu, resulted in his being known, behind his back, as "Three Testicles" (''Trei testicule''). Henriette, who was told of his philandering, took the much younger writer Petru Dumitriu as her lover and then, divorcing Vinea, as her second husband. Vinea and Tzara met a final time when the latter came to Romania on an official visit, in 1947. That year, having resumed friendly contacts with the PNȚ, his work hosted by Carandino at ''Dreptatea'', Vinea narrowly escaped arrest during the Tămădău Affair clampdown—having quit smoking, he decided to leave the PNȚ headquarters before a customary cigarette break; those who stayed were arrested on the spot. As the party leadership went on trial that November, he was called in as a witness, but did not show up. The full proclamation of a Romanian communist regime in 1948 drove Vinea into the cultural underground. As Cordoș notes, "Communist Romania ..cast him as a marginal, for long pariah-like and unprintable .. (His broken-up course as a left-wing intellectual was weighed down by his explicitly anti-Stalinist attitude of the World War II period, which was unforgivable in that new era)." For a while, Vinea earned a meager living as a ghostwriter, but also as a warehouseman and
porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., a locom ...
. Sanda Cordoș
"Ion Vinea în arest"
''Cultura'', Issue 351, November 2011
"Overnight", he taught himself to work as a
plasterer A plasterer is a tradesman who works with plaster, such as forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. The process of creating plasterwork, called plastering, has been used in buildin ...
,
Petre Stoica Petre Stoica (February 15, 1931 – March 21, 2009) was a Romanian poet and translator. A native of the Timișoara area, he studied at the University of Bucharest before launching a career as a writer. Making his debut in the late 1950s alongside ...
, "Evocări: Ion Vinea. 'De ce-mi zvoniți în minte cuvinte din trecut?'", '' Tribuna'', Vol. XXIV, Issue 22, May 1980, p. 6
and found a brief employment in the field in 1949, assisting sculptor
Oscar Han Oscar Han (3 December 1891 – 14 February 1976) was a Romanian sculptor and writer. Biography Han was born in Bucharest on 3 December 1891 to a father of German origin and a mother from Vrancea. From 1909 to 1914, he studied sculpture and ...
. The newly established
Writers' Union of Romania 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 takin ...
(USR) expelled Vinea from its ranks in 1950. While working for the candlemaker Aliciu, alongside other disgraced wartime journalists, he was periodically harassed by agents of the
Securitate The Department of State Security (), commonly known as the Securitate (, ), was the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. It was founded on 30 August 1948 from the '' Siguranța'' with help and direction from the Soviet MG ...
, who were reexamining his ''Evenimentul Zilei'' material. His final romantic relationship was with Elena Oghină. He moved with her from his mother's home on Uranus Hill to a townhouse on Braziliei Street, Dorobanți, thus "covering his tracks". The couple befriended Dumitriu, by then a lionized communist author, hosting the Dumitrius, as well as Bârna and Costin, in his new home, where they secretly discussed their hopes that communism would fall. Having parted with much of his art collection in order to support himself, Vinea sold Dumitriu his wife's treasure of gold coins, thus breaking nationalization laws. After 1947, he no longer left Bucharest, preoccupied with providing for his ailing mother. He was unconsoled when she eventually died, under his watch, . Himself diagnosed with
liver cancer Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...
, he was finally employed to write for the
folding carton The folding carton created the packaging industry as it is known today, beginning in the late 19th century. The process involves folding carton made of paperboard that is printed, laminated, cut, then folded and glued. The cartons are shipped f ...
makers at Progresul Cooperative while also picking up a pension. Vinea was finally allowed to rejoin the USR, and assigned to its "prose writers' section", studying and assimilating the aesthetic guidelines of socialist realism. With Demostene Botez and Alexandru A. Philippide, he was employed by the Committee for Cultural Establishments. All three were sacked in summer 1952, but allowed to publish in a new magazine, ''Cultura Poporului''. However, Vinea was suspected of having spied for
British Intelligence The Government of the United Kingdom maintains several intelligence agencies that deal with secret intelligence. These agencies are responsible for collecting, analysing and exploiting foreign and domestic intelligence, providing military intell ...
, and was avoided by members of the interwar left, with whom he had been friendly before—most glaringly, his former employer Stancu. In 1954, the regime issued a new order banning Vinea from its press. In 1956, ESPLA, the state publishing house, signed contracts with Vinea for his drawer novels, but did not deliver. Ion Vartic
"Petru Dumitriu și 'negrul' său (I)"
''
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 ...
'', Issue 15/2005
Instead, ESPLA hired Vinea on its team of translators and philologists. He produced Romanian versions of
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...
's romantic stories, especially '' Berenice'', '' Ligeia'', and '' The Fall of the House of Usher'', and was involved in ESPLA's
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
translation project, applying his poetic skill to ''
Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...
'', ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
'', ''
Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...
'', ''
Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
'', and ''
The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...
''. Elena Oghină regarded his as an extremely consuming, "diabolical", effort, adding: "The notebooks of his Shakespearean translations are a model in meticulousness. ..he even came up with a code for translating from English, by establishing certain phonetic matches between English and Romanian. He was of the opinion that the frequency of vowels and consonants should generally be preserved". By 1959, Vinea was simultaneously working on his Poe translations, had rendered all 7,400 lines by
Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( ; ;  – October 15, 55 BC) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem '' De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, which usually is t ...
in
dactylic hexameter Dactylic hexameter is a form of meter used in Ancient Greek epic and didactic poetry as well as in epic, didactic, satirical, and pastoral Latin poetry. Its name is derived from Greek (, "finger") and (, "six"). Dactylic hexameter consists o ...
, and was trying to begin his own
historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...
, about
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...
. He never finished the latter, and personally destroyed his entire work on Lucretius. Additionally, he corrected for print Costin's draft of ''
Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...
'', and completed other translations from Balzac,
Romain Rolland Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...
,
Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...
, and
Halldór Laxness Halldór Kiljan Laxness (; born Halldór Guðjónsson; 23 April 1902 – 8 February 1998) was an Icelandic writer and winner of the 1955 Nobel Prize in Literature. He wrote novels, poetry, newspaper articles, essays, plays, travelogues and sh ...
. Some of these were issued under Dumitriu's signature, which Vinea grudgingly allowed in exchange for money. Reputedly, Vinea was being coerced to join the Communist Party and become a Securitate informant, but stood his ground. On November 14, 1958, the USR Committee took a vote to expel Vinea, Cioculescu, and Adrian Maniu. They were only spared following a passionate defense, mounted by poet Mihai Beniuc. Vinea and his lover were arrested and held in custody for several months in 1959, his gold coins having resurfaced (although possibly also because of Vinea's contacts with Dumitriu and other " revisionists"); her conversations with Vinea wire-tapped by the Securitate, Stahl herself was imprisoned for several months in 1960. In confinement, Vinea was reportedly bastinadoed so that he temporarily lost control of his limbs; Oghină also fell ill. They were eventually released following supplications from Nicolae Gh. Lupu, the personal physician of communist dictator
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (; 8 November 1901 – 19 March 1965) was a Romanian politician. He was the first Socialist Republic of Romania, Communist leader of Romania from 1947 to 1965, serving as first secretary of the Romanian Communist Party ...
, with additional interventions from Rosetti and, possibly, Arghezi. Vinea was allowed to travel within the country by November 1961, when he wrote to his lover, from
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 ...
.


Final years and death

Having made efforts to make his style palatable to the ideological censors, Vinea burned his more revealing manuscripts. He was allowed to publish in the literary magazines. In 1960, Anatol E. Baconsky and
Petre Stoica Petre Stoica (February 15, 1931 – March 21, 2009) was a Romanian poet and translator. A native of the Timișoara area, he studied at the University of Bucharest before launching a career as a writer. Making his debut in the late 1950s alongside ...
's magazine, ''Steaua'', allocated space for an homage to Mihail Sadoveanu—according to Stoica, this was Vinea's first published text in some 15 years. His subsequent work, including essays honoring Arghezi and
Camil Petrescu Camil Petrescu (; 9/21 April 1894 – 14 May 1957) was a Romanian playwright, novelist, philosopher and poet. He marked the end of the traditional novel era and laid the foundation of the modern novel era in Romania. He was a member of the Sbur ...
, was mainly taken up by that journal, which also interviewed him in 1963. Invited by Stoica to contribute additional homages for George Bacovia and
Ion Agârbiceanu Ion Agârbiceanu (first name also Ioan, last name also Agărbiceanu and Agîrbiceanu; 12 September 1882 – 28 May 1963) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian writer, journalist, politician, theologian and Greek-Catholic priest. Born among the ...
, he made a point of stating his refusal—suggesting that Bacovia was disgusting, and that Agârbiceanu's prose was almost entirely "worthless". In 1962, after Stoica's temporary departure, ''Steaua'' refused to publish fragments of Vinea's novels, breaking an earlier promise; other contributions on various topics appeared in '' Gazeta Literară'' and ''Orizont''. Together with Henriette, Vinea was also made to write for ''
Glasul Patriei ''Glasul Patriei'' (Romanian for 'The Voice of the Fatherland') was Communist Romania's propaganda publication aimed at Romanian emigres, that served the aim of promoting the Socialist Republic of Romania as a harbour not only of socialist ideas, ...
'', a communist propaganda magazine aimed at the
Romanian diaspora The Romanian diaspora is the Romanians, ethnically Romanian population outside Romania and Moldova. The concept does not usually include the ethnic Romanians who live as natives in nearby states, chiefly those Romanians who live in Ukraine, Hun ...
. This affiliation strangely reunited them with former traditionalist enemies such as Hodoș, also undergoing communist "recovery". He was featured there with notes on consecrated intellectual figures whom he had befriended, including Cocea, Enescu and Brâncuși, but also with an enthusiastic reception of the young socialist novelist,
Titus Popovici Titus Viorel Popovici (16 May 1930 – 29 November 1994) was a Romanian screenwriter and author. Biography He graduated from the University of Bucharest in 1953. Two years later, he published his first novel, ''Străinul'' (The Stranger). Hi ...
, whom he had interviewed at
Mogoșoaia Palace Mogoșoaia Palace (, ) is situated about from Bucharest, Romania. It was built between 1698 and 1702 by Constantin Brâncoveanu in what is called the Romanian Renaissance style or Brâncovenesc style. The palace bears the name of the widow of t ...
. Theologian Ioan I. Ică jr. proposes that Vinea and the other contributors "believed in their patriotic, inextricable, duty toward Romanian culture, but also toward their own talent and vocation, and rguedthat an offer for 'collaboration' should not have been cast aside, even at the expense of some moral and political concessions". While still at ''Glasul Patriei'', Vinea finally turned to reportage writing, describing scenes from rural Romania in socialist realist style. In most of their contributions, Vinea and Stahl censured or simply mocked Dumitriu, who had since defected to the West, and who stood accused of having plagiarized in most of his work, including from Vinea's own unpublished stories. This account contradicted Vinea's own deposition to the Securitate, where he only noted having helped Dumitriu with his writing. According to Stoica, in 1963 Vinea was also asked to declare that the ''Hamlet'' translation had been wrongly attributed to another author (whom Stoica identified as "P."). He refused to comply, noting: "I know that P. is a swindler, but he has been good to me"; in this private context, he confirmed that ''Hamlet'' was fully his own work. Late in her life, Stahl dismissed the ''Glasul Patriei'' articles as "utterly unconvincing, painful". In 2005, researcher Ion Vartic opined that the allegations of plagiarism were partly substantiated, but suggested a more "nuanced" verdict: Dumitriu's work should be read as a sample of
collaborative fiction Collaborative fiction is a form of Writing style, writing by a group of authors who share creative control of a Storytelling, story. Collaborative fiction can occur for commercial gain, as part of education, or recreationally – many collaborat ...
and
intertextuality Intertextuality is the shaping of a text's meaning by another text, either through deliberate compositional strategies such as quotation, allusion, calque, plagiarism, translation, pastiche or parody, Gerard Genette (1997) ''Paratexts'p.18/ref ...
, involving both Vinea and Stahl. In these late stages of his career, Vinea befriended the traditionalist poet
Vasile Voiculescu Vasile Voiculescu (, 27 November 1884 – 26 April 1963) was a Romanian poet, short-story writer, playwright, and physician who wrote under the literary pseudonym V. Voiculescu. Biography Early life and education Voiculescu was born in Pâr ...
, who was bedridden after a prolonged imprisonment, but also Călinescu, who had become the country's official literary historian. He secretly envied those who had left, feeling abandoned after Costin, who also spent time in communist prisons, emigrated in 1961. He wrote to Clara Haskil that "my life is with you two. What I still have left to live is quite insignificant." He asked Haskil to send him Fitzgerald's '' Tender Is the Night'', which he read avidly, rekindling his own creative energies. Her sudden accidental death in December 1959 left him greatly distraught—this was noted by pianist and literary scholar Zoe Dumitrescu-Bușulenga, who played for him at literary reunions in writer Adrian Rogoz's house (also attended by Oscar Lemnaru). Vinea was considered healthy enough in July 1962, when Lily Haskil encouraged him to resume his writing. In June 1963, the Vineas took a trip into
Țara Moților Țara Moților (), also known as ''Țara de Piatră'' ("The Stone Land") is an ethnogeographical region of Romania in the Apuseni Mountains, on the upper basin of the Arieș and Crișul Alb River rivers. It covers parts of the Alba, Arad, Bi ...
, where they chanced upon Teodorescu; when inquired about the goal of his trip, Vinea reportedly answered: "I'm here to write down a reportage." Also that month, he was visited by
Ilie Purcaru Ilie Purcaru (5 November 1933 – 10 October 2008) was a Romanian journalist and poet, much of whose writing was in support of the Socialist Republic of Romania, communist regime. A native of the Oltenia region, he had an early debut in the R ...
for an interview, which appeared in '' Luceafărul''. Purcaru noted that Vinea made himself available in "that same setting of distinguished elegance, where old furniture and book spines with their patina will announce the blossom of isfinely-worded manuscripts"; the host announced that he was working on the final draft of ''Lunatecii'', to be presented to his publisher "before the end of this year". His cancer relapsed later that summer, during another vacation on Tataia Beach. He experienced "horrific agony", and had to undergo emergency surgery, which failed to address his health issues; aware that he was entering the final stages of his disease, he registered his
civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Countries maintaining a popul ...
with Elena, also adopting her niece Voica as his own daughter. As recounted by Elena, "Ion felt humiliated by his disease, he would beg forgiveness from all of us that his dying took so much of our time." His last visitors included Stoica, whom Vinea would not receive in his room, shouting out: "I don't want him to see me in my present ugliness". Shortly before his death on July 6, 1964, Vinea was given for review a rough draft of ''Ora fântânilor'', which finally saw print some months later.Ion Bănuță, "Vinea — 5 ani — Remember. Omul vastelor melancolii", in '' Tribuna'', Vol. XIII, Issue 30, July 1969, p. 5 His editor Ion Bănuță rushed to his side to show him a copy: "He was suddenly lively. He took the book into his hands, then to his lips. We were all crying. Then he faded away forever". Vinea's body was for a while on display at the USR House, which, Bârna argues, was a "sign of munificence" from his communist critics; it was afterward buried at
Bellu Cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...
. On July 10,
Geo Bogza Geo Bogza (; born Gheorghe Bogza; February 6, 1908 – September 14, 1993) was a Romanian avant-garde theorist, poet, and journalist, known for his left-wing and Communism, communist political convictions. As a young man in the interwar period, h ...
, of ''unu'' fame, wrote in '' Contemporanul'' a posthumous homage to his former rival, the "prince of poets". On August 1, the exiled Monica Lovinescu honored Vinea with a broadcast on
Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...
, calling attention to his modernist anti-communism. In 1965, having been polished by Stahl and Mihai Gafița, ''Lunatecii'' was also issued as a volume, followed in 1971 by the unfinished ''Venin de mai'' ("May Venom") and in 1977 by the anthology ''Publicistica literară'', containing part of his literary criticism. In January 1966, Vinea's translation of
Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; ; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre#Avant-garde, French avant-garde th ...
's '' Exit the King'', possibly his last finished work in the field, was used for a production at the National Theater Bucharest.


Literary contribution


Poetry

In his earliest '' Simbolul'' work, Vinea had embraced the "soft-tempered" side of the Symbolist movement, displaying the conventional influence of
Alexandru Macedonski Alexandru Macedonski (; also rendered as Al. A. Macedonski, Macedonschi or Macedonsky; 14 March 1854 – 24 November 1920) was a Romanian poet, novelist, dramatist and literary critic, known especially for having promoted French Symbolism (arts ...
, Ion Pillat, and even Dimitrie Anghel;
Nicolae Manolescu Nicolae Manolescu (; 27 November 1939 – 23 March 2024) was a Romanian literary critic. Elected a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy in 1997, he was upgraded to titular member in 2013. Life and career Manolescu was born in Râmnicu ...

"Avangarda și politizarea literaturii"
''
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 ...
'', Issue 32/2004
according to Dumitrescu-Bușulenga, he was a highly musical Symbolist, who modeled himself on
Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...
and Albert Samain. This trait was soon, but not fully, abandoned—in a 1942 note, Stephan Roll opined that Vinea continued to sail "the boat of those major Symbolists." According to Cernat, young Iovanaki shared with Tzara and Tzara's mentor
Adrian Maniu Adrian Maniu (February 6, 1891 – April 20, 1968) was a Romanian poet, prose writer, playwright, essayist, and translator. Born in Bucharest, his father Grigore, a native of Lugoj, was a jurist and professor of commercial law at the University o ...
an "acute awareness of the literary convention" and a bookish boredom with
aestheticism Aestheticism (also known as the aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century that valued the appearance of literature, music, fonts and the arts over their functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be produced to b ...
; the three also borrowed "obviously" from
Alfred Jarry Alfred Jarry (; ; 8 September 1873 – 1 November 1907) was a French Artistic symbol, symbolist writer who is best known for his play ''Ubu Roi'' (1896)'','' often cited as a forerunner of the Dada, Surrealism, Surrealist, and Futurism, Futurist ...
and Jules Laforgue. The Gârceni poems show that Vinea was a step behind Tzara's
anti-art Anti-art is a loosely used term applied to an array of concepts and attitudes that reject prior definitions of art and question art in general. Somewhat paradoxically, anti-art tends to conduct this questioning and rejection from the vantage poi ...
and hedonistic tendencies: they wrote about exactly the same subjects, and in much the same way, notably sharing between them the "hanged man" metaphor, borrowed from Laforgue; but Vinea was more "crepuscular" and "
elegiac The adjective ''elegiac'' has two possible meanings. First, it can refer to something of, relating to, or involving, an elegy or something that expresses similar mournfulness or sorrow. Second, it can refer more specifically to poetry composed in ...
". One of Vinea's pieces, still evidencing "conventional poetic rhetorics", is mostly as an ode to the fishermen of
Tuzla Tuzla (, , ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inha ...
: Influences from Adrian Maniu were read by
George Călinescu George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899 – 12 March 1965) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the most important Romani ...
in a 1916 poem that depicts
King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
Ferdinand I ordering the general mobilization: As Cernat notes, Vinea only embraced Futurism because it resembled his own "simultanist" art, which nonetheless remained "controlled by artistic intelligence, far removed from the anarchic radicalism of Futurism". The same had been argued by Lovinescu Sr, who saw Vinea as an "extremist", but a "restrained" and "intellectual" one. Among the later scholars, Mircea Vaida, who personally witnessed Vinea's creative process, reports that he had a "deeply classical substratum", being intellectually closer to
Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( ; ;  – October 15, 55 BC) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem '' De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, which usually is t ...
than to modernist poets. Never adopted by the Dadaists, Vinea felt naturally affinities with the conservative side of Dada, illustrated by the "beautiful and virginal" poetry of Hugo Ball. His comparative moderation was even esteemed by traditionalists such as Const. I. Emilian, who treated many other avant-garde writers as a threat to
social hygiene The social hygiene movement was an attempt by reformers in the late 19th and early 20th century to deal with problems that were seen to have a social background, including venereal disease, tuberculosis, alcoholism and mental illness. Social h ...
. Dianu once commented that Vinea shared with the traditionalists both a love of local folklore and for the works of Reiner Maria Rilke, but that he resented their mysticism, which he found distasteful. Vinea's embrace of modernism, always censured by his classicist mind and interest in cultural synthesis, has prompted scholar Marian Victor Buciu to argue that he was in some ways an anticipatory
postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...
. As argued by Buciu, his very qualification as an "extremist" only makes sense within the specific framework of Romanian literature, which "has sacralized its traditional formats."Marian Victor Buciu, "Promptuar. Ion Vinea. Umbrele și valurile lui Proteu", '' Contemporanul'', Vol. XII, Issue 17, April 2002, p. 10 If Vinea's 1920s poetry was more evidently connected with Surrealism and
Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
, with echoes from Apollinaire and
Georges Linze Georges may refer to: Places *Georges River, New South Wales, Australia * Georges Quay (Dublin) * Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses * Georges (name) * ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas * "Georges" (song), a 1 ...
, it was always superimposed over a classical Symbolist structure; Buciu believes that the "neo-romantic fashion" took over in ''Ora fântânilor'', subduing his Expressionism, and eventually his Symbolism as well. In ''Lamento'', which sets the tone for his 1920s poetry, the setting is Symbolist: Despite their many differences in style and ideology, Vinea, Barbu and
Mateiu Caragiale Mateiu Ion Caragiale (; – 17 January 1936), also credited as Matei or Matheiu, or in the antiquated version Mateiŭ,Sorin Antohi"Romania and the Balkans. From Geocultural Bovarism to Ethnic Ontology" in ''Tr@nsit online'', Institut für die Wi ...
shared a passion for Poe, a debt of inspiration to Romania's "obscure" Balkan substratum, and various other mannerisms. In 1928, Barbu, turning to a cerebral
hermeticism Hermeticism, or Hermetism, is a philosophical and religious tradition rooted in the teachings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, a syncretism, syncretic figure combining elements of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. This system e ...
, had settled on the notion that Vinea was his inferior, one of the "lazy" and "hybrid" poets, who relied on spontaneity and whim; as noted by
Nicolae Manolescu Nicolae Manolescu (; 27 November 1939 – 23 March 2024) was a Romanian literary critic. Elected a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy in 1997, he was upgraded to titular member in 2013. Life and career Manolescu was born in Râmnicu ...
, there was "nothing hermetic" about Vinea, the "pretentious troubadour". Călinescu also described Vinea as an author of "loosened sentimentality" and a Romanian
Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...
, while
Tudor Vianu Tudor Vianu (; January 8, 1898 – May 21, 1964) was a Romanian literary criticism, literary critic, art critic, poet, philosopher, academic, and translation, translator. He had a major role on the reception and development of Modernism in Liter ...
argued that Vinea's
lyrical poetry Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. The term for both modern lyric poetry and modern song lyrics derives from a form of Ancient Greek literature, ...
was symptomatic for a new poetic consciousness, with poets as "empty vessels" for "the ineffable". Vinea was not, however, the purely impulsive modernist: evidence suggests that he dissembled
surrealist automatism Surrealist automatism is a method of art-making in which the artist suppresses conscious control over the making process, allowing the unconscious mind to have great sway. This drawing technique was popularized in the early 1920s, by Andre Masson ...
by simply rearranging consciously written poetry into unusual formats.


Main prose, fragments, and apocrypha

Researcher Alexandru Piru suggests that virtually all of Vinea's poems, including those under print at the time of his death, were entirely composed before 1944. By contrast, his work in prose was a lifetime engagement—with its many unfinished products, some of which lead back to 1914; as Carandino assesses, they are of a "fulgurating beauty". Following his own critical blueprint during his ''Contimporanul'' years, Vinea moved between conventional storytelling and modernist, often
autofiction Autofiction is, in literary criticism, a form of fictionalized autobiography. Definition In autofiction, an author may decide to recount their life in the Third-person narrative, third person, to modify significant details and characters, use in ...
al, short prose that was heavily indebted to Urmuz. Examples include, in 1922, a
parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
of ''Hamlet''; in 1923, a Futurist
prose poem Prose poetry is poetry written in prose form instead of verse form while otherwise deferring to poetic devices to make meaning. Characteristics Prose poetry is written as prose, without the line breaks associated with poetry. However, it make ...
about the coming
world revolution World revolution is the Marxist concept of overthrowing capitalism in all countries through the conscious revolutionary action of the organized working class. For theorists, these revolutions will not necessarily occur simultaneously, but whe ...
(signed as "Ivan Aniew"); and, in 1927, ''Victoria sălbatică''. According to Manolescu, ''Descântecul și Flori de lampă'' is a failed work, ranking below models such as Macedonski and Anghel, and announcing Vinea's turn to the "unbearable
kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...
". These traits he integrated in ''Paradisul suspinelor'', one of the most experimental (and possibly the earliest) avant-garde novel or novella by a Romanian—although it remains shadowed by Caragiale's '' Craii de Curtea-Veche''. He added to the mix psychoanalytical and sexual themes, with an
unreliable narrator In literature, film, and other such arts, an unreliable narrator is a narrator who cannot be trusted, one whose credibility is compromised. They can be found in a wide range from children to mature characters. While unreliable narrators are al ...
that hinted the influence of
André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French writer and author whose writings spanned a wide variety of styles and topics. He was awarded the 1947 Nobel Prize in Literature. Gide's career ranged from his begi ...
. According to Vianu, much of the novel is also an
imagist Imagism was a movement in early-20th-century poetry that favored precision of imagery and clear, sharp language. It is considered to be the first organized literary modernism, modernist literary movement in the English language. Imagism has bee ...
rearrangement of borrowings from Arghezi's prose, with echoes from Baudelaire's synaesthesia. Often compared with ''Craii...'', and possibly hinting at it, ''Lunatecii'' is, in part, a standard decadent novel which discusses degeneration theory and the "thinning" of aristocratic blood. It lacks a true
dramatic structure Story structure or narrative structure is the recognizable or comprehensible way in which a narrative's different elements are unified, including in a particularly chosen order and sometimes specifically referring to the ordering of the plot: ...
, leading Manolescu to argue that Vinea did not have "a sense of the epic": "The value estsin the slowness of its narrative, in its poetic suggestion." His storytelling techniques were criticized by commentators such as Eugen Simion and Ovid Crohmălniceanu, who assessed that the central conflict was rather simplistic. Vinea himself described the novel as " fantasy realistic" and " social realistic", but, as Zaharia-Filipaș suggests, any sort of realism was "tentative, not vocational." According to philologist Angelo Mitchievici, Vinea was "ironic" and "camp" in reusing decadent conventions from Poe,
Barbey d'Aurevilly Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly (2 November 1808 – 23 April 1889) was a French novelist, poet, short story writer, and literary critic. He specialised in mystery tales that explored hidden motivation and hinted at evil without being explicitl ...
, Huysmans and
Wilde Wilde is a surname. Notable people with the name include: In arts and entertainment In film, television, and theatre * Andrew Wilde (actor), English actor * Barbie Wilde (born 1960), Canadian actress * Brian Wilde (1927–2008), British actor * ...
, "inventing himself as a character". There are also direct and indirect echoes from Fitzgerald's novels: themes that recall '' Tender Is the Night'', and a motto from ''
The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...
''. Vinea shows up in the protagonist Lucu Silion: an effeminate
superfluous man __NOTOC__ The superfluous man (, ''líshniy chelovék'', "extra person") is an 1840s and 1850s Russian literary concept derived from the Byronic hero. It refers to a man, perhaps talented and capable, who does not fit into social norms. In most c ...
in his thirties, inactive as a lawyer and has-been as a writer, dreaming of a never-ending twilight in his luxurious mansion. He is a last male descendant of an illustrious and principled family (its story, Simion writes, is "thrilling"), but surrounds himself with misfits, and pursues three women at once: a Greek belle, a delicate Catholic, and a secretive lady who stands for "
Byzantinism Byzantinism, or Byzantism, is the political system and culture of the Byzantine Empire, and its spiritual successors the Orthodox Christian Balkan countries of Greece and Bulgaria especially, and to a lesser extent Serbia and some other Orthodo ...
tainted by the occult". The latter is Ana Ulmu, whose affair with Silion drives fiancé Arghir to a grotesque suicide. Ana also attempts to kill herself, and fails, leaving Silion to ruin himself paying for her recovery in hospital. ''Lunatecii'' reaches its climax when Silion attempts to kidnap Ana from her new husband, and ends up being shot and injured by him. Lucu experiences a rapid descent into poverty, alcoholism, and vagrancy, only commending the respect of fellow drunks. Part of the novel is Vinea's barely disguised confession to Stahl about his philandering, with recounts of sexual debauchery. Critics have dismissed such episodes as "in bad taste" and "
penny dreadful Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular Serial (literature), serial literature produced during the 19th century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typical ...
".
Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești Alexandru Bogdan-Pitești (; born Alexandru Bogdan, also known as Ion Doican, Ion Duican and Al. Dodan; June 13, 1870 – May 12, 1922) was a Romanian Symbolism (arts), Symbolist poet, essayist, and art and literary critic, who was also known as ...
is a major character here (as well as in ''Venin de mai''): as "Adam Gună", he sponsors libertine escapades and subversive literary societies, cultivating concupiscence and amoralism. ''Lunatecii'' also reveals Vinea's fascination and disgust with
Nae Ionescu Nae Ionescu (, born Nicolae C. Ionescu; – 15 March 1940) was a Romanian philosopher, logician, mathematician, professor, and journalist. Life Born in Brăila, Ionescu studied Letters at the University of Bucharest until 1912. Upon graduati ...
, the far-right journalist and philosopher. He appears as "Fane Chiriac", the man with "devilish jade eyes" and "cynical lucidity". Tzara may also have been caricatured here as the thick-skinned charlatan, "Dr. Costi Barbu"—he dispenses advice about consciously living like a boor; Alexandru Rosetti is seemingly the heroic "Filip", who offers Silion his care and protection. The unfinished ''Venin de mai'' was "edited in a controversial manner, with repetitions and reprisals".Cordoș (2017), p. 11 Although including precise episodes in the author's life, such as Nicolae Vinea's accidental death or Ion's love for Tana Qvil (appearing as "
Tanit Tanit or Tinnit (Punic language, Punic: 𐤕𐤍𐤕 ''Tīnnīt'' (JStor)) was a chief deity of Ancient Carthage; she derives from a local Berber deity and the consort of Baal Hammon. As Ammon is a local Libyan deity, so is Tannit, who represents ...
") and Solomon-Callimachi ("Dida Pabst"), its narrative, reconstructed from disparate notes, was greatly affected by editorial choices in which Vinea had no say. The result is described by Manolescu as the "failed ''
Bildungsroman In literary criticism, a bildungsroman () is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and change of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age). The term comes from the German words ('formation' or 'edu ...
''" of painter Andrei Mile, another Vinea alter-ego. Rather than aboulic, like Silion, Mile is driven by the thrill of extreme experiences, only to find himself clueless and desperate. He falls under Gună's spell at an early stage in his life, which allows Vinea to explore legends surrounding Bogdan-Pitești's interloper status. Sexual initiations occupy a central part of the narrative, and, Manolescu argues, are of no stylistic importance; overall, the book is "more somber" than ''Lunatecii'', but "lengthy and boring". Part of the plot is localized on the (fictional)
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
islet Vadul Istrului, a magical but
malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
-stricken place. The Purcaru interview shows Vinea explaining modernism as a "failed experience", the product of youth seeking "intransigent poses, terrible whims, and some of the more extravagant theories". He claimed that the only modernists to have succeeded were those who, like
Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...
and
Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky ( – 14 April 1930) was a Russian poet, playwright, artist, and actor. During his early, Russian Revolution, pre-Revolution period leading into 1917, Mayakovsky became renowned as a prominent figure of the Ru ...
, had incorporated realism and their own originality; he also regarded neomodernism as "utterly reactionary." In depicting Andrei as a Constructivist, ''Venin de mai'' settles Vinea's scores with Tzara (appearing here "under the royal name of Clovis"), by hinting that Dada poetry is simply "illegible", and with
Constantin Brâncuși Constantin Brâncuși (; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was a Romanian sculptor, painter, and photographer who made his career in France. Considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century and a pioneer of modernism ...
, depicted as the tedious sage "Gorjan" (his portrayal, Manolescu notes, "could have been better"). In addition to his signed work, Vinea authored passages of texts which survive in Dumitriu's novel, ''Family Chronicle'', and its spin-off cycle. They include a fragment about fugitive serfs on the Danube, the history of revolutionary conspiracies in 1917 Iași, and scathing memoirs about Nae Ionescu and Ion Călugăru. Vinea publicly complained that ''Lunatecii'' had to be rewritten because of these borrowings, but, according to Vartic, the claim should be treated with skepticism.


Legacy

In a 1971 piece, Romulus Dianu recorded his sadness that Vinea was no longer being read by his younger peers. A decade later, Stahl also worried that Vinea's late publication had rendered him insignificant to Romanian letters, his novels "problematizing defects and qualities that are antique, and therefore uninteresting." Contrarily,
Monica Lovinescu Monica Lovinescu (; 19 November 1923 – 20 April 2008) was a Romanian essayist, short story writer, literary critic, translator, and journalist, noted for her activities as an opponent of the Romanian Communist regime. She published severa ...
asserted that Vinea's "frozen evolution" during socialist realism had rendered him "this paradoxical service: Ion Vinea is perhaps more relevant today than ever before." He was "young, the same age as those young people who cannot but search for new ways ahead, who cannot but recall with nostalgia inea'sitinerary for poetic revolt." Unwittingly, however, Vinea's pronouncements on folk tradition and Romania's primacy in modern art were recycled during the late stages of communism by the protochronist nationalists, who used them against the West. The corpus of Vinea's works, put out by Editura Dacia in the 1970s, had important omissions and, Ungureanu notes, presented Vinea as "a star among the underground communists whom the new epoch had honored time and again." ''Țara poeților'' ("Land of Poets"), a 1971 anthology put out by Editura Albatos for the Communist Party's
golden jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali language, ...
, had a poem by Vinea—despite him being a non-communist. In 1983, writer Nicolae Țic placed Vinea among the interwar authors who had intervened "to preserve a democratic climate, in support of the common man, of the worker and the peasant". Also then, historian Mihai E. Ionescu described Vinea's contribution to ''Evenimentul Zilei'' among the acts of infiltration "by journalists of democratic and anti-fascist orientation". In the anti-communist exile, poet Ion Caraion, himself a one-time member of the Iron Guard, reminded the public that Vinea had been one of the "known adversaries of the Iron Guard whom the communist regime had sentenced for their 'fascism'". Various new editions appeared sporadically. A selection of his poems, translated into French by Dan Ion Nasta, appeared to critical acclaim in 1982. Another selected prose volume was put out by Dumitru Hîncu in 1984, as ''Săgeata și arabescul'' ("The Arrow and Arabesque"), but had to feature samples of his ''Glasul Patriei'' propaganda. The same year, Zaharia-Filipaș also began issuing a new edition of Vinea's complete writings, supervised by Zigu Ornea at
Editura Minerva Editura Minerva is one of the largest publishing houses in Romania. Located in Bucharest, it is known, among other things, for publishing classic Romanian literature, children's books, and scientific books. The company was founded in Bucharest in ...
. Widow Elena Vinea inherited her husband's collection of manuscripts. Before her death in September 1989, she helped to publish the lesser known Tzara pieces from the Gârceni era. Her daughter Voica used the surname "Iovanache-Vinea" until November 1980, when she simplified it to "Vinea". She pursued a career in
film editing Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film stock, film which increasingly involves the use Digital cinema, of digital ...
, winning the a prize at the ''Cupa de cristal'' gala in 1987. After the successful anti-communist revolt of December 1989, Vinea's work returned to fuller recognition—a new poetry selection appeared in 1995 as ''Moartea de cristal'' ("Crystal Death"). In a July 1990 retrospective, journalist Bedros Horasangian listed Vinea among the "great masters of the trade"—alongside Brunea-Fox, Cocea, Mircea Grigorescu, George Ivașcu, and Tudor Teodorescu-Braniște. At an exhibit in December 1992, Neosymbolist Monica Gorovei showed her painting based on, and named after, Vinea's ''Ora fântânilor''. Following the change of regimes, Giurgiu's house of culture was renamed after Ion Vinea. By 2021, items on permanent display there included a bust of the poet (recast from an interwar piece by Milița Petrașcu), and a memorabilia room.Tatu, pp. 78–80 A reissue of his complete works was being put out by Zaharia-Filipaș, at her own expense, at the George Călinescu Institute and, later, the Museum of Romanian Literature. Its eleventh volume, appearing in 2019, covered the full scope of his Antonescu-era works. Writers Nicolae Tzone and Ion Lazu founded an eponymous publishing house and also took his works, putting up a memorial plaque on Braziliei Street; these projects earned endorsement from Voica, who inherited the Braziliei Street home. Vinea's work and biography remain somewhat unfamiliar to the public, including his native city. Though one of his poems was used in the Romanian Baccalaureate examination of 2017, a majority of news outlets reporting on this wrongly credited him as "Ion Voinea". Fictionalized elements of Vinea's life appeared not just in his own prose, but also in that of his peers. Tzara's unfinished novel ''Faites vos jeux'', partly published in 1923–1924, has a thinly disguised portrayal of his friend, as "T. B."—a young man Tzara describes as "older than the rest, brighter, prettier, wittier, nowinghow to steer the tight leash of public attention into a solid, indisputable, esteem."Cordoș (2016), p. 129 In 1927, Vinea was a possible inspiration for "Șcheianu", the drug-addicted protagonist of
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 ...
's ''Întunecare'' ("Darkening"); he may also be the Romanian intellectual briefly mentioned in ''Tender Is the Night''. Vinea is an easily recognizable presence in ''Family Chronicle''—the part of it that was certainly authored by Dumitriu. Vinea appeared as several characters in Henriette Stahl's novels, beginning with a vengeful depiction, as "Camil Tomescu", in the 1965 ''Fratele meu, omul'' ("My Brother Man"). This was also the first of several portrayals in works by Vinea's wives and lovers. Publishing her only volume of poetry in 1968, Tana Qvil opened it with an intertextual reference to her former husband; two years later, Cutava published her autobiographical novel ''Strada Vânătorilor'' ("Hunters' Street"), with its "very transparent" allusions to Vinea.


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vinea, Ion 1895 births 1964 deaths Contimporanul writers Literary theorists Symbolist poets Symbolist novelists Decadent literature Expressionist poets Futurist writers Romanian surrealist writers Psychological fiction writers Magic realism writers Socialist realism writers Romanian male poets 20th-century Romanian essayists Romanian art critics Romanian literary critics 20th-century Romanian poets Romanian fantasy writers Romanian novelists Romanian historical novelists Romanian male short story writers Romanian short story writers 20th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights Romanian humorists Romanian satirists Romanian erotica writers 20th-century Romanian memoirists 20th-century Romanian diarists 20th-century Romanian translators Translators of William Shakespeare Translators of Edgar Allan Poe English–Romanian translators French–Romanian translators Latin–Romanian translators Russian–Romanian translators Translators from Swedish Translators from Icelandic Romanian writers in French Romanian activist journalists Romanian newspaper editors Romanian magazine founders Romanian magazine editors Adevărul editors Adevărul columnists Gândirea Romanian propagandists Ghostwriters People from Giurgiu Romanian nobility Romanian people of Greek descent Romanian people of French descent Saint Sava National College alumni Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni Romanian socialists Republicanism in the Kingdom of Romania Romanian human rights activists Romanian anti–World War I activists Romanian military personnel of World War I Romanian World War I poets National Peasants' Party politicians Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Romanian trade union leaders Anti-Stalinist left Romanian anti-communists Romanian military personnel of World War II Romanian Naval Forces personnel Romanian war correspondents of World War II People who rescued Jews during the Holocaust Censorship in Romania Romanian art collectors Plasterers Romanian prisoners and detainees People detained by the Securitate Romanian torture victims Socialist Republic of Romania rehabilitations Deaths from liver cancer Deaths from cancer in Romania