Ion Vitner (August 19, 1914–April 12, 1991) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

n literary critic and historian. Born into a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

, his parents were Leon Vitner, a clerk, and his wife Gisela (''née'' Zoller). He attended Poenărescu primary school in his native city from 1921 to 1925, followed by its Titu Maiorescu High School from 1925 to 1932 and the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princ ...

's medical faculty between 1933 and 1939. He obtained a doctorate in medicine in 1940, and one in philology from the same institution in 1971. His work was first published in 1931 in ''

unu ''unu'' (Romanian for "one"; lower case used on purpose) was the name of an avant-garde art and literary magazine, published in Romania from April 1928 to December 1932. Edited by writers Sașa Pană and Moldov, it was dedicated to Dada and Sur ...

''. From 1933 to 1935, he took part in the Marxist study circle affiliated with ''

Cuvântul Liber ''Cuvântul'' (, meaning "The Word") was a daily newspaper, published by philosopher Nae Ionescu in Bucharest, Romania, from 1926 to 1934, and again in 1938. It was primarily noted for progressively adopting a far right and fascist agenda, and ...

'' magazine, to which he submitted work under the name Ion Vântu. Due to his leftist political activities, he was placed under house arrest in 1940; in 1942, he was deported to

Transnistria Governorate The Transnistria Governorate ( ro, Guvernământul Transnistriei) was a Romanian-administered territory between the Dniester and Southern Bug, conquered by the Axis Powers from the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa and occupied from 19 Au ...

. Between 1944 and 1946, he was an editor at the

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that wou ...

daily ''

Scînteia ''Scînteia'' (Romanian for "The Spark") was the name of two newspapers edited by Communist groups at different intervals in Romanian history. The title is a homage to the Russian language paper ''Iskra''. It was known as ''Scânteia'' until t ...

'', and helped edit ''Orizont'' magazine between 1944 and 1947. He was assistant editor-in-chief, followed by editor-in-chief, at ''

Contemporanul ''Contemporanul'' (The Contemporary) is a Romanian literary magazine published in Iaşi, Romania from 1881 to 1891. It was sponsored by the socialist circle of the city. A new magazine ''Contimporanul ''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of ...

'' between 1946 and 1949, and editor-in-chief at ''

Flacăra ''Flacăra'' ( Romanian for "The Flame") is a weekly literary magazine published in Bucharest, Romania. History and profile ''Flacăra'' was started in 1911. The first issue was published on 22 October 1911. The founder was Constantin Banu an ...

'' from 1949 to 1950, early in the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Com ...

. He also submitted work to ''Gazeta literară'', ''Tribuna'' and ''

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. ...

''. Between 1948 and 1960, he was in the leadership committee of the

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

. From 1949 and 1970, he was a professor at Bucharest's Romanian language and literature faculty, where he took the post previously held by

George Călinescu George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899, Bucharest – 12 March 1965, Otopeni) 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 m ...

. His books include volumes of essays (''Pasiunea lui Pavel Corceaghin'', 1949; ''Critica criticii'', 1950; ''Firul Ariadnei'', 1957; ''Meridiane literare'', 1960; ''Prozatori contemporani'', vol. I-II, 1961–1962; ''Formarea conceptului de literatură socialistă'', 1966; ''Albert Camus sau tragicul exilului'', 1968; ''Semnele romanului'', 1971; ''Al. Ivasiuc – în fruntarea contrariilor'', 1980) as well as travel accounts (''Reverii pe malurile Senei'', 1978; ''Popas lângă Notre-Dame'', 1981). He was awarded the State Prize in 1949 and 1955 and the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its by ...

Prize in 1954.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 818. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vitner, Ion 1914 births 1991 deaths Jewish Romanian writers University of Bucharest alumni Academic staff of the University of Bucharest Romanian magazine editors Romanian newspaper editors Romanian literary critics Romanian literary historians Romanian essayists Romanian travel writers Romanian communists Survivors of World War II deportations to Transnistria 20th-century essayists