Iulian Vesper (pen name of Teodor C. Grosu; November 22, 1908–February 11, 1986) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

-born

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 and prose writer. Born in Horodnic de Sus,

Suceava County Suceava County () is a county (') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper. The county seat and the ...

, in the

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 ...

region, his parents were Constantin Grosu, a farmer and church singer, and his wife Teodosia (''née'' Prelipcean). After attending primary school in his native village, he went to the classical section of Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi High School in

Rădăuți Rădăuți (; ; ; ; , ''Radivtsi''; ''Radevits''; ) is a town in Suceava County, north-eastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. According to the 2021 census, Rădăuți is the second largest urban settlement in the ...

, graduating in 1927. The same year, he enrolled in the literature faculty of Cernăuți University, but transferred to the literature and philosophy faculty of the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

, graduating in 1933. He was editor-in-chief of ''Glasul Bucovinei'' newspaper in 1933–1934, then editor until 1937. He worked as cabinet head at the Labor and Social Protection Ministry (1934-1942); translator, editor and press secretary at the Press Directorate (1944-1949); editor at

Agerpres ''Agerpres'' (stylised in all caps; ) is the national news agency of Romania. History ''Agerpres'' is the oldest Romanian news agency and the first autonomous agency in Romania. It was established in March 1889 at the initiative of Foreign ...

(1949-1950); and proofreader at the State Publishing House for Literature and Art (1951-1956). Vesper's published debut took the form of poems that appeared in his high school magazine in 1924. His early poetry situated him within the ''Iconar'' group of Bukovina poets, who advocated metaphysical verses in an avant-garde style. His work appeared in Mircea Streinul's 1938 anthology ''Poeți tineri bucovineni''. He published volumes of poetry (''Echinox în odăjdii'', 1933; ''Constelații'', 1935; ''Poeme de Nord'', 1937; ''Izvoare'', 1942; ''Poezii'', 1968; ''Ascultând nopțile'', 1972; ''Al treilea orizont'', 1979), historical fiction (''Viața lui Mihai Viteazul'', 1939; ''Chipuri domnești'', 1944) and novels (''Primăvara în țara fagilor'', 1938; ''Glasul'', 1957). His translations included Russian tales,

Vasily Belov Vasily Ivanovich Belov (; 23 October 1932 – 4 December 2012) was a Soviet and Russian writer, poet and dramatist, who published more than sixty books which sold (as of 1998) seven million copies. A prominent member of the influential 1970s–198 ...

, the ''

Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' () is a 19th-century compilation of epic poetry, compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling a story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and retaliatory ...

'' and

Louis Hémon Louis Hémon (12 October 1880 – 8 July 1913), was a French writer, best known for his novel '' Maria Chapdelaine''. Biography Louis Hémon was born in Brest, France. In Paris, where he resided with his family, he was enrolled in the Mont ...

. Aside from his hermetic poems and those which display a somewhat affected messianism, Vesper's poetry, innately romantic, is undoubtedly valuable. It reflects an authentic experience of awe in the face of death and its projection into a fabulous realm.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 804. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vesper, Iulian 1908 births 1986 deaths People from Suceava County University of Bucharest alumni 20th-century Romanian poets Romanian novelists Romanian translators Romanian newspaper editors 20th-century Romanian civil servants Romanian male poets 20th-century Romanian male writers 20th-century translators Chernivtsi University alumni Burials at Bellu Cemetery Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi National College alumni