Matilda Cugler-Poni (April 2, 1851 – September 9, 1931) 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. Born 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 ...

, her parents were Carol von Cugler, an architect of Austrian origin, and his wife Matilda (''née'' Hefner), of Czech origin. She had a careful education under the guidance of private tutors; this included extensive readings in French, German, Italian, Spanish and Romanian literature. She was the first woman who was actively involved in a literary circle in Romania, the prestigious ''

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

''.Sanda Golopenția, "Sofia Cocea", in Katharina M. Wilson (ed.), ''An Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers'', Vol. 1, p. 283. Taylor & Francis, 1991, Her first published work was the poem "Unei tinere fete" ("To a Young Girl"), which appeared in 1867 in ''

Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' () is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania. History and profile ''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by Titu Maiorescu in 1867. The ma ...

'', ''Junimeas journal, which went on to run her verses until 1893. She also submitted writings for '' Familia'', ''Columna lui Traian'', ''Albina'', ''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. ...

''. Cugler-Poni belonged to the first group of ''convorbirist'' poets, who authored sentimental verses. A representative work was the 1874 book ''Poezii''. Together with

Veronica Micle Veronica Micle (born Ana Câmpeanu; 22 April 1850 – 3 August 1889) was an Austrian Empire-born Romanian poet, whose work was influenced by Romanticism. She is best known for her love affair with the poet Mihai Eminescu, one of the most import ...

, she was a modest precursor of feminine lyricism. Romantic in the fashion of

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

and

Nikolaus Lenau Nikolaus Lenau was the pen name of Nikolaus Franz Niembsch Edler von Strehlenau (13 August 1802 – 22 August 1850), a German-language Austrian poet. Biography He was born at Csatád (Schadat), Kingdom of Hungary, now Lenauheim, Banat, then p ...

, her poems speak of longing, abandonment and betrayal. She also authored naturalist short stories that dealt with suburban tramps, craftsmen or small merchants from a moralist viewpoint. In 1881, she published a two-act comedy, ''Un tutor''. Her first husband was the philologist Vasile Burlă; she later married chemist

Petru Poni Petru Poni (4 January 1841 – 2 April 1925) was a Romanian chemist and mineralogist. Born into a family of ''răzeși'' (free peasants) in Săcărești, Iași County, he attended primary school in Târgu Frumos. In 1852, he enrolled in '' Acade ...

.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 433. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cugler-Poni, Matilda 1851 births 1931 deaths Writers from Iași Romanian people of Austrian descent Romanian people of Czech descent 19th-century Romanian poets Romanian women short story writers Romanian short story writers Romanian dramatists and playwrights Romanian women dramatists and playwrights Junimists Romanian women poets 19th-century women writers People from the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia