Mihail Crama (born Eugen Enăchescu Pasad; January 1, 1923 – April 17, 1994) 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 and prose writer. Born in

Cetatea Albă Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi (, ; ; ), historically known as Aq Kirmān () or by other names, is a port city in Odesa Oblast, southwestern Ukraine. It is situated on the right bank of the Dniester Estuary leading to the Black Sea, in the historical r ...

, his parents were Mihail Enăchescu, a military physician, and his wife Maria (''née'' Pasad), a nurse. He attended the military high school 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 ...

and Nicolae Bălcescu High School in

Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The Sud-Est (development region), ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2021 Romanian ...

, graduating in 1941. His first poems and articles appeared in 1939 in the local newspapers ''Ancheta'', ''Cuvântul'', ''Facla'' and ''Expresul''. Initially enrolling in a school for

Gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...

officers, he abandoned this in favor 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 ...

's law faculty, from which he obtained a degree in 1945. Subsequently, he worked as a legal adviser at the

Justice Ministry A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and as head of the civil section within the Supreme Tribunal. Crama's contributions appeared in ''Vremea'', ''Claviaturi'', ''Adonis'', ''Prepoem'', ''

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

'' and ''Caiet de poezie''. He read poetry in the ''

Sburătorul ''Sburătorul'' was a Romanian modernist literary magazine and literary society, established in Bucharest in April 1919. Led by Eugen Lovinescu, the circle was instrumental in developing new trends and styles in Romanian literature, ranging f ...

'' circle and joined the group of writers affiliated with '' Kalende'' magazine. His first book was the 1947 ''Decor penitent'', which earned the Carol I Academic Foundation Prize. After two decades of silence, self-imposed in order to avoid compromises with the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

, Gabriel Dimisianu
"Un roman de Mihail Crama"
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 ...

'', nr. 38/2010 he returned with the short volumes of verse ''Dincolo de cuvinte'' (1967), ''Determinări'' (1970), ''Codice'' (1974) and ''Ianuarii'' (1976). Together with his debut volume and the set of unpublished poems ''Decor penitent II'', all were issued in 1979 as ''Împărăția de seară'', which earned the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) 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 bylaws, the academy's ma ...

's Eminescu Prize. His 1986 ''Singurătatea din urmă'', apparently autobiographical, was philosophical in scope. ''Trecerea'' (1981) and ''Dogma'' (1984; Bucharest Writers' Society Prize) were two late poetry volumes.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 410. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. ''Călător spre porțile asfințitului'', a novel written from 1988 to 1991 and published posthumously in 2006, takes up the autobiographical theme. The protagonist, now mature, works in the legal profession, both on the

Bărăgan Plain The Bărăgan Plain ( ) is a steppe plain in south-eastern Romania. It makes up much of the eastern part of the Wallachian Plain. The region is known for its black soil and a rich humus, and is mostly a cereal-growing area. It is bounded on the s ...

and in a city readily apparent as Brăila.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crama, Mihail 1923 births 1994 deaths People from Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi University of Bucharest alumni 20th-century Romanian poets 20th-century Romanian novelists Romanian civil servants Romanian jurists Romanian male poets Romanian male novelists