Mihail Sevastos (born Ionel Mihai Sevastos; August 1892 – September 24, 1967) 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, prose writer, memoirist and translator. Born in

Botoșani Botoșani () is the capital city of Botoșani County, in the northern part of Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga and Grigore Antipa. Origin of the ...

, his parents were the poet Artur Stavri, whose name does not appear on his son's birth or death certificates, and the folklorist Elena Didia Odorica Sevastos. He attended primary 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 ...

from 1898 to 1902. Between 1902 and 1910, he studied at the city's Costache Negruzzi Boarding High School, passing through the lower and then upper divisions, classical section. Sevastos then enrolled in the law faculty of

Iași University 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 ...

. In 1911, he was hired as a proofreader at ''

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. ...

'', later advancing to editing secretary. Sevastos' first published poem was "Cântecul ciobănașului Nacu" (1908). His first volume of poetry, ''Rime sprintene'' (1920), was followed much later by ''Cronici rimate'' (1963) and ''Versuri'' (1967). He edited ''Adevărul literar și artistic'' between 1925 and 1939. He published two magazines: ''Teatrul'' from 1912 to 1913, together with

George Topîrceanu George Topîrceanu (; March 20, 1886 – May 7, 1937) was a Romanian poet, short story writer, and humourist. Biography He was born in Bucharest, the son of Ion Topîrceanu, a furrier and his wife, Paraschiva (née Cosma), a carpet weaver. The f ...

; and ''Torța'' in 1945. He was editor-in-chief of ''Lumea-Bazar'' magazine. Sevastos' contributions appeared in ''Cuvântul liber'', '' Convorbiri Critice'', ''

Facla ''Facla'' ("The Torch") was a Romanian political and literary magazine. ''Facla'' was published weekly in Bucharest between 13 March 1910 and 15 June 1913, daily from 5 October 1913 to 5 March 1914, weekly from 1 January to 7 August 1916 and daily ...

'', Mișcarea, ''Rampa'', ''Lumea'', ''Lumea literară și artistică'', ''Cronica'', ''

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 ...

'', ''Dreptatea'', ''

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 and t ...

'', ''Însemnări literate'', '' Dimineața'', ''Seara'' and ''Opinia''. Pen names he used include Cronicar, Proletar, Rinaldo, Reinaldo, Yacassa and M. Sever. Among the authors he translated are

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 ...

Alexander Serafimovich Alexander Serafimovich (born Alexander Serafimovich Popov; ; O.S. January 7 ( N.S. January 19), 1863 – January 19, 1949) was a Russian and Soviet writer and a member of the Moscow literary group Sreda. Biography He was born in a Cossack v ...

Mikhail Sholokhov Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov ( rus, Михаил Александрович Шолохов, p=ˈʂoləxəf; – 21 February 1984) was a Russian novelist and winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is known for writing about life ...

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev ( ; rus, links=no, Иван Сергеевич ТургеневIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; – ) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poe ...

and

Gleb Uspensky Gleb Ivanovich Uspensky (; October 25, 1843 April 6, 1902) was a Russian writer and a prominent figure of the Narodnik movement. Biography Early life Gleb Uspensky was born in Tula, Russia, Tula, the son of Ivan Yakovlevich Uspensky, a senior o ...

. His novels were ''Aventurile din strada Grădinilor'' (1934) and ''Camioneta verde'' (1938), along with ''Documente omenești'', which appeared posthumously in 1970. Sevastos' prose is that of an industrious journalist, sensitized to human tragicomedy, a "collector of human documents" incapable of cultivating a pure epic. An "objective and impartial" witness, he remains the memoirist of the prestigious ''Viața Românească'' group. His recollections were published in 1956 as ''Amintiri de la „Viața Românească”'', reworked in a second edition of 1966.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 557. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

Footnote

The standard date given is August 2, but August 6 and 8 have also been proposed. The birth certificate reads, "the date is not known".

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sevastos, Mihail 1892 births 1967 deaths People from Botoșani Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni Romanian novelists Romanian poets Romanian magazine editors 20th-century Romanian translators 20th-century Romanian memoirists