Mircea Damian (pen name of Constantin Mătușa; March 14, 1899–June 16, 1948) 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 prose writer and journalist.

Biography

Born in Izvoru,

Olt County Olt County () is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (the regions are separated by the Olt River, Olt river). The capital city is Slatina, Roma ...

, he attended primary school in his native village, followed by high school in Slatina. He led a disorganized and nomadic life, living from one day to another while wandering from city to city (

Bistrița (; , archaic , Transylvanian Saxon: , ) is the capital city of Bistrița-Năsăud County, in northern Transylvania, Romania. It is situated on the Bistrița River. The city has a population of 78,877 inhabitants as of 2021 and administers s ...

, Dej,

Bacău Bacău ( ; , ; ; ) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. With a population of 136,087 (as of 2021 census), Bacău is the 14th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the ...

Galați Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...

Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...

) and founding or working on various obscure publications. He finally settled in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, where he worked as an editor on several publications and founded and led one of his own, the magazine ''Vitrina literară'' (1929–1934). He solidified a reputation as an apt polemicist. He also delved into literature, as an author of humorous stories. He was well-received 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 ...

'' literary circle, although in ''Istoria literaturii române contemporane'', its leader

Eugen Lovinescu Eugen Lovinescu (; 31 October 1881 – 16 July 1943) was a Romanian modernist literary historian, literary critic, academic, and novelist, who in 1919 established the ''Sburătorul'' literary club. He was the father of Monica Lovinescu, and the ...

gave a much more modest opinion of Damian's merits. His first book was the 1929 ''Eu sau frate- meu?!...'', a collection of humorous sketches. Two others appeared in the same genre (''Două și-un cățel'', 1933; ''Bolșevicul'', 1936); the latter was retrospective in nature. Other books fit into the genre of literary reportage: ''Celula nr. 13'' (1932), ''București'' (1935) and ''Rogojina'' (1945). His novels generally were of the journal or confessional variety: ''De-a curmezișul'' (1935) and ''Gheorghe I. Marin'' (1937). Only the 1936 novel ''Om'' had literary pretensions; this love story rings rather false, particularly in its poetic and lyrical passages. Toward the end of his life, he returned to journalism, heading the newspapers ''București'' (1941) and ''Fapta'' (1945–1947). In May 1941, Nichifor Crainic, Minister of National Propaganda in the

Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and Mareșal (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''Conduc� ...

regime, suspended ''București'', citing its pro-democracy outlook. Damian sent a protest telegram that Crainic, due to its references to his personal life, found violent and offensive. Referred to military prosecutors, the journalist was sentenced to a year's imprisonment for offending the public authorities, and carried out his sentence in full. He later wrote ''Rogojina'', which deals with his incarceration at

Văcărești Prison Văcărești Prison was a prison located in Bucharest, Romania. The prison, situated in the southern part of the city, was established in 1865 within the former , where defendants found guilty of press offenses had been held since 1861. It was a ...

. In 1933, he was awarded the Romanian Writers' Society prize.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 443–44. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. He died of throat cancer.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Damian, Mircea 1899 births 1948 deaths People from Olt County Romanian humorists Romanian novelists Romanian magazine founders Romanian magazine editors Romanian newspaper editors Inmates of Văcărești Prison Prisoners and detainees of Romania Deaths from laryngeal cancer Deaths from cancer in Romania