Radu D. Rosetti

Radu D. Rosetti or Rossetti (December 13Constantin Ciopraga, ''Literatura română între 1900 și 1918'', pp. 296–297. Iași: Editura Junimea, 1970 or December 18,Șerban Cioculescu, "Amintiri. Radu D. Rosetti", in ''România Literară'', Issue 39/1982, p. 7 1874 – ''circa'' November 1964) was a Romanian poet, playwright, and short story writer, also distinguished as an attorney and activist. The son of playwright-aristocrat Dimitrie Rosetti-Max and nephew of Titu Maiorescu, he had a troubled and rebellious youth, split between Romania and Austria-Hungary; during these debut years, he kept company with senior literary figures such as Ion Luca Caragiale and Alexandru Vlahuță. Graduating from the University of Bucharest at age 26, he was already a successful poet of neoromantic sensibilities, a published translator of plays and novels, and also famous for his unhappy marriage to the literary critic Elena Bacaloglu. Rosetti then switched to writing social-themed plays and stories of his professional life, earning a high profile as a defender of left-wing causes and impoverished clients. He traveled extensively and to exotic locations, publishing a number of volumes detailing his experiences.

From ca. 1913, Rosetti was also the public face of cremation activism, engaged in public polemics with the Romanian Orthodox Church. Although an artillery officer stationed in Chitila, Rosetti was mostly active during World War I as a patriotic orator and propagandist, later returning to his work at the Ilfov County bar association. During the interwar, he maintained contact with both the socialists and the "cremationists", while also experimenting as a Romanian Radio lecturer—but grew more conservative and passéist, attacking modernist literature on several occasions. This attitude consolidated his success as the author of memoirs, though he was rejected by both extremes of the political spectrum for his cherishing of a destitute social system. Largely forgotten during the early stages of Romanian communism, he withdrew to a garret. He was recovered in his late eighties by authors who were curious about his meetings with Romania's literary greats, as well as by humorists who rediscovered his cultivation of the epigram. Rosetti died in his garret, shortly after returning to publishing.

Biography

Early years

The future poet was born in Bucharest to Eftalia (or Natalia) Gheorghiu and Dimitrie Rosetti-Max;Drăgulănescu, p. 690 his father belonged to a once-major boyar clan, the Rosettis. His grandfather was a Wallachian statesman, ''Aga'' Radu Rosetti, who headed the National Theater Bucharest under Prince Gheorghe Bibescu. In 1847, he was Prefect of Gorj County, noted for establishing obligatory medical examinations for the local prostitutes. Radu Sr was also Prefect of Bucharest police during the reign of Barbu Dimitrie Știrbei, who kept him as a ''Paharnic'', but ultimately sacked in 1855 for his alleged mistreatment of foreigners. In 1864, with Pantazi Ghica and N. T. Orășanu, he was publishing a satirical newspaper, ''Nichipercea''.

The ''Paharnic''s son Rosetti-Max was the author of light comedies that appeared in ''Convorbiri Literare'', dubbed the "father of Romania's theatrical revue"."Ultima oră. Moartea lui D. R. Rosetti-Max", in ''Dreptatea'', October 13, 1934, p. 4 He was also National Theater chairman, replacing the playwright Ion Luca Caragiale for a time. "Max" was a collaborator of poet-satirist Iacob Negruzzi, who married his sister Maria; another one of Radu's paternal aunts, Ana, was the second wife of culture critic Titu Maiorescu. Radu D. Rosetti, who described himself as Maiorescu's nephew "by marriage",Nichifor Crainic, "Cronica măruntă. O rectificare", in ''Gândirea'', Issue 1/1943, pp. 55–56 was born to Dimitrie and Natalia when the couple was unmarried; however, they did marry during the child's infancy. The couple divorced some time after, and, as literary historian George Călinescu suggests, this event imposed a "rough life" on Radu, explaining why he, an aristocrat, maintained "quasi-proletarian" customs and sympathies.Călinescu, p. 593 Rosetti-Max died in France in October 1934, the result of a car accident.

As noted by Rosetti Jr in a 1942 article, "I never made a fuss about my boyar's rank." He proudly listed himself as a "democrat" like C. A. Rosetti, founder of the left-liberal movement and "some kind of a cousin to my grandpapa". The same was noted by his younger friend Victor Eftimiu: "A boy of select birth, osettidid not linger in that scornful Olympus of his caste, but rather gave himself, spent himself, a troubadour and proletarian, wherever he found impetus, suffering, elation." The poet confessed that the only exception he ever made to his personal standards of "earning my few distinctions with the sweat of my brow" was when he visited a rich relative, Nicolae de Rosetti, and humored his genealogical pride in exchange for gifts of cash. Unusually, Rosetti was a contemporary of his homonymous relatives, social historian Radu Rosetti (1856–1926) and General Radu R. Rosetti (1877–1949). As early as 1914, he was making efforts to distinguish himself from the former. Since Rosetti the soldier was also engaged in writing, Radu D. joked to his readers: "If you liked my little work, know that I'm me .. Radu D. Rosetti. If not, then I wasn't me, ..but my homonym, General Radu Rosetti. Phone him at his house and call him names." Simona Vasilache
"Alintări"
in ''România Literară'', Issue 26/2007 Repeatedly confused with the general by reviewers such as George Panu, he adopted the initial "D." (signaling his patronymic) as a distinguishing mark.

Rosetti's first contacts with literary life include his attending, in 1889, the funeral of Romania's national poet, Mihai Eminescu. In later life, he validated the claim that Eminescu had been murdered by a fellow inmate, suggesting gross negligence by his attending physician, Alexandru A. Suțu; Rosetti noted seeing a fresh wound on Eminescu's body. Initially raised by his maternal grandmother, he was then sent to various schools, and in 1890 was studying at Andrei Șaguna High School in Brașov, then under Austro-Hungarian rule.Tudor Opriș, ''Istoria debutului literar al scriitorilor români în timpul școlii (1820–2000)'', p. 18. Bucharest: Aramis Print, 2002. Călinescu, p. 593; Drăgulănescu, p. 690 He was passionate about the city, where he also learned to speak Hungarian "by necessity". It was here that he met poet Ștefan Octavian Iosif, together with whom he put out the hectographed magazine ''Păcăleandru''. Rosetti's first published poem, appeared in ''Duminica'' jounral in 1890, and was inspired by his grandmother's death. He recalled that his first-ever volume of poetry also came out that year—but noted that there was no merit to this contribution, rating it a "grave mistake".

Stubborn and rebelling against the prison-like conditions in boarding schools, Rosetti was then placed under private tutors, but did not manage to complete his studies. Reputedly, it was during these years that he first met Caragiale, who (despite being formally uneducated) worked as a teacher of Romanian history at one of the schools attended by young Rosetti. As Rosetti recalls, his unorthodox mentor would encourage his students not to snitch on each other, and, on one occasion, took them out of class so that they could listen to a song thrush. Philologist Sebastian Drăgulănescu believes that Caragialesque mannerisms found their way into Rosetti's prose, which preserved a form of "detached irony".Drăgulănescu, p. 691 He was saluted by Caragiale as Romania's second-greatest writer, after Caragiale himself. Later, Rosetti found out that this was a prank: Caragiale would pay that same compliment to other writers in his circle.

Rise to fame

Leaving Matei Basarab High School, Rosetti worked for a while as a proofreader at ''Adevărul'' daily. With no other means to support himself, he drifted into homelessness, and had to sleep in the editorial offices, on public benches in Cișmigiu Gardens, or in the waiting room at Gara de Nord.Cristobald, p. 6 His verse appeared in '' Vieața'' with the support of Alexandru Vlahuță, through whom he came to know Nicolae Grigorescu and Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea, while also maintaining contacts with Caragiale. The latter also published his poetry in the review '' Vatra'', which allowed Rosetti to preserve links with other Romanian magazines published in Austria-Hungary. Constantin Mille, his ''Adevărul'' employer, wrote the preface to his second short volume of verse, ''Foi de toamnă'' ("Autumn Leafs", 1892). His lifelong poetic work, described by Călinescu as "provincial and rustic" neoromanticism, comprised a large number of epigrams, madrigals and romanzas; some of the work showed the influence of Traian Demetrescu, and, through him, that of Heinrich Heine.Eftimiu, p. 224 Drăgulănescu proposes that "''Foi de toamnă'' outlines the dominant aspects in both Rosetti's poetry and prose: talkative, prone to improvisation, with a taste for dramatic art, the poet constructs miniature dialogues, puts anecdotes in verse, either in tones of folklore or in the grave and pensive tone of ..Miron Costin."

In 1894, Rosetti also debuted as an epigrammatist in ''Graiul'' magazine, which was edited by Ilarie Chendi. A volume of such works came out that year, as ''Epigrame'', and other volumes of verse followed in quick succession: ''Din inimă'' ("From the Heart", 1895), ''Sincere'' ("Sincere Ones", 1896), ''Duioase'' ("Soothing Ones", 1897).Călinescu, p. 1008; Drăgulănescu, p. 690 In his review of ''Sincere'', Alexandru Antemireanu noted that Rosetti's "sweet melancholy" was highly popular with the public: "they love him as one loves a gentle child, a child who never hurts anyone".Zarathustra, "Cronică literară. ''Sincere''. Poesiĭ de R. D. Rosetti", in ''Epoca'', September 24, 1896, pp. 1–2 This gentleness was nevertheless interrupted by samples of social realism, including a translation from Jean Richepin. According to Antemireanu, this was a "stupid" selection, "glorifying barbarity and profanity". For a while, with Ludovic Dauș, Rosetti put out the literary magazine ''Doina''—named after the folk singing style. To 1898, Rosetti was one of the regulars at literary gatherings in Fialcovsky Coffeehouse (also attended by his father), where he met Alexandru Macedonski, Mircea Demetriade, and actor Ion Livescu. The latter recalled that Rosetti was "as gentle and soft as his poetry, as thin and as supple as a reed, with long blond hair and dreamy eyes". Macedonski also co-opted him to write for '' Literatorul''. At that stage, Rosetti was involved in the project to erect a statue of Demetrescu at Craiova, arguing that this had been Demetrescu's explicit wish.

While not affiliated with the Symbolist movement, Rosetti had some ideological links with various of its exponents. In 1913, critic Gheorghe Savul included him in the overlapping "decadent movement", alongside Symbolists Ștefan Petică and Iuliu Cezar Săvescu. All three were also followers of a "disillusioned socialism", left isolated following the collapse of the Workers' Party; but were also attached to Romanian nationalism, and inspired by Eminescu. Stylistically, Rosetti was an early and episodic influence on young Symbolists such as Eftimiu and Ion Minulescu. This did not refer just to his poetic standard, but also to his lifestyle: as Eftimiu recalls, they were envious of his physical beauty and sentimental adventures. Although Eftimiu believes that Rosetti was wholly indifferent to Baudelaire and Verlaine, he in fact revered the latter. In 1935 he recalled that he chanced upon aging and "stiff drunk" Verlaine while walking around Paris: "It seemed to me that even his inebriation was something grand and beautiful".

Rosetti took his first diploma from the Bucharest Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, in 1895. In order to also enter the University of Bucharest, he obtained a high school degree from Brussels. He married a first time, to the novelist and literary critic Elena Bacaloglu, with whom he had a daughter."Diverse. Din Capitală. Drama din strada Lucacĭ", in ''Epoca'', June 18, 1898, p. 2 Nicolae Scurtu
"Note despre prozatoarea Elena Bacaloglu"
in ''România Literară'', Issue 22/2015 They were engaged on December 19, 1896, and had their religious wedding in January of the next year; politician Nicolae Filipescu was their godfather. However, within the year, dissatisfied with his material condition, he had moved out of the family home and sued for divorce. The despaired Bacaloglu shot herself, but survived. The event shocked Rosetti, but was recalled with some enthusiasm by Eftimiu, who noted that Rosetti had "avenged the tribe", showing that poets could be the seducers, not just the seduced. Rosetti and Bacaloglu were divorced by 1899, with Elena marrying the literary theorist Ovid Densusianu in 1902. She kept most of Rosetti's personal belongings, and allegedly sold his collection of books.

In 1900, Rosetti ultimately graduated from the Bucharest law faculty with a thesis on press infractions in Romanian law. He performed service in the Romanian Land Forces, reaching the rank of Lieutenant in an artillery regiment stationed at Chitila fort.Radu D. Rosetti, "Amintiri (Mareșal Al. Averescu)", in ''Cele Trei Crișuri'', Issues 9–10/1938, p. 165 After working in minor positions for the tribunals of Brăila and Constanța, by 1903 he had been advanced to prosecutor for the Prahova County court. Living in Ploiești, he married and divorced a Marioara Naumescu. This period also saw his debut as a dramatic author, with plays on social topics. In the 1898 ''O lecție'' ("A Lesson"), the wife of a plagiarist expresses her contempt by pursuing an adulterous affair and getting pregnant; ''Păcate'' ("Sins"), which appeared in 1901, unveils the love triangles that break apart a middle-class family. Both plays were taken up by the National Theater Bucharest, with Livescu in one of the title roles. In June 1900, ''O lecție'' was performed at the National Theater Budapest, as the first Romanian play to be performed by a Hungarian troupe.

Marginalization

With time, Rosetti also focused more fully on translation work, which he began with a version of Richepin's ''L'Étoile'', published in 1896 and taken up by the same National Theater in 1898. Livescu, who starred in it as Sir Richard, called the work "excellent". In 1901, he returned to poetry with the collection ''Cele din urmă'' ("The Very Last Ones"), comprising pieces by himself and translations from his favorite poets. The reviewer at ''Familia'' magazine described as "pessimistic, but always coquette". Rosetti also published versions of ''Robinson Crusoe'' (1900) and ''Gulliver's Travels'' (1905), followed in 1908 by selections from Guy de Maupassant and André Gill. He also participated in rendering homage to Princess Dowager Marie of Edinburgh: with Iosif, Dimitrie Anghel, Cincinat Pavelescu and George Ranetti