George Călinescu
George Călinescu | |
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Born | Gheorghe Vișan 19 June 1899 Bucharest, Kingdom of Romania |
Died | 12 March 1965 Otopeni, Romanian People's Republic | (aged 65)
Resting place | Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest, Romania |
Occupation |
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Alma mater | University of Bucharest |
Genre | Romanian Literature |
Subject | Romanian Literature History |
Literary movement | Modernism |
Years active | 1932-1965 |
Notable works |
|
Spouse |
Alice Vera Trifu (m. 1928) |
George Călinescu (Romanian: [ˈdʒe̯ordʒe kəliˈnesku]; 19 June 1899, Bucharest – 12 March 1965, Otopeni) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the most important Romanian literary critics of all time, alongside Titu Maiorescu and Eugen Lovinescu, and is one of the outstanding figures of Romanian literature in the 20th century.
Biography
Early childhood
George Călinescu was born Gheorghe Vișan on 19 June 1899, the son of a housekeeper, Maria Vișan;
A model: Ramiro Ortiz
Another model: Vasile Pârvan
If in
Doctorate in Literature - and beyond
In 1936, Călinescu received his doctorate in literature from the
Under Communism
Călinescu was deposed from his position at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Bucharest after the establishment in power of the
Research, criticism, writings
Călinescu was the author of several fundamental texts of Romanian literary history (Viața lui Mihai Eminescu, Opera lui Mihai Eminescu, and Viața lui Ion Creangă among others). After 1945, he published significant writings on world literature (including Impresii asupra literaturii spaniole, and Scriitori străini.) His study Estetica basmului, devoted to the poetics of Romanian folk tales, underlined the range of his interests. From 1932 to 1962, he published monographs, in separate volumes, on such writers as Eminescu, fabulist Ion Creangă, realist novelist Nicolae Filimon, and poet Grigore Alexandrescu, fictionalized biographies, scholarly studies, and essays. He continued presiding over numerous academic and radio conferences and writing thousands of critical reviews until his death in 1965.
Novelist, poet and dramatist
Călinescu produced heavily descriptive realist novels in the mode of Honoré de Balzac, often with obvious polemical undertones lurking beneath their apparently objective style. The novel he considered his best, Enigma Otiliei, narrates an unhappy love story; Cartea nunții is a disquisition on marriage; and Bietul Ioanide and Scrinul negru present the problems of intellectuals, all against the backdrop of interwar and immediate postwar Romania. Călinescu also wrote poems (Lauda lucrurilor) and plays (Șun, mit mongol) while continuing to practice journalism, although Cronicile mizantropului abruptly became Cronicile optimistului after the Communists seized power in 1947.
Civic and political activity under Communism
An intellectual with liberal-left ideas who nonetheless proved flexible enough to write praises of the King under Carol's dictatorship, Călinescu outwardly adhered to the new Communist ideology after 1947, likely noting the practical advantages of such a shift in loyalties.
He made numerous research trips to the
From 1948 to 1953 Călinescu was mistrusted and marginalized, despite being named to the Academy of the Romanian People's Republic in 1949; even after
Final years of life
In November 1964, George Călinescu was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and sent for treatment to the sanatorium at Otopeni. On 12 March 1965, in the middle of the night, he died, leaving behind, in the words of Geo Bogza, "a body of work fundamental to the Romanian people."[citation needed]
Post-Communist reputation
After 1989 there began a period in which Călinescu's civic activity under the Communist regime was called into question, and in which he was accused of collaborating with the authorities, notably by his former assistant Adrian Marino. A veritable "trial by press" resulted in which all of his works and activities were systematically reevaluated, proving Călinescu's perennial value and ability to offer new generations new perspectives on his own times and the whole history of Romanian literature.
Works
Studies in Foreign Languages
- Alcuni missionari catolici italiani nella Moldavia nella secoli XVII e XVIII (On Some Italian Catholic Missionaries in the Moldavia of the 17th and 18th centuries), 1925.
Studies on Aesthetics and World Literature
- Principii de estetică ("Principles of Aesthetics"), 1939
- Impresii asupra literaturii spaniole ("Impressions on Spanish Literature"), 1946
- Sensul clasicismului ("The Meaning of Classicism"), 1946
- Studii și conferințe ("Studies and Conferences"), 1956
- Scriitori străini ("Foreign Writers"), 1967
Poetry
- Poezii ("Poetry"), 1937
- Lauda lucrurilor ("In Praise of Things"), 1963
- Lauda zapezii ("In Praise of Snow"), 1965
Drama
- Șun, mit mongol sau Calea neturburată ("Șun, a Mongol Myth"), 1940
- Ludovic al XIX-lea ("Louis XIX"), 1964
- Teatru ("Theatre"), 1965
Novels
- Cartea nunții ("The Wedding Book"), 1933
- Enigma Otiliei ("Otilia's Riddle"), 1938
- Trei nuvele ("Three Novellas"), 1949
- Bietul Ioanide ("Poor Ioanide"), 1953
- Scrinul negru ("The Black Chest of Drawers"), 1965
History and literary criticism
- Viața lui Mihai Eminescu ("Mihai Eminescu's Life"), 1932
- Opera lui Mihai Eminescu ("The Works of Mihai Eminescu"), 1934
- Viața lui Ion Creangă ("Ion Creangă's Life"), 1938
- Istoria literaturii române de la origini până în prezent ("The History of Romanian Literature from its Origins to the Present"), 1941
- Istoria literaturii române. Compendiu ("The History of Romanian Literature. A Compendium"), 1945
- Universul poeziei ("The Universe of Poetry"), 1947
- Nicolae Filimon, 1959
- Gr. M. Alecsandrescu, 1962
- Ion Creangă; Viața și opera ("Ion Creangă; His Life and Works"), 1964
- Vasile Alecsandri, 1965
Journalism
- Cronicile optimistului ("The Chronicles of an Optimist"), 1964
- Ulysse ("Ulysses"), 1967
Travel journals
- Kiev, Moscova, Leningrad (Kiev, Moscow, Leningrad), 1949
- Am fost în China nouă ("I've Been to the New China"), 1953
References
- ^ Ion Bălu, Viața lui G. Călinescu, 1981, ed. II. Editura Libra, 1994, p. 15
- ^ Genealogia - Între știință, Mitologie și Monomanie
- ^ Mircea Zaciu, Marian Papahagi, Aurel Sasu, Dicționarul scriitorilor români, Editura Fundației Culturale Române, 1995, literele A-C, p. 551–517
- ^ Ion Bălu, Opera lui G. Călinescu, Editura Libra, 2001, pp. 21–30
- ^ Ion Bălu, Opera lui G. Călinescu, Editura Libra, 2001, p. pp.36
External links
- George Călinescu at IMDb