Mihail Cruceanu

Mihail Cruceanu(December 13, 1887 – July 7, 1988) was aRomanianpoet.

He was born inIașito Mihail Cruceanu, a doctor, and his wife Ecaterina (néePetrovanu). He attended high school inPloieștiandPitești,earning his degree in 1906 atBucharest'sSaint Sava High School.Cruceanu enrolled in theUniversity of Bucharest,where he took degrees in law (1911) and literature and philosophy (1913). He subsequently taught high school atAlexandria,Craiovaand Bucharest. He made his poetic debut inRevista literarăin 1904. Although he associated with theLiteratorulcircle ofAlexandru Macedonski,he was closer toOvid Densusianu'sVieața Nouăgroup. His first published volume was the 1912Spre cetatea zorilor.Between 1911 and 1913, he interviewed a series of cultural figures, recording the encounters inRampa;these included Macedonski, Densusianu,Alexandru Vlahuță,Ioan Alexandru Brătescu-Voinești,Dimitrie Anghel,Ioan A. BassarabescuandMihail Dragomirescu.Reviews that published his work includeFarul,Vieața Nouă,Sărbătoarea eroilor,Versuri și proză,Revista celorlalți,Flacăra,Adevărul literar,Îndreptar,Românul,Zorile,Revista Fundațiilor Regale,Luceafărul,Viața RomâneascăandRomânia Literară.

Cruceanu entered the labor movement in 1919 and joined theRomanian Communist Partyupon its 1921 foundation, holding various leadership posts. The party was banned in 1924, and he was arrested and imprisoned on various occasions for his political activity. After the1944 Coupagainst Romania's pro-Axis dictator and the party's legalization, he continued to be active in the social and political realm. From 1950 to 1970, he was a professor at the University of Bucharest's Romanian language and literature faculty. He also served as president of the Bucharest chapter of the Society of Philological Sciences.

Cruceanu'sSymbolistpoetry appeared inAltare nouă(1915),Fericirea celorlalți(1920) andLauda vieții(1945); the last hadsocialist realisttouches. The 1968 anthologyVersurirevived a poet whose milieu and expressions belonged to the early 20th century. The 1924 prose workPovestiri pentru tinewas a foray into fantasy literature;Perpessiciuscommented on its sure style and hints of an "essential lyricism". His memoirs, published in 1973 asDe vorbă cu trecutul,included an original series of recollections.

Bibliography

• Spre cetatea zorilor,Târgoviște, 1912
• Altare nouă,Târgu Jiu, 1915
• Fericirea celorlalți,Craiova, 1920
• Povestiri pentru tine(fantasy sketches and short stories), Bucharest, 1924
• Lauda vieții,Bucharest, 1945
• Poezii alese,Bucharest, 1957
• Versuri,Bucharest, 1968
• Al. Dobrogeanu-Gherea,with Fl. Tănăsescu, Bucharest, 1971
• Pălării și capete,Bucharest, 1972
• De vorbă cu trecutul,Bucharest, 1973
• Poeme alese,Craiova, 1974
• Poeme,Bucharest, 1985
• Lauda vieții,ed. F. Firan, Craiova, 1987
• Scrieri în proză,ed. C. Mohanu, Bucharest, 1987