Panait Istrati

Panait Istrati (1927)

Panait Istrati(Romanian:[panaˈitisˈtrati];sometimes rendered asPanaït Istrati;(August 10, 1884 – April 16, 1935) was a Romanianworking classwriter, who wrote in French andRomanian,nicknamedTheMaxim Gorkyof theBalkans.Istrati appears to be the first Romanian author explicitly depicting ahomosexualcharacter in his work.

Early life

Born inBrăila,Istrati was the son of the laundress Joița Istrate and of theGreektobacco trader Georgios Valsamis from the village ofFaraklatainKefalonia.

He studied in primary school for six years inBaldovinești,after being held back twice. He then earned his living as anapprenticeto atavern-keeper, then as a pastry cook andpeddler.In the meantime, he was a prolific reader.

His first attempts at writing date from around 1907 when he started sending pieces to thesocialistperiodicals in Romania, debuting with the article,Hotel ReginainRomânia Muncitoare.Here, he later published his first short stories,Mântuitorul( "The Redeemer" ),Calul lui Bălan( "Bălan's Horse" ),Familia noastră( "Our Family" ),1 Mai( "May Day"). He also contributed pieces to otherleftistnewspapers such asDimineața,Adevărul,andViața Socială.

In 1910, he was involved in organizing astrike actionin Brăila. He went toBucharest,Istanbul,Cairo,Naples,Paris(1913–1914), and Switzerland (where he settled for a while, trying to cure histuberculosis). Istrati's travels were marked by two successive unhappy marriages, a brief return to Romania in 1915 when he tried to earn his living as ahogfarmer,and long periods ofvagabondage.

While in thesanatorium,Istrati metRussian Jewish-SwissZionistwriterJosué Jéhouda,who became his friend and French language tutor.

Living in misery, ill and depressed, he attemptedsuicidein 1921 on his way toNice,but his life was rescued in time. Shortly before the attempt, he had written toRomain Rolland,the French writer he admired most and with whom he had long tried to get in touch. Rolland received the letter through thePoliceand immediately replied. In 1923 Istrati's storyKyra Kyralina(orChira Chiralina) was published with aprefaceby Rolland. It became the first in hisAdrien Zograffiliterary cycle.Rolland was fascinated with Istrati's adventurous life, urging him to write more and publishing parts of his work inClarté,themagazinethat he andHenri Barbusseowned. The next major work by Istrati was thenovelCodine.

Pamfil Șeicarunamed Istrati "poor poet of deflowered arses". Istrati is the first Romanian author to write a novel –Chira Chiralina– in which a character is homosexual.

Istrati and communism

Istrati shared the leftist ideals of Rolland, and, as much as hismentor,placed his hopes in theBolshevikvision. In 1927 he visited theSoviet Unionon the anniversary of theOctober Revolution,accompanied byChristian Rakovskyduring the first stage of the journey (Rakovsky was Sovietambassadorto Paris, and by then already falling out of favor withJoseph Stalin). He travelled through large sections of the European part, witnessing celebrations inMoscowandKiev.He was joined in Moscow by his future close friend,Nikos Kazantzakis;while in the city, Panait Istrati metVictor Sergeand expressed his wish to become a citizen of the Soviet Union. He and Kazantzakis wrote Stalin a congratulatory letter that remained unanswered.

In 1928–29, after a tumultuous stay in Greece (where he was engaged in fights with the police and invited to leave the country), he went again to the Soviet Union. Through extended visits in more remote places such as theMoldavian ASSR(where he got in touch with his friendEcaterina Arbore),Nizhny Novgorod,Baku,andBatumi,Istrati learned the full truth of Stalin'scommunistdictatorship,out of which experience he wrote his famous book,The Confession of a Loser,the first in the succession of disenchantments expressed byintellectualssuch asArthur KoestlerandAndré Gide.Istrati dealt with the mounting persecution ofOld Bolsheviksand the gradual victimization of whole population groups. His views were also harshly made clear in two letters he sent to theGPUleadership in December 1928.

Thereafter, he suffered a crisis of conscience mainly due to being branded a "Trotskyist"or even a"Fascist"by his former communist friends, the most violent of which proved to be Henri Barbusse. Rolland had praised Istrati's letters to the GPU, but he nonetheless chose to stay clear of the controversy. Istrati came back to Romania ill and demoralised, was treated for tuberculosis in Nice, then returned to Bucharest.

Last years

Funeral of Panait Istrati in April 1935

The political opinions Istrati expressed after his split with Bolshevism are rather ambiguous. He was still closely watched by the Romaniansecret police(Siguranța Statului), and he had written an article (dated April 8, 1933) in the French magazineLes Nouvelles littéraires,aptly titledL'homme qui n'adhère à rien( "The man who will adhere to nothing" ).

At the same time, Istrati started publishing inCruciada Românismului( "TheCrusadeof Romanianism "), the voice of a left-leaning splinter group of the ultra-nationalistIron Guard.As such, Istrati became associated with the group's leaderMihai Stelescu,who had been elected as a member of Parliament for the Iron Guard in 1933 and whosedissidencewas the reason for his brutalassassinationby theDecemviriin 1936; Istrati was himselfassaultedseveral times by the Guard's squads.

Isolated and unprotected, Panait Istrati died at Filaret Sanatorium in Bucharest. He was buried inBellu Cemetery.

List of works

Adrian Zografi series

• Les Récits d'Adrien Zograffi / The Stories of Adrian Zografi
• Kyra Kyralina, Rieder, Paris, 1924, preface: Romain Rolland; Romanian translation by IG Hertz, Bucharest, 1934
• Oncle Anghel, Rieder, Paris, 1924; Romanian translation by the author: Renaşterea, Bucharest, 1925
• Les Haidoucs: I. Présentation de Haidoucs, Rieder, Paris, 1925
• Les Haidoucs: II. Domnitza de Snagov, Rieder, Paris, 1926
• Enfance d'Adrien Zograffi / Childhood of Adrian Zografi
• Codine, Rieder, Paris, 1926; Romanian translation by IG Hertz, Bucharest, 1935
• Adolescence d'Adrien Zograffi / Adolescence of Adrian Zografi
• Mikhail, Rieder, Paris, 1927
• Vie d'Adrien Zograffi / The Life of Adrian Zografi
• At Maison Thuringer, Rieder, Paris, 1933; Romanian version by the author: Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 1933
• Le Bureau du Placement, Rieder, Paris, 1933; Romanian version by the author: Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 1933
• Méditerranée. Lever du soleil, Rieder, Paris, 1934
• Méditerranée. Coucher du soleil, Rieder, Paris, 1935; Romanian translation by the author: Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 1936

Outside the "Adrian Zografi" cycle

• Past and future. Autobiographical pages, Renaissance, Bucharest, 1925
• La Famille Perlmutter, Gallimard, Paris, 1927 (in collaboration with Josué Jéhouda)
• Isaac, the joust of the iron, Joseph Hessler librairie, Strasbourg, 1927
• Le Refrain de la fosse (Nerantsoula), Grasset, Paris, 1927
• Mes départs (pages autobiographiques), Gallimard, Paris, 1928; Romanian translation by the author (posthumous): Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 1940
• Les Chardons du Baragan, Bernard Grasset, Paris, 1928; Romanian translation by the author, only the first chapter (posthumous): Moderna, Bucharest, 1943
• Confession pour vaincus. Après seize mois dans l'URSS, Rieder, Paris, 1929
• Le Pécheur d'éponges (pages autobiographiques), Rieder, Paris, 1930; Romanian translation by the author (posthumous): Dacia, Bucharest
• Pour avoir aimé la terre, Denoël et Steele, Paris, 1930
• Tsatsa Minnka, Rieder, Paris, 1931; Romanian version by Eminescu, Bucharest, 1931
• En Égypte, Éditions des Cahiers libres, Paris, 1931

Editions

• Selected Works / Œuvres choisies, Romanian-French bilingual edition, elected texts, preface and notes by Al. Oprea, translation by Eugen Barbu, vols. 1–9, Bucharest, Publishing House for Literature / Minerva Publishing House, 1966–1984
• Works, bilingual French-Romanian, Edited, foreword and notes by Zamfir Balan Publisher Istros Museum Brăila (Kyra Kyralina / rent Chiralina 1993, second edition, 2009; Oncle Anghel / Moș
• Anghel, 1995 Codina / Codin, 1996; Tsatsa Minnka / Țața Minca, 1997; La Maison Thuringer / Casa Thuringer, 1998).
• Works. Stories. Roman, Edited, chronology, notes and comments by Teodor Vârgolici introduction of Eugen Simion, vols. 1–2 Bucharest: Univers encyclopedic collection "fundamental works" 2003

This list and many of Istrati's works are on Wikisource.

English Translations of Works

Adrien Zograffi's Accounts

• Kyra Kyralina(orChira Chiralina;also translated under the titleKyra My Sister)
• Uncle Anghel
• The Haiduks(orThe Bandits):
  • Presentation of the Haiduks(orPresentation of the Bandits)
  • Domnitza de Snagov

Adrien Zograffi's Childhood

• Codine(orCodin,Kodin)
• Michael(orMikhaïl)
• Mes Départs
• The Sponge-Fisher

Adrien Zograffi's Life

• The Thüringer House
• Le Bureau de Placement
• Mediterranean (Sunrise)
• Mediterranean (Sunset)

Other works

• Kyr Nicolas
• The Perlmutter Family
• Nerantula(orNeranțula,Nerantsoula,Nerrantsoula)
• The Thistles of the Bărăgan(orCiulinii Bărăganului)
• To the Other FlameandThe Confession of a Loser(published also asRussia unveiled: 1927–1930)
• Tsatsa-Minnka

Filmography

While in the Soviet Union, Istrati wrote ascreenplaybased on his own work entitled,The Bandits,a project that was never completed.

Kira Kiralinawas filmed in 1927 as asilent filminSoviet Ukraine,produced byVUFKU.The novel was filmed for a second time in 1993, as a Romanian-Hungarianproduction directed byGyula Maár.A third production, theDan Pița-directedKira Kiralina,appeared in 2014. There is also a 1958 Franco–Romanian film,Ciulinii Bărăganului,andCodine(Codin), a Franco–Romanian co-production of 1962.

Critical works on Istrati

• Roger Dadoun,Panait Istrati,L'Arc, Aix-en-Provence, 1983.
• Elisabeth Geblesco,Panaït Istrati et la métaphore paternelle,Anthropos, Paris, 1989,ISBN2-7178-1665-8
• Mircea Iorgulescu,Panaït Istrati,Oxus Éditions, collectionLes Roumains de Paris,Paris, 2004,ISBN2-84898-037-0
• Monique Jutrin-Klener,Panaït Istrati: un chardon déraciné: écrivain français, conteur roumain,Éditeur F. Maspero, Paris, 1970
• Monique Jutrin-Klener, Hélène Lenz, Daniel Lérault, Martha Popovici, Élisabeth Geblesco, Catherine Rossi, Jeanne-Marie Santraud,Les haïdoucs dans l'œuvre de Panaït Istrati: l'insoumission des vaincus,L'Harmattan,collectionCritiques Littéraires,Paris, 2002,ISBN2-7475-3199-6
• Édouard Raydon,Panaït Istrati, vagabond de génie,Les Éditions Municipales, Paris, 1968
• David Seidmann,L'existence juive dans l'œuvre de Panaït Istrati,Éditions Nizet, Paris, 1984,ISBN2-7078-1040-1
• Jean-François Bacot, "Panaït Istrati ou la conscience écorchée d'un vaincu" in Moebius: Écritures/Littérature, Numéro 35, hiver 1988, p. 95-114, éditions Triptyque (Montréal).http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/15212ac

External links

• Panait IstratiatIMDb
• (in Romanian)Short biography
• (in Italian)Istrati on Christian Rakovsky