Șerban Bascovici (born Șerban-Vasile Bascovitz; January 1, 1891–March 19, 1968) was a Romanian poet Born in Bucharest to Gheorghe Bascovitz and his wife Ecaterina, he attended Matei Basarab High School. Upon graduating in 1911, he attempted to attend the law faculty of Bucharest University, but gave up, likely due to material difficulties.Mănucă, p. 203 Instead, he was hired as a civil servant within the Labor Ministry. Working at the social insurance office, he became department head near the end of his career. He made his poetry debut in 1906 in Ovid Densusianu's '' Vieața Nouă'', to which he contributed constantly until 1916. His work was also published in ''Convorbiri critice'', '' Literatorul'', '' Flacăra'', '' Sburătorul'', ''Grădina Hesperidelor'', ''Cugetul românesc'', ''Revista Fundațiilor Regale'', ''Universul literar'' and ''

Gândirea ''Gândirea'' ("The Thinking"), known during its early years as ''Gândirea Literară - Artistică - Socială'' ("The Literary - Artistic - Social Thinking"), was a Romanian literary, political and art magazine. Overview Founded by Cezar Pet ...

''. Around 1909, he was attracted to Symbolism, passionately reading Paul Verlaine,

Stephane Mallarmé Stephane may refer to: * Stéphane Stéphane is a male French given name an equivalent of Stephen/Steven. Notable people with this given name include: * Stéphane Adam (born 1969), French footballer *Stéphane Agbre Dasse (born 1989), Burkinabé f ...

, Henri de Régnier, Maurice Maeterlinck and

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

; he particularly admired

Emile Verhaeren Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *'' Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *'' Emil and the Detecti ...

, whom he considered a "social symbolist". He considered Symbolism to be the only literary movement fit for the age. During World War I, he withdrew to

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

along with the rest of the Romanian government, and after his return to Bucharest upon the end of the war, he entered Alexandru Macedonski's circle. His first book was the 1937 ''Destăinuiri'', a collection of poetry which was well received by critics. He was a delicate Symbolist who wrote poems of a light and fluid melancholy that did not deal with serious problems or grave issues. Although his style resembled

Panait Cerna Panait Cerna (; Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: Панайот Черна, ''Panayot Cherna'', born Panayot Stanchov or Panait Staciov; August 26 or September 25, 1881 – March 26, 1913) was a Romanian poet, philosopher, literary critic and tr ...

's, it was distinguished by a meditative tendency. He published translations of

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...

(whom he considered a precursor of Symbolism),Mănucă, p. 204

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

Francis de Croisset Francis de Croisset (; born Franz Wiener, 28 January 1877 – 8 November 1937) was a Belgian-born French playwright and opera librettist. Early life Born as Franz Wiener, he was educated in Brussels on 28 January 1877 into a prominent Jewish-Bel ...

, Molière,

Maxence Van Der Meersch Maxence Van der Meersch (4 May 1907 – 14 January 1951) was a French Flemish writer. Life Maxence, of delicate health, came from a relatively well off family — his father was an accountant. On 27 October 1918, he lost his sister, Sarah, who w ...

, Jean Giono and Jules Renard. He won prizes from the Romanian Writers' Society in 1938 and 1941, for ''Destăinuiri'' and for a volume of Baudelaire translations.Mănucă, p. 203-04 An astute critic, particularly of plays, he was knowledgeable about the theatre in Romania as well as in the rest of Europe. Prior to his death, he had prepared a volume of memoirs, ''Amintirile uitării''.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 119. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

References

* Dan Mănucă
"Șerban Vasile Bascovici"
in ''Anuarul de lingvistică și istorie literară'', tom LII-LIII, Iași, 2002-2003, p. 203-206 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bascovici, Serban 1891 births 1968 deaths Writers from Bucharest Romanian male poets Symbolist poets Romanian translators Romanian literary critics Romanian memoirists Romanian civil servants 20th-century Romanian poets 20th-century translators 20th-century memoirists