Alexandru Sahia ( pen name of Alexandru Stănescu; October 11, 1908 – August 12, 1937) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

writer.

Biography

Born in Mânăstirea,

Călărași County Călărași () is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Muntenia, with the county seat at Călărași. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 285,050 and a population density of 56.02/km2. * Romanians – 95% ...

, as the son of a small landowner, he was enrolled in the Craiova Military College, which he deemed "oppressive". In 1926, he published his first story in the journal ' (The Falcons). The following year, he concluded that he was not suited for a military career, and left the college. He finished his

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

in the

Saint Sava National College The Saint Sava National College (Romanian: ''Colegiul Național Sfântul Sava''), Bucharest, named after Sabbas the Sanctified, is the oldest and one of the most prestigious high schools in Romania. It was founded in 1694, under the name of t ...

, then started law studies at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...

. Dissatisfied with life at the University, he became a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

in the

Cernica Monastery Cernica is a commune in the southeast part of Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania, with a population of 9,425 as of 2002. It is composed of five villages: Bălăceanca, Căldăraru, Cernica, Poșta and Tânganu. The commune lent its name to the Ce ...

in 1929. He apparently failed to find what he was looking for, and left after only a year to visit the Holy Land. While there, he decided to adopt the name "Sahia", which is Arabic for "truth". From 1931 until his death, he provided sketches and reportage for several popular Romanian newspapers and journals, including ', ', and '' Adevărul''. In 1932, he helped create the proletarian literary journal, ', but it suffered from censorship and low readership. Still in search of something to give meaning to his life, he visited the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

in 1935. He was impressed with what he saw and, upon his return, wrote ''USSR Today'', in praise of their accomplishments. The following year, he joined the Romanian Communist Party (RCP). Alexandru Sahia - 2009

In 1937, he died in Bucharest of untreated

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

. In 1946, after the Communist takeover, he was promoted as a hero of the working class and the manner of his death enabled the RCP to portray him as being the son of "poor peasants". Several of his works have been made into films. In December 1952, the Romanian state company Romfilm was renamed the "Alexandru Sahia Film Studio"; in July 1991 the studio was reorganized as Sahia-Film.

References

External links

* * (Mentions the hypocrisy of Sahia's myth being encouraged by the Party.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sahia, Alexandru 1908 births 1937 deaths People from Călărași County Saint Sava National College alumni Romanian communists 20th-century journalists Romanian journalists Romanian male short story writers Romanian short story writers Romanian travel writers Members of the Romanian Academy elected posthumously 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Romania