Alice Ștefania Stănescu Călugăru (

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Alice Orient; July 4, 1886 – 1924) was a French-born

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

n poet.

Biography

Born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, her parents were Ștefan Stănescu Călugăru, an officer in the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

, and his wife Maria (''née'' Carabella). She attended high school in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, where she was classmates with

George Topîrceanu George Topîrceanu (; March 20, 1886 – May 7, 1937) was a Romanian poet, short story writer, and humourist. Biography He was born in Bucharest, the son of Ion Topîrceanu, a furrier and his wife, Paraschiva (née Cosma), a carpet weaver. Th ...

, and graduated in 1907. She began publishing verses at an early age, in ''

Sămănătorul ''Sămănătorul'' or ''Semănătorul'' (, Romanian for "The Sower") was a literary and political magazine published in Romania between 1901 and 1910. Founded by poets Alexandru Vlahuță and George Coșbuc, it is primarily remembered as a tribune ...

'' (1903) and ''Dumineca'' (1905). The only poetry book she put out was ''Viorele'' (1905). Other magazines that ran her work include ''Analele literare, politice, științifice'', ''Viața literară'', '' Luceafărul'', ''Ramuri'', ''

Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Literary Talks'') is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania. History and profile ''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by ...

'' and ''

Viața Românească ''Viața Românească'' (, "The Romanian Life") is a monthly literary magazine published in Romania. Formerly the platform of the left-wing traditionalist trend known as poporanism, it is now one of the Writers' Union of Romania's main venues. Th ...

''. She moved to Paris after 1908, marrying journalist Louis Constant Edgar Müller in 1921. In France, she signed her work with the pen name "Alice Orient". In 1914, she entered her poem "Les perles" into the Femina literary competition, winning second prize. She and her husband traveled in Belgium and South America. She died of consumption, probably in Switzerland. A mysterious personality with a tragic destiny, she can be identified with the adventurous Lilis from the partly autobiographical 1924 novel ''La tunique verte''. Her lyricism, modern sensibility, sensual sharpness and the character of her imagery anticipate interwar poetry.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 299. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calugaru, Alice 1886 births 1924 deaths Writers from Paris Romanian women poets 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis 20th-century Romanian poets 20th-century Romanian women writers Tuberculosis deaths in Switzerland Romanian expatriates in France Expatriates in Switzerland