Cicerone Theodorescu (February 9, 1908 – February 18, 1974) 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 ...

n poet. Born 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 ...

, his father was a laborer for ''

Căile Ferate Române Căile Ferate Române (; abbreviated as the CFR) is the state railway carrier of Romania. As of 2014, the railway network of Romania consists of , of which (37.4%) are electrified. The total track length is , of which (38.5%) are electrifie ...

'' state railway. After attending high school in his native city, he studied at the literature and philosophy department of 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 ...

. He then taught in various high schools and worked as an editor and reporter. A contributor to the left-wing press, he signed, together with other pro-democracy intellectuals, protests against the country's drift toward fascism. After the

King Michael Coup King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of 1944, Theodorescu held important posts at ''Centrala Cărții'' publishing overseer, was vice president of the

Romanian Writers' Society The Romanian Writers' Society ( ro, Societatea Scriitorilor Români) was a professional association based in Bucharest, Romania, that aided the country's writers and promoted their interests. Founded in 1909, it operated for forty years before the e ...

from 1944 and editor-in-chief of ''

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. ...

'' magazine from 1948. Theodorescu made his literary debut in 1925 in

Perpessicius Perpessicius (; pen name of Dumitru S. Panaitescu, also known as Panait Șt. Dumitru, D. P. Perpessicius and Panaitescu-Perpessicius; October 22, 1891 – March 29, 1971) was a Romanian literary historian and critic, poet, essayist and fiction wri ...

' ''Universul literar''; he subsequently published in ''Azi'', ''Credința'', ''Cuvântul'', ''Cuvântul liber'', '' Facla'', ''Lumea'', ''Sinteza'', ''Gazeta literară'', ''Viața Românească'', ''Vremea'', ''Zodiac'', ''

România Literară ''România Literară'' is a cultural and literary magazine from Romania. In its original edition, it was founded on 1 January 1855 by Vasile Alecsandri and published in Iași until 3 December 1855, when it was suppressed. The new series appeared o ...

'' and '' Luceafărul''. His first book was the 1936 ''Cleștar'', described by Ovid S. Crohmălniceanu as "enclosing the soul's turmoil in glacial, pellucid verses, slowly carved with a jeweler's care". He drew particular notice for his verses inspired from the work and suffering of railwaymen. His other volumes followed the same direction (including ''Cântece de galeră'', 1946; ''Focul din amnar'', 1946; ''Un cântec din ulița noastră'', 1953, State Prize). However, with time, his lyricism tended toward the epic or became anemic, and remained lively only in the collections of fixed-form poems such as rondels. His later books included ''Poteca lunii'', 1964; ''Hronic'', 1965; ''Zburătorul din larg'', 1965; ''Țărmul singuratic'', 1968; ''Platoșa duratei'', 1973 and ''Nebunul regelui'', 1976. In 1971-1972, near the end of his life, he spent lengthy periods in Rome, writing a poem about

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

that remains unpublished. Theodorescu translated widely, in particular Soviet literature (

Vladimir Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (, ; rus, Влади́мир Влади́мирович Маяко́вский, , vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ məjɪˈkofskʲɪj, Ru-Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky.ogg, links=y; – 14 Apr ...

Aleksandr Tvardovsky Aleksandr Trifonovich Tvardovsky ( rus, links=no, Александр Трифонович Твардовский, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr ˈtrʲifənəvʲɪtɕ tvɐrˈdofskʲɪj; – 18 December 1971) was a Soviet poet and writer and chief editor of ' ...

), but also authors who included

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

Jérôme Carcopino Jérôme Carcopino (27 June 1881 – 17 March 1970) was a French historian and author. He was the fifteenth member elected to occupy seat 3 of the Académie française, in 1955. Biography Carcopino was born at Verneuil-sur-Avre, Eure, son of a ...

and Lino Curci. He collected folklore (''Izvoare fermecate'', 1958) and wrote prolifically for children, although some of these works are now irrecoverable. He sometimes used the pen names Radu Lăncieru, Victor Sângeru, C. Tudor and C. Tudoran.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 705. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theodorescu, Cicerone 1908 births 1974 deaths Writers from Bucharest 20th-century Romanian poets Romanian translators Romanian children's writers Romanian folklorists Romanian magazine editors Romanian schoolteachers Romanian male poets 20th-century Romanian male writers 20th-century translators