Dan Botta (; September 26, 1907 – January 13, 1958) was a

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 and essayist.

Life

Born in

Adjud Adjud (; hu, Egyedhalma) is a municipiu, city in Vrancea County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It has a population of 14,670 inhabitants (2011). It lies at a railway junction which has a classification yard and a passenger station. Adjud, situated ...

, his parents were the physician Theodor Botta and his wife Aglaia (''née'' de Franceschi), an orphanage director; his brother was poet and actor

Emil Botta Emil Botta (; 15 September 1911, Adjud – 24 July 1977, Bucharest) was a Romanian actor and writer. Together with Emil Cioran, Eugen Ionescu, and , he was a member of the literary group called ''Corabia cu ratați'' ("The Losers' Ship"). Bo ...

. His father was descended from an old Transylvanian family, the noble status of which was confirmed by

Christopher Báthory Christopher Báthory ( hu, Báthory Kristóf; 1530 – 27 May 1581) was voivode of Transylvania from 1576 to 1581. He was a younger son of Stephen Báthory of Somlyó. Christopher's career began during the reign of Queen Isabella Jagiellon, who ...

in 1579, and related to Bishop

Ioan Bob Ioan Bob, (1739 – 2 October 1830) was Bishop of Făgăraş and Primate of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church from 1783 to his death in 1830. Life Ioan Bob was born from a noble Romanian family in October or November 1739 in Orman, near Iclod ...

. Theodor Botta, caught in the national struggle of Transylvania's Romanians during the rule of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, took refuge in the

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

region of the

Romanian Old Kingdom The Romanian Old Kingdom ( ro, Vechiul Regat or just ''Regat''; german: Regat or ) is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independent Romanian nation state, which was composed of the Romanian Principalities: Wallachia ...

after completing his medical studies at

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. A doctor for the ''

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, he took part in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and died in 1921. Aglaia was the daughter of Francesco Maria de Franceschi, a Corsican who settled in Moldavia in 1872 and worked as a technician at the

Sascut Sascut is a commune in Bacău County, Western Moldavia, 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 B ...

sugar factory. Botta attended primary school in his native town, followed by high school in

Focșani Focșani (; yi, פֿאָקשאַן, Fokshan) is the capital city of Vrancea County in Romania on the banks the river Milcov, in the historical region of Moldavia. It has a population () of 79,315. Geography Focșani lies at the foot of the Curv ...

( Unirea High School until 1921) and

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 ...

(

Saint Sava National College The Saint Sava National College (Romanian language, 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, ...

, 1921–1923). He attended 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 ...

from 1923 to 1927, studying Latin and Greek literature and law. In 1927, he also completed studies at the physical education institute, perhaps reflecting a nostalgia for ''

paideia ''Paideia'' (also spelled ''paedeia'') ( /paɪˈdeɪə/; Greek: παιδεία, ''paideía'') referred to the rearing and education of the ideal member of the ancient Greek polis or state. These educational ideals later spread to the Greco-Roman ...

''. While a student, he contributed to ''Calendarul'' and ''L'Indépendance Roumaine'' magazines, publishing articles about literature, art and music. He later wrote for ''Rampa'', ''

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 ...

'', ''Vremea'' and ''La Nation Roumaine''; in 1941, together with

Emil Giurgiuca Emil Giurgiuca (December 27, 1906–March 3, 1992) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian poet. Born in Diviciorii Mari, Cluj County, in the Transylvania region, his parents were Ioan Giurgiuca, a priest, and his wife Pelaghia (''née'' Băieș ...

and

Octavian Codru Tăslăuanu Octavian Codru Tăslăuanu (February 1, 1876 – October 22, 1942) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian magazine publisher, non-fiction writer, and politician. Biography Background and early life Born in Bélbor, Maros-Torda ...

, he founded ''Dacia'' magazine. He took part in the ''Criterion'' group's symposiums, joining the editing committee in 1943. From 1938, he formed part of the leadership at

Dimitrie Gusti Dimitrie Gusti (; 13 February 1880 – 30 October 1955) was a Romanian sociologist, ethnologist, historian, and voluntarist philosopher; a professor at the University of Iaşi and the University of Bucharest, he served as Romania's Minister of ...

's project ''

Enciclopedia României The ''Enciclopedia României'' is an encyclopedia published between 1938 and 1943. Only four of the projected six volumes were published.

''. At one point a member of the

Iron Guard The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Michael () or the Legionnaire Movement (). It was strongly ...

, he spent time in prison under the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

Andrei Oișteanu Andrei Oișteanu (; born September 18, 1948) is a Romanian historian of religions and mentalities, ethnologist, cultural anthropologist, literary critic and novelist. Specialized in the history of religions and mentalities, he is also noted for h ...

, ''Narcotice în cultura română'', p. 244. Bucharest:

Polirom Polirom or Editura Polirom ("Polirom" Publishing House) is a Romanian publishing house with a tradition of publishing classics of international literature and also various titles in the fields of social sciences, such as psychology, sociology and a ...

, 2010. Botta's first book was the poetry volume ''Eulalii'' (1931,

Romanian Writers' Union The Writers' Union of Romania (), founded in March 1949, is a professional association of writers in Romania. It also has a subsidiary in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova. The Writers' Union of Romania was created by the communist regime by taking ...

prize), the only one published during his lifetime. His other cycles, ''Rune'', ''Epigrame'', ''Cununa Ariadnei'' and ''Poem în curs'', appeared posthumously in 1968. His verses are incantational and erudite, anti-Romantic out of principle, full of linguistic invention, in line with European and domestic purism. His essays, which deal with artistic creation in general and the philosophy of Romanian culture in particular, are also full of original ideas, employing a lyrical and imaginative style: ''Limite'' (1936, Romanian Writers' Union prize) and ''Charmion sau Despre muzică'' (1941). Botta authored the ''

féerie ''Féerie'', sometimes translated as "fairy play", was a French theatrical genre known for fantasy plots and spectacular visuals, including lavish scenery and mechanically worked stage effects. ''Féeries'' blended music, dancing, pantomime, and ...

'' plays ''Comedia fantasmelor'', ''Alkestis'', ''Deliana'', ''Soarele și luna'', and, in 1943, a stage adaptation of

Mihai Eminescu Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanian Romantic poet from Moldavia, novelist, and journalist, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active membe ...

's '' Poor Dionis''. He published ''Balade și alte poeme'', a translation of works by

François Villon François Villon (Modern French: , ; – after 1463) is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities. Villon wrote about some of these ex ...

, in 1956. From 1944 until his death, he worked on a philological treatise dealing with the Thracian substrate in the Romanian language, ''Roma – Threicia''.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 200. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. He died in Bucharest in 1958.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Botta, Dan 1907 births 1958 deaths People from Adjud Romanian people of French descent Romanian nobility Saint Sava National College alumni University of Bucharest alumni Romanian poets Romanian translators 20th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights Romanian newspaper editors Romanian philologists Members of the Iron Guard 20th-century Romanian politicians Prisoners and detainees of Romania Romanian prisoners and detainees 20th-century translators 20th-century philologists Burials at Bellu Cemetery