Eugen Simion (25 May 1933 – 18 October 2022) was a Romanian literary critic and historian, editor, essayist and academic. Born in Chiojdeanca,

Prahova County Prahova County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Ploiești. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 762,886 and the population density was 161/km². It is Romania's third mo ...

, the son of two farmers, Simion completed his secondary education at the Saints Peter and Paul High School in

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Blejoi co ...

. He then studied philology 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 Princely ...

, and made his professional debut as a literary critic in 1960, collaborating with the journals ''Tribuna'' and ''Gazeta literară''. With his first book, ''Proza lui Eminescu'', published in 1964, he was awarded the literary criticism prize of the Uniunii Scriitorilor (the Romanian Writers' Union). The same year he started working in his alma mater, first as an assistant, later as a lecturer, and from 1990 as a professor. He also held courses on Romanian culture and civilisation at the

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University (french: Sorbonne Université; la Sorbonne: 'the Sorbonne') is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon ...

between 1970 and 1973. Simion's body of work includes numerous monographs, essays, curation of anthologies as well as over 3,000 published articles and studies. A full member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its by ...

since 1992, he served as president of the organization for two consecutive mandates, from 1998 to 2006, when he was nominated President of the Philology and Literature Department of the Academy, a role which he served until his death. He died on 18 October 2022 at the , aged 89, and was buried at

Bellu Cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...

, in Bucharest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simion, Eugen 1933 births 2022 deaths People from Prahova County University of Bucharest alumni University of Bucharest faculty Paris-Sorbonne University faculty Mihai Eminescu scholars Romanian literary critics Romanian literary historians Romanian essayists Romanian publishers (people) Members of the Romanian Academy of Sciences Titular members of the Romanian Academy Presidents of the Romanian Academy Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Recipients of the Order of the Republic (Moldova) Burials at Bellu Cemetery