Felix Aderca
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Felix Aderca (; born Froim-Zelig ''Froim-ZeilicAderca; March 13, 1891 – December 12, 1962),"Lista lui Morar"
, in ''
Realitatea Evreiască ''Realitatea Evreiască'' ( Romanian for "The Jewish Reality") is a Romanian cultural and news magazine, based in Bucharest, and addressed to the local Jewish community. The magazine was founded in 1956 under the name ''Revista Cultului Mozaic d ...
'', Nr. 280-281 (1080-1081), August–September 2007
Boris Marian
"Un scriitor care nu merită uitarea"
, in ''
Realitatea Evreiască ''Realitatea Evreiască'' ( Romanian for "The Jewish Reality") is a Romanian cultural and news magazine, based in Bucharest, and addressed to the local Jewish community. The magazine was founded in 1956 under the name ''Revista Cultului Mozaic d ...
'', Nr. 292-293 (1092-1093), March–April 2008
also known as F. Aderca, Zelicu Froim Adercu''Aderca, Felix''
, biographical entry at th
Alexandru and Aristia Aman Dolj County Library
retrieved March 1, 2010
or Froim Aderca, was a Romanian novelist, playwright, poet, journalist and critic, noted as a representative of rebellious
modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
in the context of
Romanian literature Romanian literature () is literature written by Romanian authors, although the term may also be used to refer to all literature written in the Romanian language. History The development of the Romanian literature took place in parallel with tha ...
. As a member of the ''
Sburătorul ''Sburătorul'' was a Romanian Modernism, modernist literary magazine and literary society, established in Bucharest in April 1919. Led by Eugen Lovinescu, the circle was instrumental in developing new trends and styles in Romanian literature, rangi ...
'' circle and close friend of its founder
Eugen Lovinescu Eugen Lovinescu (; 31 October 1881 – 16 July 1943) was a Romanian modernist literary historian, literary critic, academic, and novelist, who in 1919 established the ''Sburătorul'' literary club. He was the father of Monica Lovinescu, and the u ...
, Aderca promoted the ideas of literary innovation,
cosmopolitanism Cosmopolitanism is the idea that all human beings are members of a single community. Its adherents are known as cosmopolitan or cosmopolite. Cosmopolitanism is both prescriptive and aspirational, believing humans can and should be " world citizens ...
and
art for art's sake Art for art's sake—the usual English rendering of ''l'art pour l'art'' (), a French slogan from the latter part of the 19th century—is a phrase that expresses the philosophy that the intrinsic value of art, and the only 'true' art, is divorce ...
, reacting against the growth of traditionalist currents. His diverse works of fiction, noted as adaptations of
Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
techniques over conventional narratives, range from
psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...
and
biographical novel The biographical novel is a genre of novel which provides a fictional account of a contemporary or historical person's life. Like other forms of biographical fiction, details are often trimmed or reimagined to meet the artistic needs of the fiction ...
s to pioneering
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
and
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
writings, and also include a sizable contribution to
erotic literature Erotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of eros (passionate, romantic or sexual relationships) intended to arouse similar feelings in readers. This contrasts erotica, which focuses more specifically on sexual feel ...
. Aderca's open rejection of tradition, his
socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
and
pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
, and his exploration of controversial subjects resulted in several scandals, making him a main target of attacks from the
far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
press of the
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
. As a member of the Jewish-Romanian community and a vocal critic of
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
, the writer was persecuted by successive
fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
regimes before and during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He afterward resumed his activities as author and cultural promoter, but, having failed at fully adapting his style to the requirements set by 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 ...
, lived his final years in obscurity. Married to the poet and novelist
Sanda Movilă Sanda Movilă (pen name of Maria Ionescu-Aderca; January 7, 1900–September 13, 1970) was a Romanian poet and novelist. Born in Cerbu, Argeș County, her parents were Ion Ionescu, a small-scale tradesman, and his wife Maria (''née'' Nicule ...
, Aderca was also noted for his networking inside the interwar literary community, being the interviewer of other writers and the person behind several collective journalistic projects. Interest in the various aspects of his own literary contribution was rekindled in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.


Biography


Early life and World War I

Froim Aderca hailed from the northwestern
historical region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that ...
of
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 ...
, his native village being Puiești,
Tutova County Tutova County is one of the historic counties of Moldavia, Romania with the city of Bârlad as capital. Geography Tutova County covered 2,498 km2 and was located in the central-eastern part of Greater Romania, in the south-eastern part of Mol ...
(now in
Vaslui County Vaslui County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historical region Western Moldavia, with the seat at Vaslui. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 395,499 and the population density was 74/km². * Romanians - over 98% * Rom ...
). He was one of five children born to merchant Avram Adercu and his wife Debora Perlmutter, his family being in the minority group of Jews to whom Romania had granted political emancipation.Cernat, p.34 Among his siblings were Leon and Victor, both of whom followed in their father's footsteps: the former became a shoe salesman in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, Italy, the latter an accountant in Israel.Călinescu, p.792 After completing his primary education at the local school, Froim spent the remainder of his childhood years in the southwestern city of
Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...
and in rural
Oltenia Oltenia (, also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions, with the alternative Latin names ''Wallachia Minor'', ''Wallachia Alutana'', ''Wallachia Caesarea'' between 1718 and 1739) is a historical province and geographical region of Romania ...
. Avram set up a new business in partnership with the State Tobacco Monopoly, while Froim attended the Carol I High School.Cubleșan, p.79 He was soon expelled from all state-funded lyceums, after his school-paper on the
historical Jesus The term "historical Jesus" refers to the reconstruction of the life and teachings of Jesus by critical historical methods, in contrast to religious interpretations. It also considers the historical and cultural contexts in which Jesus lived. ...
was deemed
anti-Christian Anti-Christian sentiment or Christophobia constitutes opposition or objections to Christians, the Christian religion, and/or its practices. Anti-Christian sentiment is sometimes referred to as Christophobia or Christianophobia, although these terms ...
.Crohmălniceanu (1994), p.80 Turning to literature, Froim pondered rallying with the traditionalist writers, who later became his ideological adversaries. The poems he sent to ''
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 ...
'' magazine were sent back to him, but other pieces saw print in ''Sămănătorul''s provincial satellite, '' Ramuri''. Befriending the Craiova publisher Ralian Samitca (whose brother, Ignat Samitca, was described as Aderca's first literary sponsor), Aderca published several other works in book format. In 1910, he issued the political essay ''Naționalism? Libertatea de a ucide'' ("Nationalism? The Freedom to Kill", published under the pen name ''Oliver Willy'') and the first of his several collections of
lyric poetry Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...
: ''Motive și simfonii'' ("Motifs and Symphonies"). In 1912, he followed up with four separate volumes of verse: ''Stihuri venerice'' ("Poems to
Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
"), ''Fragmente'' ("Fragments"), ''Reverii sculptate'' ("Sculptured Reveries") and ''Prin lentile negre'' ("Through Black Lenses").Crohmălniceanu (1972), p.422 His works were by then featured in a more eclectic and influential venue,
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 ...
's '' Noua Revistă Română''. The cycle of poems which saw print in that venue, marking his official debut as 1913, are collectively known as ''Panteism'' ("
Pantheism Pantheism is the belief that reality, the universe and the cosmos are identical with divinity and a supreme supernatural being or entity, pointing to the universe as being an immanent creator deity still expanding and creating, which has ex ...
"). Having also made his debut in Romanian drama with the printed version of his "theatrical paradox" ''Antractul'' ("The Intermission"), Aderca left for France during the same year. He attempted to start a new life in Paris, but was unsuccessful and only one year later returned to his homeland.Cubleșan, p.80 During this interval, in March 1914, ''Noua Revistă Română'' published one of his early critical essays, marking the start of Aderca's flirtations with
Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sy ...
in general and the local Symbolist circles in particular: ''În marginea poeziei simboliste'' ("On Symbolist Poetry"). For a while, he was tasked with the magazine's literary column, and, in this context, began a publicized polemic with the traditionalist critic (and fellow emancipated Jew) Ion Trivale. Other texts he authored were published in '' Versuri și Proză'', a periodical issued in
Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
city, one most often associated with the last wave of Romanian Symbolism. Having witnessed the outbreak of
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 ...
even before Romania joined in, Aderca recorded his experience in the 1915 volume ''Sânge închegat... note de război'' ("Dried Blood... Notes from the War"). Much of his press activity comprised
pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
and
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
opinion pieces, in which he condemned in equal terms the
Entente countries The Allies of World War I, Entente Powers, or Allied Powers were a coalition of countries led by France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the United States against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman E ...
and
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
. For a while, he displayed a
Germanophile A Germanophile, Teutonophile, or Teutophile is a person who is fond of German culture, German people and Germany in general, or who exhibits German patriotism in spite of not being either an ethnic German or a German citizen. The love of the ''Ge ...
bias, arguing that the Central Powers were the more progressive of two sides and even contributing, in 1915, to the Germanophile tribune ''
Seara Seara is a municipality in the state of Santa Catarina in the South region of Brazil. The Museu Entomológico Fritz Plaumann is located in the town. See also *List of municipalities in Santa Catarina This is a list of the municipalities in th ...
''. Nonetheless, Aderca was among the Jewish men drafted 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 ...
in the era before full emancipation, seeing action on the local theater and later serving in the war of 1919 against Soviet Hungary. Dumitru Hîncu
"Felix Aderca și autoritîțile comuniste"
, in ''
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 on ...
'', Nr. 46/2006
His conduct under arms, deemed "heroic" by cultural historian
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 ...
,Oișteanu, p.253 earned him a military decoration.Sebastian, p.146 As a civilian, Aderca was still close to the anti-Entente intellectual circles: during the separate peace interval of 1918, he contributed to A. de Herz's Germanophile newspaper ''Scena'', but published only poetry and literary essays.


''Sburătorist'' affiliation

After the war's end and the establishment of
Greater Romania The term Greater Romania ( ro, România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea. As a concept, its main goal is the creation ...
, Aderca returned to Craiova, where his wife
Sanda Movilă Sanda Movilă (pen name of Maria Ionescu-Aderca; January 7, 1900–September 13, 1970) was a Romanian poet and novelist. Born in Cerbu, Argeș County, her parents were Ion Ionescu, a small-scale tradesman, and his wife Maria (''née'' Nicule ...
(herself an aspiring writer, born ''Maria Ionescu'' in
Argeș County Argeș County () is a county ('' județ'') of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Pitești. Demographics On 20 October 2011, it had a population of 612,431 and the population density was 89/km2. * Romanians – 97% * Roma (Gypsi ...
) gave birth to their son Marcel in January 1920. Avram Croitoru
"Scrisul - o constantă a sufletului"
, in ''
Realitatea Evreiască ''Realitatea Evreiască'' ( Romanian for "The Jewish Reality") is a Romanian cultural and news magazine, based in Bucharest, and addressed to the local Jewish community. The magazine was founded in 1956 under the name ''Revista Cultului Mozaic d ...
'', Nr. 240 (1040), November 2005
Later that year, the family settled in Bucharest, where Aderca was appointed to a civil service office within the
Ministry of Labor The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...
(an office he kept until 1940). He was collaborating with another poet,
Benjamin Fondane Benjamin Fondane () or Benjamin Fundoianu (; born Benjamin Wechsler, Wexler or Vecsler, first name also Beniamin or Barbu, usually abridged to B.; November 14, 1898 – October 2, 1944) was a Romanian and France, French poet, critic and Existentia ...
, preparing lectures on various literary subjects to complement Fondane's projects for the stage. In parallel, he carried on with his literary activity, publishing a large number of books in quick succession and, in some cases, with significant success among the Romanian public.Cubleșan, p.80-81 His first novel, titled ''Domnișoara din Str. Neptun'' ("Little Miss on Neptune Street"), saw print in 1921, and marked Aderca's definitive break with traditionalism. It was followed by a long line of other novels and
novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...
s: ''Țapul'' ("The Goat", 1921), later reissued as ''Mireasa multiplă'' ("The Multiple Bride") and as ''Zeul iubirii'' ("The God of Love"); ''Moartea unei republici roșii'' ("The Death of a Red Republic", 1924); ''Omul descompus'' ("The Decomposed Man", 1926); ''Femeia cu carne albă'' ("The White-fleshed Woman", 1927).Cubleșan, p.83 A member 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 ...
, Victor Durnea
"Societatea scriitorilor români"
, in ''
Dacia Literară ''Dacia Literară'' was the first Romanian literary and political journal. History Founded by Mihail Kogălniceanu and printed in Iaşi, Dacia Literară was a Romantic nationalist and liberal magazine, engendering a literary society A lit ...
'', Nr. 2/2008 (republished by the
Romanian Cultural Institute The Romanian Cultural Institute ( ro, Institutul Cultural Român, ICR), headquartered in Bucharest, was established in 2004 on the older institutional framework provided by the Romanian Cultural Foundation and before 1989 by the Institute for ...
's
România Culturală
'')
Z. Ornea Zigu Ornea (; born Zigu Orenstein Andrei Vasilescu"La ceas aniversar – Cornel Popa la 75 de ani: 'Am refuzat numeroase demnități pentru a rămâne credincios logicii și filosofiei analitice.' ", in Revista de Filosofie Analitică', Vol. II, N ...

"Evocări verosimile"
, in ''
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 on ...
'', Nr. 4/2000
Sebastian, p.615 Aderca also made his debut as a translator from French, publishing a version of
Henri Barbusse Henri Barbusse (; 17 May 1873 – 30 August 1935) was a French novelist and a member of the French Communist Party. He was a lifelong friend of Albert Einstein. Life The son of a French father and an English mother, Barbusse was born in Asnièr ...
's ''
Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
'' (1921). In 1922, he reissued ''Naționalism? Libertatea de a ucide'' as ''Personalitatea. Drepturile ei în artă și în viață'' ("The Personality. Its Rights on Art and Life", dedicated to philosopher and ''Noua Revistă Română'' founder
Constantin Rădulescu-Motru Constantin Rădulescu-Motru (; born Constantin Rădulescu, he added the surname ''Motru'' in 1892; February 15, 1868 – March 6, 1957) was a Romanian philosopher, psychologist, sociologist, logician, academic, dramatist, as well as left-nat ...
), and put out the first section of a more theoretical writing, ''Idei și oameni'' ("Ideas and People"). Felix Aderca's new life in Bucharest brought his affiliation to the modernist circle and magazine ''
Sburătorul ''Sburătorul'' was a Romanian Modernism, modernist literary magazine and literary society, established in Bucharest in April 1919. Led by Eugen Lovinescu, the circle was instrumental in developing new trends and styles in Romanian literature, rangi ...
''. Reportedly, he was among the privileged members of this club—that is, those whose opinions were treasured by its leader
Eugen Lovinescu Eugen Lovinescu (; 31 October 1881 – 16 July 1943) was a Romanian modernist literary historian, literary critic, academic, and novelist, who in 1919 established the ''Sburătorul'' literary club. He was the father of Monica Lovinescu, and the u ...
; according to literary historian Ovid Crohmălniceanu, he assumed the task of popularizing the anti-traditionalist and ''Sburătorist'' ideology with an intensity matched only by critics
Vladimir Streinu Nicolae Iordache (May 23, 1902 in Teiu, Argeș – November 26, 1970 in Bucharest), known by his pseudonym Vladimir Streinu, was a Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southe ...
and Pompiliu Constantinescu. A similar verdict comes from one of Lovinescu's contemporaries and rivals, the literary historian
George Călinescu George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899, Bucharest – 12 March 1965, Otopeni) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the mos ...
: " dercawas one of those with the courage of taking an immediate stance, to which the master of the house ovinescuwould subsequently add his signature and his seals". According to Marcel Aderca, it was Lovinescu who gave his father the first name ''Felix'', although the writer himself continued to exclusively use the shortened signature ''F. Aderca''. By 1927, the writer was also directly involved in publishing the eponymous tribune, serving as a member of its editorial board and contributing its regular book review column. Simona Vasilache
"Ce se citește și ce se scrie"
, in ''
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 on ...
'', Nr. 19/2008
Increasingly, the relationships between the ''Sburătorists'' were transposed on a personal level: the owner of a
Peugot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then ...
car, Aderca took his colleagues on weekend trips to Băneasa, or even into the
Southern Carpathians The Southern Carpathians (also known as the Transylvanian Alps; ro, Carpații Meridionali ; hu, Déli-Kárpátok) are a group of mountain ranges located in southern Romania. They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the P ...
.
Ioana Pârvulescu Ioana Pârvulescu (born 1960) is a Romanian writer. She was born in Brașov and studied at the University of Bucharest. She graduated in 1983 and went on to complete a PhD in literature in 1999. She teaches modern literature at the same university ...

"Îmblînzitorul"
, in ''
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 on ...
'', Nr. 17/2001
In the end, Aderca became what literary historian
Ioana Pârvulescu Ioana Pârvulescu (born 1960) is a Romanian writer. She was born in Brașov and studied at the University of Bucharest. She graduated in 1983 and went on to complete a PhD in literature in 1999. She teaches modern literature at the same university ...
describes as Lovinescu's "one true friend".
Ioana Pârvulescu Ioana Pârvulescu (born 1960) is a Romanian writer. She was born in Brașov and studied at the University of Bucharest. She graduated in 1983 and went on to complete a PhD in literature in 1999. She teaches modern literature at the same university ...

"Mulți chemați, puțini aleși..."
, in ''
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 on ...
'', Nr. 16/2001
Like other ''Sburătorists'', he acted paternally toward his mentor's young daughter, Monica (herself known in later decades as a literary critic), and was present at her baptism.
Ioana Pârvulescu Ioana Pârvulescu (born 1960) is a Romanian writer. She was born in Brașov and studied at the University of Bucharest. She graduated in 1983 and went on to complete a PhD in literature in 1999. She teaches modern literature at the same university ...

"Cadouri pentru Monica"
, in ''
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 on ...
'', Nr. 45/2003
In June 1926, he even contributed to an anthology of poems written in her honor (''Versuri pentru Monica'', or "Verse for Monica"). In other contexts, the gatherings could highlight conflicts between the various members, Aderca and Lovinescu included. As literary chronicler, Aderca stood out for his negative comments on the novels of his ''Sburătorul'' colleague, Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu: while acknowledging her glimpses of literary greatness, he criticized the liberties she took with the
Romanian language Romanian (obsolete spellings: Rumanian or Roumanian; autonym: ''limba română'' , or ''românește'', ) is the official and main language of Romania and the Moldova, Republic of Moldova. As a minority language it is spoken by stable communi ...
, and especially her barbarisms. Although he repeatedly stated his admiration for the maverick poet Al. T. Stamatiad (who clashed with Lovinescu during ''Sburătorul'' sessions), the two men quarreled over Aderca's admiration for Barbusse.


Independent modernist promoter

Aderca's own affiliation to the ''Sburătorul'' circle was loose and his interests more diverse than those of his mentor Lovinescu. Crohmălniceanu, who speaks of Aderca's "fertile agitation", also notes that Aderca divided himself among venues, breaking "countless lances in the name of modernism". Lovinescu himself, reflecting back on the period of ''Sburătorist'' beginnings, recalled that Aderca acted less as a critic, and more as a militant "theorist of derca'sown aesthetics." Together with fellow ''Sburătorist'' poet
Ion Barbu Ion Barbu (, pen name of Dan Barbilian; 18 March 1895 –11 August 1961) was a Romanian mathematician and poet. His name is associated with the Mathematics Subject Classification number 51C05, which is a major posthumous recognition reserved ...
, but contrary to Lovinescu's tastes, Aderca was promoting modernism in the form of
jazz music Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major f ...
and
jazz poetry Jazz poetry has been defined as poetry that "demonstrates jazz-like rhythm or the feel of improvisation" and also as poetry that takes jazz music, musicians, or the jazz milieu as its subject. Some critics consider it a distinct genre though others ...
: in 1921, together with Fondane and critic
Tudor Vianu Tudor Vianu (; January 8, 1898 – May 21, 1964) was a Romanian literary criticism, literary critic, art critic, poet, philosopher, academic, and translator. He had a major role on the reception and development of Modernism in Literature of Roma ...
, they entertained an
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
jazz singer named Miriam Barca, who was visiting Romania (the experience influenced some of Barbu's poetry). In 1922, he helped Fondane publish his collected essays, ''Imagini și cărți din Franța'' ("Images and Books from France"), with Editura Socec. By this phase in his career, Aderca was establishing his reputation as a magazine columnist and theater chronicler, one particularly interested in the development of modernism in
Weimar Germany The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is als ...
and in Italy. His 1922 articles include an overview of Italian
Futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...
. Published in the Craiova-based journal ''Năzuința'', it argued that the movement had set the stage for innovation not just in art, but also in everyday life and in politics. For a while in 1923, he tried his hand at publishing his own magazine, titled ''Spre Ziuă'' ("Toward Daylight"). In tandem, Aderca embarked on a collaboration with ''
Contimporanul ''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of the Romanian word for "the Contemporary", singular masculine form) was a Romanian (initially a weekly and later a monthly) avant-garde literary and art magazine, published in Bucharest between June 1922 an ...
'', a vocal modernist venue published by poet
Ion Vinea Ion Vinea (born Ioan Eugen Iovanaki, sometimes Iovanache; April 17, 1895 – July 6, 1964) was a Romanian poet, novelist, journalist, literary theorist, and political figure. He became active on the modernist scene during his teens—his poetic wo ...
. It hosted Aderca's 1923 opoen letter to Romania's theater professionals. Written as a comment to a German
art manifesto An art manifesto is a public declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of an artist or artistic movement. Manifestos are a standard feature of the various movements in the modernist avant-garde and are still written today. Art manifestos a ...
(originally published by Friedrich Sternthal in '' Der Neue Merkur''), it claimed that authors or directors unfamiliar with modern German drama could no longer be seen as competent or relevant in their field.Grigorescu, p.385 In later years, ''Contimporanul'', with its agenda set by Vinea's attack on institutionalized literary criticism, publicized a heated debate with Lovinescu and his group, leaving the undecided Aderca exposed to criticism from both sides. His contributions were hosted by several new magazines of the interwar, including
Liviu Rebreanu Liviu Rebreanu (; November 27, 1885 – September 1, 1944) was a Romanian novelist, playwright, short story writer, and journalist. Life Born in Felsőilosva (now Târlișua, Bistrița-Năsăud County, Transylvania), then part of the Kingd ...
's '' Mișcarea Literară'', where, in 1925, Aderca notably published an introduction to the writings of German dramatist
Georg Kaiser Friedrich Carl Georg Kaiser, called Georg Kaiser, (25 November 1878 – 4 June 1945) was a German dramatist. Biography Kaiser was born in Magdeburg. He was highly prolific and wrote in a number of different styles. An Expressionist dramatist, ...
. This period witnessed the incorporation of
Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
into his literary work, an early result of this being his 1923 text for the stage, ''Sburătorul'' (named, like the magazine, in reference to the '' Zburător'' myths in
Romanian folklore The folklore of Romania is the collection of traditions of the Romanians. A feature of Romanian culture is the special relationship between folklore and the learned culture, determined by two factors. First, the rural character of the Romanian ...
).Cernat, p.271 His growing sympathy for Expressionist drama, or "abstract theater", was also expressed in a set of articles for '' Rampa''. Published from 1924 to 1925, these documented, alongside Aderca's admiration for the plays of
Frank Wedekind Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the de ...
, his appreciation for the Romanian Expressionists
Lucian Blaga Lucian Blaga (; 9 May 1895 – 6 May 1961) was a Romanian philosopher, poet, playwright, poetry translator and novelist. He was a commanding personality of the Romanian culture of the interbellum period. Biography Blaga was born on 9 May 1895 ...
and
Adrian Maniu Adrian Maniu (February 6, 1891 – April 20, 1968) was a Romanian poet, prose writer, playwright, essayist, and translator. Born in Bucharest, his father Grigore, a native of Lugoj, was a jurist and professor of commercial law at the University of ...
. Aderca was also among those who saluted the Expressionist
Vilna Troupe The Vilna Troupe ( yi, Vilner trupe ווילנער טרופע; lt, Vilniaus trupė; pl, Trupa Wileńska; ro, Trupa din Vilna), also known as Fareyn Fun Yiddishe Dramatishe Artistn (Federation of Yiddish Dramatic Actors) and later ''Dramă şi Com ...
, giving his endorsement to their rendition of
Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...
's ''
Marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
''. Other texts by Aderca saw print in ''
Punct Punct may refer to: * Punct (magazine), Romanian art magazine *PÜNCT ''PÜNCT'' is a two-player strategy board game. It is the sixth release in the ''GIPF'' project of seven abstract strategy games, although it is considered the fifth game in ...
'' (a provincial satellite of ''Contimporanul'', founded and edited by
Scarlat Callimachi Scarlat Callimachi or Calimachi (; nicknamed ''Prinţul Roşu'', "the Red Prince"; September 20, 1896 – June 2, 1975) was a Romanian journalist, essayist, futurist poet, trade unionist, and communist activist, a member of the Callimachi fa ...
), and in '' Omul Liber'' daily, where, in 1923, he denounced novelist
Cezar Petrescu Cezar Petrescu (; December 1, 1892–March 9, 1961) was a Romanian journalist, novelist, and children's writer. He was born in Hodora, Iași County, the son of Dimitrie Petrescu, an engineer and a teacher. After attending elementary school ...
for having
plagiarized Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...
the writings of
Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...
. His ideas on Jewish community life saw print in '' Lumea Evree'', a bimonthly put out by philosopher Iosif Brucăr. His other articles and various pieces were scattered throughout literary reviews: ''
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. ...
'', '' Vremea'', '' Ideea Europeană'', ''
Adevărul Literar și Artistic ''Adevărul'' (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published du ...
'', ''
Flacăra ''Flacăra'' (Romanian for "The Flame") is a weekly literary magazine published in Bucharest, Romania. History and profile ''Flacăra'' was started in 1911. The first issue was published on 22 October 1911. The founder was Constantin Banu and ...
'', ''
Revista Fundațiilor Regale ''Revista Fundațiilor Regale'' ("The Review of Royal Foundations") was a monthly literary, art and culture magazine published in Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeas ...
'', '' Revista Literară'' and the literary supplement of ''
Universul ''Universul'' was a mass-circulation newspaper in Romania. It existed from 1884 to 1953, and was run by Stelian Popescu from 1914 to 1943 (with a two-year break during World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbrev ...
'' Simona Vasilache
"Manuale și manifeste"
, in ''
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 on ...
'', Nr. 36/2008
all featured his work. Researcher Dumitru Hîncu, who counts some 60 publications to have enlisted Aderca's contribution, also notes his collaboration with '' Îndreptarea'', the press organ of
Alexandru Averescu Alexandru Averescu (; 9 March 1859 – 2 October 1938) was a Romanian marshal, diplomat and populist politician. A Romanian Armed Forces Commander during World War I, he served as Prime Minister of three separate cabinets (as well as being ''inter ...
's People's Party. In addition to signing with his name or initials (capitalized or not), Aderca used a variety of pseudonyms, including ''Willy'', ''W.'' and ''Oliver'', ''A. Tutova'', ''Clifford Moore'', ''F. Lix'', ''Lix'', and ''N. Popov''.Michael Peschke (ed.), ''International Encyclopedia of Pseudonyms. Part I: Real Names'',
K. G. Saur Verlag K. G. Saur Verlag is a German publisher that specializes in reference information for libraries. The publishing house, founded by Karl Saur, is owned by Walter de Gruyter and is based in Munich. In 1987, K. G. Saur was acquired by Reed Intern ...
, Munich, 2005, p.18.
He was also using the names ''Masca de fier'' ("The Iron Mask"), ''Masca de catifea'' ("The Velvet Mask") and ''Omul cu mască de mătase'' ("The Man with the Silk Mask"). His activities as a cultural promoter opened the way for the recognition of other Romanian modernists. According to Crohmălniceanu, Aderca's efforts were important in formally establishing the reputation of poets
Tudor Arghezi Tudor Arghezi (; 21 May 1880 – 14 July 1967) was a Romanian writer, best known for his unique contribution to poetry and children's literature. Born Ion N. Theodorescu in Bucharest, he explained that his pen name was related to ''Argesis'', th ...
(whom Aderca viewed as the greatest of his lifetime) and Barbu. In the early 1920s, Aderca had sporadically contributed to the magazine '' Cuget Românesc'', where Arghezi was an editor. By 1928, he became co-editor of Arghezi's humorous sheet ''
Bilete de Papagal ''Bilete de Papagal'' was a Romanian left-wing publication edited by Tudor Arghezi, begun as a daily newspaper and soon after issued as a weekly satirical and literary magazine. It was published at three different intervals: 1928-1930, 1937-1938, ...
'', one of several Jewish Romanian writers who were among Arghezi's dedicated promoters. In parallel, his contribution as a protector of the Romanian
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
was being acknowledged by some of its members, and noted by the aspiring author Jacques G. Costin. Costin addressed him in 1932: "You are kind and you have much perspired for the great causes." Aderca's other activity, as a translator, produced versions of
Romain Rolland Romain Rolland (; 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French dramatist, novelist, essayist, art historian and Mysticism, mystic who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915 "as a tribute to the lofty idealism of his literary pro ...
's ''The Humble Life of the Hero'' and ''The Precursors'' (both 1924), as well as of texts by Stefan Zweig (1926). He also translated
Karel Čapek Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright and critic. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel ''War with the Newts'' (1936) and play ''R.U.R.'' (''Rossum's Universal Ro ...
's '' R. U. R.'' (1926), and Barbusse's '' Under Fire'' (1935).


Early 1930s

Aderca's advocacy of Lovinescu's ideas, with its critique of
didacticism Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature, art, and design. In art, design, architecture, and landscape, didacticism is an emerging conceptual approach that is driven by the urgent need to ...
and political command in art, was the connecting element of the essays he published in 1929: ''Mic tratat de estetică sau lumea văzută estetic'' ("A Concise Tract on Aesthetics or The World Seen in Aesthetic Terms"). Also that year, Aderca compiled interviews with literary figures, intellectuals and artists, under the title ''Mărturia unei generații'' ("A Generation's Testimony"). The book, illustrated with ink portraits drawn by the Constructivist artist
Marcel Janco Marcel Janco (, ; common rendition of the Romanian language, Romanian name Marcel Hermann Iancu ; 24 May 1895 – 21 April 1984) was a Romanian and Israeli visual artist, architect and art theorist. He was the co-inventor of Dadaism and a leading ...
, Simona Vasilache
"Reporter de leat"
, in ''
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 on ...
'', Nr. 31/2008
was, its title notwithstanding, a homage to writers of several generations. It notably included an extended discussion between Aderca and Lovinescu, summarizing the compatibilities, and disagreements, between the two ''Sburătorists''.Crohmălniceanu (1972), p.37 Elsewhere, Aderca approaches Ion Barbu to discuss the principal stages in Barbu's poetry: Barbu rejects Aderca's calling his 1920s hermetics phase ''șaradistă'' ("
charades Charades (, ). is a parlor game, parlor or party game, party word game, word guessing game. Originally, the game was a dramatic form of literary charades: a single person would act out each syllable of a word or phrase in order, followed by the w ...
-ist"), opening up a field of debates between later exegetes of his work. In other chapters, Cezar Petrescu recounts his ideological preparation and his various youthful choices, while Arghezi speaks about his commitment to
art for art's sake Art for art's sake—the usual English rendering of ''l'art pour l'art'' (), a French slogan from the latter part of the 19th century—is a phrase that expresses the philosophy that the intrinsic value of art, and the only 'true' art, is divorce ...
. The book also includes exchanges between Aderca and sculptor
Oscar Han Oscar Han (December 3, 1891 in Bucharest – February 14, 1976 in Bucharest) was a Romanian sculptor and writer. A student of Dimitrie Paciurea at the Academy of Arts in Bucharest, he was a member of ''the Group of Four'' together with painters ...
, who reacts against the official policies in regard to national landmarks. The other men and women interviewed by Aderca are: writers Blaga, Papadat-Bengescu, Rebreanu, Vinea, Ticu Archip,
Camil Petrescu Camil Petrescu (; 9/21 April 1894 – 14 May 1957) was a Romanian playwright, novelist, philosopher and poet. He marked the end of the traditional novel era and laid the foundation of the modern novel era in Romania. Life Petrescu was born in Bu ...
, Carol Ardeleanu,
Ioan Alexandru Brătescu-Voinești Ioan Alexandru Brătescu-Voinești (January 1, 1868 – December 14, 1946) was a Romanian short story writer and politician. The scion of a minor aristocratic family from Târgoviște, he studied law and, as a young man, drew close to the ''Junim ...
,
Vasile Demetrius Vasile Demetrius (pen name of Vasile Dumitrescu; October 1, 1878–March 15, 1942) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian prose writer, poet and translator. Born in Șcheii Brașovului, his parents were Dumitru Ogea, who built and maintained ...
,
Mihail Dragomirescu Mihail Dragomirescu (March 22, 1868 – November 25, 1942) was a Romanian aesthetician, literary theorist and critic. Born in Plătărești, Călărași County, he completed primary school in his native village in 1881, followed by Bucharest's G ...
,
Victor Eftimiu Victor Eftimiu (; 24 January 1889 – 27 November 1972) was a Romanian poet and playwright. He was a contributor to ''Sburătorul'', a Romanian literary magazine. His works have been performed in the State Jewish Theater of Romania. Eftim ...
, Elena Farago, Gala Galaction, Octavian Goga, Ion Minulescu, D. Nanu, Cincinat Pavelescu, Mihail Sadoveanu and Mihail Sorbul; actresses Dida Solomon, Marioara Ventura and Marioara Voiculescu; sculptor Ion Jalea and art collector Krikor Zambaccian."''Mărturia unei generații'' de Felix Aderca"
in ''Observator Cultural'', Nr. 165-166, April 2003
At around the same time, Aderca reviewed the works of Benjamin Fondane, prompted by Fondane's success in France. His recollections about ''Insula'' and his summary of Fondane's schooling were corrected by Fondane himself, who was somewhat irritated by the affair (the poet's reply was published in 1930 in ''Adam'', a magazine put out by Isac Ludo). Despite such disagreements, Aderca and Fondane were still corresponding frequently, and Aderca was even approached to arrange Fondane's return visit Romania (planned during Fondane's second stay in Argentina). Aderca's next contributions as a novelist came in 1932, when he completed the
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
volume ''Aventurile D-lui Ionel Lăcustă-Termidor'' ("The Adventures of Mr. Ionel Lăcustă-Termidor") and published, in two consecutive issues of ''Realitatea Ilustrată'' magazine, the first fragments of his
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
work, ''Orașele înecate'' ("The Drowned Cities"), later known as ''Orașe scufundate'' ("Submerged Cities"). Originally, these pieces, grouped under the working title ''X-O. Romanul viitorului'' ("X-O. A Novel of the Future"), were signed with the pen name ''Leone Palmantini''. A faux biographical note introduced him as an Italian national with a keen interest in Romania. Elvira Sorohan
"Avatarurile unui roman"
, in ''România Literar'', Nr. 8/2005
Two years later, Aderca's various biographical sketches of 19th- and 20th-century personalities came out as ''Oameni excepționali'' ("Exceptional People"), F. Aderca, Valentin Chifor
"F. Aderca, intuiții politice"
, in ''
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 on ...
'', Nr. 30/2008
followed in 1935 by his essay on modern life in the United States. Ștefan Borbély
"O lectură constructivă"
in ''Observator Cultural'', Nr. 296, November 2005
He expanded his range as a journalist, collaborating on Petre Pandrea's ''Cuvântul Liber (1933), Cuvântul Liber'', Ludo's ''Adam'', and ''Discobolul'' (put out by Dan Petrașincu and Ieronim Șerbu).


Pornography scandal

In the late 1920s, Aderca became involved in the great debate opposing modernists and traditionalists over the issue of "pornography" in literature, both foreign (translated) and local. A 1931 article for ''Vremea'', titled ''Pornografie?'' ("Pornography?") and subtitled ''Note pentru un studiu de literatură comparată'' ("Notes for a study in comparative literature"), he spoke out against such branding, notably defending the artistic integrity of James Joyce and the sexual content of his novel ''Ulysses (novel), Ulysses''. At around the same time, he offered an enthusiastic reception to a similarly controversial work by young Romanian author Mircea Eliade, ''Isabel și apele diavolului'', writing for ''Adevărul'' newspaper: "In a country of great culture, such a debut would have brought glory, fame, and riches to the author." His political stances and his rejection of sexual conventions brought him to the attention of state authorities. A confidential 1927 report compiled by ''Siguranța Statului'' secret service stated allegations about his "lack of respect" for King of Romania, King Ferdinand I of Romania, Ferdinand I, his ridicule of "our healthy customs" and for tradition, his recourse to "most detestable pornography" and "deranged sexuality". The period also saw Aderca and other young modernists in conflict with historian Nicolae Iorga, the editor of ''Cuget Clar'' review and doyen of Romanian traditionalism, who branded Aderca as a purveyor of "sick" literature. At ''Cuvântul Liber'', he defended in effigy the classic of Romanian cosmopolitanism and literary realism, Ion Luca Caragiale, from attacks by the modern traditionalist, N. Davidescu (whom Aderca dismissed as a "sanguinary reactionary"). In 1932, Aderca, together with fellow novelists Camil Petrescu and
Liviu Rebreanu Liviu Rebreanu (; November 27, 1885 – September 1, 1944) was a Romanian novelist, playwright, short story writer, and journalist. Life Born in Felsőilosva (now Târlișua, Bistrița-Năsăud County, Transylvania), then part of the Kingd ...
, took part in a public discussion (presided upon by philosopher Ion Petrovici and held inside a Lipscani cinema), tackling the international scandal sparked by D. H. Lawrence's book ''Lady Chatterley's Lover'', and, in more general terms, the degree of acceptance for both
erotic literature Erotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of eros (passionate, romantic or sexual relationships) intended to arouse similar feelings in readers. This contrasts erotica, which focuses more specifically on sexual feel ...
and Romanian profanity, profane language. Vitalie Ciobanu
"Bucureștiul 'vârstei de aur' "
, in ''Contrafort'', Nr. 7-8 (105-106), July–August 2003
Gheorghe Grigurcu
"Despre pornografie"
, in ''
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 on ...
'', Nr. 2/2007
In the end, the participants found that they could agree on dropping some of the more rigid traditional conventions, including the practice of self-censorship, while Aderca himself publicized his praise for Lawrence's "unparalleled poetic moment". The following year, he completed work on a novel directly inspired by Lawrence: ''Al doilea amant al doamnei Chatterley'' ("Lady Chatterley's Second Lover"), called "an unsettling remake" by literary historian Ștefan Borbély, and retrospectively listed by critic Gheorghe Grigurcu among the most important sexually-themed Romanian texts of Aderca's generation. At the center of a major scandal, ''Al doilea amant'' resulted, some four years later, in Aderca's arrest on charges on pornography. Aderca was thus the last alleged pornographer to be taken in custody among a wave of modernist authors: directly preceding him were Geo Bogza and H. Bonciu, the former of whom publicly defended himself and his colleagues with statements than none of the works incriminated had been printed in more than 500 copies.Ornea, p.451 The 1937 clampdown was celebrated by the far-right and traditionalist press, and notably so by critic Ovidiu Papadima's articles in the
fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
paper ''Sfarmă-Piatră''. Similarly, Iorga's nationalist magazines ''Cuget Clar'' and ''Neamul Românesc'' signaled Aderca as one of the ten Romanian authors worthy of an official blacklisting. In the remaining years leading up
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Aderca was centering his interest on political themes. It was at this stage that he wrote ''1916'', a novel largely dedicated to Romania during World War I, Romania's World War I defeats, first printed on their 20th anniversary (1936). In 1937, Editura Vremea also issued the first complete edition of ''Orașele înecate'', revealing him as the man behind the ''Palmantini'' surname. ''Revolte'' ("Revolts"), first published in 1945 but, according to Aderca's own statement, completed in 1938,Cubleșan, p.86 explored the issues posed by Romania's judicial system, while ''A fost odată un imperiu'' ("There Once Was an Empire", 1939) was in part a historical novel about the decline and fall of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia.Crohmălniceanu (1972), p.429


Antisemitic persecution and World War II

In early 1938, soon after the Antisemitism, antisemitic political partners Octavian Goga and A. C. Cuza formed a new cabinet, Aderca found himself directly exposed to political repercussions. While all Jewish non-veterans were being expelled from the public service, Labor Minister Gheorghe Cuza issued an order to have Aderca sent on disciplinary reassignment to a remote city, either Cernăuți or Chișinău. Ovidiu Morar
"Scriitorii evrei și 'corectitudinea politică' din România"
, in ''Convorbiri Literare'', July 2007
The measure, which implied that Aderca would be forced to leave his wife and son behind, sparked a public protest from writer Zaharia Stancu. He denounced the hypocrisy of persecuting a Jew who had "done his duty in full" during the war, whereas Prime Minister of Romania, Premier Goga had no military record to speak of. Jewish writer Mihail Sebastian also recorded, in his ''Journal'', the sadness of seeing how, "after two wars and twenty books", the middle-aged Aderca was being sent away from the capital and being reduced to a precarious existence "as a reprisal." Sebastian added: "I read a letter he sent to his wife: no laments, almost no bitterness." Aderca was then ordered to yet another corner of the country, in the town of Lugoj, before being stripped of his clerk post altogether. Although expelled from the Writers' Society for being Jewish, Aderca spent some of the following period writing a
biographical novel The biographical novel is a genre of novel which provides a fictional account of a contemporary or historical person's life. Like other forms of biographical fiction, details are often trimmed or reimagined to meet the artistic needs of the fiction ...
on List of Russian rulers, Russian Emperor Peter I of Russia, Peter the Great; completed in 1940, it was titled ''Petru cel Mare: întâiul revoluționar-constructorul Rusiei'', "Peter the Great: The Original Revolutionist, the Constructor of Russia". Iulia Deleanu
"Epoca interbelică – refolosirea balanței"
in ''Observator Cultural'', Nr. 406, January 2008
Later that year, Aderca was again in Bucharest, where he became artistic director of the State Jewish Theater (Romania), Barașeum Jewish Theater before its grand opening. The context was exceptionally difficult for the Jewish ghetto, as the radically fascist Iron Guard set up its National Legionary State, National Legionary government. Aderca's mission was aggravated by other issues:
Marcel Janco Marcel Janco (, ; common rendition of the Romanian language, Romanian name Marcel Hermann Iancu ; 24 May 1895 – 21 April 1984) was a Romanian and Israeli visual artist, architect and art theorist. He was the co-inventor of Dadaism and a leading ...
, in charge of renovation, escaped to Mandatory Palestine, Palestine before the inauguration; in parallel, a conflict over the repertoire took place between lead actresses Leny Caler and Beate Fredanov, while Aderca's friend Sebastian declined interest in helping him manage the theater. Geo Șerban
"Constructorul Marcel Iancu"
in ''Observator Cultural'', Nr. 573, May 2011
The Legionnaires' rebellion and Bucharest pogrom, January 1941 Rebellion, when Romania's Authoritarianism, authoritarian leader Ion Antonescu was confronted by a violent rising of his Iron Guard partners, made Aderca a victim of the parallel Bucharest pogrom. Sebastian's ''Journal'' claims that Aderca was "almost comical in his naiveté": instead of hiding from the Guard's murderous rampage, Aderca had walked into a Guardist meeting house "in search of information", was kidnapped and beaten up, but released just as others in the makeshift prison were being killed. Barașeum opened, under new management, a month later. After new antisemitic legislation expelled Jews from the civil service and the Education in Romania, education system (''see Romania during World War II, Holocaust in Romania''), Aderca found employment as a lecturer in aesthetics at the private Jewish school of Marcu Onescu. Geo Șerban
"Memorii amânate. Confirmări, completări și alte repere orientative"
, in ''
Realitatea Evreiască ''Realitatea Evreiască'' ( Romanian for "The Jewish Reality") is a Romanian cultural and news magazine, based in Bucharest, and addressed to the local Jewish community. The magazine was founded in 1956 under the name ''Revista Cultului Mozaic d ...
'', Nr. 259-260 (1059-1060), September–October 2006
He, Sebastian and the other Jewish Romanian literary people and journalists were mentioned on a censorship list compiled by the Antonescu government, their works officially banned. Among those who still visited Aderca's home near the Cișmigiu Gardens was Sebastian, who also worked at the Onescu private school, and Lovinescu, before his untimely death. Following his expulsion from the Writers' Society, Aderca lost his financial backbone. According to poet Virgil Carianopol, he relied on help from fellow writer Marius Mircu (known to him by the pen name ''G. M. Vlădescu''), whose estate and revenue was distributed among a host a marginalized artists. In August 1941, the antisemitic policies endorsed by Antonescu exposed Aderca to the risk of internment in a labor camp for Jewish prisoners. He received official notice to present himself for deportation, but, owing to his World War I military record, he was eventually granted a reprieve.


Late 1940s

Aderca resumed his cultural activities shortly after the King Michael's Coup, 1944 Coup toppled Antonescu. The new governments appointed him head of Artistic Education within the Ministry of Culture and National Patrimony (Romania), Ministry of Arts, where he was kept until 1948.Crohmălniceanu (1994), p.81 By January 1945, he was engaged in a polemic with
George Călinescu George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899, Bucharest – 12 March 1965, Otopeni) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the mos ...
. Focusing on Călinescu's mixed review of his novels, it was sparked by Aderca's article in ''Democrația'' gazette (titled ''Rondul de noapte'', or "Night Watch"), and later rekindled by replies in newspapers such as ''Victoria'' and ''Națiunea Română''.Piru, in Călinescu, p.XI Aderca was in contact with a younger author, Ion Biberi, who published their conversations as a chapter of his volume ''Lumea de mâine'' ("The World of Tomorrow"). Iulia Popovici
"Profeții de altădată"
in ''Observator Cultural'', Nr. 115, May 2002
Aderce received several honors, including a Knighthood of the ''Meritul Cultural'' Order, and work began on a definitive edition of his works. In May 1945, he represented the Ministry of Arts at the funeral of his friend Sebastian, who had been killed in a road accident. Reintegrated into the Writers' Society, Aderca was a member of the panel which granted the 1946 National Prize for Prose Works to his former colleague Papadat-Bengescu. In his articles for Romanian papers, Aderca himself described this measure as a sign that Romania was returning to artistic and political normality, rewarding talent on a democratic rather than ethnic basis. Sanda Cordoș
"Un tăcut semn de întrebare"
, in ''Apostrof'', Nr. 2/2006 (republished by the
Romanian Cultural Institute The Romanian Cultural Institute ( ro, Institutul Cultural Român, ICR), headquartered in Bucharest, was established in 2004 on the older institutional framework provided by the Romanian Cultural Foundation and before 1989 by the Institute for ...
'
''România Culturală''
)
Following Lovinescu's death, Aderca joined a board of writers which still granting annual awards in his memory. By this moment, Aderca was taking part in disputes between the more established ''Sburătorists'' and Lovinescu's younger disciples from the Sibiu Literary Circle. While he shared the awards panel with Sibiu Circle leader Ion Negoițescu, Aderca made known his opposition to making poet Ștefan Augustin Doinaș a laureate for 1947, probably owing to Doinaș's occasional recourse to Patriotism, patriotic, and therefore politicized, subjects. In addition to the delayed edition of ''Revolte'' and the 1945 version of his collected writings (published in 1945 as ''Opere'', "Works", and prefaced by
Tudor Vianu Tudor Vianu (; January 8, 1898 – May 21, 1964) was a Romanian literary criticism, literary critic, art critic, poet, philosopher, academic, and translator. He had a major role on the reception and development of Modernism in Literature of Roma ...
), Adrian Mihalache
"Scriitorul ca oglindă a criticului"
, in ''Cuvântul (literary magazine), Cuvântul'', Nr. 365, November 2007
Henri Zalis
"F. Aderca, prozator romantic"
, in ''
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 on ...
'', Nr. 34/2001
he made his comeback with a 1947 volume of conversations on the art of ballet,Crohmălniceanu (1972), p.423 while resuming his activities as a translator with versions of books by, among others, Vicki Baum, John Steinbeck and Egon Erwin Kisch. He also completed a new work in drama, the parable ''Muzică de balet'' ("Ballet Music"). It doubled as a comment on wartime antisemitism. Henri Zalis
"Multivalența cristalizărilor versus Drumul Doctrinar" (II)
, in ''Cuvântul (literary magazine), Cuvântul'', Nr. 370, April 2008


Final years and death

According to Crohmălniceanu, Aderca's political nonconformity was already showing up in 1950, when the literary community began avoiding "as the plague". He spent part of 1951 at a Writers' Union of Romania, Writers' Union vacation home in Sinaia, leaving behind a manuscript diary of his experiences. Although critical of the old regime and compliant with the official dogma, it described the place as a run-down refuge for literary failures, desperate to assimilate the tenets of Socialist realism in Romania, socialist realism, and allowing themselves to be closely monitored by political supervisors. The final portion of Aderca's work, which covers the period after the establishment of a Communist Romania, Romanian communist regime, is focused on children's literature, as well as on biographical and adventure novels (or, according to Crohmălniceanu, "books for the youth, romanticized biographies and historical-adventure evocations"). These volumes include the 1955 book ''În valea marelui fluviu'' ("Along the Great River's Valley"), a 1957 biography of Christopher Columbus and the 1958 ''Jurnalul lui Andrei Hudici'' ("The Diary of Andrei Hudici"), and a narrative set in Peter the Great's Russia (''Un călăreț pierdut în stepă'', "A Rider Lost in the Steppe"). Partly motivated by ideological commands, he also contributed a biographical essya of the 19th-century Marxism, Marxist ideologue, Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea.Gheorghe Grigurcu
"Un nou A.C. Cuza"
, in ''
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 on ...
'', Nr. 13/2002
Incapacitated by a severe road accident, Aderca spent the final years of his life in relative isolation. His 1956 contract with Editura de Stat pentru Literatură și Artă (ESPLA), a state publishing house supervised by writer Petru Dumitriu, resulted in public scandal: ESPLA filed a legal complaint against Aderca, accusing him of not having returned a large sum of money he had received as an advance on his planned novel ''Casa cu cinci fete'' ("The House with Five Girls"). The work had been rejected for its "ideological-political mistakes" and "plainly reactionary ideas" (''see Censorship in Communist Romania''). He was blacklisted again, but Crohmălniceanu obtained a partial clearing of his name in 1960. Aderca was allowed to publish in ''Contemporanul'' an homage to Arghezi, who had just been fully Rehabilitation (Soviet), rehabilitated. In the early 1960s, Aderca and Sanda Movilă were again frequenting the Writers' Union clubs. Aderca found himself snubbed by Arghezi, which upset him greatly. The controversy about his work was renewed in 1962. That year, ESPLA's new manager, Mihai Gafița, decided against publishing Aderca's three-volume biographical study on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, on which the aging writer had reportedly been working since 1948. This reaction greatly upset Aderca. He appeal to the highest authority, Romanian Communist Party, Communist Party leader Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, asking him to reassess the text's ideological substance. He noted that another one of his texts, a reportage piece about workers in the Magyar Autonomous Region, was also being ignored by Gafița. As early as 1956, Aderca was displaying signs of a neurological disorder. Diagnosed with a brain tumor, he died before the ESPLA matter could be settled. In accordance with his dying request, his body was Cremation in Romania, cremated and the ashes were scattered into the Black Sea by his widow and son. Mircea Moisa
"Henri Zalis - la ceas aniversar semnificativ"
in '' Ramuri'', May 23, 2007


Work


General characteristics

Starting in the 1920s, Aderca earned the critics' attention with the frequency of his contributions and combative stances. Writing in 1945,
Tudor Vianu Tudor Vianu (; January 8, 1898 – May 21, 1964) was a Romanian literary criticism, literary critic, art critic, poet, philosopher, academic, and translator. He had a major role on the reception and development of Modernism in Literature of Roma ...
described him as the local "''Encyclopédistes, encyclopédiste''", suggesting that reviewing Aderca's entire work would take a lifetime. Literary historian Henri Zalis notes that Aderca was well liked for his "extreme feverishness", adopting so many literary that his colleagues were inevitably eclipsed: "we find in Aderca the rural and the urban epics, the erotic annotation and the obsessive fixation, the tribulation of a mindset as much as the traumatic drunkenness."
George Călinescu George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899, Bucharest – 12 March 1965, Otopeni) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the mos ...
saw in Aderca a "humorist" of "subtle reserve" and "decent sarcasm", who could nevertheless veer into uncritical enthusiasm for the "fictitious world" of political ideology.Călinescu, p.789 Aderca's contribution to Romanian humor was highlighted by others among his contemporaries: one of them, memoirist Vlaicu Bârna, recalled his "causer's charm". Although acknowledged for its productivity, Aderca's writing career was seen by various critics as marked by inconsistencies and failures. One such voice from his own generation, Pompiliu Constantinescu, opined that Aderca's intelligence got in the way of his sensitivity, hampering his style. Decades later, literary critic Constantin Cubleșan spoke of Aderca as one of several interwar authors who incorporated Modernist literature, modernist influences, in a wide variety of literary genres, "without ever really deepening any"; Aderca's contribution brings together "parabolic conflicts" and "Literary naturalism, naturalism", at the risk of blandness. He sees Aderca as the "underachieving virtuoso" with an "undecided place" in culture.Cubleșan, p.87 Cubleșan believes that, despite Aderca's fecundity, he never made the Romanian literary who's who. In support of this, he cites a 1936 essay by modernist writer and critic Eugène Ionesco. Having already attacked Aderca and other established voices in criticism with his 1934 pamphlet ''Nu'' ("No"), Simona Vasilache
"Statui?"
, in ''
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 on ...
'', Nr. 22/2009
Ionesco concluded that Aderca had "the destiny of a journalist: his literary glory is condemned to be as ephemeral as it is diverse, and his name cannot be tied down to any somewhat important work".


Aderca's modernism

The many aspects of Aderca's work, critics suggest, are held together by a thread of experimental literature. In reference to such aspects, Constantin Cubleșan defined Aderca as "a permanent literary rebel, ever ready to contest anything and become enthusiastic, in equal measure, over anything, in fact searching for himself." Writing in 2005, Ștefan Borbély noted that much of this literature was commercial in nature, driven by the wish to assimilate fashionable themes. In contrast, Henri Zalis, who cites an earlier statement made by Vianu, finds Aderca to be a storyteller in the Romanticism, Romantic tradition. Zalis also notes that such difficulties in assessing Aderca's stylistic category have to do with the single motivation of his protagonists, often an erotic one, which "circumscribes" their whole existence. Zalis sees Aderca's work as superficially indebted to the more naturalistic modernist school, through its vitalism, but ultimately "bookish" in character. With his literary theory, Aderca sought to import Western modernism, acclimatizing its diverse components to a Romanian context. His various works are more or less explicitly indebted to
Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
, which they mimic in altering traditional narrative techniques. As historian Dan Grigorescu suggests, Aderca's articles fail to state outright his affiliation to Expressionism, but nevertheless allude to a "total" commitment. Crohmălniceanu places Aderca midway between naturalistic techniques and Expressionism, in the proximity of writers such as Gib Mihăescu and George Mihail Zamfirescu. Expressionist distortions, he notes, are used by Aderca only where they can suggest a "second level" of the narrative.Crohmălniceanu (1972), p.424 Cubleșan explains Aderca's "Utopian and dystopian fiction, utopian" works as inherently Expressionistic, "evading the terrifying concreteness of immediate reality". Additionally, literary historian Paul Cernat places Aderca's 1923 play, ''Sburătorul'', in the Expressionist "harvest" of early 1920s Romania (alongside works by Blaga, George Ciprian,
Adrian Maniu Adrian Maniu (February 6, 1891 – April 20, 1968) was a Romanian poet, prose writer, playwright, essayist, and translator. Born in Bucharest, his father Grigore, a native of Lugoj, was a jurist and professor of commercial law at the University of ...
and Isaia Răcăciuni). He also cautions that, despite their modernism, all these texts "did not feature anything radical." While borrowing from Expressionist ideology and other products of modern German literature, Aderca adopted and promoted styles associated with the other new trends of Western Europe. A modernist colleague, the literary critic Perpessicius, noted that Aderca was one of Romania's writers most inspired by psychoanalysis, at a time when Romanians were just learning about its existence. Crohmălniceanu also drew attention to Aderca's adoption of internal monologues. Aderca's unconventional style, like those of Ion Călugăru,
Ion Vinea Ion Vinea (born Ioan Eugen Iovanaki, sometimes Iovanache; April 17, 1895 – July 6, 1964) was a Romanian poet, novelist, journalist, literary theorist, and political figure. He became active on the modernist scene during his teens—his poetic wo ...
or Maniu, was associated by some with the trademark style of Urmuz, a maverick figure of the 1920s Romanian
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
scene. This suggestion was criticized by Perpessicius, who concluded that Urmuz was virtually unknown to the world by the time Aderca began writing his prose.Cernat, p.348 Another guiding light in Aderca's work was French novelist Marcel Proust. Aderca,
Benjamin Fondane Benjamin Fondane () or Benjamin Fundoianu (; born Benjamin Wechsler, Wexler or Vecsler, first name also Beniamin or Barbu, usually abridged to B.; November 14, 1898 – October 2, 1944) was a Romanian and France, French poet, critic and Existentia ...
and Mihai Ralea were among the first Romanian critics to review Proust's literary techniques. Dana Pîrvan-Jenaru
"Receptarea lui Proust în România"
in ''Observator Cultural'', Nr. 436, August 2008
Among the critics, Crohmălniceanu argues that Proustian "formulas" and borrowings from James Joyce are the backbone of Aderca's fiction work, and announce later developments in Romanian modernism. The accuracy of Aderca's early pronouncements about ''In Search of Lost Time'' was much debated within the Romanian literary community. In essence, Aderca depicted Proust as a "Symbolism (arts), Symbolist novelist" and a visionary subverter of the classical novel. Dana Pîrvan-Jenaru
"Mihail Sebastian și arta de a polemiza"
in ''Observator Cultural'', Nr. 393, October 2007
His friend Mihail Sebastian energetically disputed such assessments (Sebastian contrarily believed that Proust had in fact fortified an endangered classical genre); he also rejected Aderca's attempts to identify the real-life inspirations behind Proustian characters.


''Sburătorism'' and anti-''Sburătorism''

Despite his own beginnings in provincial traditionalism, Aderca was mostly noted as a vocal critic of the current heralded by ''
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 ...
'' and '' Ramuri''. Like
Eugen Lovinescu Eugen Lovinescu (; 31 October 1881 – 16 July 1943) was a Romanian modernist literary historian, literary critic, academic, and novelist, who in 1919 established the ''Sburătorul'' literary club. He was the father of Monica Lovinescu, and the u ...
and other ''Sburătorul'' faction representatives, Aderca paid homage to an era of
art for art's sake Art for art's sake—the usual English rendering of ''l'art pour l'art'' (), a French slogan from the latter part of the 19th century—is a phrase that expresses the philosophy that the intrinsic value of art, and the only 'true' art, is divorce ...
, an art that, as he put it, "must remain nude".Crohmălniceanu (1972), p.31 In doing so, Aderca took some inspiration from the 19th century literary club ''Junimea''. According to Crohmălniceanu, Lovinescu and Aderca both maintained a "cult" of Maiorescu, whom ''Mic tratat de estetică'' depicted as more of an anti-establishment character more than the Conservatism, conservative politico of other accounts. Overall, Aderca endorsed Lovinescu's synthesis of ''Junimism'' and modernism, known as "synchronism". Like Lovinescu, he spoke out against the traditionalist brakes on Westernization, and proposing an even fuller integration with Western culture.Crohmălniceanu (1972), p.33 Some who witnessed first-hand the debates at ''Sburătorul'' suggest that Aderca's ideas on poetics greatly influenced the group's ideology, while fitting into Lovinescu's greater theoretical scheme. Such ideas placed Aderca squarely against the voices of traditionalism, whether Right-wing politics, right- or Left-wing politics, left-wing. His attack on right-wing traditionalists featured sarcastic remarks, for instance referring to historian and critic Nicolae Iorga as the one driving "the boorish carts of ''Sămănătorism''". In Aderca's view, the leftist traditionalists emerging from the Poporanism, Poporanist faction were just as wrong in demanding the application of a "national criterion" in art. He stated this objection in a publicized polemic with the Poporanist doyen Garabet Ibrăileanu: "I do not know if [Romanian cultural products] are not in essence, at the stage where culture has penetrated, the same as those [of peripheral regions] where the iron man of Culture of Europe, European civilization walks with a heavy stride." He ridiculed the
didacticism Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature, art, and design. In art, design, architecture, and landscape, didacticism is an emerging conceptual approach that is driven by the urgent need to ...
of other writers, dismissing them with terms borrowed from Ion Luca Caragiale: they were "firemen-citizens and citizens-firemen". However, Aderca was also inclined to question the absolute validity of synchronistic tenets: suggesting that the pursuit of innovation as a goal could prove undermine a one's originality, he cautioned that such imperatives could replicate the negative consequences of public commands. His belief that formal conventions needed to be questioned whenever necessary was nuanced by Lovinescu, who replied that good literature could still be conventional in style. Aderca also fell short of Lovinescu's principles about Romanian novelists eventually needing to discard lyricism for an objective approach to writing. An additional debate came in 1937, when Aderca, writing for ''Adevărul'', rebuked Lovinescu for having ignored the contributions of Urmuz, "the extraordinary, peculiar, unique and brilliant [one]". Aderca, seen by Cernat as one of several modern Romanian poets who took on the offices of critics while rejecting all displays of critical authority, took a stand against all academic intervention in the area of literature. He described such intrusions as restrictive, compared professional critics to barbers, and argued that critical empathy was more desirable than theoretical purism. His ''Mic tratat'' declared itself interested in what "the aesthetic phenomenon" was not, rather than what it was. It ridiculed the various schools of interpretation, stating Aderca's regret at ever having contributed to literary criticism. Crohmălniceanu mainly sees Aderca as an energetic ''Sburătorist'' writer, whose presence in the pages of ''
Contimporanul ''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of the Romanian word for "the Contemporary", singular masculine form) was a Romanian (initially a weekly and later a monthly) avant-garde literary and art magazine, published in Bucharest between June 1922 an ...
'' did not signify his actual affiliation to that rival circle. He suggests that Aderca was in equal measure a member of two separate subgroups of ''Sburătorul'' writers: the analytical ones, passionate about "the more complicated psychologies" (a segment also represented by Anton Holban and Henriette Yvonne Stahl); the Sexual revolution, sexually emancipated ones, who blended a generic preference for urban settings with explorations into the themes
erotic literature Erotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of eros (passionate, romantic or sexual relationships) intended to arouse similar feelings in readers. This contrasts erotica, which focuses more specifically on sexual feel ...
, and whose other militants were Răcăciuni, Mihail Celarianu and Sergiu Dan. The analytical and erotic characteristics merged in several of Aderca's works. Crohmălniceanu notes that Aderca saw in sexuality the answer to a command arising "from the depths of life and the cosmic order", as well as the true source of human identity and individuality. Paul Cernat argues that, with fellow critic-novelist N. D. Cocea, Aderca was among those ''Contimporanul'' men who remained outside the avant-garde movement, while making only few concessions to avant-garde aesthetics. Aderca's conflicting allegiances were even approached with severity by Vinea. In a 1927 editorial for ''Contimporanul'', where he compared Lovinescu's review to "a menagerie", Vinea stated: "[Among ''Sburătorul'' contributors,] only F. Aderca simulates controversy, shouting through his cage: 'I am independent... Not a day passes that I don't quarrel with Lovinescu...' And, at the same time, the insensitive tamer ovinescumakes his elephants play the piano".


Early works

Aderca's original contribution to literature came in the form of
lyric poetry Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...
. His five volumes of poems, published between 1910 and 1912, were noted by Crohmălniceanu for their "intellectualized sensualism", with Introspection, introspective methods that were ahead of their time. However, Crohmălniceanu also suggests that their cut section of the early 20th century Romanian lexis renders these works dated. Similarly, Călinescu discussed Aderca's love poetry as being dominated by "suggestions" and "sensations", but without "sentiment". The most important of Aderca's lyrical work, he notes, was to be found elsewhere, in "Pantheism, pantheistic" poems rather like those by
Ion Barbu Ion Barbu (, pen name of Dan Barbilian; 18 March 1895 –11 August 1961) was a Romanian mathematician and poet. His name is associated with the Mathematics Subject Classification number 51C05, which is a major posthumous recognition reserved ...
, where focus shifts toward the great expanses of the cosmos or the mineral world. As noted by Pârvulescu, Aderca's other contributions in the field, in ''Versuri pentru Monica'', falls into the category of "society games" that merely exercise his versification skills. In the psychological novel ''Domnișoara din Str. Neptun'', Aderca sought to challenge a favorite theme of traditionalist and ''Sămănătorist'' literature: ''Sămănătorists'' shunned the city as a heartless consumer of rural energy and as a place where peasants surrendered to a miserably corrupted life. Henri Zalis, for whom the text is more a
novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...
than a novel, sees another hidden, "subversive" intent: "the suaveness in unhappiness, authenticity bursting from the burning core of Social alienation, alienation." Zalis further noted that Aderca subscribed to the "demystification" of the ''mahala'' quarters, where migrant peasants tended to resettle, and which earlier literature had elevated into an idyllic environment. Aderca points out that the ''mahala'' is "a city's reproductive organ", a landscape of brutal naturalness and "virility". As Crohmălniceanu argues, Aderca rewrites ''Sămănătorist'' tropes into an Expressionist conflict between city and village, the "two great collective entities". Aderca opens with the urban resettlement of Păun Oproiu, a peasant turned Căile Ferate Române, State Railways employee. Instead of finding himself lured by a modern industrial city, Păun turns into a ''mahala'' dweller, a more familiar setting. With his death on the Romania during World War I, World War I front, the focus shifts on his family. Widow and daughters make their return into the village, but their re-assimilation is illusory: daughter Nuța, returns into the city, where she chooses the life of a kept woman and, in the end, turns to prostitution. Her moral decline turns into physical ruin, with her many former lovers turning away in disgust. She resolves to commit suicide, jumping in front of a moving train (depicted in the book as her ultimate erotic embrace). Such modernist storytelling received an unconventional praise from Aderca's colleague Fondane: "The book [...] is so picturesque, and carries in it such sensuality, that each reader can be intimate with an almost lifelike Nuța."


The war novels

As early as 1922, the Symbolist critic Pompiliu Păltânea depicted Aderca as an essentially "ideological" and anti-war writer, alongside Eugen Relgis,
Ioan Alexandru Brătescu-Voinești Ioan Alexandru Brătescu-Voinești (January 1, 1868 – December 14, 1946) was a Romanian short story writer and politician. The scion of a minor aristocratic family from Târgoviște, he studied law and, as a young man, drew close to the ''Junim ...
and Barbu Lăzăreanu. ''Moartea unei republici roșii'' introduces Aderca's alter ego, the engineer Aurel: his first-person narrative brings up the moral dilemmas of his participation in the Hungarian–Romanian War of 1919. A conflicted Marxism, Marxist, Aurel finds himself serving in Transylvania, under attack by the Hungarian Soviet Republic, Hungarian Reds. Moreover, his trust in the necessity of universal brotherhood and his fear of ethnic conflict are enforced once he witnesses the Romanians' arrogance, their random murders of Hungarians in Romania, Transylvanian Hungarian prisoners, and their oppression of Tranylvanian Jews. Crohmălniceanu sees the book as notable for its introspective tone, which culminates in a self-irony that offsets the battle scenes. The latter are depicted "in a cold, record keeping-like manner". With ''1916'', Aderca was focusing more closely on the social impact of war. A wide fresco of Romania's heavy losses to the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
, and of the human drama they unfold, the book was praised by Lovinescu as an accurate portrayal of the 1914 to 1920 interval, and seen by Cubleșan as compatible with other Romanian depictions of World War I moral conflicts—in works by
Camil Petrescu Camil Petrescu (; 9/21 April 1894 – 14 May 1957) was a Romanian playwright, novelist, philosopher and poet. He marked the end of the traditional novel era and laid the foundation of the modern novel era in Romania. Life Petrescu was born in Bu ...
,
Cezar Petrescu Cezar Petrescu (; December 1, 1892–March 9, 1961) was a Romanian journalist, novelist, and children's writer. He was born in Hodora, Iași County, the son of Dimitrie Petrescu, an engineer and a teacher. After attending elementary school ...
,
Liviu Rebreanu Liviu Rebreanu (; November 27, 1885 – September 1, 1944) was a Romanian novelist, playwright, short story writer, and journalist. Life Born in Felsőilosva (now Târlișua, Bistrița-Năsăud County, Transylvania), then part of the Kingd ...
or George Cornea. Aderca's novel, he notes, is an inverted take on the identity struggle depicted in Rebreanu's ''Forest of the Hanged (novel), Forest of the Hanged'', where an ethnic Romanian intellectual reevaluates his allegiance to Austria-Hungary. The plot is largely conventional in format, but Aderca turns to avant-garde techniques where he found they could enhance narrative authenticity: in one section, he mixes sheet music into the text. The central figure here is
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 ...
officer Titel Ursu. A
Germanophile A Germanophile, Teutonophile, or Teutophile is a person who is fond of German culture, German people and Germany in general, or who exhibits German patriotism in spite of not being either an ethnic German or a German citizen. The love of the ''Ge ...
, he finds war on the Allies of World War I, Entente side to be a humiliation, and, once on the front line, sabotages the war effort to the point where he is arrested and tried for treason. In contrast, his father, Captain Costache Ursu, is by everyone's standards a war hero, and firmly believes in the Patriotism, patriotic virtues of the pro-Entente leaders. They confront each other on prison grounds: while Titel is awaiting execution, his indignant father urges him to commit suicide and save their honor—the "keystone" moment, according to Cubleșan. Costache hatred for his son, although counterbalanced by pity and regret, bewildered critics of that day and age.Cubleșan, p.85 A fragment reads: "[Costache] hated Titel, hated him with ever-burning embers between his eyelids, with a slab of stone on his chest, that shortened his breath. [...] His son's existence on the face of the earth seemed to him a horrible mistake." Later commentators found more sympathy for Aderca's attempt: Zalis argued that Aderca had intended to "collect, from the cortege of massacres, the effort of conscience of exasperation and perplexity". Elevated to hero status in interwar
Greater Romania The term Greater Romania ( ro, România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea. As a concept, its main goal is the creation ...
, and decorated with the Order of Michael the Brave, Costache is attracted into far-right politics, only to find that he has been manipulated by more cynical political partners. His hatred for Titel then morphs into a burning regret, and pushes Costache to suicide. The implicit political statement has endured as a subject of controversy. Crohmălniceanu finds the description of defeats such as the Battle of Turtucaia to be impressive, and argues that the core thesis is "intelligent"—but also confused and unconvincing. In his view, ''1916'' glosses over the true agenda of Ententist Romanians, including their hopes for a Union of Transylvania with Romania, postwar political union with their co-nationals in Austria-Hungary.Crohmălniceanu (1972), p.428 Similarly, Zalis argued that ''1916'' is split between "highly evocative chronicle" and, "for unexplainable reasons", a polemical format that is "confused, confusing, attackable." Both ''Moartea unei republici roșii'' and ''1916'' were found especially offensive by George Călinescu. In his synthesis of literary history (first published in 1941), he argued that Aderca was in effect "glorifying [...] desertion". He described ''1916'' as being ruined by its
pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
agenda, and a "manifesto" serving to "flog virtues"; still, he reserved praise for the "somber and dramatic" manner in which Aderca chose to render the war scenes.Călinescu, p.790 Călinescu censured the scenes of bloodlust and thievery, calling them "enormities" and "slanted falsities", and concluding: "A critic reads the book without emotion and finds in it the spiritual expression of an old people, greatly gifted but with some of its faculties blunted, [whereas] a regular reader cannot escape a legitimate feeling of antipathy." Some of these points have been cited by other researchers as evidence of Călinescu's residual
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
, which is argued to have also surfaced in his treatment of other Jewish authors. Călinescu's posited that, like "many Jewish writers", "Felix Aderca is obsessed with humanitarianism, pacifism, and all other aspects of internationalism." He saw the works as study cases, suggesting that pacifism was a typically Jewish trait in
Greater Romania The term Greater Romania ( ro, România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea. As a concept, its main goal is the creation ...
, a more palatable form of "anti-national" (that is, Anti-Romanian discrimination, anti-Romanian) ideologies. In
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 ...
's view, such allegations merely modernized old prejudice depicting Jews as a cowardly race. Although, at the time when Călinescu's work was first published, Aderca was already marginalized, he made a point of replying to the allegations. Sebastian, who read a version of this rebuttal during one of his visits to Aderca's home, admired the effort: "[The reply is] very nice, very accurate—but how did he find the strength, the inclination, the curiosity to write it? A sign of youthful vitality. [...] Why do I not feel personally 'aimed at' in what is said, done, or written against me?" Writing in 2009, literary historian Alexandru George took Călinescu's side against Aderca: the allegation of antisemitism was "very unconvincing", and the rebuttal came just as Călinescu was being incriminated for philosemitism by the far-right ''Gândirea'' magazine. Others also note that the very mention of Aderca's name in Călinescu's work was valid proof of Călinescu dissidence. Aderca's own replies, leading up to the 1945 article ''Rondul de noapte'', became topics of scandal, and, according to Călinescu's disciple Alexandru Piru, came as a "curious", "violent outburst".


Erotic and fantasy prose

In ''Țapul'' and ''Omul descompus'' alike, Aderca follows the adventures of Aurel (or "Mr. Aurel"), "an intellectual without precise occupations", structured around Aurel's erotic pursuits, retold by an unreliable narrator and in "Proustian techniques". ''Omul descompus'', which focuses on Aurel's affair with a tuberculosis-stricken lady, is dismissed by Călinescu as "pale", and is seen by Ștefan Borbély as the "mimetic" sample of "approximate existentialism". Yet, as Crohmălniceanu writes, Aderca manages to avoid "lewdness", and instead carries out, "with deftness", a "plunge into the Unconscious mind, unconscious".Crohmălniceanu (1972), p.425 The themes are expanded upon in ''Femeia cu carne albă'': Mr. Aurel and his cabby Mitru take a trip along the Danube, stopping over for Aurel to have erotic encounters with various local women. The latter are quasi-anonymous, referred to by the defining characteristic of their carnal appeal: "the red backfisch", "the woman of the rains", and the eponymous "white-fleshed woman" Ioana of Rogova. The story builds up to the meeting between Aurel and Ioana: here, the roles of seduced and seducer are reversed, as Aurel falls victim to a woman's sexual energy. Călinescu, who identified here samples of Aderca's "most substantial" prose, believed that the work was inspired by, and alluded to, the work of another Romanian modernist: Gala Galaction. Aderca shifted focus from depicting pure sexuality, with sketches of the female psyche and the bizarre landscapes of the countryside. The wild Danubian landscape is a setting for morbid discoveries, including dead bodies of girls, half devoured by pigs; in the end, Aurel himself is murdered and mutilated by Ioana's hajduk gang. He accepts death as expressing a higher ideal: according to Zalis, Aderca suggests that self-sacrifice is a natural outcome of erotic fulfillment, and accepted by one with a sense of detachment. As Crohmălniceanu notes, the "purely sensory field" takes precedence over the analytical, but still glimpses into "hidden cosmic mechanics". "Paradoxically", he suggests, Expressionism takes the forefront here, rather than in Aderca's more psychological novels. Here, Expressionist language aims to suggest Aurel's exhausting confrontation with the frantic terrestrial forces. Displaying Aderca's flirtations with the avant-garde, ''Aventurile D-lui Ionel Lăcustă-Termidor'' is a
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
work, at once parabolic and sarcastic, read as a poetic expression of its author's own nonconformity. It evades stylistic conventions, rejects linear time, and, as Cubleșan notes, reacts against modern-day depersonalization;Cubleșan, p.88 in Crohmălniceanu's words, its "extreme" subjectivity and Expressionist techniques create "an entirely autonomous world". The eponymous hero works as a writer in modern Romania, but has an identity is both ancient and plural: "He is from unmeasured spaces and times, ones about which the human mind was not able to state anything other than that they might have, to a human eye, the shape inscribed by the chalk of the falling star over the blackboard that is the sky." In its original print, the novel came with photographs illustrating some of Ionel's many avatars: a head of cabbage, a tree, a polar bear, and a Black people, Black African dancer. Told off as a mere oddity by commoners, Ionel is an actual social visionary. His writings channel the magical world that has spawned him, and his contribution, Cubleșan notes, inventories "ideal, universally human, values". The stories he tells are merged into the wider narrative. One retells the myth of a "happy, rational and superior" Atlantis, submerged by the nefarious tribes of Norwegian and Greenland stock. Crohmălniceanu notes that the text constitutes "ironic commentary on the subject of enthusiastic and insignificant experiences". In his view, this is one of the avant-garde's "most substantial and accomplished works".Crohmălniceanu (1972), p.427 Instead, Călinescu sees the work as a mediocre reply to the fantasy writings of
Tudor Arghezi Tudor Arghezi (; 21 May 1880 – 14 July 1967) was a Romanian writer, best known for his unique contribution to poetry and children's literature. Born Ion N. Theodorescu in Bucharest, he explained that his pen name was related to ''Argesis'', th ...
, written with "ungainly wit." He suggested the story of reincarnation was meant to spur debate about "the uselessness of identifying oneself with a motherland".Călinescu, p.791


''Orașele înecate''

In ''Orașele înecate'', influenced by H. G. Wells,Călinescu, p.791; Crohmălniceanu (1972), p.428 Aderca borrowed the trappings of
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
to comment on human civilization. His prologue and epitaph credit the idea for the novel to an unnamed scientist and to Friedrich Nietzsche's study of mythopoeia. Aderca's prophetic ambition is underlined by Crohmălniceanu, as "an entirely new social and psychological reality." According to Cubleșan, the more important aspect is Aderca's rendition of psychology on the edge: "a fantasy novel about life at the limit."Cubleșan, p.89 While noting work for its "ingenuity" and "English humor", Călinescu still found ''Orașele înecate'' to be lacking a "deeper significance". The plot's inventiveness has led other critics to conclude that Aderca had effectively set the foundations of Romanian science fiction. Psychological and speculative elements are introduced by dream sequence: in 5th millennium
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 ...
, a modern and luxurious metropolis, the cinema attendant Ioan has a future-sight dream of a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world subject to global cooling. Humans have fled the Earth's surface, rebuilding civilization on the seafloor, accessing the heat of the inner core. Society adopts a stark and primitive socialism, erasing "terrestrial instincts", making people into "mutes and idiots". A dictatorial President Pi (in typically
fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
regalia), imposes eugenics and the communal rearing of children, banning economic competition and all ethnic affiliation. Faced with such a drastic social experiment, and stunned by its arrest once the President dies, humans are faced with complete annihilation, as the cold wave progresses down toward the ocean floor. Scientists have to acknowledge yet another threat: that of Devolution (biological fallacy), biological devolution, turning men and women into oversized Mollusca, mollusks. Decision-makers are incapable of finding a global solution, but coalesce into competing factions. Two engineers personify that trend: Whitt suggests moving civilization closer to the inner molten regions; Xavier, inventor of nuclear propulsion, wants spacecraft to resettle humans on another planet. While Whitt and his secretary dig into the seafloor, Xavier and his concubine Olivia (collectively dubbed ''X-O'') make a solitary escape into the cosmos. Cubleșan reads here a warning against "man's isolation within the circle of his self-sufficiency". As philologist Elvira Sorohan notes, there are various tributes to the Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak science-fiction classic
Karel Čapek Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright and critic. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel ''War with the Newts'' (1936) and play ''R.U.R.'' (''Rossum's Universal Ro ...
, to the point of intertextuality. Like Čapek, Aderca supports the moral lesson with poetic detail. Described by Crohmălniceanu as fruits of "a rich fantasy", the "enormous toys" imagined are, according to Călinescu, "what gives the novel its charms". The underwater cities are eminently Functionalism (architecture), functionalist: the capital, located under Hawaiian Islands, is a crystal sphere; the Deep sea mining, deep-sea mine of the Mariana Trench is a giant pyramid with a molten base. These purposes are inverted once civilization goes into crisis. Depleted of geothermal power, settlements turn into quasi-aquariums, where men are curiosity examined by the marine creatures.


Other writings

''Revolte'' shows (according to Cubleșan) a "manifest nonconformity with all social conventions"; it stands out as a "pamphlet-novel against judicial institutions". Crohmălniceanu sees it as "a finely analytical probe into a puzzling psychology and [...] a fine satire of legal formalism." Other literary critics read it mainly as a meditation on the human condition. Ion Negoițescu's sees in it "a first-rate parabolic writing", and Gabriel Dimisianu as an Absurdism, absurdist and Kafkaesque commentary about middle-class docility. Gabriel Dimisianu
"Un roman parabolă"
, in ''
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 on ...
'', Nr. 12/2002
Reportedly, Aderca first discovered Franz Kafka, Kafka in the mid-1930s, commending him (unusually) as "the Czechoslovak Urmuz". At the core is the conflict between Istrăteanu, a sales representative for Buștean's gristmill, and the accountant Lowenstein. Finding that Istrăteanu has been operating an unusual credit system, Lowenstein carries out a formal investigation. The events highlight the ills of a judicial system: an incompetent but pompous counsel, whose many blunders strengthen the case of an unscrupulous prosecutor. Istrăteanu defies the system, depicting himself as the mill's savior, and proves his case by eventually becoming the new manager. Aderca reuses his narrative framework is retaken, casually depicting Istrăteanu's exotic sexuality and his memoirs of the war. The diversity of literary approaches was later enhanced. ''Muzică de balet'' was considered highly original for its parable nature and the theme of racial persecution (''see Holocaust literature''). According to Zalis, it constitutes, within Theater of Romania, Romanian drama, the only sample of an "anti-racist warning." Similarly, novelist and critic Norman Manea, a survivor of the Holocaust in Romania, wartime deportations, cited ''Muzică de balet'' as one of the few Romanian writings from the post-war period to openly discuss the murder of Romanian Jews. The biographical genre, preoccupying Aderca in old age, produced experimental as well as conventional works. In ''Oameni excepționali'', his attention was dedicated to the lives of politicians (Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Woodrow Wilson), cultural figures (Sarah Bernhardt, Isadora Duncan, Leo Tolstoy, Richard Wagner) and business magnates (William Randolph Hearst, Henry Ford). Seen by Aderca himself as his personal best, ''A fost odată un imperiu'' centers on the life of Grigori Rasputin, the political guru whose influence preceded the Russian Revolution (1917), Russian Revolution. As Crohmălniceanu notes, Aderca took up a theme from Klabund, but "ingeniously" retold the story with the faux objectivity of ''Kinostil'' Expressionism. The text then becomes highly subjective, comedic, chaotic text: Aderca explained this as an experiment of writing with a high fever. This approach is discarded in the ESPLA-rejected ''Goethe și lumea sa'' ("Goethe and His World"). Ostensibly inspired by Scientific Socialism, it claimed to illuminate the more conflicting sides of Goethe's life: his literary genius versus his lip service to the German nobility, German aristocracy. Aderca's final years were also marked by his cultivation of aphorism. His contribution to the genre is praised by Călinescu as evidence of an "undying curiosity" for "all aspects of art and life". One such sample reads: "Had we all been born exceptional, life in common would be impossible." Aderca also recorded an exchange between himself and his novelist friend H. Bonciu, who was on his death bed, losing a battle with cancer: to his own question about which death was "most bearable", which had left Aderca baffled, Bonciu gave the answer "someone else's".


Political advocacy and related disputes


Aderca's take on socialism

Even before his adherence to radical modernism, with its own political undertones, Aderca was a respected social critic. His support for World War I neutrality, outlined in his ''Sânge închegat'' essays and in his ''
Seara Seara is a municipality in the state of Santa Catarina in the South region of Brazil. The Museu Entomológico Fritz Plaumann is located in the town. See also *List of municipalities in Santa Catarina This is a list of the municipalities in th ...
'' articles, emerged as a countercritique of anti-German sentiment. Aderca had it that the German Empire was morally justified in destroying the cultural patrimony of enemy nations, short of being "barbaric". That claim was controversial, and criticized by Aderca's fellow Germanophile,
Constantin Rădulescu-Motru Constantin Rădulescu-Motru (; born Constantin Rădulescu, he added the surname ''Motru'' in 1892; February 15, 1868 – March 6, 1957) was a Romanian philosopher, psychologist, sociologist, logician, academic, dramatist, as well as left-nat ...
. Aderca's later proposed that the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
were engaged in a "revolutionary war" on protectionism and imperialism. Committed, by the 1920s, to a highly personalized pacifist socialism, Aderca veered toward the far-left of politics: in ''Idei și oameni'', he chided Romanian reformism, moderate Marxism as personified by Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea and the Second International. He decried the exploitation of labour, exploitation of workers and luxuries such as the casinos of Sinaia. Nonetheless, Crohmălniceanu, a Marxist, noted that ''Moartea unei republici roșii'' told little about how "a new society is to be organized". Aderca favored "a nonconformism of a mostly moral and aesthetic kind", where sexual freedom, creative liberty and the celebration Aderca approved of class conflict, with Marxism as a legitimiate tool of the masses: "war is a creation of masters fighting each other for dominance. [...] What can the impoverished people have in common with the polite master? The French worker, what does he stand to gain from this war, other than a more thorough understanding of Marxism?" Aderca's leftist leanings were incompatible with the neoliberalism of his mentor
Eugen Lovinescu Eugen Lovinescu (; 31 October 1881 – 16 July 1943) was a Romanian modernist literary historian, literary critic, academic, and novelist, who in 1919 established the ''Sburătorul'' literary club. He was the father of Monica Lovinescu, and the u ...
, something acknowledged by Aderca in his ''Mic tratat'' years. In ''Mărturia unei generații'', Aderca challenged Lovinescu to answer on the subject. Lovinescu did so, noting that ''Sburătorul''s celebration of individualism outweighed the neoliberal stance of its leader. In Aderca's work, socialism was doubled by a sarcastic view of traditional authority. Police officers opened a file on him when, in 1927, he mocked King of Romania, King Ferdinand I of Romania, Ferdinand I as a standard of barber shop posters. According to Dumitru Hîncu, although the comment irritated Siguranța Statului, state security, it was not truly "an attack on State institutions or its leaders". Aderca had middle-of-the-road values: he described feminism as a risky enterprise. In ''
Bilete de Papagal ''Bilete de Papagal'' was a Romanian left-wing publication edited by Tudor Arghezi, begun as a daily newspaper and soon after issued as a weekly satirical and literary magazine. It was published at three different intervals: 1928-1930, 1937-1938, ...
'', he depicted men as natural bread-earners, put off whenever women turned to "vulgar politics". According to Gender history, gender historian Oana Băluță, he "oscillated between misogyny and sexism". Aderca also viewed girls' bob cut hairstyles as objectionable and sexless. Although his roots were in Judaism, he identified, for at least part of his life, with Christianity, Christian socialism, and Christian pacifism. According to Călinescu, his World War I articles reconciled "radical Christianity" with "sarcasm toward the victims [of war]." Later, Aderca envisaged an utopian world shaped by Christian Universalism. Nevertheless, his interview in ''Lumea de mâine'', like all other of Ion Biberi's conversations with Marxists, avoids the issue of religion, touched in all of Biberi's other interviews. This original socialism accounted, in part, for Aderca's poor reputation in Communist Romania. During his stint at '' Vremea'', Aderca used Marxism against the Soviet Union and Stalinism, profiling Joseph Stalin as an "Oriental despotism, Asiatic tyrant". In ''Lumea de mâine'', he expressed confidence that the post-fascist world would revert to liberty and democracy. Unaware of communist schemes, he referred to the post-1944 interval as the dawn of "supreme democracy". His take on Stalinism rendered ''Oameni excepționali'' inaccessible during the subsequent period, and his biography of Dobrogeanu-Gherea was regarded as more of a gaffe—the communists regarded Gherea as a heretic. The 1956 ESPLA denunciation elaborated on Aderca's own "reactionary" stance: he had parted with Marxism-Leninism whenever he had to comment on such topics as communist revolution and the Left-wing nationalism, national issue.Crohmălniceanu (1994), p.82-83 Appealing to Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, Aderca suggested that ''Goethe și lumea sa'' showed his Marxist credentials, listing positive reviews from authors such as Mihai Isbășescu and Alfred Margul-Sperber, and proposed that the work could appeal to Marxist-Leninists in both the Eastern Bloc and the West. As Hîncu notes: "Published separately, torn from the context [...], the petition could pass for an act of opportunism, of cowardice, or even as proof of collaboration with the regime personified by Gheorghiu-Dej. But this was not the case. Aderca was purely and simply routed, he saw a threat to his years-long labor".


On nationalism and antisemitism

Many of Aderca's political articles, including some of his earliest, display his rejection of antisemitism. In his ''Lumea de mâine'' interview, Aderca spoke at length of his main stylistic themes, recognizing "revolt" as the main subject of his books. He defined this in relation to social alienation and antisemitic prejudice, referring to himself in the third person:
Throughout his life dercawas chased around [...] by a gang of vigilantes in cahoots with executioners, who sought to end his life. What injustice had he or his ancestors committed, that he had to admit and repent for? A mystery. To which supreme command and to what sort of ineffable order would his elimination from this luminous world have been an answer? A mystery. And that this physical and moral assassination could not have been effected yet—therein lies the deepest mystery, the strange and awesome wonder of each day's morning.
Faced with the rise of Racial antisemitism, racial discrimination, Aderca proposed civic nationalism and Jewish assimilation. He saw no incompatibility between having both Jewish and Romanian identities, debating such matters with A. L. Zissu, a leading figure in local Zionism. According to researcher Ovidiu Morar, Aderca was "the writer whose life, in close connection to his work, is perhaps the best reflection for the tragedy of local Judaism". As early as 1916, Aderca attacked the claim that Jewish identity was monolithic, seeing it as inherently discriminatory. To him, the supposed Jewish "types" appeared "antagonistic", making the claim to Jewish nationhood doubtful. Commenting on Romania's postponement of Jewish emancipation, he protested that, at the added risk of enforcing prejudice about Jews being lazy and profiteering, members of the community were being actively prevented from engaging in any line of work other than commerce. Later, he parodied such accusations: "since they could not live on land, 'fish have monopolized the ponds' ". In a December 1922 issue of ''
Contimporanul ''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of the Romanian word for "the Contemporary", singular masculine form) was a Romanian (initially a weekly and later a monthly) avant-garde literary and art magazine, published in Bucharest between June 1922 an ...
'', under the title ''Deschideți bordeluri!'' ("Open up Brothels!"), he ridiculed the far-right's demand for a Jewish quota in universities, arguing that government toleration of antisemitic agitation was turning the students into hooligans. Aderca was similarly troubled by philosemitism. He believed that positive discrimination was counterproductive, and favored race blindness: "When [an intellectual] secretly confesses philosemitism, all of a sudden I have a hunch. I would prefer to know he is indifferent." Looking back on Romanian antisemitism, Aderca sided with other Jewish thinkers who looked favorably on Ethnic nationalism, ethno-nationalists such as Mihai Eminescu. He argued that Eminescu's work was not particularly antisemitic, and evidenced those traits which gave it universal appeal. After emancipation was proclaimed in
Greater Romania The term Greater Romania ( ro, România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea. As a concept, its main goal is the creation ...
, Aderca's militancy turned toward the practical recovery of civil rights. He saw Jews as on equal footing with the other Minorities of Romania, ethnic minorities: "We [Jews] are Romanians at least as good as the Poles in Romania, Polacks, the Hungarians in Romania, Hungarians, the Bulgarians in Romania, Bulgarians, and the Roma in Romania, Gypsy in Romania, who have sought and still seek to give us lessons in patriotism." Aderca saw nationalism as exploitative "parasitism", and therefore denounced highly centralized government in the multi-ethnic provinces. He opined that Bulgaria was justified in demanding to be ceded Southern Dobruja, "where no Romanian was ever born", and proposed a territorial autonomy system for Transylvania. One of his ''
Contimporanul ''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of the Romanian word for "the Contemporary", singular masculine form) was a Romanian (initially a weekly and later a monthly) avant-garde literary and art magazine, published in Bucharest between June 1922 an ...
'' texts defined Romania as highly Parochialism, parochial and retrograde: "A motherland where laws and books need to be prepared a hundred years in advance, so that then, when the right time comes, the needs and tastes may change!" Taking his cue from the Jewish community leader Wilhelm Filderman, Aderca reacted against the branding of Jews as inherent anti-Romanians, placing ethnic clashes in a larger context, where Romanians also battled each other. He was bitter that Jews were being stereotyped as fainthearted; he mentioned lists of Jews who had fought and died for Romania in World War I. During Octavian Goga's premiership, which reintroduced racial discrimination, Aderca issued calls for democratic dissent, suggesting a compendium of Jewish Romanian literary contributions, past and present. By then, Aderca's own literature was being assessed from an antisemitic standpoint in traditionalist circles. Const. I. Emilian, studying Romania's modernist scene with an ultra-nationalist bias, dismissed all of Aderca's texts as "Neurosis, neurotic". The theme was taken up by Ovidiu Papadima in ''Sfarmă-Piatră'', ridiculing Lovinescu as the unlikely patron of "revolutionary ideas" and of "the Jews" Aderca, Camil Baltazar,
Benjamin Fondane Benjamin Fondane () or Benjamin Fundoianu (; born Benjamin Wechsler, Wexler or Vecsler, first name also Beniamin or Barbu, usually abridged to B.; November 14, 1898 – October 2, 1944) was a Romanian and France, French poet, critic and Existentia ...
, Ilarie Voronca, this being "the illusion of a literary movement". Papadima campaigned for Aderca and H. Bonciu to be arrested during the 1937 scandal, referred to them only under their original Jewish names, called them "swine" and "traders in hogwash", and suggested that erotic literature was "that Jewish business". Dismissing the antisemitic lobby as "hooligans", Aderca reportedly snapped: "Five minutes, you understand? For five minutes, I wish that I too were a hooligan, that I could experience what it means to be the Master!" Some of Aderca's more moderate adversaries also addressed him with antisemitic tropes. Alongside Călinescu's controversial statements, there was the poet-dramatist
Victor Eftimiu Victor Eftimiu (; 24 January 1889 – 27 November 1972) was a Romanian poet and playwright. He was a contributor to ''Sburătorul'', a Romanian literary magazine. His works have been performed in the State Jewish Theater of Romania. Eftim ...
. Eftimiu compiled a list of his Jewish detractors, Aderca included, and assigned them racial stereotypes. According to Sebastian, Eftimiu also opposed, in 1944, that Aderca join 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 ...
, since Jewish writers "should be pleased we're having them back". As Dumitru Hîncu notes, Aderca persecution began under Goga's administration, which included four professional writers, none of whom intervened. Similarly, Ovidiu Morar writes that only two Romanian literary figures made a public show of their support for defended Aderca in 1937: Zaharia Stancu and Perpessicius.


On fascism

Aderca's take on fascism was more ambiguous than his stance on antisemitism. In addition to the retrospective parable in ''Muzică de balet'', a number of his earlier texts feature more or less explicit Anti-fascism, anti-fascist tropes. This is the case of ''1916'', with its grim prognosis of radical nationalism, and ''Oameni excepționali'', where Nazism appears as a heterogeneous ideology. Aderca saw Adolf Hitler as a pale copy of Stalin and a reluctant follower of Marxian economics, propelled into high office by the inconsistencies of the Communist Party of Germany, German Communist Party. According to Zalis, anti-fascism is even present in the 1940 study of Peter I of Russia, Peter the Great: Hitler was destroying a Europe that Peter had once helped civilize. In the late 1940s, investigating the Holocaust in Romania, wartime antisemitic crimes, Aderca objected to violent retribution, noting that victims had gained the moral high ground. Nonetheless, Sebastian's ''Journal'' holds clues that Aderca admired the rhetoric of fascism. Aderca stated his regret that Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, founder of the fascist Iron Guard, had been killed during the political purges of 1938: " dercatold me that he deplores the death of Codreanu, who was a great man, a real genius, a moral force without equal, whose 'saintly death' is an irreparable loss." In May 1940, Sebastian alleged that Aderca had retained and even radicalized such views. In this context, he reports, Aderca described both Codreanu and Goga as "great figures", spoke of Codreanu's ''Pentru legionari'' ("For the Legionaries") as "a historic book", and even argued that, had the Iron Guard not been antisemitic, "he would have joined it himself."Sebastian, p.354 Speaking of the failed Legionnaires' rebellion and Bucharest pogrom, Iron Guard revolt of January, Aderca allegedly accused the two Guardist rebels, Valerian Trifa, Viorel Trifa and Dumitru Groza, of having acted as ''Agent provocateur, agents provocateurs'' serving Soviet Union, Soviet interests (to which Sebastian adds the sarcastic note: "that shows his level of political competence"). As noted there, Aderca was also reevaluating Hitler as a "genius".


Legacy

Aderca left an enduring trace in the autobiographical writings of authors from Sebastian to Lovinescu, and from Eftimiu to
Camil Petrescu Camil Petrescu (; 9/21 April 1894 – 14 May 1957) was a Romanian playwright, novelist, philosopher and poet. He marked the end of the traditional novel era and laid the foundation of the modern novel era in Romania. Life Petrescu was born in Bu ...
. Lovinescu's notes and diaries, published decades after his death, offer a parallel intimate record of his friendship with Aderca: from a claim (disputed by Petrescu) that Aderca's automobile was of poor quality to detailed records of how his literary circle received his and Sanda Movilă's works, publicly read by them at ''Sburătorul'' sessions. According to these notes, the ''Sburătorul'' leader was also closely informed about the troubles Aderca faced in his married life. Aderca is also present in the writings of Lucia Demetrius, his contribution to the culture of
Oltenia Oltenia (, also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions, with the alternative Latin names ''Wallachia Minor'', ''Wallachia Alutana'', ''Wallachia Caesarea'' between 1718 and 1739) is a historical province and geographical region of Romania ...
fondly recorded by Petre Pandrea. Meanwhile, Aderca's failings as a translator, and gibes at his literary style, were addressed by satirist Păstorel Teodoreanu, to whom Aderca was "a literary parvenu". The communists' selective permissiveness took a toll on Aderca's legacy. During the 1950s, only his biography of Christopher Columbus was available in bookstores, with younger readers seemingly convinced that Aderca was a one-book author. After his death, other works were published individually or collectively: ''Murmurul cuvintelor'' ("The Murmur of Words", collected poems, 1971), ''Răzvrătirea lui Prometeu'' ("Prometheus' Rebellion", 1974), ''Teatru'' ("Drama", 1974), ''Contribuții critice'' ("Contributions to Criticism", 1983 and 1988), ''Oameni și idei'' ("Men and Ideas", 1983). In 1966, ''Orașele înecate'' was reprinted as ''Orașe scufundate'', following Aderca's own command. Translated into German, it became somewhat familiar to an international public. Several other editions of Aderca's works saw print after the Romanian Revolution of 1989, 1989 Revolution: ''Femeia cu carne albă'', ''Zeul iubirii'' and ''Revolte'', as well as a 2003 Editura Hasefer reprint of ''Mărturia unei generații''. Also issued were his full biography of Peter the Great and the ''Oameni excepționali'' collection. His life and work were the object of several monographs, several of which were authored and published by Zalis. Still, interest in his work declined dramatically over the following period, although some disciples of his, including the poet and translator Petre Solomon, were still active. According to Pârvulescu, Aderca, the "protean writer", was "placed on the margin" by 21st century critics. Commemorations were held by Jewish Romanian representative bodies, such as the 2008 ceremony 2008 hosted by Zalis. According to Gheorghe Grigurcu, the antisemitic interpretation of Aderca's contributions survive in the post-Revolution essays of Mihai Ungheanu, one of the literary critics already familiar as an ideologue of nationalist protochronism. Felix Aderca was survived by his son Marcel. Himself a noted translator, Marcel was an editor of his father's work and was a caretaker of his estate. In keeping with Felix Aderca's last wish, he inventoried the manuscripts and photographs in this collection and, in 1987, donated the entire corpus to the Romanian Academy. His own contribution as an editor and biographer includes a collection of his father's thoughts on the topic of antisemitism: ''F. Aderca și problema evreiască'' ("F. Aderca and the Jewish Question", published by Editura Hasefer in 1999). A branch of the Aderca family, descending from the writer's brother, still exists in Israel, where his name was assigned to an annual prize granted by the Association of Romanian-language Israeli Writers."Aniversările și comemorările lunii decembrie"
, in ''
Realitatea Evreiască ''Realitatea Evreiască'' ( Romanian for "The Jewish Reality") is a Romanian cultural and news magazine, based in Bucharest, and addressed to the local Jewish community. The magazine was founded in 1956 under the name ''Revista Cultului Mozaic d ...
'', Nr. 264–265 (1064–1065), December 2006


Notes


References

*Lucian Boia, ''"Germanofilii". Elita intelectuală românească în anii Primului Război Mondial'', Humanitas publishing house, Humanitas, Bucharest, 2010. *
George Călinescu George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899, Bucharest – 12 March 1965, Otopeni) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the mos ...
, ''Istoria literaturii române de la origini pînă în prezent'', Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1986; preface by Alexandru Piru, p. V-XIII *Paul Cernat, ''Avangarda românească și complexul periferiei: primul val'', Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 2007. * Ovid Crohmălniceanu, **''Literatura română între cele două războaie mondiale'', Vol. I, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1972. **''Amintiri deghizate'', Editura Nemira, Bucharest, 1994. * Constantin Cubleșan
"Felix Aderca – experimentalistul"
, in the 1 Decembrie 1918 University, Alba Iulia, December 1 University of Alba Iulia'
''Philologica Yearbook''
, 2009, p. 79-90 *Paul Daniel, "Destinul unui poet", postface to Benjamin Fondane, B. Fundoianu, ''Poezii'', Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1978. *Dan Grigorescu, ''Istoria unei generații pierdute: expresioniștii'', Editura Eminescu, Bucharest, 1980. *
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 ...
, ''Inventing the Jew. Antisemitic Stereotypes in Romanian and Other Central East-European Cultures'', University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 2009. *
Z. Ornea Zigu Ornea (; born Zigu Orenstein Andrei Vasilescu"La ceas aniversar – Cornel Popa la 75 de ani: 'Am refuzat numeroase demnități pentru a rămâne credincios logicii și filosofiei analitice.' ", in Revista de Filosofie Analitică', Vol. II, N ...
, ''Anii treizeci. Extrema dreaptă românească'', Editura Fundației Culturale Române, Bucharest, 1995. * Liviu Rotman (ed.),
Demnitate în vremuri de restriște
', Editura Hasefer, Federation of Jewish Communities of Romania & Elie Wiesel National Institute for Studying the Holocaust in Romania, Bucharest, 2008. *Mihail Sebastian, ''Journal, 1935-1944'', Random House, London, 2003.


External links

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