George Tutoveanu (born Gheorghe Ionescu; 30 November 1872–18 August 1957) was a

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

n poet. Born in

Bârlad Bârlad () is a city in Vaslui County, Romania. It lies on the banks of the river Bârlad, which waters the high plains of Western Moldavia. At Bârlad the railway from Iași diverges, one branch skirting the river Siret, the other skirting th ...

, his parents were the

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates ...

church singer Gheorghe Ionescu and his wife Catinca. He had five brothers and a sister, and until school age was raised in nearby villages. Traian Nicola
Tutoveanu, George
in ''Valori spirituale tutovene'', vol. VI. Bârlad: Editura Sfera, 2004. He attended school in his native town and in the national capital

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 ...

. There, he was drawn into socialist circles, becoming acquainted with

Constantin Ion Parhon Constantin Ion Parhon (; 15 October 1874 – 9 August 1969) was a Romanian neuropsychiatrist, endocrinologist and politician. He was the first head of state of the Romanian People's Republic from 1947 to 1952. Parhon was President of the Physic ...

and Ștefan Petică. He also received a teacher's diploma, graduating in 1897. His first job was in Bucharest, followed by Craiova,

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

and

Fălticeni Fălticeni (; ''german: Foltischeni; hu, Falticsén;'' he, פלטיצ'ן yi, פאלטישאן) is a town in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Western Moldavia. Fălticeni is the second largest urba ...

, where he befriended

Mihail Sadoveanu Mihail Sadoveanu (; occasionally referred to as Mihai Sadoveanu; November 5, 1880 – October 19, 1961) was a Romanian novelist, short story writer, journalist and political figure, who twice served as acting head of state for the communis ...

. In 1899, he married Zoe Marinescu, who would publish poetry as Zoe G. Frasin; she was related to

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 ...

. In 1903, he returned to Bârlad permanently, continuing to teach until his retirement in 1933. He was school inspector for

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 ...

, principal of Gheorghe Roșca Codreanu High School and cultural inspector. In collaboration, he published a number of textbooks. Signing as George G. Ionescu or G. G. I., he made his poetry debut in the Bârlad newspaper ''

Paloda ''Paloda'' was a literary magazine published in Bârlad, Romania. (Paloda is the old name of the city of Bârlad)Ion N. Oprea - Mari personalităţi ale culturii române într-o istorie a presei bârlădene 1870 – 2008 - Editura P.I.M. Iaşi - 2 ...

'' and in

Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu ( 26 February 1838 – ) was a Romanian writer and philologist, who pioneered many branches of Romanian philology and history. Life He was born Tadeu Hâjdeu in Cristineștii Hotinului (now Kerstentsi in Chernivtsi ...

's ''Revista nouă''. His first published work appeared in 1887, the year he graduated from a local gymnasium. He took the pen name ''George Tutoveanu'' in 1898, continuing to use it for the rest of his career. A tireless promoter of culture in his birthplace, he edited a number of newspapers and magazines: ''

Făt-Frumos Făt-Frumos (from Romanian ''făt'': son, infant; ''frumos'': handsome) is a knight hero in Romanian folklore, usually present in fairy tales. Akin to Prince Charming, he possesses such essential attributes as courage, purity, justness, physic ...

'' (1904), together with

Emil Gârleanu Emil Gârleanu ( 4/5 January 1878 – 2 July 1914) was a Romanian prose writer. Born in Iași, his parents were Emanoil Gârleanu, a colonel in the Romanian Army, and his wife Pulcheria (''née'' Antipa). He began high school in his native ...

; ''

Florile Dalbe ''Florile Dalbe'' was a semimonthly literary magazine published in Bârlad, Romania, by the Academia Bârlădeană". The first issue of the magazine was issued on 1 January 1919 and it appeared regularly until 15 December 1919. In total, 23 number ...

'' (1918), with

Vasile Voiculescu Vasile Voiculescu (, literary pseudonym V. Voiculescu; 27 November 1884 – 26 April 1963) was a Romanian poet, short-story writer, playwright, and physician. Biography Early life and education Voiculescu was born in Pârscov, Buzău County ...

and Tudor Pamfile; '' Graiul Nostru'' (1925), the publication of

Academia Bârlădeană The Academia Bârlădeană (Academy of Bârlad) was a cultural society, founded on May 1, 1915, in the city of Bârlad (Tutova County) - at present Vaslui County - by George Tutoveanu, Toma Chiricuţă and Tudor Pamfile. Background After the uni ...

; ''

Scrisul Nostru ''Scrisul Nostru'' was a monthly literary magazine published in Bârlad, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Eu ...

'' (1925) and ''

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

'' (1931). His work appeared in numerous periodicals, among them ''

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

'', ''Cosânzeana'', ''Cele trei Crișuri'', '' Familia'', ''Junimea literară'', ''Însemnări literare'', ''Literatura și arta română'', '' Luceafărul'', ''Noua revistă română'', ''Paloda literară'', ''Revista idealistă'', ''

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 ...

'', ''Tânărul scriitor'' and ''

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

''. He helped found several literary magazines: ''Ion Creangă'', ''Miron Costin'', ''Pagini alese'', ''Revista modernă''. A number of Bârlad institutions were founded on Tutoveanu's initiative, including the public library, Academia Bârlădeană (of which he was president) and the Mihai Eminescu cooperative library. He was among the founders 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 ...

in 1909 and was an active participant in the local chapter of the

Cultural League for the Unity of All Romanians Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...

. During World War I, he was mobilized and sent to

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crimea ...

, where he led a troop of Romanian Scouts from Bârlad. In 1929, he joined the short-lived League against Usury. From April 1931 to May 1932, a period coinciding with

Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (; sometimes Neculai Iorga, Nicolas Jorga, Nicolai Jorga or Nicola Jorga, born Nicu N. Iorga;Iova, p. xxvii. 17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet ...

's time as

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, he served as

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of Tutova County. Among his achievements was the establishment of some fifty village libraries. His first volume of poetry, the 1902 ''Albastru'', received the Bene Merenti Order from the ruling

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzol ...

. His subsequent books were ''La arme'' (1913), ''Balade'' (1915), ''Patria'' (1924), ''Poezii alese'' (1924), ''Tinereță'' (1924), ''Logodnica lui Vifor'' (1935) and ''Sonete'' (1938). His wife died in 1940, leading him to nearly cease writing. Celebrations were held to mark Tutoveanu's 70th birthday in 1942, with an issue of ''Păstorul Tutovei'' magazine dedicated to him. In late 1943, during World War II, he temporarily sought refuge at his son's home in Bucharest, but ended up staying mainly in the surrounding countryside, due to Allied bombing. The new

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 ...

blacklisted his works in 1948. The following year, he married a Romanian-language teacher more concerned about party politics than with his care, and Tutoveanu dedicated a single poem to her. During his final years, he preferred to spend time in his garden. In 1972, his centenary was observed.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, pp. 742-43. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. A primary school in Bârlad has borne his name since 1995.History
at the George Tutoveanu Gymnasium site

Notes

References

*Gheorghe Clapa, "Gheorghe Tutoveanu – prefect de Tutova (13 aprilie 1931 – 31 mai 1932)", in ''

'', Nr. 20/2005, pp. 7–9. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tutoveanu, George 1872 births 1957 deaths People from Bârlad 19th-century Romanian poets Romanian magazine editors Romanian magazine founders Romanian newspaper editors Romanian schoolteachers Heads of schools in Romania Romanian textbook writers Prefects of Romania 20th-century Romanian poets Romanian male poets 19th-century male writers 20th-century Romanian male writers