I. Valerian (born Valeriu Ionescu; August 1, 1895 – November 21, 1980) was a Romanian writer and journalist. Born in Ivești,

Galați County Galați () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Moldavia region, with the capital city at Galați. History Historically Galați is part of Moldavia. In 1858, it was represented by Alexandru Ioan Cuza at the ''ad hoc Divan'' at Iași, in the wa ...

, the son of Fotache, a worker and clerk active in Ivești and

Tecuci Tecuci () is a city in Galați County, Romania, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. It is situated among wooded hills, on the right bank of the Bârlad River, and at the junction of railways from Galați, Bârlad, and Mărășești. ...

, and his wife Amalia, he spent his childhood in Tecuci. There he attended school at the primary and gymnasium levels before going to Vasile Alecsandri High School in

Galați Galați (, , ; also known by other alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the Danube River. It has been the only port for the most par ...

from 1907 to 1915. In 1917, during

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 ...

, he graduated from the Military Reserve Officers' School in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, going on to participate in the

Battle of Mărăști The Battle of Mărăști ( ro, Bătălia de la Mărăști) was one of the main battles to take place on Romanian soil in World War I. It was fought between 22 July and 1 August 1917, and was an offensive operation of the Romanian and Russian armie ...

as part of the 2nd Army under

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 ...

. Wounded on August 6, he was promoted to lieutenant and made a knight of the Order of the Crown.I. Valerian
at the Paul Păltănea History Museum Galați site; accessed July 10, 2013 Between 1917 and 1921, he recuperated at

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 ...

, working together with

Alexandru Vlahuță Alexandru Vlahuță (; 5 September 1858 – 19 November 1919) was a Romanian writer. His best known work is '' România pitorească'', an overview of Romania's landscape in the form of a travelogue. He was also the main editor of ''Sămănătorul' ...

and

George Tutoveanu George Tutoveanu (born Gheorghe Ionescu; 30 November 1872–18 August 1957) was a Romanian poet. Born in Bârlad, his parents were the Romanian Orthodox church singer Gheorghe Ionescu and his wife Catinca. He had five brothers and a sister, ...

, becoming a member 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 ...

and making his debut with verses in ''

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 ...

''. He married professor Elena Ganea in 1922, fathering five children. Moving to Bucharest in 1925, he was active in 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, publishing verses in its ''Revista literară'' magazine. He joined 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 ...

(SSR) in 1922, and in 1925 graduated from the Literature and Philosophy Faculty of the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...

, magna cum laude. His first published book, ''Caravanele tăcerii'' ("The Caravans of Silence"), appeared in 1923, and it received a prize from the

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

the following year. In 1925, he was elected a member of the Royal Romanian Geographical Society. In February 1926, he began editing '' Viața Literară'', which appeared almost continuously until June 1941 in 322 issues, promoting important figures in the country's cultural and literary life, as well as helping to launch the careers of younger writers. According to

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 ...

, Valerian, through this magazine and ''Sentinela'' (1939-1944), showed a wide-ranging vision in a narrow-minded era. He received positive reviews for his volume of verse ''Stampe'' (1927) and for his novel ''Cara Su'' (1936). He worked in the military teaching department of the

Education Ministry An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

from 1932 to 1937, headed the Office of Romanian Youth Education (1937-1938) and belonged to the leadership of

Straja Țării ''Straja Țării'' (Romanian language, Romanian - roughly, ''The Sentinel of the Motherland''; also known as ''Străjeria'' - translatable as ''The Sentinel'') was a youth organization in the Kingdom of Romania, created in 1935 by King of Romania, ...

. 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 ...

, from 1941 to 1944, he headed a department in the press section of the

Ministry of National Propaganda Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

; he was also promoted to a leadership function within the SSR. In 1943, he remarried; his second wife was Aurelia Grigoriță Tomescu (1906-1987), who wrote under the pseudonym Grig Malciu. Sent into retirement in 1945, he was active in the voluntary association for supporting national defense (AVSAP). In 1967, he was readmitted into what 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 ...

had refashioned as the

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

. He published ''Cu scriitorii în veac'', a well-received volume based on 39 interviews with prominent Romanian writers. In 1969–1970, he released a revised version of ''Cara Su'' as well as the study ''Chipuri din Viața Literară''. He died in 1980.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valerian, I. 1895 births 1980 deaths People from Galați County University of Bucharest alumni 20th-century Romanian poets Romanian male poets Romanian male novelists Romanian literary historians Romanian magazine editors Romanian military personnel of World War I Knights of the Order of the Crown (Romania) 20th-century Romanian novelists 20th-century Romanian male writers