Ioan Popovici-Bănățeanul (born Ioan Popovici; April 17, 1869 – September 9, 1893) was an

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

-born

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 prose writer and poet. Born in

Lugoj Lugoj (; hu, Lugos; german: Lugosch; sr, Лугош, Lugoš; bg, Лугож; tr, Logoş) is a list of cities and towns in Romania, city in Timiș County, Romania. The Timiș River divides the city into two halves, the so-called "Romanian Lugoj" ...

into a family of small-scale craftsmen, his father Nicolae Popovici made '' opinci'', while his mother Susana (''née'' Dobrin) sold produce at the market. In 1884, he was expelled from the local Hungarian Catholic gymnasium, and he continued his schooling at

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a popu ...

and

Beiuș Beiuș (; hu, Belényes) is a city in Bihor County, Romania near the Apuseni Mountains. The river Crișul Negru flows through Beiuș, and the city administers a single village, Delani (''Gyalány''). Between the late 18th and very early 20th ...

from 1884 to 1889. He then entered the theological and pedagogical institute of

Caransebeș Caransebeș (; german: Karansebesch; hu, Karánsebes, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a municipiu, city in Caraș-Severin County, part of the Banat region in southwestern Romania. It is located at the confluence of the Timiș (river), River Timiș ...

, which he attended from 1889 to 1892 but did not complete. In 1886, in '' Familia'', he published a cycle of folk poems that he gathered in the Lugoj area. His original poetry debut came in 1888, in ''Tribuna''. He moved to

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 ...

, the capital of the

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

, in search of a social and literary position; from 1892 to 1893, he worked as an accountant at the . He won the admiration and support of

Titu Maiorescu Titu Liviu Maiorescu (; 15 February 1840 – 18 June 1917) was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the ''Junimea'' Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Romanian culture in the second half of ...

, who brought him to the attention of both contemporaries and posterity. In 1893, Maiorescu published his most representative verses and short stories (such as "În lume" and "După un an de jale") in ''

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 ...

''. He also wrote the preface to Popovici's only published book, which arrived posthumously, the 1895 short story collection ''Din viața meseriașilor''. It was also Maiorescu who gave him the name Bănățeanul. Popovici sometimes used the pen names Niță de la Lugoj and Oreste. Working from German texts, he translated

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished ...

and

Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...

. Afflicted by lung disease, he returned to Lugoj to die at home; his premature death cut short what appeared to be a promising career.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 421. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popovici-Banateanul, Ioan 1869 births 1893 deaths People from Lugoj Romanian Austro-Hungarians Austro-Hungarian emigrants to Romania Romanian poets Romanian translators Romanian accountants 19th-century poets 19th-century translators