Ion Itu (born Ioan Itul; November 8, 1935–April 5, 2006) was a
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
n literary critic and essayist.
Born in
Sălașu de Sus
Sălașu de Sus ( hu, Felsőszálláspatak, german: Ober-Bachdorf) is a Commune in Romania, commune in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of eleven villages: Coroiești (''Korojesd''), Mălăiești (''Malajesd''), Nucșoara ('' ...
,
Hunedoara County
Hunedoara County () is a county ('' județ'') of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Deva. The county is part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion.
Name
In Hungarian, it is known as , in German as , and in Slovak ...
, his parents were Ioan, a health inspector, and his wife Susana (''née'' Itul). He attended primary school in his native village from 1942 to 1946, followed by gymnasium in nearby
Pui
Pui ( hu, Puj, german: Hühnendorf) is a commune in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of twelve villages: Băiești (''Bajesd''), Federi (''Fégyér''), Fizești (''Füzesd''), Galați (''Galac''), Hobița (''Hobica''), Oha ...
(1946–1949) and high school in
Petroșani
Petroșani (; Hungarian: ''Petrozsény''; German: ''Petroschen'') is a city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania, with a population of 34,331 (2011). The city has been associated with mining since the 19th century.
History
"Pietros" means ...
(1949–1953). He later enrolled in the philology and history faculty of the
University of Cluj, attending from 1959 to 1963.
[Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 799-800. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. ]
He worked as a substitute teacher in
Lunca Cernii (1954–1956) and in Pui (1958–1960). In the interim, he performed his military service by laboring at
Jilava
Jilava is a commune in Ilfov county, Muntenia, Romania, near Bucharest. It is composed of a single village, Jilava.
The name derives from a Romanian word of Slavic origin ( Bulgarian жилав ''žilav'' (tough), which passed into Romanian as '' ...
(1956–1957) and at the
Hunedoara
Hunedoara (; german: Eisenmarkt; hu, Vajdahunyad ) is a city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in southwestern Transylvania near the Poiana Ruscă Mountains, and administers five villages: Boș (''Bós''), Groș (''Grós' ...
constructions unit (1957–1959). Itu then held the following positions: head of the cultural center in
Rășinari (1960–1964), methodologist at the
Sibiu
Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...
cultural center (1964–1966) and editor at the
cable radio
Cable radio or cable FM is a concept similar to that of cable television, bringing radio broadcasting into homes and businesses via coaxial cable. It is generally used for the same reason as cable TV was in its early days when it was "community ...
center in the same city (1966–1968), editor of ''Tribuna Sibiului'' (1968–1971) and 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 pop ...
's ''Astra'' magazine (1971–1990; 1997–2001). During the
Romanian Revolution
The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred ...
, he became head of the Brașov County Council's committee on culture, serving until May 1990. At that point, he
was elected to the
Chamber of Deputies.
He represented the ruling
National Salvation Front, was secretary of the culture committee and served until the
1992 election.
[Profile]
at the Romanian Chamber of Deputies site In 1991, he became founding director of Editura Orientul Latin publishing house.
Publications that ran Itu's work include ''Astra'', ''Transilvania'', ''Steaua'', ''Tribuna'', ''
Contemporanul
''Contemporanul'' (The Contemporary) is a Romanian literary magazine published in Iaşi, Romania from 1881 to 1891. It was sponsored by the socialist circle of the city.
A new magazine ''Contimporanul
''Contimporanul'' (antiquated spelling of ...
'', ''
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 o ...
'' and ''Săptămâna''. He contributed to a number of collaborative works, including ''Omagiu 100. Brâncuși'' (1976), ''Nicolae Titulescu. 1941-1991'' (1991), ''Dicționar de critică literară'' (1995), ''Eminescu. Mă topesc în flăcări'' (1999), ''Dicționar de poezie românească'' (1999) and ''Brâncuși – artist filosof'' (2001). His first published work appeared in ''Tribuna'' in 1963. His first book was a monograph about soprano
Lucia Cosma, the 1976 ''Destinul unei artiste''. This was followed by ''Pictori sibieni'' (1987), ''Critică și strategie'' (1988), ''Poemele sacre'' (1994), ''Primii noștri poeți'' (1995), ''Orfismul eminescian'' (1995), ''Drumul Parnasului'' (1998), ''Principii de estetică și filosofia culturii'' (2001), ''Cronici de tranziție'' (2002), ''Rădăcinile doctrinei literare în Ardeal'' (2002) and ''Sfântul de la Târgu Jiu'' (2003). In 2002, he was awarded the prize of the Brașov chapter of the
Romanian Writers' Union
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 married Iustina Bulbucan, a teacher; the couple's son is historian of religion Mircea Itu.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Itu, Ion
1935 births
2006 deaths
People from Hunedoara County
Babeș-Bolyai University alumni
Romanian essayists
Romanian literary critics
Romanian magazine editors
Romanian schoolteachers
Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania)
20th-century essayists