Iulian Vesper (pen name of Teodor C. Grosu; November 22, 1908–February 11, 1986) 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 poet and prose writer. Born in Horodnic de Sus,

Suceava County Suceava County () is a county ('' ro, județ'') of Romania. Most of its territory lies in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina, while the remainder forms part of Western Moldavia proper. The county seat is the historical town ...

, in the

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...

region, his parents were Constantin Grosu, a farmer and church singer, and his wife Teodosia (''née'' Prelipcean). After attending primary school in his native village, he went to the classical section of Eudoxiu Hurmuzachi High School in

Rădăuți Rădăuți (; german: Radautz; hu, Radóc; pl, Radowce; uk, Радівці, ''Radivtsi''; yi, ראַדעװיץ ''Radevits''; tr, Radoviçe) is a town in Suceava County, north-eastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovi ...

, graduating in 1927. The same year, he enrolled in the literature faculty of

Cernăuți University Chernivtsi National University (full name Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, uk, Чернівецький національний університет імені Юрія Федьковича) is a public university in the City o ...

, but transferred to the literature and philosophy faculty of

Bucharest University 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 Princely ...

, graduating in 1933. He was editor-in-chief of ''Glasul Bucovinei'' newspaper in 1933–1934, then editor until 1937. He worked as cabinet head at the Labor and Social Protection Ministry (1934-1942); translator, editor and press secretary at the Press Directorate (1944-1949); editor at

Agerpres AGERPRES () is the national news agency of Romania. History The National News Agency "AGERPRES" is the oldest Romanian news agency and the first autonomous agency in Romania. It was established in March 1889 at the initiative of Foreign Minist ...

(1949-1950); and proofreader at the State Publishing House for Literature and Art (1951-1956). Vesper's published debut took the form of poems that appeared in his high school magazine in 1924. His early poetry situated him within the ''Iconar'' group of Bukovina poets, who advocated metaphysical verses in an avant-garde style. His work appeared in

Mircea Streinul Mircea Streinul (2 January 1910 – 17 April 1945) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian prose writer and poet. Biography Born in Cuciurul Mare, in the Bukovina region, his parents were the Romanian Orthodox priest Gavril Streinul and his wi ...

's 1938 anthology ''Poeți tineri bucovineni''. He published volumes of poetry (''Echinox în odăjdii'', 1933; ''Constelații'', 1935; ''Poeme de Nord'', 1937; ''Izvoare'', 1942; ''Poezii'', 1968; ''Ascultând nopțile'', 1972; ''Al treilea orizont'', 1979), historical fiction (''Viața lui Mihai Viteazul'', 1939; ''Chipuri domnești'', 1944) and novels (''Primăvara în țara fagilor'', 1938; ''Glasul'', 1957). His translations included Russian tales,

Vasily Belov Vasily Ivanovich Belov (russian: link=no, Васи́лий Ива́нович Бело́в; 23 October 1932 – 4 December 2012) was a Soviet and Russian writer, poet and dramatist, who published more than sixty books which sold (as of 1998) seven ...

, the ''

Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and r ...

'' and

Louis Hémon Louis Hémon (12 October 1880 – 8 July 1913), was a French writer best known for his novel ''Maria Chapdelaine''. Biography He was born in Brest, France. In Paris, where he resided with his family, he was enrolled in the Montaigne and Louis ...

. Aside from his hermetic poems and those which display a somewhat affected messianism, Vesper's poetry, innately romantic, is undoubtedly valuable. It reflects an authentic experience of awe in the face of death and its projection into a fabulous realm.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 804. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vesper, Iulian 1908 births 1986 deaths People from Suceava County University of Bucharest alumni 20th-century Romanian poets Romanian novelists Romanian translators Romanian newspaper editors Romanian civil servants Romanian male poets 20th-century Romanian male writers 20th-century translators Chernivtsi University alumni Burials at Bellu Cemetery