Octav Sargețiu (born Dumitru V. Popa; October 23, 1908–November 21, 1994) 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

Vlad Țepeș Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ro, Vlad Țepeș ) or Vlad Dracula (; ro, Vlad Drăculea ; 1428/311476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most imp ...

Călărași County Călărași () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Muntenia, with the county seat at Călărași. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 285,050 and a population density of 56.02/km2. * Romanians – 95% ...

, his parents Vișan Popa and Maria (''née'' Cristea) were peasants. He attended the normal school for teachers in

Călărași Călărași (), the capital of Călărași County in the Muntenia region, is situated in south-east Romania, on the banks of the Danube's Borcea branch, at about from the Bulgarian border and from Bucharest. The city is an industrial centre f ...

from 1921 to 1927, and from 1927 to 1938 was director of the primary school in Mîrzaci, Orhei County, in

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

. Remaining in the province until the 1940 Soviet occupation, he edited ''Cuvânt moldovenesc'' magazine at

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...

. He then 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 ...

, where he edited ''Albina'' magazine, ''Căminul cultural'' and ''Școala țăranului'' from 1940 to 1947; he also edited '' Viața Basarabiei'' there from 1940 to 1944. From 1948 to 1952, he headed the Al. I. Cuza popular athenaeum; from 1953 to 1956, he directed the Ștefan Gheorghiu cultural center. His first published work appeared in ''Brazda'' magazine in Călărași in 1927 under the pen name Dumitru Octav Sargețiu, which became his official name in 1945. The poem "Sărmana plebe" appeared in ''Tribuna'' in the same town in 1929, for the first time under the name Octav Sargețiu. He also wrote for ''

Revista Fundațiilor Regale ''Revista Fundațiilor Regale'' ("The Review of Royal Foundations") was a monthly literary, art and culture magazine published in Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeas ...

'', ''

Gândirea ''Gândirea'' ("The Thinking"), known during its early years as ''Gândirea Literară - Artistică - Socială'' ("The Literary - Artistic - Social Thinking"), was a Romanian literary, political and art magazine. Overview Founded by Cezar Pet ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''Curentul literar'', ''Vremea'', '' Familia'', ''Epigrama'', ''Însemnări ieșene'', ''Fapta'', ''Claviaturi'', '' Luceafărul'', ''Steaua'' and ''

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 on ...

''. His first book, the 1942 poetry collection ''Cântece în singurătate'', won 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 ...

prize; in 1945, it was followed by a second, ''Satul meu, povestea mea''.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 520. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sargetiu, Octav 1908 births 1994 deaths People from Călărași County Romanian poets Romanian magazine editors Romanian schoolteachers