Octav Șuluțiu (November 5, 1909–February 9, 1949) 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 prose writer and literary critic. Born 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 ...

, his parents were Gheorghe Șuluț, a tailor, and his wife Victoria (''née'' Pigarovsky). After attending primary school and, from 1921 to 1926, gymnasium in his native city, he went to

Mihai Viteazul High School Mihai () is a Romanian given name for males or a surname. It is equivalent to the English name Michael. A variant of the name is Mihail. Its female form is Mihaela. As a given name *Mihai I of Romania (1921–2017), King of Romania until 1947 *Miha ...

on a scholarship, graduating in 1928. Șuluțiu earned a degree from 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 ...

's literature and philosophy faculty in 1931, having specialized in French and Romanian literature. That year, he was hired as a substitute French teacher at Unirea High School in

Focșani Focșani (; yi, פֿאָקשאַן, Fokshan) is the capital city of Vrancea County in Romania on the banks the river Milcov, in the historical region of Moldavia. It has a population () of 79,315. Geography Focșani lies at the foot of the Curv ...

. He later transferred to

Oradea Oradea (, , ; german: Großwardein ; hu, Nagyvárad ) is a city in Romania, located in Crișana, a sub-region of Transylvania. The county seat, seat of Bihor County, Oradea is one of the most important economic, social and cultural centers in the ...

's Iosif Vulcan Normal School. In 1935, he was named provisional full professor at Andrei Șaguna High School in

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 ...

. In 1942, he became an inspector at the state department for extracurricular education. Șuluțiu then returned to Bucharest to teach French language and literature, working at

Gheorghe Șincai Gheorghe Șincai (; February 28, 1754 – November 2, 1816) was a Romanian historian, philologist, translator, poet, and representative of the Enlightenment-influenced Transylvanian School. As the director of Greek Catholic education in Transylv ...

(1946) and Mihai Viteazul (1947) high schools. Șuluțiu's first published work was a 1927 article, "Primul romancier român", that appeared in ''Revista literară'', published at Saint Sava High School. He contributed to ''Ultima oră'', ''Propilee literare'', ''Dreptatea'', ''

Bilete de Papagal ''Bilete de Papagal'' was a Romanian left-wing publication edited by Tudor Arghezi, begun as a daily newspaper and soon after issued as a weekly satirical and literary magazine. It was published at three different intervals: 1928-1930, 1937-1938, ...

'', ''Săptămâna literară'', ''Azi'', ''Radical'', ''Vremea'', ''Reporter'', ''Viața literară'', '' Rampa'', ''

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 ...

'', ''Axa'', '' Familia'' and ''Kalende''. His novel ''Ambigen'' (1935) was received with praise, although the author complained of the critics' "frightening superficiality". ''Pe margini de cărți'', a volume of literary criticism, came out in 1938; it was followed by the 1943 novel ''Mântuire'', which was awarded a prize by 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 ...

. In collaboration, he translated a novel by Elena Ilyina that appeared in 1946 as ''Al patrulea obstacol''. In his last year, Șuluțiu worked to finalize a study, ''Despre poezia lui George Coșbuc''. He died of a stroke.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, pp. 677-79. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sulutiu, Octav 1909 births 1949 deaths Writers from Bucharest University of Bucharest alumni Romanian novelists Romanian literary critics Romanian translators Romanian schoolteachers 20th-century translators