Romulus Dianu (born Romulus Dima; March 22, 1905–August 25, 1975) 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, journalist and translator.

Biography

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 ''

Căile Ferate Române Căile Ferate Române (; abbreviated as the CFR) is the state railway carrier of Romania. As of 2014, the railway network of Romania consists of , of which (37.4%) are electrified. The total track length is , of which (38.5%) are electrifie ...

'' worker Gheorghe Dima, a relative of composer Gheorghe Dima; and his wife Virgilia (''née'' Maiorescu), descended from the family of

Petru Maior Petru Maior (; 1761 in Marosvásárhely ''(now Târgu Mureș, Romania)'' – 14 February 1821 in Budapest) was a Romanian writer who is considered one of the most influential personalities of the Age of Enlightenment in Transylvania (the ''Tran ...

. After attending primary school in

Murfatlar Murfatlar () is a town in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. It officially became a town in 1989, as a result of the Romanian rural systematization program. Etymology The name of the town originates from the Turkish word of Arabic o ...

and

Bârlad Bârlad () is a city in Vaslui County, Romania. It lies on the banks of the river Bârlad, which waters the high plains of Western Moldavia. At Bârlad the railway from Iași diverges, one branch skirting the river Siret, the other skirting th ...

, he enrolled in the classics section of his native city's

Saint Sava National College The Saint Sava National College (Romanian language, Romanian: ''Colegiul Național Sfântul Sava''), Bucharest, named after Sabbas the Sanctified, is the oldest and one of the most prestigious high schools in Romania. It was founded in 1694, ...

, thanks to the help of his uncle, poet

George Tutoveanu George Tutoveanu (born Gheorghe Ionescu; 30 November 1872–18 August 1957) was a Romanian poet. Born in Bârlad, his parents were the Romanian Orthodox church singer Gheorghe Ionescu and his wife Catinca. He had five brothers and a sister, ...

. In 1925, he entered the literature and philosophy faculty of 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 ...

. He made his published debut in ''Rampa'' in 1926, with opinion pieces. His first book appeared in 1929; co-written with

Sergiu Dan Sergiu Dan (; born Isidor Rotman or Rottman; December 29, 1903 – March 13, 1976) was a Romanian novelist, journalist, Holocaust survivor and political prisoner of the communist regime. Dan, the friend and collaborator of Romulus Dianu, was noted ...

, it was a fictionalized biography titled ''Viața minunată a lui Anton Pann''. Dan was his best friend, and he was also very close to

Ion Vinea Ion Vinea (born Ioan Eugen Iovanaki, sometimes Iovanache; April 17, 1895 – July 6, 1964) was a Romanian poet, novelist, journalist, literary theorist, and political figure. He became active on the modernist scene during his teens—his poetic wo ...

and

Pamfil Șeicaru Pamfil is a Romanian given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: * Pamfil Polonic (1858–1943), Romanian archaeologist and topographer * Pamfil Yurkevich (1826–1874), Ukrainian philosopher * Radu Pamfil Radu Pamfil (21 Augus ...

. He wrote the novels ''Adorata'' (1930) and ''Nopți la Ada-Kaleh'' (1931) in the prevailing serialized style of the day. Dianu then entered the diplomatic field, working as

Nicolae Titulescu Nicolae Titulescu (; 4 March 1882 – 17 March 1941) was a Romanian diplomat, at various times government minister, finance and foreign minister, and for two terms president of the General Assembly of the League of Nations (1930–32). Early ye ...

's secretary for a decade and receiving accreditation from the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

. During World War II, he wrote regularly for the official press. Following the war and the onset of a

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that woul ...

-led government, he was sent to prison for his journalistic activity. After being released, he worked as a day laborer, woodcutter and book peddler. Found by

Ion Caraion Ion Caraion (pen name of Stelian Diaconescu; May 24, 1923–July 21, 1986) was a Romanian poet, essayist and translator. Born in Rușavăț, Buzău County, he attended primary school at Râmnicu Sărat from 1930 to 1934, followed by Bogdan P ...

selling books in a passageway, he was able to retire and secure a pension from 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 ...

upon the latter's proposal. He wrote three novels during the last five years of his life. Emil Manu
"Romulus Dianu - Versuri inedite"
in ''Romania Literară'', nr. 50/2001 He translated

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

and

Georges Duhamel Georges Duhamel (; ; 30 June 1884 – 13 April 1966) was a French author, born in Paris. Duhamel trained as a doctor, and during World War I was attached to the French Army. In 1920, he published '' Confession de minuit'', the first of a serie ...

.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 487. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Literary activity

The literature written by Romulus Dianu is highlighted by epic verve and a fast notation, "made from the flight of the pen". The writer presents a conventional, slightly cosmopolitan and exotic environment, showing an intellectual curiosity about the mystery of the eternal feminine.Ov. S. Crohmălniceanu, ''Literatura română între cele două războaie mondiale'', vol. I, Editura Minerva, București, 1972, p. 354. His characters, such as Victoria Gherman in the novel Adorata (1930) and to some extent those in ''Nights at Ada-Kaleh'' (1932) and the ''Girls' Fair. Simple Mental Journey'' (1933), I feel the need for absolute erotic fulfillment.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dianu, Romulus 1905 births 1975 deaths Writers from Bucharest Diplomats from Bucharest Journalists from Bucharest Romanian translators 20th-century Romanian novelists 20th-century translators 20th-century journalists