Vasile Demetrius (pen name of Vasile Dumitrescu; October 1, 1878–March 15, 1942) was an Austro-Hungarian-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 prose writer, poet and translator. Born in

Șcheii Brașovului Șcheii Brașovului ( hu, Bolgárszeg, german: Belgerei or more recently ''Obere Vorstadt''; traditional Romanian name: ''Bulgărimea'', colloquially ''Șchei'') is the old ethnically Bulgarian and Romanian neighborhood of Brașov, a city in south ...

, his parents were Dumitru Ogea, who built and maintained wood-burning stoves, and his wife Elisabeta (''née'' Bratu-Stinghe). While in school, his name was changed to Dumitrescu, while the sobriquet Demetrius was bestowed upon him in 1899 by

Gala Galaction Gala Galaction (; the pen name of Grigore or Grigorie Pisculescu, (the quarter "Pantelimon" is presumed to preserve his memory) ; April 16, 1879—March 8, 1961) was a Romanian Orthodox clergyman and theologian, writer, journalist, left-wing a ...

, a classmate at Saint Sava High School, along with N. D. Cocea and

Ion G. Duca Ion Gheorghe Duca (; 20 December 1879 – 29 December 1933) was Romanian politician and the Prime Minister of Romania from 14 November to 29 December 1933, when he was assassinated for his efforts to suppress the fascist Iron Guard movement. ...

. After leaving for the

Romanian Old Kingdom The Romanian Old Kingdom ( ro, Vechiul Regat or just ''Regat''; german: Regat or ) is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independent Romanian nation state, which was composed of the Romanian Principalities: Wallachia ...

, he attended primary school and three months of high school 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 ...

, but was largely self-taught. Early on, he forged a lifelong friendship with

Tudor Arghezi Tudor Arghezi (; 21 May 1880 – 14 July 1967) was a Romanian writer, best known for his unique contribution to poetry and children's literature. Born Ion N. Theodorescu in Bucharest, he explained that his pen name was related to ''Argesis'', th ...

; a humanitarian in outlook, he turned to socialism. His jobs included: worker in a garment factory; butcher's assistant; bookseller for C. Sfetea; proofreader at ''Naționalul'' newspaper; chemist at a

Chitila Chitila () is a town in the west of Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania, situated 9 km to the north west of Bucharest. It is often seen as a satellite town of Bucharest. One village, Rudeni, is administered by the town. Transport Chitilia is ...

factory; substitute teacher in

Vintilă Vodă Vintilă Vodă is a commune in Buzău County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of nine villages: Bodinești, Coca Antimirești, Coca Niculești, Niculești, Petrăchești, Podu Muncii, Sârbești, Smeești, and Vintilă Vodă. The commune is loc ...

village,

Buzău County Buzău County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in the historical region Muntenia, with the capital city at Buzău. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 432,054 and the population density was 70.7/km2. * Romanians – 97% * Roma ...

; estate administrator for a count in

Ialomița County Ialomița County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Muntenia, with the capital city at Slobozia. Demographics In 2011, the county had a population of 258,669 and the population density was 58.08/km2. Romanians make up 95.6% of the popula ...

; civil servant at the Domains Ministry; founder of Căminul book series (1916) and director at ''Biblioteca pentru toți'' (1923). His poetic debut came in

Constantin Mille Constantin Mille (; December 21, 1861 – February 20, 1927) was a Romanian journalist, novelist, poet, lawyer, and socialist militant, as well as a prominent human rights activist. A Marxist for much of his life, Mille was noted for his vocal sup ...

's '' Adevărul''. In 1904, together with

, he published ''Linia dreaptă'' magazine. He was close friends with Arghezi, Galaction and N. D. Cocea. Other publications where his work appeared include ''Viața socială'', ''Viitorul'', ''Dimineața'', ''Facla'', ''Flacăra'', ''Scena'', ''Luceafărul'', ''Sburătorul'' and ''Rampa''. He authored numerous translations of, among others,

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

Dmitry Merezhkovsky Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky ( rus, Дми́трий Серге́евич Мережко́вский, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪrʲɪˈʂkofskʲɪj; – December 9, 1941) was a Russian novelist, poet, religious thinker, ...

, Blasco Ibáñez and Stendhal. His volumes of poetry are said to lack originality (''Versuri'', 1901; ''Trepte rupte'', 1906; ''Sonete'', 1914; ''Canarul mizantropului'', 1916; ''Fecioarele'', 1925; and ''Cocorii'', 1942). However, his prose, in particular the novels (''Tinerețea Casandrei'', 1913; ''Orașul bucuriei'', 1920; ''Domnul colonel'', 1920; ''Domnul deputat'', 1921), somewhat anticipate interwar realism. He also published a few volumes of short stories (''Puterea farmecelor și alte nuvele'', 1914; ''Cântăreața'', 1916; ''Nuvele alese'', 1925). He won a prize from the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

in 1916 and from 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 1928.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 473-74. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. Married to Antigona (''née'' Rabinovici), a baptized

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

, he had a very poor household and numerous children. One of them,

Lucia Demetrius Lucia Aurora Demetrius (February 16, 1910–July 29, 1992) was a Romanian novelist, poet, playwright and translator. Life Born in Bucharest, her parents were the writer Vasile Demetrius and his wife Antigona (''née'' Rabinovici). Her father ...

, herself became a writer. Literary figures who visited the family home before 1918 included Oreste Georgescu,

D. Nanu Dumitru G. Nanu (October 26, 1873 – February 12, 1943) was a Romanian poet and translator. Born in Câmpulung to Gheorghe Nanu and his wife Zoia (''née'' Hristodos), he attended primary school in his native town, followed by Matei Basara ...

and

Panait Istrati Panait Istrati (; sometimes rendered as ''Panaït Istrati''; August 10, 1884 – April 16, 1935) was a Romanian working class writer, who wrote in French and Romanian, nicknamed ''The Maxim Gorky of the Balkans''. Istrati appears to be the ...

. By the 1920s, new visitors were arriving:

Șerban Bascovici Șerban Bascovici (born Șerban-Vasile Bascovitz; January 1, 1891–March 19, 1968) was a Romanian poet Born in Bucharest to Gheorghe Bascovitz and his wife Ecaterina, he attended Matei Basarab National College (Bucharest), Matei Basarab High S ...

Aron Cotruș Aron Cotruș (; 2 January 1891 – 1 November 1961) was a Romanian poet, diplomat, and member of the fascist Iron Guard. Life He was born in 1891 in Hașag, Sibiu County, at the time in Austria-Hungary. After attending secondary school in Blaj ...

, and later Felix Aderca and

Sanda Movilă Sanda Movilă (pen name of Maria Ionescu-Aderca; January 7, 1900–September 13, 1970) was a Romanian poet and novelist. Born in Cerbu, Argeș County, her parents were Ion Ionescu, a small-scale tradesman, and his wife Maria (''née'' Nicule ...

. Al. Săndulescu
"între bunăcredinţă şi conformism (I)"
''România Literară'', nr. 6/2006

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demetrius, Vasile 1878 births 1942 deaths People from Brașov Romanian Austro-Hungarians Austro-Hungarian emigrants to Romania 20th-century Romanian poets Romanian novelists Romanian translators Romanian magazine founders Romanian civil servants Romanian schoolteachers Romanian socialists 20th-century translators Romanian male poets 20th-century Romanian male writers Burials at Bellu Cemetery