Vintilă Russu-Șirianu (April 20, 1897–February 25, 1973) was an Austro-Hungarian-born

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n journalist, memoirist, and translator. Born in Arad, his father was journalist and activist , whose uncle was the writer

Ioan Slavici Ioan Slavici (; 18 January 1848 – 17 August 1925) was a Romanians, Romanian writer and journalist from Hungary, later from Romania. He made his debut in ''Convorbiri literare'' ("Literary Conversations") (1871), with the comedy ''Fata de biră ...

. After attending high school in his native city, he left for

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 ...

, capital of 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 enrolled in the Conservatory and at 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 medical faculty, but completed neither. He took part in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as an officer in the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

; in the temporary capital of Iași, while visiting the homes of

Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea ; pen name of Barbu Ștefan; April 11, 1858 in Bucharest – April 29, 1918 in Iași) was a Romanian writer and poet, considered one of the greatest figures in the National awakening of Romania. Early life and ...

Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (; sometimes Neculai Iorga, Nicolas Jorga, Nicolai Jorga or Nicola Jorga, born Nicu N. Iorga;Iova, p. xxvii. 17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet ...

Take Ionescu Take or Tache Ionescu (; born Dumitru Ghiță Ioan and also known as Demetriu G. Ionnescu; – 21 June 1922) was a Romanian centrist politician, journalist, lawyer and diplomat, who also enjoyed reputation as a short story author. Starting his ...

, and Osvald Teodoreanu, he became acquainted with Robert de Flers, whom he later assisted in Paris. After the end of the war and his native province's union with Romania, he returned to Bucharest, completing the literature and philosophy faculty. He was technical secretary at the , librarian for 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 ...

, editor at ''

Flacăra ''Flacăra'' (Romanian language, Romanian for "The Flame") is a weekly literary magazine published in Bucharest, Romania. History and profile ''Flacăra'' was started in 1911. The first issue was published on 22 October 1911. The founder was Co ...

'', secretary to

Octavian Goga Octavian Goga (; 1 April 1881 – 7 May 1938) was a Romanian politician, poet, playwright, journalist, and translator. Life and politics Goga was born in Rășinari, near Sibiu. Goga was an active member in the Romanian nationalisti ...

, and an opinion journalist. From 1923 to 1924, he was secretary of 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 ...

, in which capacity he organized a number of tournaments and soirées. He made his literary debut in 1919, and then sporadically contributed poems and articles to ''Flacăra'', ''

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 ...

'', ''Cugetul românesc'', ''Adevărul literar'', ''Cuvântul liber'' and ''Rampa''. In 1927, he left for Paris, where he edited the monthly ''Revue Franco-Roumaine'' magazine. While there, he not only became acquainted with nearly the entire French literary establishment, but also with local Romanian émigrés (including

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanian composer, violinist, conductor and teacher. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history, Enescu is featured on the Romanian five lei. Biogr ...

, Constantin Brâncuși,

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 ...

, Elena Văcărescu, Marthe Bibesco,

Ilarie Voronca Ilarie Voronca (pen name of Eduard Marcus; 31 December 1903, Brăila—8 April 1946, Paris) was a Romanian avant-garde poet and essayist. life and career Voronca was of Jewish ethnicity. In his early years, he was connected with Eugen Lovine ...

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 ...

, and Marioara Ventura). His 1969 memoir, ''Vinurile lor...'', features lively, finely drawn recollections of these individuals. With Alexandru Băbeanu, he wrote the play ''Biruitorul'', which was staged at the

National Theatre Bucharest The National Theatre Bucharest ( ro, Teatrul Naţional "Ion Luca Caragiale" București) is one of the national theatres of Romania, located in the capital city of Bucharest. Founding It was founded as the ''Teatrul cel Mare din București'' ("Gra ...

in 1924. After the Coup of 1944 against the country's pro-Axis dictator, he and

Cezar Petrescu Cezar Petrescu (; December 1, 1892–March 9, 1961) was a Romanian journalist, novelist, and children's writer. He was born in Hodora, Iași County, the son of Dimitrie Petrescu, an engineer and a teacher. After attending elementary school ...

dramatized the latter's novel ''Ochii strigoiului'' and wrote ''Mânzul nebun''. In 1947 and under the imminent rise of the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

, he penned plays for workers and local cultural stages. These are thoroughly obsolete today, as are his poems, anthologized in 1972 as ''Îmi amintesc de aceste versuri'' with the assistance of Mihai Gafița. He capably translated

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 ...

('' Gobseck'') and Roger Martin du Gard (''

The Thibaults ''The Thibaults'' () is a multi-volume ''roman-fleuve'' (French, novel sequence) by Roger Martin du Gard, which follows the fortunes of two brothers, Antoine and Jacques Thibault, from their upbringing in a prosperous Catholic bourgeois family to ...

''). Pen names he used include V. R. Ș., Ion Dacu and D. Dinu.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 504. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. He died in Bucharest on February 25, 1973; in 2017, his remains and those of his father were reinterred in

Șiria Șiria (german: Hellburg; hu, Világos) is a commune in Arad County, Romania. According to the 2002 census it had 8,140 inhabitants. The commune is situated at from Arad, its administrative territory covers , and it lies in the contact zone o ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russu-Sirianu, Vintila 1897 births 1973 deaths People from Arad, Romania Romanian Austro-Hungarians Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to Romania Romanian military personnel of World War I University of Bucharest alumni 20th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century translators Romanian poets Romanian memoirists Romanian translators Romanian librarians Romanian magazine editors Romanian opinion journalists Romanian expatriates in France