Virgil Mazilescu (; born 11 April 1942,

Corabia Corabia () is a small Danube port located in Olt County, Oltenia, Romania, which used to be part of the now-dissolved Romanați County before World War II. Across the Danube from Corabia lies the Bulgarian village of Gigen. History Beneath Co ...

Olt County Olt County () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in the historical regions of Oltenia and Muntenia (the regions are separated by the Olt river). The capital city is Slatina. History On 24 August 2017, the Olt County ...

, Romania — died 10 August 1984,

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 ...

, Romania) was a Romanian poet, essayist and translator.

Life

After finishing the "Spiru Haret” High School in Bucharest in 1957, he enrolled in the Department of Romanian Language and Literature of the University of Bucharest, from where he graduated in 1964. After stints as a school teacher and as a librarian, he worked from 1970 until his death as a copy editor for ''

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 ...

''. For a few years he was the 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 ...

's literary circle, led by

Miron Radu Paraschivescu __NOTOC__ Miron Radu Paraschivescu (; 2 October 1911 – 17 February 1971) was a Romanian poet, essayist, journalist, and translator. Born in Zimnicea, Teleorman County, he went to high school in Ploiești, after which he studied fine arts, firs ...

. A

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

, who was also known for his heavy drinking, he died on August 10, 1984.

Literary activity

In 1966 he made his literary debut in "Povestea vorbei”, the monthly avantgarde literary supplement of the magazine ''Ramuri'' from

Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...

, edited by Miron Radu Paraschivescu.

Books

*''Versuri'', București, Editura pentru Literatură, 1968 *''Fragmente din regiunea de odinioară'', București, Editura Cartea Românească, 1970 *''Va fi liniște, va fi seară'', București, Editura Cartea Românească, 1979 *''Guillaume poetul și administratorul'', București, Editura Cartea Românească, 1983

Posthumously

*''Asketische Zeichen. Gedichte'', Cluj, Editura Dacia, 1988, 2001 *''Întoarcerea lui Immanuel'', București, Editura Albatros, 1991 *''Poezii'', București, Editura Vitruviu, 1996 *''Opere complete'', editor: Alexandru Condeescu, București, Editura Muzeul Literaturii Române, 2003 *''Opera poetica'', editor: Gabriel Nedelea, Craiova, Editura AIUS, 2013

Translations

He translated works by, among others, Jean Amila,

Jack Schaefer Jack Warner Schaefer (November 19, 1907 – 24 January 1991) was an American writer known for his Westerns. His best-known works are the 1949 novel ''Shane'', voted the greatest western novel, and the 1964 children's book ''Stubby Pringle's C ...

, Fernand Fournier-Aubry,

Henri Delacroix Henri Delacroix (2 December 1873, Paris – 3 December 1937, Paris) was a French psychologist, "one of the most famous and most prolific French psychologists working at the beginning of he twentiethcentury." Born in Paris, Henri Delacroix was edu ...

Charles Portis Charles McColl Portis (December 28, 1933 – February 17, 2020) was an American author best known for his novels '' Norwood'' (1966) and the classic Western ''True Grit'' (1968), both adapted as films. The latter also inspired a film sequel and ...

and

Willa Cather Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including ''O Pioneers!'', '' The Song of the Lark'', and ''My Ántonia''. In 1923, ...

Awards

*"Luceafărul” Magazine Award, 1968, for ''Versuri''

Legacy

A school in his home town is named after him.

References

*Aurel Sasu, ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române (M-Z)'', Paralela 45, Pitești, 2006, pp. 68, 69 *Dinu Flămând, ''Intimitatea textului'', București, Editura Eminescu, 1985, pp. 162 – 176 *Ion Buzera, ''Virgil Mazilescu'', Brașov, Editura Aula, 2000

External links

Gazeta de Sud - 22 de ani de la moartea poetului Virgil Mazilescu

Centrul Cultural Pitești - Virgil Mazilescu

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazilescu, Virgil 1942 births 1984 deaths 20th-century Romanian poets Romanian male poets Romanian essayists Romanian translators People from Corabia 20th-century translators Male essayists 20th-century essayists 20th-century Romanian male writers