Vlaicu Victor Virgil Bârna (December 4, 1913 – March 11, 1999) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

-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 poet. Born in Crișan,

Hunedoara County Hunedoara County () is a county ('' județ'') of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Deva. The county is part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion. Name In Hungarian, it is known as , in German as , and in Slovak as ...

, in the

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

region, his parents Ion Bârna and Maria (''née'' Pavel) were peasants. After graduating from Avram Iancu High School in

Brad Brad may refer to: * Brad (given name), a masculine given name Places * Brad, Hunedoara, a city in Hunedoara County, Romania * Brad, a village in Berești-Bistrița Commune, Bacău County, Romania * Brad, a village in Filipeni, Bacău, Romania * ...

in 1932, he entered the literature and philosophy faculty of

Bucharest University 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 Princely ...

, earning his degree in 1936. He was editing secretary for ''Azi'' magazine and editor at ''Rampa'' and ''România'' (under

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 ...

's direction in 1938–1939) and at the daily ''Ardealul''. From 1941 to 1947, he was press representative at the Propaganda Ministry and the

Foreign Ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

. Under 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 was editor at Editura de Stat pentru Literatură și Artă from (1949–1951), literary adviser at Radiodifuziunea română (1951–1966), editor at ''

Viața Românească ''Viața Românească'' (, "The Romanian Life") is a monthly literary magazine published in Romania. Formerly the platform of the left-wing traditionalist trend known as poporanism, it is now one of the Writers' Union of Romania's main venues. Th ...

'' (1968–1974) and literary 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 ...

(1972–1976). He edited and headed the publications ''Arta'' (1941; ''Arta nouă'' in 1942–1943) and ''Galeria'' (1941–1943). He was a participant in the ''

Sburătorul ''Sburătorul'' was a Romanian Modernism, modernist literary magazine and literary society, established in Bucharest in April 1919. Led by Eugen Lovinescu, the circle was instrumental in developing new trends and styles in Romanian literature, rangi ...

'' circle, particularly from 1933 to 1935. Bârna's first published poems appeared in ''Azi'', ''Viața literară'' and ''Litere'' in 1934; his first poetry book was the 1936 ''Cabane albe''. His work appeared in ''

Revista Fundațiilor Regale ''Revista Fundațiilor Regale'' ("The Review of Royal Foundations") was a monthly literary, art and culture magazine published in Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern ...

'', '' Familia'', ''Universul literar'', ''Gazeta literară'', ''

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 ...

'' and ''Steaua''. In 1944, during World War II, he edited the bimonthly ''Câmpia Libertății'', a publication that protested against fascism and the

Second Vienna Award The Second Vienna Award, also known as the Vienna Diktat, was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all ...

. Starting with ''Brume'' (1940) and through the retrospective selection ''Cupa de aur'' (1970) and ''Patria mea, plai al Mioriței'' (1977), he sought to evoke a medieval Transylvania dominated by mountain landscapes and the turbulent history of the ''moți''. Under communism, in the

socialist realist Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ...

framework, he also celebrated the new societal conditions. He wrote two historical novels for young people: ''Romanul Caterinei Varga'' (1961) and ''Când era Horia împărat'' (1962). Authors he translated include

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Ro ...

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...

and

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

. He won the Ion Pavelescu Prize for sonnets in 1934 and 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 ...

's Mihai Eminescu Prize in 1977.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 147. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barna, Vlaicu 1913 births 1999 deaths People from Hunedoara County University of Bucharest alumni Romanian poets Romanian magazine editors Romanian newspaper editors Romanian translators Romanian novelists Socialist realism writers 20th-century translators