Șerban Bascovici (born Șerban-Vasile Bascovitz; January 1, 1891–March 19, 1968) was a

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

n poet Born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

to Gheorghe Bascovitz and his wife Ecaterina, he attended Matei Basarab High School. Upon graduating in 1911, he attempted to attend the law faculty of the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

, but gave up, likely due to material difficulties.Mănucă, p. 203 Instead, he was hired as a civil servant within the Labor Ministry. Working at the social insurance office, he became department head near the end of his career. He made his poetry debut in 1906 in Ovid Densusianu's '' Vieața Nouă'', to which he contributed constantly until 1916. His work was also published in ''Convorbiri critice'', '' Literatorul'', '' Flacăra'', ''

Sburătorul ''Sburătorul'' was a Romanian 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, ranging f ...

'', ''Grădina Hesperidelor'', ''Cugetul românesc'', ''Revista Fundațiilor Regale'', ''Universul literar'' and ''

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 P ...

''. Around 1909, he was attracted to

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

, passionately reading

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine ( ; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolism (movement), Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the ''fin de siècle'' ...

, Stephane Mallarmé,

Henri de Régnier Henri-François-Joseph de Régnier (; 28 December 1864 – 23 May 1936) was a French symbolist poet, considered one of the most important of France during the early 20th century. Life and works He was born in Honfleur ( Calvados) on 28 December ...

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count/Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize in ...

and

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

; he particularly admired Emile Verhaeren, whom he considered a "social symbolist". He considered Symbolism to be the only literary movement fit for the age. During World War I, he withdrew to

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

along with the rest of the Romanian government, and after his return to Bucharest upon the end of the war, he entered

Alexandru Macedonski Alexandru Macedonski (; also rendered as Al. A. Macedonski, Macedonschi or Macedonsky; 14 March 1854 – 24 November 1920) was a Romanian poet, novelist, dramatist and literary critic, known especially for having promoted French Symbolism (arts ...

's circle. His first book was the 1937 ''Destăinuiri'', a collection of poetry which was well received by critics. He was a delicate Symbolist who wrote poems of a light and fluid melancholy that did not deal with serious problems or grave issues. Although his style resembled

Panait Cerna Panait Cerna (; Bulgarian: Панайот Черна, ''Panayot Cherna'', born Panayot Stanchov or Panait Staciov; August 26 or September 25, 1881 – March 26, 1913) was a Romanian poet, philosopher, literary critic and translator. A native ...

's, it was distinguished by a meditative tendency. He published translations of

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...

(whom he considered a precursor of Symbolism),Mănucă, p. 204

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

, Francis de Croisset,

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

, Maxence Van Der Meersch,

Jean Giono Jean Giono (30 March 1895 – 8 October 1970) was a French writer who wrote works of fiction mostly set in the Provence region of France. First period Jean Giono was born to a family of modest means, his father a cobbler of Piedmontese descent a ...

, and

Jules Renard Pierre-Jules Renard (; 22 February 1864 – 22 May 1910) was a French author and member of the Académie Goncourt, most famous for the works ''Poil de carotte'' (Carrot Top, 1894) and ''Les Histoires Naturelles'' (Nature Stories, 1896). Among ...

. He won prizes from the Romanian Writers' Society in 1938 and 1941, for ''Destăinuiri'' and for a volume of Baudelaire translations.Mănucă, p. 203-04 An astute critic, particularly of plays, he was knowledgeable about the theatre in Romania as well as in the rest of Europe. Prior to his death, he had prepared a volume of memoirs, ''Amintirile uitării''.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 119. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

References

* Dan Mănucă
"Șerban Vasile Bascovici"
in ''Anuarul de lingvistică și istorie literară'', tom LII-LIII, Iași, 2002-2003, p. 203-206 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bascovici, Serban 1891 births 1968 deaths Writers from Bucharest Romanian male poets Symbolist poets Romanian literary critics Romanian civil servants 20th-century Romanian poets 20th-century Romanian translators 20th-century Romanian memoirists 20th-century Romanian male writers