Aron CotruÈ™
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Aron Cotruș (; 2 January 1891 – 1 November 1961) 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, diplomat, and member of the
fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
Iron Guard The Iron Guard () was a Romanian militant revolutionary nationalism, revolutionary Clerical fascism, religious fascist Political movement, movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel M ...
.


Life

He was born in 1891 in Hașag,
Sibiu County Sibiu County () is a county () of Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Its county seat () is the namesake town of Sibiu (). Name In Hungarian, it is known as ''Szeben megye'', and in German as ''Kreis Hermannstadt''. Under the ...
, at the time in
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
. After attending secondary school in
Blaj Blaj (; archaically spelled as ''Blaș''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Blußendref'') is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 17,816 inhabitants as of 2021. The city administers eight villages: Deleni-Obârșie ('' ...
and the Andrei Șaguna High School in
Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...
, he pursued his studies at the Faculty of Letters of the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
. He became affiliated with the nationalist newspapers ""Românul" from Arad and "
Gazeta de Transilvania ''Gazeta de Transilvania'' was the first Romanian-language newspaper to be published in Transylvania. It was founded by George Bariț in 1838 in Brașov. It played a very important role in the awakening of the Romanian national conscience in Tran ...
" from Brașov. He also collaborated with the cultural magazines "
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 ...
", "Vremea", "Libertatea" (
Orăștie Orăștie (; , , , '' Transylvanian Saxon'': Brooss) is a small town and municipality in Hunedoara County, south-western Transylvania, central Romania. History 7th–9th century â€“ On the site of an old swamp was a human settlement, ...
), "Iconar" (
Cernăuți Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...
), among others. The critic Al. T. Stamatiad described Cotruș as young Transylvania's "most talented poet". Ion Mierluțiu
"Un 'cvartet' modernist la Arad, în perioada interbelică"
, in ''Revista Arca'', Nr. 7-8-9/2010
During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
he was in Italy, where he worked under the Romanian Legation in Rome. After the war, in 1919, he returned to Romania, becoming a journalist in Arad. A royalist, he later became a supporter of
Ion Antonescu Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and MareÈ™al (Romania), marshal who presided over two successive Romania during World War II, wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and ''ConducÄ ...
. After the death of Queen
Marie of Romania Marie (born Princess Marie Alexandra Victoria of Edinburgh; 29 October 1875 â€“ 18 July 1938) was the last queen of Romania from 10 October 1914 to 20 July 1927 as the wife of Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I. Marie was born int ...
he wrote the important poem "Maria Doamna" ("Lady Marie"), in which, in the words of historian
Lucian Boia Lucian Boia (born 1 February 1944) is a Romanian historian. He is mostly known for his debunking of historical myths about Romania, for purging mainstream Romanian history of deformations arising from ideological propaganda, and as a fighter ag ...
, "the queen appears as a providential figure come from far-off shores to infuse the Romanian nation with a new force." CotruÈ™ also became a member of the
Romanian Writers' Society The Romanian Writers' Society () 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 early Communist Romania, communist re ...
. He worked as a press attaché in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, and during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as a press secretary in
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
and
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
. Along with Titus Vifor and
Vintilă Horia Vintilă Horia (; December 18, 1915 – April 4, 1992) was a Romanian writer, winner of the Prix Goncourt. His best known novel is '' God Was Born in Exile'' (1960). Life and career Horia was born in Segarcea, a small town in Dolj County, Ro ...
he was assigned by the Iron Guard's
National Legionary State The National Legionary State () was a Totalitarianism, totalitarian Fascism, fascist regime which governed Kingdom of Romania, Romania for five months, from 14 September 1940 until its official dissolution on 14 February 1941. The regime was led ...
to run the Romanian Propaganda Office in Rome, "The Fellowship of the Cross". After the coup d'état of August 1944 and the collapse of the Antonescu regime, he became a political refugee in
Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...
. He became the president of the exiled Romanian community, then editor of the Iron Guard exile magazine "Carpații", published in Madrid. In 1957 he settled in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
, where he lived for the rest of his life. He died in
La Mirada, California La Mirada is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities, on the border with Orange County, California, Orange County. The population was 48,008 at the 2020 ...
on November 1, 1961. His remains are in Holy Cross Cemetery,
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
, under a simple stone plaque. A street 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 ...
's
Sector 1 Sector 1 is an administrative unit of Bucharest located in the northern part of the city. It contains also the northwestern districts of Băneasa and Pipera. Sector 1 is thought to be the wealthiest sector in Bucharest. Like each of Bucharest sec ...
is named after him.


Literature

The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry describes him as a writer "whose messianic thunderings were couched in rolling free verse and a racy, sonorous vocabulary." Along with
Emil Isac Emil Isac (; May 27, 1886 – March 25, 1954) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian poet, dramatist, short story writer and critic. Noted as one of the pioneers of Symbolism (arts), Symbolism and modernist literature in his native ...
, he opposed a neo-romantic and "prophetic" attitude borrowed from
Octavian Goga Octavian Goga (; 1 April 1881 – 7 May 1938) was a Romanian far-right politician, poet, playwright, journalist, and translator. Biography Early life Octavian Goga was born on 1 April 1881 in the village of Rășinari, on the northern sl ...
.John Neubauer, Marcel Cornis-Pope, Sándor Kibédi Varga, Nicolae Harsanyi, "Transylvania's Literary Cultures: Rivalry and Interaction", in Marcel Cornis-Pope, John Neubauer (eds.), History of the Literary Cultures of East-Central Europe, Vol. 2,
John Benjamins John Benjamins Publishing Company is an independent academic publisher in social sciences and humanities with its head office in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The company was founded in the 1960s by John and Claire Benjamins and is currently managed ...
, Amsterdam & Philadelphia, 2004, p.264
In CotruÈ™'s case, this took the form of an
ethno-nationalist Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnostate/ethnocratic) approach to variou ...
discourse about "the ethnic and social battles of the Romanians". Under the
communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...
, CotruÈ™ was identified as a traitor, and as a representative of what Marxist critic
Nestor Ignat Nestor Ignat Filotti (2 March 1918 – 29 August 2016) was a Romanian journalist, writer and graphic artist. He was best known for his strong support for Marxist-Leninist ideology in culture. Journalist Born in IaÈ™i in 1918, Ignat graduat ...
called "hooliganism in literature". However, during the late Ceaușescu era, portions of his work were republished in Romania and his image was partially rehabilitated.


Publications

*"Poezii" ("Poems"). Orăștie, 1911 *"Sărbătoarea morții" ("Festival of Death"). Concordia, Arad, 1915. Edition II Bucharest, 1922 *"Neguri albe". ("White Clouds"). Alba-Iulia, 1920 *"România" ("Romania") (poem). Brașov, 1920. Edition II Arad, 1922 *"Versuri". ("Lyrics"). Library "Sămănatorul", Arad, 1925 *"In robia lor" ("In their bondage"). Arad, 1926 *"Mâine". ("Tomorrow"). Editura Scrisul Românesc, Craiova, 1928. A second edition under the auspices of the "Societății de Mâine" ("Society of Tomorrow"), Cluj, 1928 *"Holnap" (Tomorrow), Hungarian, published in Arad, 1929. Translated by Pal Bado *"Strigăt pentru depărtări" ("Cry for the departed"). Editura Ienci, Timișoara, 1927 *"Printre oameni în mers". ("Some people walk"). Sosnowiec, Poland, 1933 (bibliographical rarity). Second edition of the Spanish translation of Gaetano Aparicio, Madrid 1945 *"Horia". Issue Get Warsaw, Poland, 1935. Edition II Brad 1936 (in just two years appear editions of volume 18. Only in appearing in Bucharest, during 1938: editions III, IV, V, VI). The Hungarian translation by A. Kibedi, Cluj, 1938 *"Versek" (book of poems in Hungarian). Cluj, in 1935 (many of the poet's verses were published in the Transylvanian Saxon magazine "Klingsor" in Brașov, some translated by Alfred Margul-Sperber. Similarly, Zoltan Franyo translated some poems in German publishing them in magazines literature for the German community in Romania) *"Culegere de versuri" ("Collection of poems"). Polish translation by Wladimir Lewice. Lvov, 1936 *"Țara" ("Country"). Bucharest, 1937. Edition II Lisbon, 1940 *"Miners", Bucharest, 1937 *"Peste prăpăstii de potrivnicie" ("Over the precipice of misfortune"), Bucharest, 1938. Edition II Aparicio Gaetano Spanish translation, Madrid 1941 *"Maria Doamna" ("Lady Marie") (poem). Typography "Star", Bucharest, 1938 (deluxe edition) *"Aron Cotruș: Lady Marie". Reviews published in literary magazines in the country at that time, collected and published as a homage to the poet, Bucharest, 1939 *"Rapsodie Valahă" ("Wallachian Rhapsody"). Madrid, 1940. Edition II Bucharest: "Star", 1941. Edition III of Madrid, Editura Carpații, 1954. Appeared in Spanish translation, Madrid, 1941 (Aparicio Gaetano's translation) *"Rapsodie Dacă" ("Dacian Rhapsody"). Editura Fundațiile Regale, Bucharest, 1942 *"Poema de Montserrat" (in "Escorial"), Spain, 1949; Second edition of Madrid, 1951 *"Poemas". Madrid 1951 *"Roads by storm." Madrid 1951 *"Canto Ramon Llull." Mallorca, Spain, 1952 * * *"Aron Cotruș – Complete Works". Editura Dacia, Madrid, 1978 (edited by Nicolae Roșca)


References


External links


Life and Work (in Romanian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cotrus, Aron 1891 births 1961 deaths People from Sibiu County Andrei Șaguna National College (Brașov) alumni University of Vienna alumni Romanian diplomats Romanian fascists 20th-century Romanian poets Romanian male poets Members of the Iron Guard 20th-century Romanian journalists 20th-century Romanian male writers Romanian expatriates in Spain Romanian expatriates in Italy Romanian expatriates in the United States Romanian exiles