Artur Enășescu (pen name of Artur A. Enăcescu; January 19 (or 12), 1889 – December 4, 1942) 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
Botoșani
Botoșani () is the capital city of Botoșani County, in the northern part of Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga and Grigore Antipa.
Origin of the ...
, his parents were Alexandru Enăcescu, a Post, Telegraph, Telephone (PTT) employee, and his wife Olga (''née'' Nacu). He began school in his native town in 1896 and entered
A. T. Laurian High School, which he attended from 1900 to 1903. He then transferred to the
National College
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, where he studied from 1904 to 1905, but only obtained a degree at Botoșani in 1913 or 1914. For a time, it was believed that he audited university courses in Paris in 1911 and 1912, but he in fact worked as a clerk in Botoșani during this period, except for a brief stay in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in the summer of 1912. His first published work was "Amor", a sonnet that appeared in ''Convorbiri critice'' in 1910. Other magazines that featured his verses include ''
Flacăra
''Flacăra'' (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 Constantin Banu and t ...
'', ''Moldova'', ''Rampa'', ''Epoca'', ''Convorbiri literare'', ''Vremuri nouă'', ''Solia'', ''Îndrumarea'', ''Junimea Moldovei de Nord'', ''
Luceafărul'', ''Cuvântul liber'', ''Universul liber'', ''
Familia'', ''Propilee literare'' and ''Ideea literară''. Drafted into the
Romanian Army
The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces.
The Romanian Land Forc ...
when his country entered World War I in 1916, Enășescu saw action at
Oituz
Oituz (formerly ''Grozești''; ) is a commune in Bacău County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It is composed of six villages: Călcâi (''Zöldlonka''), Ferestrău-Oituz (''Fűrészfalva''), Hârja (''Herzsa''), Marginea, Oituz and Poiana Sărată (' ...
and Măgura Cașinului. He was an editor for the Botoșani-based ''Îndrumarea'' in 1918 and for the
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 ...
''Luceafărul'' in 1919–1920. Due to an illness, he stayed in a sanatorium at
Sibiu
Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...
from 1920 to 1922. His only book published during his lifetime was the 1920 ''Pe gânduri'', which appeared thanks to the effort of his friends. From 1928, the disease of his nervous system became irreversible. In the 1930s, with his lost mind, he was a vagabond, sleeping in passageways or under the staircase of the Ferdinand Hotel. He cut a tragic and colorful figure in the landscape of downtown Bucharest, as recorded by artists
Ion Sava
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...
and
Aurel Jiquidi.
[Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 565. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. ]
Bibliography
*''Pe gânduri'', Bucharest, 1920
*''Revolta zeului'', Bucharest, 1946
*''Poezii'', Bucharest, 1968
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enasescu, Artur
1889 births
1942 deaths
People from Botoșani
Romanian male poets
Sonneteers
Romanian magazine editors
Romanian military personnel of World War I
20th-century Romanian poets
A. T. Laurian National College alumni