Emil Gârleanu ( 4/5 January 1878 – 2 July 1914) 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 prose writer. Born in

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 ...

, his parents were Emanoil Gârleanu, a colonel in 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 ...

, and his wife Pulcheria (''née'' Antipa). He began high school in his native city in 1889, but withdrew after the first three grades. He then entered the School for Soldiers' Sons in the same city, where one of his classmates was Eugeniu Botez. In 1898, he enrolled in the Infantry School and was assigned to the ''Ștefan cel Mare'' 13th Regiment. Due to his journalistic activity, prohibited by the rules, he was transferred to

Bârlad Bârlad () is a city in Vaslui County, Romania. It lies on the banks of the river Bârlad (river), Bârlad, which waters the high plains of Western Moldavia. At Bârlad the railway from Iași diverges, one branch skirting the river Siret (river ...

as a disciplinary measure. His literary debut took place in 1900, in ''Arhiva'' magazine, where he published the poem "Iubitei" and the sketch "Dragul mamei", both signed with the pen name Emilgar. In 1900, Gârleanu enrolled in the literature faculty of

Iași University The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in , Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former was converted to a university, the University of , as it was named ...

, but did not attend classes. Publications that ran his work include ''Arhiva'', ''Evenimentul'', ''

Sămănătorul ''Sămănătorul'' or ''Semănătorul'' (, Romanian language, Romanian for "The Sower") was a Literary magazine, literary and Political journalism, political magazine published in Romania between 1901 and 1910. Founded by poets Alexandru Vlahuță ...

'', ''

Făt-Frumos Făt-Frumos (from Romanian language, Romanian ''făt'': son, infant; ''frumos'': handsome) is a knight hero in Romanian folklore, as exemplified in the fairy tale ''Făt-Frumos with the Golden Hair''. Făt-Frumos has to go through tests and ob ...

'', '' Luceafărul'', ''Albina'', ''Neamul românesc'', '' Convorbiri Literare'', '' Convorbiri Critice'', '' Flacăra'', ''Seara'' and ''Revista idealistă''; among the pen names he used were Emilgar, Em. Maril, Gladiatoru and Glaucos. Together with George Tutoveanu and D. Nanu, he founded the ''Sămănătorist'' magazine ''Făt-Frumos'' at Bârlad; it ran from 1904 to 1906. He resigned from the army in 1906 and moved to the national capital

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 ...

. He was an admirer of

Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet and playwright. Co-founder (in 1910) of the Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), he served as a member of Parliament ...

's and influenced by his social and aesthetic ideas, as can be discerned from his first book, the 1905 ''Bătrânii. Schițe din viaţa boierilor moldoveni''. In turn, Iorga commented favorably on Gârleanu's prose work. A familiar figure in the capital's literary bohemian scene, he subsequently entered the ''Convorbiri Critice'' circle, where

Mihail Dragomirescu Mihail Dragomirescu (March 22, 1868 – November 25, 1942) was a Romanian aesthetician, literary theorist and critic. Born in Plătărești, Călărași County, he completed primary school in his native village in 1881, followed by Bucharest's ...

became his new mentor. In 1908, Gârleanu helped lay the foundations for 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 ...

, of which he was elected president for 1911–1912. From 1911 until his death in 1914, he directed the National Theater Craiova, where he hired

Liviu Rebreanu Liviu Rebreanu (; November 27, 1885 – September 1, 1944) was a Romanian novelist, playwright, short story writer, and journalist. Life Born in Felsőilosva (now Târlișua, Bistrița-Năsăud County, Transylvania), then part of the King ...

as literary secretary. In the year of his premature death, he published ''Proza'' magazine, the entirety of which he wrote himself. Gârleanu's final weeks were marked by a campaign in the Craiova press, launched by an obscure journalist who wished to secure the theater directorship for himself. Meanwhile, he was recuperating from a kidney operation at

Câmpulung Câmpulung (also spelled ''Cîmpulung'', , , Old Romanian ''Dlăgopole'', ''Длъгополе'' (from Middle Bulgarian), or ''Câmpulung Muscel'') is a municipiu, city in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is attested on the Fra Mauro map fro ...

. However, an article published in late June and brought to his sick bed by an ill-wisher so distressed the writer that it ended up crushing his spirit, aggravating his illness and hastening his death. He was buried at

Bellu cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...

.Dumitru Micu, ''Început de secol, 1900-1916'', p. 380. Bucharest: Editura Minerva, 1970. His translations include works by

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, celebrated as a master of the short story, as well as a representative of the naturalist school, depicting human lives, destinies and s ...

(''A Life''),

Alphonse Daudet Alphonse Daudet (; 13 May 184016 December 1897) was a French novelist. He was the husband of Julia Daudet and father of Edmée, Léon and Lucien Daudet. Early life Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the ' ...

('' Sapho'', ''Artists' Wives'') and

Octave Mirbeau Octave Henri Marie Mirbeau (; 16 February 1848 – 16 February 1917) was a French novelist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, journalist and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, whilst still app ...

. He published popular editions of

Vasile Alecsandri Vasile Alecsandri (; 21 July 182122 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Roma ...

Grigore Alexandrescu Grigore Alexandrescu (; 22 February 1810, Târgoviște – 25 November 1885 in Bucharest) was a nineteenth-century Romanian poet and translator noted for his fables with political undertones. He founded a periodical, ''Albina Românească'' ...

, Ion Creangă,

Mihail Kogălniceanu Mihail Kogălniceanu (; also known as Mihail Cogâlniceanu, Michel de Kogalnitchan; September 6, 1817 – July 1, 1891) was a Romanian Liberalism, liberal statesman, lawyer, historian and publicist; he became Prime Minister of Romania on Octo ...

and

Costache Negri Costache Negri (May 14, 1812 – September 28, 1876) was a Moldavian, later Romanian writer, politician, and revolutionary. Born in Iași, he was the son of ''vistiernic'' (treasurer) Petrache Negre. The scion of a Boyars of Moldavia and Wallac ...

, as well as a revised and enlarged version of

Ioan Barac Ioan Barac (1776–July 18, 1848) was an Imperial Austrian Romanians, ethnic Romanian translator and poet. Born in Loamneș, Alămor, Sibiu County, his father Ioan was a priest. Barac attended the Reformed Church in Hungary, Reformed in Aiud ...

's ''

One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' (, ), is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled in the Arabic language during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights'', from the first English-language edition ( ...

'' translation. Gârleanu was a minor prose writer, imbued with nostalgia for a traditional world in which he evokes romantic, "unadaptable" and defeated ''

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russia), Moldavia and Wallachia (and later Romania), Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. C ...

''s, in the style of Ioan Alexandru Brătescu-Voinești, I. A. Bassarabescu and

Mihail Sadoveanu Mihail Sadoveanu (; occasionally referred to as Mihai Sadoveanu; 5 November 1880 – 19 October 1961) was a Romanian novelist, short story writer, journalist and political figure, who twice served as acting President of Romania, head of st ...

, but with an added component of romantic melodrama. His preoccupation for dramatic conflict and novel psychological enquiry reveal a more authentic side to the realist narrator of ''Nucul lui Odobac'', ''Punga'' and ''Înecatul''. His melancholy, lyricism and gentle irony come to the fore in the

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

vignettes of ''Din lumea celor care nu cuvântă'' (1910), precursors to the stories of

Tudor Arghezi Ion Nae Theodorescu (21 May 1880 – 14 July 1967) was a Romanian writer who wrote under the pen name Tudor Arghezi (. He is best known for his unique contribution to poetry and children's literature. Biography Early life He graduated from Sai ...

.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 629-30. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. File:Emil Gîrleanu 1964 Romania stamp.jpg, 1964 Romanian postage stamp featuring Gârleanu File:Emil Garleanu - Cea dintai durere.png, Title page of Gârleanu's 1907 ''Cea dintâi durere''

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garleanu, Emil 1878 births 1914 deaths Writers from Iași Romanian male short story writers Romanian short story writers Romanian magazine founders Romanian magazine editors Romanian theatre managers and producers Romanian Land Forces personnel Burials at Bellu Cemetery 19th-century Romanian translators