Mihail Șerban (August 18, 1911 – July 9, 1994) 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

Fălticeni Fălticeni (; ''; ;'' ) is a town in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Western Moldavia. According to the 2021 census, Fălticeni is the third largest urban settlement in the county. It was declared ...

, his parents were Gheorghe Șerban, a clerk, and his wife Elena (''née'' Verner). After attending the local Nicu Gane High School from 1923 to 1930, he studied at the law faculty of the

University of Iași 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 ...

from 1930 to 1932. He then abandoned his studies and entered journalism, coming to

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 ...

upon the encouragement of

Eugen Lovinescu Eugen Lovinescu (; 31 October 1881 – 16 July 1943) was a Romanian modernist literary historian, literary critic, academic, and novelist, who in 1919 established the ''Sburătorul'' literary club. He was the father of Monica Lovinescu, and the ...

. Sequentially or simultaneously, he held a number of jobs: librarian and secretary's assistant at Mihai Viteazul High School (1934–1937), contributor and editor at ''

Adevărul (; meaning "The Truth", formerly spelled ''Adevĕrul'') is a Romanian daily newspaper, based in Bucharest. Founded in Iași, in 1871, and reestablished in 1888, in Bucharest, it was the main left-wing press venue to be published during the Kingd ...

'' and ''Dimineața'' newspapers (1935–1938), editor at

Cezar Petrescu Cezar Petrescu (; December 1, 1892–March 9, 1961) was a Romanian journalist, novelist, and children's literature, children's writer. He was born in Cotnari, Hodora, Iași County, the son of Dimitrie Petrescu, an engineer and a teacher. Af ...

's ''România'', civil servant at the State Sub-secretariate for Propaganda (1938–1947), inspector at the theatre directorate and then the literary directorate of the Arts and Information Ministry (1947–1948), editor of ''Călăuza bibliotecarului'' and ''Îndrumătorul cultural'' (1949–1957), bibliographer at the Central State Library (until 1967). He was active in the ''

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 ...

'' literary circle. He died in Bucharest in 1994, at age 82. Șerban's published debut took the form of poems and prose that appeared in ''Gazeta noastră'' in 1930. He also contributed to ''Adevărul literar și artistic'', ''Vremea'', ''

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. ...

'', ''

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

'', ''Cuvântul liber'' and ''Reporter''. He wrote numerous volumes of short stories (''Nunta de argint'', 1938; ''Câinii'', 1939; ''Cântecul uitat'', 1942; ''Furtuna'', 1948; ''Când doarme pământul'', 1948) and novels (''Idolii de lut'', 1935; ''Infirmii'', 1936; ''Grădina lui Dumnezeu'', 1939; ''Sanda'', 1941; ''Casa amintirilor'', 1942; ''Fete bătrâne'', 1946; ''Pâinea inimii'', 1949; ''Pământ și oameni'', 1957; ''Circul'', 1972). Some appeared in several editions, while others were given awards: the Young Writers' Society Prize for ''Infirmii'' in 1936 and for ''Nunta de argint'' in 1939; the Arts Ministry granted him the Brătescu-Voinești Prize in 1942 for ''Casa amintirilor''. His 1969 memoir, ''Amintiri'', features his recollections of important interwar writers, including

Ionel Teodoreanu Ionel Teodoreanu (, born Ioan Hipolit Teodoreanu; 6 January 1897 – 3 February 1954) was a Romanian novelist and lawyer. He is mostly remembered for his books on the themes of childhood and adolescence. Biography Born in January 1897 in Iași ...

, Damian Stănoiu, and

Felix Aderca Felix Aderca (; born Froim-Zelig ''Froim-ZeilicAderca; March 13, 1891 – December 12, 1962), , in '' Realitatea Evreiască'', Nr. 280-281 (1080-1081), August–September 2007 Boris Marian, , in '' Realitatea Evreiască'', Nr. 292-293 (1092-109 ...

. Although his themes are not rural, Șerban's prose, due to its lyrical tone and passivity in the face of one's environment, features within the late '' Sămănătorist'' tradition.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 653. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serban, Mihail 1911 births 1994 deaths People from Fălticeni Romanian novelists Romanian male short story writers Romanian short story writers Romanian newspaper editors Romanian magazine editors Adevărul editors Romanian civil servants Romanian librarians 20th-century Romanian memoirists Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni