Ovid S. Crohmălniceanu (born Moise Cahn or Cohn; 16 August 1921, in

Galați Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...

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 ...

– 27 April or 28 April 2000, in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) was a Romanian

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

writer.

Biography

After graduating from high school in his home town, he began to study, in 1939, at the

Politehnica University of Bucharest Politehnica University of Bucharest () is a technical university in Bucharest, Romania founded in 1818.construction engineering Construction engineering, also known as construction operations, is a professional subdiscipline of civil engineering that deals with the designing, planning, construction, and operations management of infrastructure such as roadways, tunnels, bri ...

in 1947. After

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 ...

, he had a series of jobs in the magazines (

Contemporanul ''Contemporanul'' (''The Contemporary'') was a Romanian literary magazine published in Iaşi, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukrain ...

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. ...

Gazeta literară Gazeta may refer to: Newspapers Albanian language * Gazeta 55, daily newspaper * Gazeta Express, a Kosovo newspaper published in Pristina * Gazeta Rilindja Demokratike, daily newspaper * Gazeta Shqip, daily newspaper * Gazeta Sot, a daily newsp ...

) and in a publishing house (Editura Didactică și Pedagogică) before beginning to work as an

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, eventually becoming a professor at the Department of Romanian Language and Literature 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 ...

. During the first two decades after World War II, at least, Crohmălniceanu was known as a promoter of socialist realism, branding any kind of freedom writers dared take as being "reminiscences of bourgeois thinking" and "influenced by reactionary circles in the West." But, at the same time, he is one of those who played a major role in bringing

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 ...

and

Lucian Blaga Lucian Blaga (; 9 May 1895 – 6 May 1961) was a Romanians, Romanian philosopher, poet, playwright, poetry translator and novelist. He is considered one of the greatest philosophers and poets of Romania, and a prominent philosopher of the twenti ...

back into the limelight, after they had been marginalized. In his last decade in Romania, before emigrating to Germany in 1992, he supported many young writers, encouraging them to follow another path than that of communist nationalism. He died during the night of 27 to 28 April 2000.

Books

* ''Cronici și articole'', 1953 * ''Cronici literare'', 1954 * ''Liviu Rebreanu'', 1954 * ''Despre originalitate'',1954-1956 * ''Despre realismul socialist'', 1960 * ''Tudor Arghezi'', 1960 * ''Lucian Blaga'', 1960 * ''Istoria literaturii române între cele două războaie mondiale'', 3 volumes., vol I-III, 1967-1975 * ''Cinci prozatori în cinci feluri de lectură'', 1984 * ''Literatura română și expresionismul'', 1971 * ''Cinci prozatori în cinci feluri de lectură'', 1989 * ''Pâinea noastră cea de toate zilele'', 1981 * ''Al doilea suflu'', cronici și comentarii despre fenomenul optzecist, 1989 * ''Alăptat de două mame'', 1992 * ''Amintiri deghizate'', (memoirs), 1994 * ''Cercul Literar de la Sibiu și influența catalitică a culturii germane'', with , 2001 * ''Evreii în mișcarea de avangarda românească'', 2002, published postumely * ''Antologia poeziei franceze de la Rimbaud până azi'', with

Ion Caraion Ion Caraion (pen name of Stelian Diaconescu; May 24, 1923 – July 21, 1986) was a Romanian poet, essayist and translator. Born in Rușavăț, Buzău County, he attended primary school at Râmnicu Sărat from 1930 to 1934, followed by Bogda ...

Science fiction

* ''Istorii însolite'', 1980 * ''Alte istorii însolite'', 1986

Translations

Vatslav Vorovsky Vatslav Vatslavovich Vorovsky (; 27 October ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. 15 October1871 – 10 May 1923) was a Russian Bolsheviks, Bolshevik revolutionary, literary critic, journalist, and Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Soviet dipl ...

: ''Studii de critică literară'' ("Literary Criticism Articles"), 1958 (with M. Baraz)

Awards

Romanian Writers' Union The Writers' Union of Romania (), founded in March 1949, is a professional association of writers in Romania. It also has a subsidiary in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova. The Writers' Union of Romania was created by the communist regime by taking ...

Award, 1971 *Bucharest Writers' Association Award, 1980

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crohmalniceanu, Ovid S. 1921 births 2000 deaths People from Galați Romanian literary critics Romanian science fiction writers Jewish Romanian writers Jewish socialists Romanian editors Politehnica University of Bucharest alumni Academic staff of the University of Bucharest Romanian emigrants to Germany