Vintilă Russu-Șirianu (April 20, 1897–February 25, 1973) was an

Austro-Hungarian 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 between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

-born

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 journalist, memoirist, and translator. Born in Arad, his father was the journalist and activist , whose uncle was the writer Ioan Slavici. After attending high school in his native city, he left for

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 ...

, capital of the

Romanian Old Kingdom The Romanian Old Kingdom ( or just ''Regat''; or ) is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independent Romanian nation state, which was composed of the Romanian Principalities: Wallachia and Moldavia. The union of the ...

. He enrolled in the Conservatory and at 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 ...

's medical faculty, but completed neither. He took part in

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 ...

as an officer 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 ...

; in the temporary capital of

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 ...

, while visiting the homes of

Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea; pen name of Barbu Ștefan; April 11, 1858 – April 29, 1918) was a Romanian writer and poet, considered one of the greatest figures in the National awakening of Romania. Early life and studies He was born on April ...

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 ...

Take Ionescu Take or Tache Ionescu (; born Dumitru Ghiță Ioan and also known as Demetriu G. Ionnescu; – 21 June 1922) was a Romanian Centrism, centrist politician, journalist, lawyer and diplomat, who also enjoyed reputation as a short story author. Sta ...

, and Osvald Teodoreanu, he became acquainted with

Robert de Flers Robert Pellevé de La Motte-Ango, marquis de Flers (25 November 1872, Pont-l'Évêque, Calvados – 30 July 1927, Vittel) was a French playwright, opera librettist, and journalist. Pierre Barillet, ''Les Seigneurs du rire: Flers – Caillavet � ...

, whom he later assisted in Paris. After the end of the war and his native province's union with Romania, he returned to Bucharest, completing the literature and philosophy faculty. He was technical secretary at the , librarian for the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its bylaws, the academy's ma ...

, editor at '' Flacăra'', secretary to

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 ...

, and an opinion journalist. From 1923 to 1924, he was secretary of the Romanian Writers' Union, in which capacity he organized a number of tournaments and soirées. He made his literary debut in 1919, and then sporadically contributed poems and articles to ''Flacăra'', ''

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 ...

'', ''Cugetul românesc'', ''Adevărul literar'', ''Cuvântul liber'' and ''Rampa''. In 1927, he left for Paris, where he edited the monthly ''Revue Franco-Roumaine'' magazine. While there, he became acquainted with nearly the entire French literary establishment and also with local Romanian émigrés (including

George Enescu George Enescu (; – 4 May 1955), known in France as Georges Enesco, was a Romanians, Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor, teacher and statesman. He is regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history. Biography En ...

Constantin Brâncuși Constantin Brâncuși (; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was a Romanian sculptor, painter, and photographer who made his career in France. Considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century and a pioneer of modernism ...

Panait Istrati Panait Istrati (; sometimes rendered as ''Panaït Istrati''; (August 10, 1884 – April 16, 1935) was a Romanian working class writer, who wrote in French and Romanian, nicknamed ''The Maxim Gorky of the Balkans''. Istrati appears to be th ...

Elena Văcărescu Elena Văcărescu, or Hélène Vacaresco (September 21, 1864 in Bucharest – February 17, 1947 in Paris), was a Romanian- French aristocrat writer, twice a laureate of the Académie Française. Life Through her father, Ioan Văcărescu, she d ...

Marthe Bibesco Princess Martha Bibescu (Martha Lucia; ''née'' Lahovary; 28 January 1886 – 28 November 1973), also known outside of Romania as Marthe Bibesco, was a Romanian-French writer, socialite, style icon and political hostess. She spent her childhood ...

Ilarie Voronca Ilarie Voronca (pen name of Eduard Isidor Marcus; 31 December 1903, Brăila – 8 April 1946, Paris) was a Romanian avant-garde poet and essayist. Life and career Voronca was of History of the Jews in Romania, Jewish ethnicity. In his early yea ...

Nicolae Titulescu Nicolae Titulescu (; 4 March 1882 – 17 March 1941) was a Romanian politician and diplomat, at various times ambassador, finance minister, and foreign minister, and for two terms served as president of the General Assembly of the League of Nati ...

, and Marioara Ventura). His 1969 memoir, ''Vinurile lor...'', features lively, finely drawn recollections of these individuals. With Alexandru Băbeanu, he wrote the play ''Biruitorul'', which was staged at the

National Theatre Bucharest The National Theatre Bucharest () is one of the national theatres of Romania, located in the capital city of Bucharest. Founding It was founded as the ''Teatrul cel Mare din București'' ("Grand Theatre of Bucharest") in 1852, its first director ...

in 1924. After the Coup of 1944 against the country's pro-Axis dictator, he and

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 ...

dramatized the latter's novel ''Ochii strigoiului'' and wrote ''Mânzul nebun''. In 1947 and under the imminent rise of 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 ...

, he penned plays for workers and local cultural stages. These are thoroughly obsolete today, as are his poems, anthologized in 1972 as ''Îmi amintesc de aceste versuri'' with the assistance of Mihai Gafița. He translated

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...

('' Gobseck'') and

Roger Martin du Gard Roger Martin du Gard (; 23 March 1881 – 22 August 1958) was a French novelist, winner of the 1937 Nobel Prize in Literature. Biography Trained as a paleographer and archivist, he brought to his works a spirit of objectivity and a scrupulous ...

('' The Thibaults''). Pen names he used include V. R. Ș., Ion Dacu and D. Dinu.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 504. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. He died in Bucharest on February 25, 1973; in 2017, his remains and those of his father were reinterred in

Șiria Șiria (; ) is a Communes of Romania, commune in Arad County, Romania. According to the 2002 census it had 8,140 inhabitants. The commune is situated at from Arad, Romania, Arad, its administrative territory covers , and it lies in the contact z ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russu-Sirianu, Vintila 1897 births 1973 deaths People from Arad, Romania Romanian Austro-Hungarians Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to Romania Romanian military personnel of World War I University of Bucharest alumni 20th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century translators Romanian poets Romanian memoirists Romanian translators Romanian librarians Romanian magazine editors Romanian opinion journalists Romanian expatriates in France