Mihail Săulescu (February 23, 1888â€"September 30(?), 1916) was a
Romanian poet and playwright.Born in Bucharest, he was the fourth
child (out of seventeen, of whom nine survived) born to Captain
Nicolae Săulescu (known as the Romanian Army's official painter) and
his wife Ecaterina (née Gaist). From 1898 to 1903, he studied at
Saint Sava and Matei Basarab high schools in his native city.
Săulescu then entered the Conservatory of Dramatic Art, quitting in
1904 after his first year. Leaving Bucharest, he worked as a teacher
in Gorj County and a substitute in Posada, Prahova County in 1908. In
1911, he was an editor at Luceafărul magazine in Sibiu, then a part
of Austria-Hungary. After returning to the Romanian capital, he was
editor at Rampa (1911-1912), librarian at the Socec folk library
(1912-1913), clerk at the Public Instruction Ministry, junior clerk at
Casa Școalelor cultural foundation and editor at Rampa nouă
ilustrată (1914). In 1908, he was a founding member of the Romanian
Writers' Union.[1]Săulescu's published debut came in 1906, with
verses published in Sămănătorul, although he did not belong to the
circle affiliated with that magazine. The same year, in Bucharest, he
published a book of poetry, Versuri, but later disavowed it and
ordered the entire printing destroyed. No known copy survives. Several
of the poems in this volume appeared in the two that followed:
Departe… (1914) and Viața (1916). Besides Sămănătorul, he
contributed to Convorbiri Critice (where he was an active participant
in the group, led by Mihail Dragomirescu), Seara, Universul literar,
Noua revistă română, Rampa and Rampa nouă ilustrată.[1]Strongly
in favor of Romania's entry into World War I on the Allied side, he
insisted on enlisting as a volunteer when this did occur in the summer
of 1916. Săulescu was enrolled in a "mobile division" tasked with
rapid interventions. He soon died at the front near Predeal. He left
behind a poetry volume, Cultul morților, in manuscript form; this was
published in autumn 1916. Also among his papers were a lengthy poem,
"Călătorii" (modeled after Mihail Eminescu's "Memento mori") and two
stage plays. At the National Theater Bucharest, for the 1921-1922
season, Victor Eftimiu presented Săulescu's one-act Săptămâna
luminată, written in a single night in 1913 and published in 1922. It
met with unusual success, with some critics hailing it as holding
greater value that Ion Luca Caragiale's Năpasta. Another play, În
fața mării, was inspired by Henrik Ibsen. By all appearances written
in 1911-1912, it was published in 1973.[1]
Romanian poet and playwright.Born in Bucharest, he was the fourth
child (out of seventeen, of whom nine survived) born to Captain
Nicolae Săulescu (known as the Romanian Army's official painter) and
his wife Ecaterina (née Gaist). From 1898 to 1903, he studied at
Saint Sava and Matei Basarab high schools in his native city.
Săulescu then entered the Conservatory of Dramatic Art, quitting in
1904 after his first year. Leaving Bucharest, he worked as a teacher
in Gorj County and a substitute in Posada, Prahova County in 1908. In
1911, he was an editor at Luceafărul magazine in Sibiu, then a part
of Austria-Hungary. After returning to the Romanian capital, he was
editor at Rampa (1911-1912), librarian at the Socec folk library
(1912-1913), clerk at the Public Instruction Ministry, junior clerk at
Casa Școalelor cultural foundation and editor at Rampa nouă
ilustrată (1914). In 1908, he was a founding member of the Romanian
Writers' Union.[1]Săulescu's published debut came in 1906, with
verses published in Sămănătorul, although he did not belong to the
circle affiliated with that magazine. The same year, in Bucharest, he
published a book of poetry, Versuri, but later disavowed it and
ordered the entire printing destroyed. No known copy survives. Several
of the poems in this volume appeared in the two that followed:
Departe… (1914) and Viața (1916). Besides Sămănătorul, he
contributed to Convorbiri Critice (where he was an active participant
in the group, led by Mihail Dragomirescu), Seara, Universul literar,
Noua revistă română, Rampa and Rampa nouă ilustrată.[1]Strongly
in favor of Romania's entry into World War I on the Allied side, he
insisted on enlisting as a volunteer when this did occur in the summer
of 1916. Săulescu was enrolled in a "mobile division" tasked with
rapid interventions. He soon died at the front near Predeal. He left
behind a poetry volume, Cultul morților, in manuscript form; this was
published in autumn 1916. Also among his papers were a lengthy poem,
"Călătorii" (modeled after Mihail Eminescu's "Memento mori") and two
stage plays. At the National Theater Bucharest, for the 1921-1922
season, Victor Eftimiu presented Săulescu's one-act Săptămâna
luminată, written in a single night in 1913 and published in 1922. It
met with unusual success, with some critics hailing it as holding
greater value that Ion Luca Caragiale's Năpasta. Another play, În
fața mării, was inspired by Henrik Ibsen. By all appearances written
in 1911-1912, it was published in 1973.[1]
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