Alexandru Macedonski

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Alexandru Macedonski : biography

March 14, 1854 – November 24, 1920

Also in 1906, La Revue Musicale published his interview with Combarieu, through which the latter aimed to verify supposed connections between literary inspiration and musical sensitivity.Vianu, Vol.II, p.341 By 1907, he was concentrating on experiments in physics, and eventually publicized his claim to have discovered that light does not travel through vacuum.Anghelescu, p.12; Călinescu, p.523; Vianu, Vol.II, p.377-378 He sent a paper on astronomy subjects to be reviewed by the Société Astronomique de France, of which he subsequently became a member. The same year, he drafted the plan for a world government, announcing that he had found sympathy for the cause throughout Europe. Macedonski also introduced himself to an Italophone public, when two of his sonnets were published by Poesia, the magazine of Futurist theorist Filippo Tommaso Marinetti.Cernat, p.88-89; Sandqvist, p.200, 235, 383. Cernat gives the date as 1909, while Sandqvist mentions 1895 and 1899.

Between 1910 and 1912, Macedonski was again in Paris.Anghelescu, p.12-13; Călinescu, p.522; Vianu, Vol.II, p.377-379; Vol.III, p.352 Seeking to withdraw himself from Romania’s public life due to what he perceived as injustice,Vianu, Vol.III, p.352 he had by then completed work on the French-language tragicomedy Le Fou? ("The Madman?"), which was only published after his death.Vianu, Vol.II, p.378-379 He was actively seeking to establish his reputation in French theater, reading his new play to a circle which included Louis de Gonzague Frick and Florian-Parmentier, while, at home, newspapers reported rumors that his work was going to be staged by Sarah Bernhardt’s company.Vianu, Vol.II, p.378-379, 467 His efforts were largely fruitless, and, accompanied by his son Alexis, the poet left France, spent some time in Italy, and eventually returned to Romania.Vianu, Vol.II, p.379 Passing through the German Empire, he learned of Ion Luca Caragiale’s sudden death, and wrote Adevărul daily an open letter, which showed that he had come to revise his stance, notably comparing the deceased author’s style and legacy to those of Mark Twain.Vianu, Vol. II, p.374-375

During Macedonski’s absence, his style and work had come to be reviewed more positively, in particular by the young authors I. Dragoslav, Horia Furtună, Ion Pillat, Anastasie Mândru, Al. T. Stamatiad, as well as by post-Junimist critic Mihail Dragomirescu, who offered Macedonski a good reception in his Convorbiri Critice magazine.Vianu, Vol.II, p.379-380; Vol.III, p.350-353 Tudor Vianu, who cites contemporary statements by Dragoslav, concludes that, upon arrival, Macedonski was enthusiastically received by a public who had missed him. Also in 1912, one of his poems was published as an homage by Simbolul, a magazine published by the young and radical Symbolists Tristan Tzara, Ion Vinea and Marcel Janco.Cernat, p.49; Sandqvist, p.75, 384 Around that time, Macedonski also collaborated with the Iaşi-based moderate Symbolist magazine Versuri şi Proză.Călinescu, p.684; Cernat, p.55 Polemics surrounding his case nevertheless continued: in late 1912, as part of a National Theater adaptation of Alphonse Daudet’s Sapho, actor Cazimir Belcot borrowed from Macedonski’s appearance and mannerisms to portray a failure.Vianu, Vol.II, p.381

Return and World War I years

Macedonski and his protégés had become regular frequenters of Bucharest cafés. Having a table permanently reserved for him at Imperial Hotel’s Kübler Coffeehouse,Sandqvist, p.118, 120, 199 he was later a presence in two other such establishments: High-LifeSandqvist, p.120 and Terasa Oteteleşanu. Mioara Ioniţă, , in Magazin Istoric, October 2003 He is said to have spent part of his time at Kübler loudly mocking the traditionalist poets who gathered at an opposite table.Sandqvist, p.199 Meanwhile, the poet’s literary club, set up at his house in Dorobanţi quarter, had come to resemble a mystical circle, over which he held magisterial command. Vianu, who visited the poet together with Pillat, compares this atmosphere with those created by other "mystics and magi of poetry" (citing as examples Joséphin Péladan, Louis-Nicolas Ménard, Stéphane Mallarmé and Stefan George). The hall where seances were hosted was only lit by candles, and the tables were covered in red fabric.Călinescu, p.523; Vianu, Vol.III, p.352 Macedonski himself was seated on a throne designed by Alexis, and adopted a dominant pose.Călinescu, p.522-523; Sandqvist, p.25, 199 The apparent secrecy and the initiation rites performed on new members were purportedly inspired by Rosicrucianism and the Freemasonry.Krasztev, "From a Deadlocked Present…", p.42-43; Sandqvist, p.199-200 By then, Macedonski was rewarding his followers’ poems with false gemstones.Călinescu, p.523; Cernat, p.43; Răileanu & Carassou, p.152; Sandqvist, p.25, 200