Eugen Barbu

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Eugen Barbu bigraphy, stories - Founders

Eugen Barbu : biography

February 20, 1924 – September 7, 1993

Eugen Barbu ( February 20, 1924 – September 7, 1993) was a Romanian modern novelist, short story writer, journalist, and correspondent member of the Romanian Academy. The latter position was vehemently criticized by those who contended that he plagiarized in his novel Incognito and for the anti-Semitic campaigns he initiated in the newspapers Săptămâna and România Mare which he founded and led.Grigurcu; Martin; Tismăneanu, p.183, 225 He also founded, alongside his disciple Corneliu Vadim Tudor, the ultra-nationalist Greater Romania Party (PRM).Martin

His most famous writings are the novels Groapa (1957) and Principele (1969).Călin Barbu’s prose, in which the influence of neorealism has been noted, drew comparison to the works of Mateiu Caragiale, Tudor Arghezi, and Curzio Malaparte.Iliescu It was however, considered unequal by several critics, who took into measure Barbu’s preference for archaisms, as well as his fluctuating narrative style.Grigurcu; Iliescu

Barbu also wrote several film scripts,Călin; Iliescu some of which were for films starring his wife, the actress Marga Barbu (Florin Piersic’s Mărgelatu series).

Biography

Early life and literature

The son of writer and journalist Nicolae Crevedia,http://www.curierulnational.ro/Eveniment/2003-01-17/%E2%80%9CEugen+Barbu+e+fiul+lui+Nicolae+Crevedia%E2%80%9DDorin Tudaran, Eu, fiul lor– Dosar de Securitate, Bucharest, Polirom 2010, p.76 Barbu was born in Bucharest, and briefly attended the University of Bucharest’s Faculty of Law, and then graduated from the Faculty of Letters (1947); he subsequently worked as a journalist for the left-wing press. Attending meetings of the Sburătorul society, he made his debut in 1955 (with the novella Munca de jos). The following year, he published his first novel, Balonul e rotund.

One of the few persons trusted with official criticism on both political and literary issues during the communist regime — under Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, and especially under Nicolae Ceauşescu),Martin; Tismăneanu, p.183, 225 —, he was noted for his early writings in praise of Soviet achievements such as the Sputnik program,Grigurcu and his progressive move to a more nationalist tone as this became condoned (and later encouraged).Grigurcu; Martin He was also involved in the censorship apparatus, a position which, some have argued, he used indiscriminately against his literary rivals.Grigurcu; Ioanid

Official appointments

His Principele novel, set during the Phanariote era, was interpreted to be an ironic reference to Gheorghiu-Dej’s rule and the labor camps of the Danube-Black Sea Canal, and was condoned by the regime during a period of relative liberalization — cut short by the July Theses of 1971.Deletant, p.182 At the time, he was also an editor of Luceafărul, before being dismissed following his prolonged and notorious conflicts with younger writers (while the regime was interested in ensuring the latter’s confidence). Barbu was an informal envoy to the United States during the late 1960s, visiting the influential exiled scholar Mircea Eliade at his home in Chicago, unsuccessfully calling for his return, and vouching for a "magnificent reception" to his home country (in order to mark the potential image coup).Şimonca

He was several times elected to the Great National Assembly,Grigurcu; Teodorescu & Mihai until the plagiarism scandal prevented him from being again proposed for the office.Teodorescu & Mihai In 1977, Barbu won the Herder Prize, which permitted him to offer his protégé Tudor a scholarship year in Vienna.

Plagiarism scandal and Săptămâna

In 1979, România Literară published a special section in which it placed side by side a text from Incognito and one taken from a translated work by the Soviet writer Konstantin Paustovsky; the two sections were considered virtually identical.Groşan; Teodorescu & Mihai The ensuing scandal animated the literary world, and has often been cited as a reference for similar and more recent controversies. Speaking at the time, Barbu dismissed the accusations as character assassination.