Haig Acterian
Encyclopedia
Haig Acterian was a Romania
n film and theater director, critic, dramatist, poet, journalist, and fascist
political activist. Alongside Mihail Sebastian
and Camil Petrescu
, he is considered one the major Romanian theater chroniclers in the interwar period
.
Acterian was also noted for his friendships with the writer and historian of religions Mircea Eliade
, the philosopher Petre Ţuţea
, and the British
dramatist Edward Gordon Craig
. He was married to actress Marietta Sadova (who had earlier been the wife of Ion Marin Sadoveanu
).
to an Armenian-Romanian
family, he was the brother of Arşavir Acterian and Jeni Acterian. Haig studied at the Mircea cel Bătrân High School in his native city, then attended the Spiru Haret National College in Bucharest
. He made his literary debut in the school magazine, Vlăstare, with pieces which caught the attention of his colleague, Mircea Eliade. Acterian befriended Eliade during their school years. It was also then that he has included him as a character in Eliade's debut work, the Novel of the Nearsighted Adolescent. After his stay in British India, Eliade dedicated his novella, Isabel and the Devil's Waters, "To my friend Mihail and the blind woman Lalu" — Lalu being one of Eliade's acquaintances from Kolkata
.
Upon graduation, Acterian enrolled at both the University of Bucharest
Faculty of Philosophy and the Conservatory of Dramatic Art, where he studied drama and comedy under Lucia Sturdza Bulandra. He completed courses at the Conservatory in 1926, and made his debut in poetry, in 1929, with a selection titled Agonia ("Agony"). Acterian also completed work on a short play, Dialog între închipuiri ("Dialog between Apparitions"), in which he reinterpreted the Meşterul Manole
legend, one of the central pieces in Romanian mythology, from a Christian
perspective.
In 1930, Acterian traveled to Berlin
, where he closely followed developments in German theater, and came to admire the achievements of the locals Max Reinhardt
, Heinz Hilpert, Erwin Piscator
, Karlheinz Martin
, as well as those of Soviet
director Vsevolod Meyerhold
. Upon his return, he staged R. C. Sherriff
's Journey's End
(translated into Romanian
as Călătoria din urmă), receiving critical acclaim. Among others, it starred Tony Bulandra. Soon after, Acterian began contributing to Vremea magazine, where he wrote his first portrait pieces of modern theater directors and actors, and held a conference on Romanian theater (for a foundation sponsored by King
Carol II
).
Between 1932 and 1934, Haig Acterian was scenic director for the Bucharest-based Ventura Theater. He was by then heavily influenced by the classical works of William Shakespeare
and Aeschylus
, but practical constraints prevented him from staging them. He directed a series of other plays, including one by George Bernard Shaw
. Around that time, he became good friends with Petre Ţuţea
, who was taking an interest in the world of theater.
Initially a communist
(like Mihail Polihroniade), Acterian contributed articles to Bluze Albastre (a literary magazine
published in 1932, with backing from the Communist Party of Romania
). He affiliated with Amicii URSS
("Friends of the Soviet Union"), a loose grouping of left-wing intellectual
s which was created and disbanded in 1934. Later in the same year, he traveled to Italy
, and trained in filmmaking at the Cinecittà
in Rome
. Acterian took part in the Volta International Theater Conference
, and reported on it for Vremea. Over the following year, he traveled to France
and Switzerland
, briefly residing in Paris
and Geneva
; this sojourn was the topic of a diary, published later.
With Eliade and others, Acterian was a founding member of the Criterion literary society
. Rejecting his early political ideas, he soon became a disciple of Nae Ionescu
and Trăirism, and later a supporter of the far right
Iron Guard
movement.
In 1936, Acterian completed his Pretexte pentru o dramaturgie românească ("Themes for a Romanian Dramaturgy"), with a preface by his friend Edward Gordon Craig
, and published a volume of poetry, titled Urmare ("Follow-up"). The following year, he completed a lengthy essay, published under the title Orientarea Teatrului ("The Direction of the Theater"). He also wrote several works on the first Romanian monograph
on Shakespeare (1938), and an essay titled Limitele Artei ("The Limits of Art", 1939). Also in 1939, Acterian produced and directed two documentary film
s: one on the Bucharest industrial plant of Nicolae Malaxa
(Fabrica Malaxa), and the other on the Apuseni Mountains
(Munţii Apuseni).
As a journalist, Acterian contributed propaganda
for the 1940 Iron Guard government, the National Legionary State
, and served as head of the National Theater Bucharest. In this capacity, he founded, together with George Franga, the National Theater's Museum. In February, he also organized the premiere of Iphigenia, a play by his friend Eliade, who was at a time living in London
.
Haig Acterian was arrested when the Guard violently clashed with Ion Antonescu
's forces in January 1941 (see Legionnaires' Rebellion and Bucharest Pogrom
), and detained until after Operation Barbarossa
(the German
invasion of the Soviet Union, to which Romania contributed as an Axis
country; see Romania during World War II
). Acterian, like other prisoners, was offered the choice of remaining in prison or joining the war effort as a soldier on the Eastern Front
; he was declared missing during battles in the Kuban
, and was probably killed at that time.
". Writing in 1989, literary critic Constantin Măciucă deplored Acterian's political choices and his "occasional negative generalizations", but noted his merits in supporting a national specificity in Romanian dramaturgy.
In a 1945 letter to literary historian Tudor Vianu
, harshly critical of his generation's political choices, playwright Eugène Ionesco
, who had witnessed first-hand the impact fascism had on his generation, blamed Acterian and Polihroniade's deaths on the original influence exercised over them by Nae Ionescu. The self-exiled Eliade remembered Acterian and Mihail Sebastian
in a 1951 essay, which offered praise to both of them.
Haig's diary, Cealaltă parte a vieţii noastre ("The Other Side of Our Lives"), was published in 1989 by Arşavir Acterian. His frontline letters to Marietta Sadova are kept at the National Archives of Romania
.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n film and theater director, critic, dramatist, poet, journalist, and fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
political activist. Alongside Mihail Sebastian
Mihail Sebastian
-Life:Sebastian was born to a Jewish family in Brăila. After finishing his secondary studies, Sebastian went on to study law in Bucharest, but was soon attracted to the literary life and the exciting ideas of the new generation of Romanian intellectuals, as epitomized by the literary group...
and Camil Petrescu
Camil Petrescu
Camil Petrescu was a Romanian playwright, novelist, philosopher and poet. He marked the end of the traditional novel era and laid the foundation of the modern novel era.- Life :...
, he is considered one the major Romanian theater chroniclers in the interwar period
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
.
Acterian was also noted for his friendships with the writer and historian of religions Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day...
, the philosopher Petre Ţuţea
Petre Tutea
- Early years: from Marxism to the Legionary Movement :Petre Ţuţea was born in the village of Boteni, Muscel region . His father, Petre Bădescu, was a Romanian Orthodox priest and his mother, Ana Ţuţea, was of peasant stock. After the First World War, Ţuţea left his village to finish high school in...
, and the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
dramatist Edward Gordon Craig
Edward Gordon Craig
Edward Henry Gordon Craig , sometimes known as Gordon Craig, was an English modernist theatre practitioner; he worked as an actor, director and scenic designer, as well as developing an influential body of theoretical writings...
. He was married to actress Marietta Sadova (who had earlier been the wife of Ion Marin Sadoveanu
Ion Marin Sadoveanu
Ion Marin Sadoveanu was a Romanian playwright.- Biography :...
).
Biography
Born in ConstanţaConstanta
Constanța is the oldest extant city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of Constanța County and the largest city in the region....
to an Armenian-Romanian
Armenians in Romania
Armenians have been present in what is now Romania and Moldova for over a millennium, and have been an important presence as traders since the 14th century...
family, he was the brother of Arşavir Acterian and Jeni Acterian. Haig studied at the Mircea cel Bătrân High School in his native city, then attended the Spiru Haret National College in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
. He made his literary debut in the school magazine, Vlăstare, with pieces which caught the attention of his colleague, Mircea Eliade. Acterian befriended Eliade during their school years. It was also then that he has included him as a character in Eliade's debut work, the Novel of the Nearsighted Adolescent. After his stay in British India, Eliade dedicated his novella, Isabel and the Devil's Waters, "To my friend Mihail and the blind woman Lalu" — Lalu being one of Eliade's acquaintances from Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
.
Upon graduation, Acterian enrolled at both the University of Bucharest
University of Bucharest
The University of Bucharest , in Romania, is a university founded in 1864 by decree of Prince Alexander John Cuza to convert the former Saint Sava Academy into the current University of Bucharest.-Presentation:...
Faculty of Philosophy and the Conservatory of Dramatic Art, where he studied drama and comedy under Lucia Sturdza Bulandra. He completed courses at the Conservatory in 1926, and made his debut in poetry, in 1929, with a selection titled Agonia ("Agony"). Acterian also completed work on a short play, Dialog între închipuiri ("Dialog between Apparitions"), in which he reinterpreted the Meşterul Manole
Mesterul Manole
In Romanian mythology, Meșterul Manole was the chief architect of the Curtea de Argeș Monastery in Wallachia...
legend, one of the central pieces in Romanian mythology, from a Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
perspective.
In 1930, Acterian traveled to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where he closely followed developments in German theater, and came to admire the achievements of the locals Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt (theatre director)
----Max Reinhardt was an Austrian theater and film director and actor.-Biography:...
, Heinz Hilpert, Erwin Piscator
Erwin Piscator
Erwin Friedrich Maximilian Piscator was a German theatre director and producer and, with Bertolt Brecht, the foremost exponent of epic theatre, a form that emphasizes the socio-political content of drama, rather than its emotional manipulation of the audience or on the production's formal...
, Karlheinz Martin
Karlheinz Martin
Karlheinz Martin was a German stage and film director, best known for his expressionist productions.After enjoying success with experimental productions in Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg, Martin went to Berlin, where he premiered Ernst Toller's anti-war drama, Transfiguration on September 30, 1919...
, as well as those of Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
director Vsevolod Meyerhold
Vsevolod Meyerhold
Vsevolod Emilevich Meyerhold was a great Russian and Soviet theatre director, actor and theatrical producer. His provocative experiments dealing with physical being and symbolism in an unconventional theatre setting made him one of the seminal forces in modern international theatre.-Early...
. Upon his return, he staged R. C. Sherriff
R. C. Sherriff
-External links:**...
's Journey's End
Journey's End
Journey's End is a 1928 drama, the seventh of English playwright R. C. Sherriff. It was first performed at the Apollo Theatre in London by the Incorporated Stage Society on 9 December 1928, starring a young Laurence Olivier, and soon moved to other West End theatres for a two-year run...
(translated into Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
as Călătoria din urmă), receiving critical acclaim. Among others, it starred Tony Bulandra. Soon after, Acterian began contributing to Vremea magazine, where he wrote his first portrait pieces of modern theater directors and actors, and held a conference on Romanian theater (for a foundation sponsored by King
King of Romania
King of the Romanians , rather than King of Romania , was the official title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Romania from 1881 until 1947, when Romania was proclaimed a republic....
Carol II
Carol II of Romania
Carol II reigned as King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until 6 September 1940. Eldest son of Ferdinand, King of Romania, and his wife, Queen Marie, a daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second eldest son of Queen Victoria...
).
Between 1932 and 1934, Haig Acterian was scenic director for the Bucharest-based Ventura Theater. He was by then heavily influenced by the classical works of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
and Aeschylus
Aeschylus
Aeschylus was the first of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived, the others being Sophocles and Euripides, and is often described as the father of tragedy. His name derives from the Greek word aiskhos , meaning "shame"...
, but practical constraints prevented him from staging them. He directed a series of other plays, including one by George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
. Around that time, he became good friends with Petre Ţuţea
Petre Tutea
- Early years: from Marxism to the Legionary Movement :Petre Ţuţea was born in the village of Boteni, Muscel region . His father, Petre Bădescu, was a Romanian Orthodox priest and his mother, Ana Ţuţea, was of peasant stock. After the First World War, Ţuţea left his village to finish high school in...
, who was taking an interest in the world of theater.
Initially a communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
(like Mihail Polihroniade), Acterian contributed articles to Bluze Albastre (a literary magazine
Literary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
published in 1932, with backing from the Communist Party of Romania
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
). He affiliated with Amicii URSS
Amicii URSS
Amicii URSS was a cultural association in interwar Romania, uniting left-wing and anti-fascist intellectuals who advocated a détente between their country and Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union Amicii URSS (Romanian for "[The] Friends of the Soviet Union"; , occasionally known as Prietenii URSS , which...
("Friends of the Soviet Union"), a loose grouping of left-wing intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
s which was created and disbanded in 1934. Later in the same year, he traveled to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and trained in filmmaking at the Cinecittà
Cinecittà
Cinecittà is a large film studio in Rome that is considered the hub of Italian cinema.-History:The studios were founded in 1937 by Benito Mussolini and his head of cinema Luigi Freddi for propaganda purposes, under the slogan "Il cinema è l'arma più forte"...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. Acterian took part in the Volta International Theater Conference
Volta Conference
The Volta Conference was the name given to each of the international conferences held in Italy by the Royal Academy of Science in Rome, and funded by the Alessandro Volta Foundation...
, and reported on it for Vremea. Over the following year, he traveled to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, briefly residing in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
; this sojourn was the topic of a diary, published later.
With Eliade and others, Acterian was a founding member of the Criterion literary society
Literary society
A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of literature or a specific writer. Modern literary societies typically promote research about their chosen author or genre, publish newsletters, and hold...
. Rejecting his early political ideas, he soon became a disciple of Nae Ionescu
Nae Ionescu
Nae Ionescu was a Romanian philosopher, logician, mathematician, professor, and journalist. Near the end of his career, he became known for his antisemitism and devotion to far right politics, in the years leading up to World War II.-Life:...
and Trăirism, and later a supporter of the far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
Iron Guard
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II. The Iron Guard was ultra-nationalist, fascist, anti-communist, and promoted the Orthodox Christian faith...
movement.
In 1936, Acterian completed his Pretexte pentru o dramaturgie românească ("Themes for a Romanian Dramaturgy"), with a preface by his friend Edward Gordon Craig
Edward Gordon Craig
Edward Henry Gordon Craig , sometimes known as Gordon Craig, was an English modernist theatre practitioner; he worked as an actor, director and scenic designer, as well as developing an influential body of theoretical writings...
, and published a volume of poetry, titled Urmare ("Follow-up"). The following year, he completed a lengthy essay, published under the title Orientarea Teatrului ("The Direction of the Theater"). He also wrote several works on the first Romanian monograph
Monograph
A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
on Shakespeare (1938), and an essay titled Limitele Artei ("The Limits of Art", 1939). Also in 1939, Acterian produced and directed two documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
s: one on the Bucharest industrial plant of Nicolae Malaxa
Nicolae Malaxa
-Biography:Born in a family of Greek origins in Huşi, Malaxa studied engineering in Iaşi and Karlsruhe...
(Fabrica Malaxa), and the other on the Apuseni Mountains
Apuseni Mountains
The Apuseni Mountains is a mountain range in Transylvania, Romania, which belongs to the Western Carpathians, also called Occidentali in Romanian. Their name translates from Romanian as Mountains "of the sunset" i.e. "western". The highest peak is "Cucurbăta Mare" - 1849 metres, also called Bihor...
(Munţii Apuseni).
As a journalist, Acterian contributed propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
for the 1940 Iron Guard government, the National Legionary State
National Legionary State
The National Legionary State was the Romanian government from September 6, 1940 to January 23, 1941. It was a single-party regime dictatorship dominated by the overtly fascist Iron Guard in uneasy conjunction with the head of government and Conducător Ion Antonescu, the leader of the Romanian...
, and served as head of the National Theater Bucharest. In this capacity, he founded, together with George Franga, the National Theater's Museum. In February, he also organized the premiere of Iphigenia, a play by his friend Eliade, who was at a time living in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Haig Acterian was arrested when the Guard violently clashed with Ion Antonescu
Ion Antonescu
Ion Victor Antonescu was a Romanian soldier, authoritarian politician and convicted war criminal. The Prime Minister and Conducător during most of World War II, he presided over two successive wartime dictatorships...
's forces in January 1941 (see Legionnaires' Rebellion and Bucharest Pogrom
Legionnaires' Rebellion and Bucharest Pogrom
The Legionnaires' rebellion and the Bucharest pogrom occurred in Bucharest, Romania, between 21 and 23 January 1941.As the privileges of the Iron Guard were being cut off by Conducător Ion Antonescu, members of the Iron Guard, also known as the Legionnaires, revolted...
), and detained until after Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
(the German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
invasion of the Soviet Union, to which Romania contributed as an Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
country; see Romania during World War II
Romania during World War II
Following the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, the Kingdom of Romania officially adopted a position of neutrality. However, the rapidly changing situation in Europe during 1940, as well as domestic political upheaval, undermined this stance. Fascist political forces such as the Iron...
). Acterian, like other prisoners, was offered the choice of remaining in prison or joining the war effort as a soldier on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
; he was declared missing during battles in the Kuban
Kuban
Kuban is a geographic region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, Volga Delta and the Caucasus...
, and was probably killed at that time.
Legacy
Despite the short period of time covered by his activities, Acterian was hailed by several as an innovative director and author. Taking in view his many interests, as well as his "technical expertise and spiritual synthesis", Eliade defined him as a "Renaissance manPolymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
". Writing in 1989, literary critic Constantin Măciucă deplored Acterian's political choices and his "occasional negative generalizations", but noted his merits in supporting a national specificity in Romanian dramaturgy.
In a 1945 letter to literary historian Tudor Vianu
Tudor Vianu
Tudor Vianu was a Romanian literary critic, art critic, poet, philosopher, academic, and translator. Known for his left-wing and anti-fascist convictions, he had a major role on the reception and development of Modernism in Romanian literature and art...
, harshly critical of his generation's political choices, playwright Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd...
, who had witnessed first-hand the impact fascism had on his generation, blamed Acterian and Polihroniade's deaths on the original influence exercised over them by Nae Ionescu. The self-exiled Eliade remembered Acterian and Mihail Sebastian
Mihail Sebastian
-Life:Sebastian was born to a Jewish family in Brăila. After finishing his secondary studies, Sebastian went on to study law in Bucharest, but was soon attracted to the literary life and the exciting ideas of the new generation of Romanian intellectuals, as epitomized by the literary group...
in a 1951 essay, which offered praise to both of them.
Haig's diary, Cealaltă parte a vieţii noastre ("The Other Side of Our Lives"), was published in 1989 by Arşavir Acterian. His frontline letters to Marietta Sadova are kept at the National Archives of Romania
National Archives of Romania
The National Archives of Romania , until 1996 the State Archives , are the national archives of Romania, headquartered in Bucharest and headed by Dorin Dobrincu since 2007. It is subordinate to the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform...
.
External links
- Petre Ţuţea - An encounter with Brâncuşi a meeting and dialogue between Petre Ţuţea, Constantin Brâncuşi and Haig Acterian