Panait Cerna
Encyclopedia
Panait Cerna was a Romania
n poet, philosopher, literary critic and translator. A native speaker of Bulgarian, Cerna nonetheless wrote in Romanian
, and developed a traditionalist style which was connected with Classicism
and Neoclassicism
. Praised by the conservative
literary society Junimea
, he was promoted by its leader Titu Maiorescu
, as well as by Maiorescu's disciples Mihail Dragomirescu and Simion Mehedinţi
. Cerna became the group's main representative during its decline, affiliating with both competing Junimist magazines, Convorbiri Literare and Convorbiri Critice. He also contributed pieces to the traditionalist magazine Sămănătorul
, and was briefly affiliated with other literary journals.
A graduate of the University of Bucharest
, Cerna completed his studies in the German Empire
. There, he attended the University of Berlin and the University of Leipzig
, befriending the self-exiled Romanian dramatist Ion Luca Caragiale
and the literary critic Paul Zarifopol. Cerna died in Leipzig
at the age of thirty-one, after a long combat with tuberculosis
.
Alongside various love poems, Panait Cerna's work comprises works which evidence his intellectual pursuits. This characteristic earned him a dedicated following, but was criticized by many of his peers, who found it artificial and outdated.
into Romanian as Panait Stanciov, Stancov, Stanciof or Stancioff. The poet's preferred name alluded to Cerna
, his birthplace in Tulcea County
, Northern Dobruja
.
Panait Cerna's father was an ethnic Bulgarian
schoolteacher, also named Panayot Stachov (Panait Stanciov). He had settled in Cerna, marrying Maria Taşcu; the daughter of local peasants she was of Aromanian
or of Bulgarian origin. Shortly before Maria gave birth to their son, Romanian administration began taking over in previously Ottoman
-ruled Northern Dobruja. Stanchov, who was a Bulgarian nationalist
, refused to accept this change and left for the Principality of Bulgaria
, leaving his family behind. In Cerna's own account, his childhood and youth were marked by acute poverty and social isolation: "[I was] told to tutor and learn in cold, unfriendly rooms. For a long time, we lived in a house on the outskirts, which was avoided by other men, since a rumor had spread that ghosts haunted its rooms. Can you imagine living in the middle of winter, without a fire on, with doors that barely close, with windows that are glued with paper? A person made of iron would still feel cold down to the bone."
Panait Cerna never met his father. Although his links to Bulgarian culture
were weakened by the latter's departure, the future poet, who was baptized in the Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church
, became fluent in Bulgarian. According to literary critic George Călinescu
, he always had some difficulties conversing in Romanian, but could write it with ease.
After completing primary school in his native village, he graduated from a high school in the Danube
port of Brăila
, then enrolled at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy in Bucharest
. He was also attending lectures at the Faculty of Chemistry and Physics. Cerna debuted as a poet in 1897, at the age of sixteen, when his Trecutul ("The Past"), an adaptation of a piece by Nikolaus Lenau
, was published in George Coşbuc
's Foaia Interesantă magazine. His first original poem, Orientale ("Orientals"), saw print two years later in the magazine Carmen.
. By that time, he was discovered by Junimea, and began collaborating with Convorbiri Literare, a magazine led by Simion Mehedinţi
. After 1903, Cerna also affiliated with Sămănătorul
, and his poems were sporadically published by other mainstream publications (including Floare Albastră and Revista Modernă).
Despite ongoing financial difficulties, Cerna graduated from university in 1906. His thesis was passed with a Magna cum laude
qualifier. He was by then seriously ill with tuberculosis, and sought a change in climate. Cerna spent much of this period traveling through the Old Kingdom
, and several times visited regions of the Southern Carpathians
, in particular the area of Rucăr
, the Bucegi Mountains
, and the Jiu Valley
. As Călinescu notes, he had bought himself a horse from a Rucăr local, on credit and without delivering the sum promised on time.
His love for the rural world, together with what Călinescu describes as a "social preoccupation", made him an outspoken opponent of the way in which the authorities handled the peasant uprising of 1907
. That year, as Mihail Dragomirescu parted with Mehedinţi to establish Convorbiri Critice, which advertised a Junimist agenda while standing against Convorbiri Literare, Cerna became one of his main collaborators. The group of Convorbiri Critice writers also included D. Nanu, Corneliu Moldovanu, Emil Gârleanu, I. Dragoslav
and Gheorghe Vâlsan. In 1908, he decided to continue his studies in the German Empire
. The decision was influenced and encouraged by Junimea and its leader Titu Maiorescu
, who, as Minister of Education granted him a scholarship
. Călinescu describes this as a sign of late Junimist elitism
, a view which implied that all literary men should be academics. This, he argues, was one of the few areas in which Junimea still differed from Sămănătorul, which was more open to less elitist environments.
Cerna visited the University of Heidelberg, but, following the advice of Maiorescu, decided in favor of the University of Berlin
, where he studied Philosophy, English
and German language literature (1908–1910). Around 1909, he first came into contact with the Caragiales, and, according to the dramatist's own testimony, tutored his son, the future poet Luca Caragiale
, providing his "scientific education". Ion Luca Caragiale described Cerna as "a distinguished scientist and a great lover of music". The two writers met a second time in Leipzig
, in 1910, when Cerna declared himself captivated by Caragiale, whom he described as "one of the richest intelligent minds to have ever been produced by our nation." Two years later, Cerna enthusiastically welcomed the literary debut of Caragiale's other son, Mateiu
.
, where he attended courses held by the philosophers and psychologists Wilhelm Wundt
, Eduard Spranger
and Hans Volkelt. Wundt left an enduring impression on his Romanian student. In a letter home, Cerna described his modest appearance, which he claimed recalled that of "decrepit" Orthodox
members of the Romanian Jewish community
, adding: "But I do love this decrepit exterior beyond measure..." Volkelt guided Cerna's research in the scientific field, and coordinated his PhD
thesis of 1913, Die Gedankenlyrik (German
for "Contemplative Poetry"). According to Călinescu, Cerna's work stated the primacy of "natural ideas" over reasoning, and concluded that "ideas have the purpose of signaling the problematic tensions of the soul." Zarifopol wrote that Cerna was upset over having himself parted with writing poetry, and came to be preoccupied by Maiorescu's German-language dictum: In der Poesie ist der Gedanke ein verfluchtes Ding ("An idea is a damned thing when it comes to poetry"). Panait Cerna's first volume of collected poetry was published at home in 1910, and, two years later, resulted in the author being made a co-recipient of the Romanian Academy
's Vasile Adamachi Award. Some of his new poems were still being published by Convorbiri Literare in 1911.
Panait Cerna died in Leipzig, shortly after receiving his diploma. Zarifopol was present when Cerna succumbed, and recorded that Maiorescu's views on poetry where preoccupied his friend even on his deathbed. The poet was buried in the German city, and later exhumed for burial in Bucharest's Bellu Cemetery.
whose work "steers toward Classicism
", as do those of Dragomirescu, Mehedinţi, Henri Sanielevici, D. Nanu, Ion Trivale, Cincinat Pavelescu, Corneliu Moldovanu, Mihail Codreanu, Alexandru Davila
and George Murnu
. In this account, Cerna is one in a group of "conceptual" poets, all of whom were connected with Dragomirescu. For part of his life, Cerna was also formally committed to Symbolism
and the local Symbolist movement
, whose aesthetic ideals he merged with his lyrical style, and sought to recover part of the Romantic
legacy. He was thus known as the translator of works by Romantic poets, as well as for adopting a Messianic
and Humanist
perspective on life (notably present in his poems Floare şi genune, "Flower and Chasm"; Zile de durere, "Days of Sorrow"; and Plânsetul lui Adam, "Adam's Sobbing").
Literary historian Tudor Vianu
notes the influence exercised on Cerna and other traditionalists by Mihai Eminescu
, Romania's major mid-19th century Classicist and Junimist poet. modernist
theorist Eugen Lovinescu
also believes that the "matter in which [Cerna] worked" was largely "dominated by Eminescu." He also cautions that there is a major difference between the two: Cerna is an optimist
, while Eminescu most often projected a pessimistic
attitude. According to Zarifopol, the poet considered himself an "improved follower" of Eminescu. Cerna was also a late admirer of Lord Byron
, a main figure of English
Romanticism, and translated from his Childe Harold. One of Cerna's poems was an epic
piece inspired by the Book of Genesis, where Adam confronts God. Titled Plânsetul lui Adam, it builds on themes which recalled Byron's 1821 play Cain, and constituted an interrogation of divine law
s.
In Plânsetul lui Adam and various other pieces, Panait Cerna (called a "reflexive poet" by contemporary critic Ilarie Chendi) sought to reconcile poetry and philosophy, thus creating a hybrid form of conceptual poetry. Eugen Lovinescu proposed that, although praised by Cerna's contemporaries, this goal was "mediocre", and that the literature it produced "does not express and does not suggest profound spiritual states, but, on the contrary, it expresses by means of rhetoric
al dialectic
not only that which can be expressed, but also that which can be proven." Paul Zarifopol, who notes that Cerna particularly treasured the Classicist poets Friedrich Schiller
, Louise-Victorine Ackermann
and Jean-Marie Guyau
, as well as the Parnassian Sully Prudhomme
, recounted their disagreement when it came to Caragiale, whom Cerna enjoyed only for his power of "observation", but whom he argued lacked "concepts". For Zarifopol, this statement, made with "a fanatical and dogmatic pathos", evidenced a moment of "academic foolishness" in Cerna's career.
Călinescu, who criticizes the poet for his difficulties with the language, describes him as "not accomplished". Elaborating on this, he states: "[Cerna is] declamatory, banal and dry in his use of metaphors, although he displays a touch of the sublime here and there." Lovinescu thought many of the expressions Cerna used in his poetry to be "unacceptable", and argued that they were characterized by banality. This assessment was itself contested by Călinescu, who argued that the lyrics in questions are "actually the acceptable ones", and that the awkward wordings "are entirely lost in lyrical fluency." Among the writings forming the subject of this disagreement was Cerna's Din depărtare ("From Far Away"), which Lovinescu believed was marked by the use of repetitive and banal poetic images:
The subject of unrequited love
was one of the major ones in Cerna's lyric poems
and, Călinescu argues, it evoked his actual experience with women, as "the regret of not having lived through the great mystery of love." These pieces, the critic notes, point to the influence of Classicist authors such as Eminescu, Dante Aligheri, and Giacomo Leopardi
(the latter poet had also been quoted in Cerna's Die Gedankenlyrik). One of the pieces, written from the perspective of a man who has once failed to gain the object of his affection, features the lyrics:
While rejecting Cerna's conceptual approach, Lovinescu admired his style, for "the amplitude through which [the sentiment] is laid out in vast chimes and compact constructions of rhetorical stanzas." Such features, he concluded, surpassed "everything ever written in our country". For George Călinescu, Cerna's "euphoric thirst for life" recalled the work of Parnassian and Symbolist author Alexandru Macedonski
, but was tempered by "the mellow anemia
of the phthisic." One of his better-known pieces from the series of love poems read:
Cerna's protest over the violent repression of the 1907 revolt
was lyricized in several contexts. In one such indignant piece, Cerna called on Peace not to arrive until the social issue would be solved. In Zile de durere, he appeals to the Sun to wash out the blood of peasant victims:
. Junimea saw in him one of its most important members of the early 20th century, while several historians note that he was so only because, at that stage, the literary society was declining. Mehedinţi's 1914 account of the Junimist promotion of the "original manifestations of Romanian culture" listed Cerna alongside Alexandru G. Florescu and other minor writers. Literary historian Z. Ornea argues that this evidenced not just a decline in standards, but also Mehedinţi's "tastelessness". Also according to Ornea, the association with Dragomirescu was also characteristic for the Junimist twilight, given that this circle had failed to impose "a new literary direction", and was tributary to the legacy of various traditionalist groups. At the same time, both Dragomirescu and his disciple Ion Trivale upheld him as a model to follow, equating him with the mid-19th century Classicist Grigore Alexandrescu
. Zarifopol deplores Cerna's submission to traditionalist and Classicist goals, arguing that it eventually ruined Cerna as a poet and made him unhappy.
The poet's adoption of a mainstream approach to poetry also pleased his public, and, Călinescu notes, schoolbooks of the day celebrated him as a Romanian classic while completely ignoring more controversial Symbolists
such as Macedonski and Dimitrie Anghel
. His contributions have helped shaped the style of 20th century poets with traditionalist tendencies from different schools. Among them are the socialist
Alexandru Toma
, later known as an official poet of Communist Romania
, and Sămănătorul 's Ion Sân-Giorgiu
, whose career later took him through an Expressionist
stage and eventually to fascist
politics. Demostene Botez, another author to have been influenced by Cerna's style, dedicated his mentor a poem which read:
In his essay Din registrul ideilor gingaşe ("From the Register of Gentle Ideas"), where he satirizes the Romanian public's reception of literature, Zarifopol looks into the problems faced by Cerna in satisfying his readers. Using one of Cerna's own accounts as the basis for this analysis, he notes that a group of his young "female admirers" where unpleasantly surprised to find out that their idol was "short, pudgy, wide-necked and ruddy-faced." He writes: "the girls [...] were thus in full agreement with the philosophical tradition which, since the old days, has set as a supreme ideal a mosaic of perfections that is naive and unlikely."
Like Lovinescu, other advocates of modernist literature
rejected most of Cerna's contributions. One of the first to have done so is Ovid Densusianu
, who stated his belief that an artist's work should be separated from his life. Lovinescu, who commented on Densusianu and his thoughts on Cerna, opined that Densusianu had a tendency to reject all poets who registered popular success, and that he treated Dimitrie Anghel's work in much the same way.
The poet's house in Cerna is presently a museum, dedicated in part to his memory, and also housing a permanent exhibit dedicated to the traditional arts and crafts of Tulcea County
. It also features a bust of the poet. The county library in Tulcea
city is named after him, as are a high school in Brăila
and streets in Bucharest, Brăila, Bistriţa
, Hunedoara
, Lugoj and Petroşani
. The local authorities in Tulcea County organize an annual Panait Cerna National Poetry and Essay Contest.
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 poet, philosopher, literary critic and translator. A native speaker of Bulgarian, Cerna nonetheless wrote in 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...
, and developed a traditionalist style which was connected with Classicism
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
and Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
. Praised by the conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
literary society Junimea
Junimea
Junimea was a Romanian literary society founded in Iaşi in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi...
, he was promoted by its leader Titu Maiorescu
Titu Maiorescu
Titu Liviu Maiorescu was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the Junimea Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Romanian culture in the second half of the 19th century....
, as well as by Maiorescu's disciples Mihail Dragomirescu and Simion Mehedinţi
Simion Mehedinti
Simion Mehedinţi was a Romanian geographer and member of the Romanian Academy. A figure of importance in the Junimea literary club, he was for a while editor of its magazine, Convorbiri Literare....
. Cerna became the group's main representative during its decline, affiliating with both competing Junimist magazines, Convorbiri Literare and Convorbiri Critice. He also contributed pieces to the traditionalist magazine Sămănătorul
Sămănătorul
Sămănătorul or Semănătorul was a literary and political magazine published in Romania between 1901 and 1910. Founded by poets Alexandru Vlahuţă and George Coşbuc, it is primarily remembered as a tribune for early 20th century traditionalism, neoromanticism and ethnic nationalism...
, and was briefly affiliated with other literary journals.
A graduate of 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:...
, Cerna completed his studies in the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
. There, he attended the University of Berlin and the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
, befriending the self-exiled Romanian dramatist Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale was a Wallachian-born Romanian playwright, short story writer, poet, theater manager, political commentator and journalist...
and the literary critic Paul Zarifopol. Cerna died in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
at the age of thirty-one, after a long combat with tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
Alongside various love poems, Panait Cerna's work comprises works which evidence his intellectual pursuits. This characteristic earned him a dedicated following, but was criticized by many of his peers, who found it artificial and outdated.
Early life
Cerna's early name, rendered in Bulgarian as Панайот Станчов, was commonly transliteratedRomanization of Bulgarian
Romanization of Bulgarian is the practice of transliteration of text in the Bulgarian language from its conventional Cyrillic orthography into the Latin alphabet. Romanization can be used for various purposes, such as rendering of proper names and place names in foreign-language contexts, or for...
into Romanian as Panait Stanciov, Stancov, Stanciof or Stancioff. The poet's preferred name alluded to Cerna
Cerna, Tulcea
Cerna is a commune in Tulcea County, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Cerna, General Praporgescu, Mircea Vodă and Traian.Situated in a hilly landscape 55 km from the city of Tulcea and 25 km from Măcin, the village of Cerna had at the 2002 Romanian Census a population of 2,427, and...
, his birthplace in Tulcea County
Tulcea County
Tulcea is a county of Romania, in the historical region Dobruja, with the capital city at Tulcea.-Demographics:In 2002, Tulcea County had a population of 256,492...
, Northern Dobruja
Northern Dobruja
Northern Dobruja is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, bordered in south by Bulgarian Southern Dobruja.-Geography:...
.
Panait Cerna's father was an ethnic Bulgarian
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
schoolteacher, also named Panayot Stachov (Panait Stanciov). He had settled in Cerna, marrying Maria Taşcu; the daughter of local peasants she was of Aromanian
Aromanians
Aromanians are a Latin people native throughout the southern Balkans, especially in northern Greece, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, and as an emigrant community in Serbia and Romania . An older term is Macedo-Romanians...
or of Bulgarian origin. Shortly before Maria gave birth to their son, Romanian administration began taking over in previously Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
-ruled Northern Dobruja. Stanchov, who was a Bulgarian nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, refused to accept this change and left for the Principality of Bulgaria
Principality of Bulgaria
The Principality of Bulgaria was a self-governing entity created as a vassal of the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. The preliminary treaty of San Stefano between the Russian Empire and the Porte , on March 3, had originally proposed a significantly larger Bulgarian territory: its...
, leaving his family behind. In Cerna's own account, his childhood and youth were marked by acute poverty and social isolation: "[I was] told to tutor and learn in cold, unfriendly rooms. For a long time, we lived in a house on the outskirts, which was avoided by other men, since a rumor had spread that ghosts haunted its rooms. Can you imagine living in the middle of winter, without a fire on, with doors that barely close, with windows that are glued with paper? A person made of iron would still feel cold down to the bone."
Panait Cerna never met his father. Although his links to Bulgarian culture
Culture of Bulgaria
A number of ancient civilizations, most notably the Thracians, Ancient Greeks, Romans, Slavs, and especially Bulgars, have left their mark on the culture, history and heritage of Bulgaria. Because of this Bulgarian nation has one of the richest folk heritage in the world...
were weakened by the latter's departure, the future poet, who was baptized in the Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church
Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church
The Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church is a Byzantine Rite sui juris particular Church in full union with the Roman Catholic Church.-Middle Ages:...
, became fluent in Bulgarian. According to literary critic George Călinescu
George Calinescu
George Călinescu was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies...
, he always had some difficulties conversing in Romanian, but could write it with ease.
After completing primary school in his native village, he graduated from a high school in the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
port of Brăila
Braila
Brăila is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County, in the close vicinity of Galaţi.According to the 2002 Romanian census there were 216,292 people living within the city of Brăila, making it the 10th most populous city in Romania.-History:A...
, then enrolled at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy 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 was also attending lectures at the Faculty of Chemistry and Physics. Cerna debuted as a poet in 1897, at the age of sixteen, when his Trecutul ("The Past"), an adaptation of a piece by Nikolaus Lenau
Nikolaus Lenau
Nikolaus Lenau was the nom de plume of Nikolaus Franz Niembsch Edler von Strehlenau , was a German language Austrian poet.-Biography:...
, was published in George Coşbuc
George Cosbuc
George Coşbuc was a Romanian poet, translator, teacher, and journalist, best remembered for his verses describing, praising and eulogizing rural life, its many travails but also its occasions for joy....
's Foaia Interesantă magazine. His first original poem, Orientale ("Orientals"), saw print two years later in the magazine Carmen.
Junimea years
Soon after reaching the capital, he became involved in political debates and the literary environment: these early activities are recorded in a 1904 series of articles in the student paper Tipuri şi Ticuri, where a P. Stanciov is the object of satireSatire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
. By that time, he was discovered by Junimea, and began collaborating with Convorbiri Literare, a magazine led by Simion Mehedinţi
Simion Mehedinti
Simion Mehedinţi was a Romanian geographer and member of the Romanian Academy. A figure of importance in the Junimea literary club, he was for a while editor of its magazine, Convorbiri Literare....
. After 1903, Cerna also affiliated with Sămănătorul
Sămănătorul
Sămănătorul or Semănătorul was a literary and political magazine published in Romania between 1901 and 1910. Founded by poets Alexandru Vlahuţă and George Coşbuc, it is primarily remembered as a tribune for early 20th century traditionalism, neoromanticism and ethnic nationalism...
, and his poems were sporadically published by other mainstream publications (including Floare Albastră and Revista Modernă).
Despite ongoing financial difficulties, Cerna graduated from university in 1906. His thesis was passed with a Magna cum laude
Latin honors
Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. This system is primarily used in the United States, Canada, and in many countries of continental Europe, though some institutions also use the English translation of these...
qualifier. He was by then seriously ill with tuberculosis, and sought a change in climate. Cerna spent much of this period traveling through the Old Kingdom
Romanian Old Kingdom
The Romanian Old Kingdom is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independent Romanian nation state, which was composed of the Danubian Principalities—Wallachia and Moldavia...
, and several times visited regions of the Southern Carpathians
Southern Carpathians
The Southern Carpathians or the Transylvanian Alps are a group of mountain ranges which divide central and southern Romania, on one side, and Serbia, on the other side. They cover part of the Carpathian Mountains that is located between the Prahova River in the east and the Timiș and Cerna Rivers...
, in particular the area of Rucăr
Rucar
Rucăr is a commune in the north-eastern part of Argeş County, Romania. At the 2002 census, the population of the commune was 6,207. It is composed of two villages, Rucăr and Sătic....
, the Bucegi Mountains
Bucegi Mountains
The Bucegi Mountains are located in central Romania, south of the city Braşov. They are part of the Southern Carpathians group of the Carpathian Mountains....
, and the Jiu Valley
Jiu Valley
The Jiu Valley is a region in southwestern Romania, in Hunedoara county, situated in a valley of the Jiu River between the Retezat Mountains and the Parâng Mountains...
. As Călinescu notes, he had bought himself a horse from a Rucăr local, on credit and without delivering the sum promised on time.
His love for the rural world, together with what Călinescu describes as a "social preoccupation", made him an outspoken opponent of the way in which the authorities handled the peasant uprising of 1907
1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt
The 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt took place in March 1907 in Moldavia and it quickly spread, reaching Wallachia. The main cause was the discontent of the peasants about the inequity of land ownership, which was in the hands of just a few large landowners....
. That year, as Mihail Dragomirescu parted with Mehedinţi to establish Convorbiri Critice, which advertised a Junimist agenda while standing against Convorbiri Literare, Cerna became one of his main collaborators. The group of Convorbiri Critice writers also included D. Nanu, Corneliu Moldovanu, Emil Gârleanu, I. Dragoslav
I. Dragoslav
I. Dragoslav or Ion Dragoslav, pen names of Ion V. Ivaciuc or Ion Sumanariu Ivanciuc , was a Romanian writer...
and Gheorghe Vâlsan. In 1908, he decided to continue his studies in the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
. The decision was influenced and encouraged by Junimea and its leader Titu Maiorescu
Titu Maiorescu
Titu Liviu Maiorescu was a Romanian literary critic and politician, founder of the Junimea Society. As a literary critic, he was instrumental in the development of Romanian culture in the second half of the 19th century....
, who, as Minister of Education granted him a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
. Călinescu describes this as a sign of late Junimist elitism
Elitism
Elitism is the belief or attitude that some individuals, who form an elite — a select group of people with intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes — are those whose views on a matter are to be taken the most seriously or carry the most...
, a view which implied that all literary men should be academics. This, he argues, was one of the few areas in which Junimea still differed from Sămănătorul, which was more open to less elitist environments.
Cerna visited the University of Heidelberg, but, following the advice of Maiorescu, decided in favor of the University of Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
, where he studied Philosophy, English
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
and German language literature (1908–1910). Around 1909, he first came into contact with the Caragiales, and, according to the dramatist's own testimony, tutored his son, the future poet Luca Caragiale
Luca Caragiale
Luca Ion Caragiale was a Romanian poet, novelist and translator, whose contributions were a synthesis of Symbolism, Parnassianism and modernist literature. His career, cut short by pneumonia, mostly produced lyric poetry with cosmopolitan characteristics, distinct preferences for neologisms and...
, providing his "scientific education". Ion Luca Caragiale described Cerna as "a distinguished scientist and a great lover of music". The two writers met a second time in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, in 1910, when Cerna declared himself captivated by Caragiale, whom he described as "one of the richest intelligent minds to have ever been produced by our nation." Two years later, Cerna enthusiastically welcomed the literary debut of Caragiale's other son, Mateiu
Mateiu Caragiale
Mateiu Ion Caragiale was a Romanian poet and prose writer, best known for his novel Craii de Curtea-Veche, which portrays the milieu of boyar descendants before and after World War I. Caragiale's style, associated with Symbolism, the Decadent movement of the fin de siècle, and early modernism, was...
.
Studies abroad and death
From late 1910 to early 1912, Cerna was at the University of LeipzigUniversity of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
, where he attended courses held by the philosophers and psychologists Wilhelm Wundt
Wilhelm Wundt
Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt was a German physician, psychologist, physiologist, philosopher, and professor, known today as one of the founding figures of modern psychology. He is widely regarded as the "father of experimental psychology"...
, Eduard Spranger
Eduard Spranger
Eduard Spranger was a German philosopher and psychologist.A student of Wilhelm Dilthey, Spranger was born in Berlin and died in Tübingen....
and Hans Volkelt. Wundt left an enduring impression on his Romanian student. In a letter home, Cerna described his modest appearance, which he claimed recalled that of "decrepit" Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
members of the Romanian Jewish community
History of the Jews in Romania
The history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory....
, adding: "But I do love this decrepit exterior beyond measure..." Volkelt guided Cerna's research in the scientific field, and coordinated his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
thesis of 1913, Die Gedankenlyrik (German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
for "Contemplative Poetry"). According to Călinescu, Cerna's work stated the primacy of "natural ideas" over reasoning, and concluded that "ideas have the purpose of signaling the problematic tensions of the soul." Zarifopol wrote that Cerna was upset over having himself parted with writing poetry, and came to be preoccupied by Maiorescu's German-language dictum: In der Poesie ist der Gedanke ein verfluchtes Ding ("An idea is a damned thing when it comes to poetry"). Panait Cerna's first volume of collected poetry was published at home in 1910, and, two years later, resulted in the author being made a co-recipient of the Romanian Academy
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 acting members who are elected for life....
's Vasile Adamachi Award. Some of his new poems were still being published by Convorbiri Literare in 1911.
Panait Cerna died in Leipzig, shortly after receiving his diploma. Zarifopol was present when Cerna succumbed, and recorded that Maiorescu's views on poetry where preoccupied his friend even on his deathbed. The poet was buried in the German city, and later exhumed for burial in Bucharest's Bellu Cemetery.
Literary contribution
Cerna was a traditionalist poet, listed by Călinescu among the contributors to Romanian literatureLiterature of Romania
Romanian literature is literature written by Romanian authors, although the term may also be used to refer to all literature written in the Romanian language.Eugène Ionesco is one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd....
whose work "steers toward Classicism
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
", as do those of Dragomirescu, Mehedinţi, Henri Sanielevici, D. Nanu, Ion Trivale, Cincinat Pavelescu, Corneliu Moldovanu, Mihail Codreanu, Alexandru Davila
Alexandru Davila
Alexandru Davila was a Romanian dramatist, diplomat, public administrator, and memoirist.-Biography:The son of Carol Davila, a distinguished military physician of French origin, and Ana Racoviţă , he studied in his native Goleşti and at V. A...
and George Murnu
George Murnu
George Murnu was a Romanian university professor, archaeologist, historian, translator, and poet of Aromanian origin....
. In this account, Cerna is one in a group of "conceptual" poets, all of whom were connected with Dragomirescu. For part of his life, Cerna was also formally committed to Symbolism
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
and the local Symbolist movement
Symbolist movement in Romania
The Symbolist movement in Romania, active during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, marked the development of Romanian culture in both literature and visual arts...
, whose aesthetic ideals he merged with his lyrical style, and sought to recover part of the Romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
legacy. He was thus known as the translator of works by Romantic poets, as well as for adopting a Messianic
Messianism
Messianism is the belief in a messiah, a savior or redeemer. Many religions have a messiah concept, including the Jewish Messiah, the Christian Christ, the Muslim Mahdi and Isa , the Buddhist Maitreya, the Hindu Kalki and the Zoroastrian Saoshyant...
and Humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
perspective on life (notably present in his poems Floare şi genune, "Flower and Chasm"; Zile de durere, "Days of Sorrow"; and Plânsetul lui Adam, "Adam's Sobbing").
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...
notes the influence exercised on Cerna and other traditionalists by Mihai Eminescu
Mihai Eminescu
Mihai Eminescu was a Romantic poet, novelist and journalist, often regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active member of the Junimea literary society and he worked as an editor for the newspaper Timpul , the official newspaper of the Conservative Party...
, Romania's major mid-19th century Classicist and Junimist poet. modernist
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
theorist Eugen Lovinescu
Eugen Lovinescu
Eugen Lovinescu was a Romanian modernist literary historian, literary critic, academic, and novelist, who in 1919 established the Sburătorul literary club. He was the father of Monica Lovinescu, and the uncle of Horia Lovinescu, Vasile Lovinescu, and Anton Holban...
also believes that the "matter in which [Cerna] worked" was largely "dominated by Eminescu." He also cautions that there is a major difference between the two: Cerna is an optimist
Optimism
The Oxford English Dictionary defines optimism as having "hopefulness and confidence about the future or successful outcome of something; a tendency to take a favourable or hopeful view." The word is originally derived from the Latin optimum, meaning "best." Being optimistic, in the typical sense...
, while Eminescu most often projected a pessimistic
Pessimism
Pessimism, from the Latin word pessimus , is a state of mind in which one perceives life negatively. Value judgments may vary dramatically between individuals, even when judgments of fact are undisputed. The most common example of this phenomenon is the "Is the glass half empty or half full?"...
attitude. According to Zarifopol, the poet considered himself an "improved follower" of Eminescu. Cerna was also a late admirer of Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, later George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, FRS , commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was a British poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement...
, a main figure of English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Romanticism, and translated from his Childe Harold. One of Cerna's poems was an epic
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
piece inspired by the Book of Genesis, where Adam confronts God. Titled Plânsetul lui Adam, it builds on themes which recalled Byron's 1821 play Cain, and constituted an interrogation of divine law
Divine law
Divine law is any law that in the opinion of believers, comes directly from the will of God . Like natural law it is independent of the will of man, who cannot change it. However it may be revealed or not, so it may change in human perception in time through new revelation...
s.
In Plânsetul lui Adam and various other pieces, Panait Cerna (called a "reflexive poet" by contemporary critic Ilarie Chendi) sought to reconcile poetry and philosophy, thus creating a hybrid form of conceptual poetry. Eugen Lovinescu proposed that, although praised by Cerna's contemporaries, this goal was "mediocre", and that the literature it produced "does not express and does not suggest profound spiritual states, but, on the contrary, it expresses by means of rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
al dialectic
Dialectic
Dialectic is a method of argument for resolving disagreement that has been central to Indic and European philosophy since antiquity. The word dialectic originated in Ancient Greece, and was made popular by Plato in the Socratic dialogues...
not only that which can be expressed, but also that which can be proven." Paul Zarifopol, who notes that Cerna particularly treasured the Classicist poets Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
, Louise-Victorine Ackermann
Louise-Victorine Ackermann
Louise-Victorine Ackermann was a French poet.She was born in Nice, but spent her younger days in more rural surroundings near Montdidier, south-east of Amiens...
and Jean-Marie Guyau
Jean-Marie Guyau
Jean-Marie Guyau was a French philosopher and poet.Guyau was inspired by, amongst others, the philosophies of Epicurus, Epictetus, Plato, Immanuel Kant, Herbert Spencer, and Alfred Fouillée, and the poetry/literature of Pierre Corneille, Victor Hugo, and Alfred de Musset.- Life :Guyau got his...
, as well as the Parnassian Sully Prudhomme
Sully Prudhomme
René François Armand Prudhomme was a French poet and essayist, winner of the first Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1901....
, recounted their disagreement when it came to Caragiale, whom Cerna enjoyed only for his power of "observation", but whom he argued lacked "concepts". For Zarifopol, this statement, made with "a fanatical and dogmatic pathos", evidenced a moment of "academic foolishness" in Cerna's career.
Călinescu, who criticizes the poet for his difficulties with the language, describes him as "not accomplished". Elaborating on this, he states: "[Cerna is] declamatory, banal and dry in his use of metaphors, although he displays a touch of the sublime here and there." Lovinescu thought many of the expressions Cerna used in his poetry to be "unacceptable", and argued that they were characterized by banality. This assessment was itself contested by Călinescu, who argued that the lyrics in questions are "actually the acceptable ones", and that the awkward wordings "are entirely lost in lyrical fluency." Among the writings forming the subject of this disagreement was Cerna's Din depărtare ("From Far Away"), which Lovinescu believed was marked by the use of repetitive and banal poetic images:
Nu ţi-am vorbit vrodată, şi pe fereşti deschise Nu ţi-am trimis buchete, stăpâna mea din vise, Ci numai de departe te-am urmărit adese, Iluminat de gânduri nespuse, ne-nţelese [...] |
I never spoke with you, and through open windows I never sent you bouquets, mistress of my dreams, But merely have been often watching you from afar, Illuminated by untold, unknown words |
The subject of unrequited love
Unrequited love
Unrequited love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such, even though reciprocation is usually deeply desired. The beloved may or may not be aware of the admirer's deep affections...
was one of the major ones in Cerna's lyric poems
Lyric poetry
Lyric poetry is a genre of poetry that expresses personal and emotional feelings. In the ancient world, lyric poems were those which were sung to the lyre. Lyric poems do not have to rhyme, and today do not need to be set to music or a beat...
and, Călinescu argues, it evoked his actual experience with women, as "the regret of not having lived through the great mystery of love." These pieces, the critic notes, point to the influence of Classicist authors such as Eminescu, Dante Aligheri, and Giacomo Leopardi
Giacomo Leopardi
Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi was an Italian poet, essayist, philosopher, and philologist...
(the latter poet had also been quoted in Cerna's Die Gedankenlyrik). One of the pieces, written from the perspective of a man who has once failed to gain the object of his affection, features the lyrics:
Cărarea mea subţire se umple de lumină, Încât mă-mpac cu viaţa-mi şi uit că-mi eşti străină. Ce vrea şi unde merge un fulger? Cui ce-i pasă!... Destul că face noaptea, o clipă, mai frumoasă. |
My thin path is being flooded in light, So that I reconcile with my life and forget you are a stranger. What does a bolt want, and where does it go? Who should even care!... It is enough that, for a moment, it makes the night more beautiful. |
While rejecting Cerna's conceptual approach, Lovinescu admired his style, for "the amplitude through which [the sentiment] is laid out in vast chimes and compact constructions of rhetorical stanzas." Such features, he concluded, surpassed "everything ever written in our country". For George Călinescu, Cerna's "euphoric thirst for life" recalled the work of Parnassian and Symbolist author Alexandru Macedonski
Alexandru Macedonski
Alexandru Macedonski was a Wallachian-born Romanian poet, novelist, dramatist and literary critic, known especially for having promoted French Symbolism in his native country, and for leading the Romanian Symbolist movement during its early decades...
, but was tempered by "the mellow anemia
Anemia
Anemia is a decrease in number of red blood cells or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. However, it can include decreased oxygen-binding ability of each hemoglobin molecule due to deformity or lack in numerical development as in some other types of hemoglobin...
of the phthisic." One of his better-known pieces from the series of love poems read:
Noi ne-am cuprins de-o flacără curată, Ce niciodată n-are să apuie - Şi nu furăm norocul nimănuie, Ci în iubire tânără, bogată, Îmbrăţişăm pământul, lumea toată. |
We were brought together by a clear flame, Which shall never damp down— And we steal luck away from no one, But in young, rich love, We embrace the Earth, the whole world. |
Cerna's protest over the violent repression of the 1907 revolt
1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt
The 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt took place in March 1907 in Moldavia and it quickly spread, reaching Wallachia. The main cause was the discontent of the peasants about the inequity of land ownership, which was in the hands of just a few large landowners....
was lyricized in several contexts. In one such indignant piece, Cerna called on Peace not to arrive until the social issue would be solved. In Zile de durere, he appeals to the Sun to wash out the blood of peasant victims:
Usucă iute câmpurile roşii, Să nu priceapă-n groapa lor strămoşii Al cui a fost - şi cine l-a vărsat. |
Be quick to dry the red fields, So that the ancestors in their graves could not grasp Whose it was—and who it was that shed it. |
Legacy
Panait Cerna's lifetime success and literary fame made him the target of adulation among his fellow traditionalists, a camp which united various Junimea affiliates and Sămănătorul contributors. According to Călinescu, this group saw him as Romania's answer to Schiller and Percy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
. Junimea saw in him one of its most important members of the early 20th century, while several historians note that he was so only because, at that stage, the literary society was declining. Mehedinţi's 1914 account of the Junimist promotion of the "original manifestations of Romanian culture" listed Cerna alongside Alexandru G. Florescu and other minor writers. Literary historian Z. Ornea argues that this evidenced not just a decline in standards, but also Mehedinţi's "tastelessness". Also according to Ornea, the association with Dragomirescu was also characteristic for the Junimist twilight, given that this circle had failed to impose "a new literary direction", and was tributary to the legacy of various traditionalist groups. At the same time, both Dragomirescu and his disciple Ion Trivale upheld him as a model to follow, equating him with the mid-19th century Classicist Grigore Alexandrescu
Grigore Alexandrescu
Grigore Alexandrescu in Bucharest was a nineteenth century Romanian poet and translator noted for his fables with political undertones.Of a noble family, he participated in secret revolutionary societies...
. Zarifopol deplores Cerna's submission to traditionalist and Classicist goals, arguing that it eventually ruined Cerna as a poet and made him unhappy.
The poet's adoption of a mainstream approach to poetry also pleased his public, and, Călinescu notes, schoolbooks of the day celebrated him as a Romanian classic while completely ignoring more controversial Symbolists
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
such as Macedonski and Dimitrie Anghel
Dimitrie Anghel
Dimitrie Anghel was a Romanian poet.His first poem was published in Contemporanul...
. His contributions have helped shaped the style of 20th century poets with traditionalist tendencies from different schools. Among them are the socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
Alexandru Toma
Alexandru Toma
Alexandru Toma was a Romanian poet, journalist and translator, known for his communist views and his role in introducing Socialist Realism and Stalinism to Romanian literature...
, later known as an official poet of Communist Romania
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
, and Sămănătorul 's Ion Sân-Giorgiu
Ion Sân-Giorgiu
Ion Sân-Giorgiu was a Romanian modernist poet, dramatist, essayist, literary and art critic, also known as a journalist, academic, and fascist politician. He was notably the author of works on the Sturm und Drang phenomenon and the influence of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
, whose career later took him through an Expressionist
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
stage and eventually to 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...
politics. Demostene Botez, another author to have been influenced by Cerna's style, dedicated his mentor a poem which read:
Un gigant ai fost pe-o lume plină numai cu pitici, Un luceafăr singuratic între-atâţia licurici. |
A giant you have been in a world filled only with dwarfs, A lonely evening star among so many fire flies. |
In his essay Din registrul ideilor gingaşe ("From the Register of Gentle Ideas"), where he satirizes the Romanian public's reception of literature, Zarifopol looks into the problems faced by Cerna in satisfying his readers. Using one of Cerna's own accounts as the basis for this analysis, he notes that a group of his young "female admirers" where unpleasantly surprised to find out that their idol was "short, pudgy, wide-necked and ruddy-faced." He writes: "the girls [...] were thus in full agreement with the philosophical tradition which, since the old days, has set as a supreme ideal a mosaic of perfections that is naive and unlikely."
Like Lovinescu, other advocates of modernist literature
Modernist literature
Modernist literature is sub-genre of Modernism, a predominantly European movement beginning in the early 20th century that was characterized by a self-conscious break with traditional aesthetic forms...
rejected most of Cerna's contributions. One of the first to have done so is Ovid Densusianu
Ovid Densusianu
Ovid Densusianu was a Romanian poet, philologist, linguist and folklorist. He is known for introducing new trends of European modernism into Romanian literature.He was a professor at the University of Bucharest, and a member of the Romanian Academy....
, who stated his belief that an artist's work should be separated from his life. Lovinescu, who commented on Densusianu and his thoughts on Cerna, opined that Densusianu had a tendency to reject all poets who registered popular success, and that he treated Dimitrie Anghel's work in much the same way.
The poet's house in Cerna is presently a museum, dedicated in part to his memory, and also housing a permanent exhibit dedicated to the traditional arts and crafts of Tulcea County
Tulcea County
Tulcea is a county of Romania, in the historical region Dobruja, with the capital city at Tulcea.-Demographics:In 2002, Tulcea County had a population of 256,492...
. It also features a bust of the poet. The county library in Tulcea
Tulcea
Tulcea is a city in Dobrogea, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea county, and has a population of 92,379 as of 2007. One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city.- History :...
city is named after him, as are a high school in Brăila
Braila
Brăila is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County, in the close vicinity of Galaţi.According to the 2002 Romanian census there were 216,292 people living within the city of Brăila, making it the 10th most populous city in Romania.-History:A...
and streets in Bucharest, Brăila, Bistriţa
Bistrita
Bistrița is the capital city of Bistriţa-Năsăud County, Transylvania, Romania. It is situated on the Bistriţa River. The city has a population of approximately 80,000 inhabitants, and it administers six villages: Ghinda, Sărata, Sigmir, Slătiniţa, Unirea and Viişoara.-History:The earliest sign of...
, Hunedoara
Hunedoara
Hunedoara is a city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in southeastern Transylvania near the Poiana Ruscă Mountains, and administers five villages: Boş, Groş, Hăşdat, Peştişu Mare and Răcăştia....
, Lugoj and Petroşani
Petrosani
Petroşani is a city in Hunedoara County, Romania, with a population of 45,447 .-History:The city of Petroşani was founded in the 17th century...
. The local authorities in Tulcea County organize an annual Panait Cerna National Poetry and Essay Contest.