Traian Rafael Radu Demetrescu | |
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Born |
Craiova, Principality of Romania |
December 5, 1866
Died | April 9, 1896 Solca, Austria-Hungary |
(aged 29)
Pen name | Tradem |
Occupation | poet, journalist, novelist, short story writer, translator |
Nationality | Romanian |
Period | 1884–1896 |
Genre | lyric poetry, psychological novel, short story, novella, memoir |
Subject | literary criticism, social criticism, theater criticism |
Literary movement | Impressionism, Naturalism, Realism, Symbolism |
Traian Rafael Radu Demetrescu (Romanian pronunciation: [traˈjan rafaˈel ˈradu demeˈtresku]; also known under his pen name Tradem or, occasionally, as Traian Demetrescu-Tradem; December 5, 1866 – April 17, 1896) was a Romanian poet, novelist and literary critic, considered one of the first symbolist authors in local literature. Influenced by French writers such as François Coppée and the Decadent Maurice Rollinat, as well as by the local poet Mihai Eminescu, he was made popular by his poems, many of which served as the basis of popular romanzas. Receptive to impressionism and naturalism, he wrote a number of psychological novels and several short stories, some of which are remembered for their melancholic and occasionally macabre themes.
Also noted for his socialist convictions and his contributions as a journalist, Demetrescu advocated an original view of literature, which, despite placing emphasis on progressivism, was distinct from the Marxist views of his contemporaries Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea and Constantin Mille. A friend and associate of the influential poet Alexandru Macedonski, he played a minor part in a lengthy polemic with the conservative literary society Junimea, and authored a series of essays and memoirs documenting the Romanian intellectual environment.