| Ion V. Ivaciuc Ion Sumanariu Ivanciuc |
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| Born | June 14, 1875 Fălticeni |
| Died | May 5, 1928 (aged 52) Fălticeni |
| Pen name | I. Dragoslav, Ion Dragoslav |
| Occupation | short story writer, poet, journalist |
| Nationality | Romanian |
| Period | 1890-1954 |
| Genres | children's literature, fantasy, lyric poetry, memoir, novella |
| Literary movement | Sămănătorul, Covorbiri Critice, Sburătorul |
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Influences
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I. Dragoslav or Ion Dragoslav, pen names of Ion V. Ivaciuc[1] or Ion Sumanariu Ivanciuc[2] (June 14, 1875 – May 5, 1928), was a Romanian writer. His presence on the local literary scene meant successive affiliations with various competing venues: having debuted with the traditionalist and nationalist magazine Sămănătorul, he later connected the eclectically conservative Convorbiri Critice group of Mihail Dragomirescu with the Romanian Symbolist movement leaders Alexandru Macedonski and Ion Minulescu, before moving close to the modernist trend of Eugen Lovinescu and his Sburătorul.
Noted for his contributions to fantasy, children's literature and memoir, Dragoslav defied inclusion in the genres illustrated by his public commitments. His work, often described as picturesque but mediocre, is primarily indebted to Ion Creangă, through him, to folkloric tradition.
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A native of Fălticeni to a peasant family,[2] Ivaciuc-Dragoslav completed his secondary studies in the city, where he was in the same class as future writers Lovinescu and Mihail Sadoveanu.[3] Largely an autodidact, he made his debut in writing in 1903, when his contribution was hosted by the leading traditionalist venue, Sămănătorul.[1] That same year, he published his first volumes, the lyric poetry collection Pe drumul pribegiei ("On the Path of Wanderers"), followed by the short story volumes Facerea lumiii ("The Origin of the World") and La han la Trei ulcele ("At the Three Pitcher Inn").[1] He is known to have been studying Letters and Law at the University of Bucharest during 1904.[4]
I. Dragoslav's debut made an impression on the two rival critics Mihail Dragomirescu and Macedonski alike.[1] As he himself recalled in a 1920 article, he found an early mentor in Macedonski, who guided his early literary career and provided him with advice upon their first meeting in Bucharest.[5] Also before 1910, Dragoslav began contributing to Covorbiri Critice magazine and attending its club, which Dragomirescu was hosting at his Bucharest home.[6] Previously a follower of the conservative literary society Junimea, Dragomirescu's had been directing his efforts toward assembling together some of his former colleagues and former members of the traditionalist and Neo-romantic groups formed around venues such as Făt Frumos (Emil Gârleanu, Anastasie Mândru, Corneliu Moldovanu and D. Nanu among them), while also reaching out to writers with various commitments—Panait Cerna, Gheorghe Vâlsan and Dragoslav himself.[7] In addition to these authors, people who frequented Dragomirescu's circle before its 1910 disestablishment included Symbolist figures (Minulescu, Dimitrie Anghel, Al. T. Stamatiad) or writers of various other orientations (Cincinat Pavelescu, Liviu Rebreanu), joined by visual artists Iosif Iser, Costin Petrescu and George Talaz.[6] The eclectic circle became a post-Junimist venue and a center of opposition to Sămănătorul, but, according to literary historian Z. Ornea, failed to impose the "new literary school" imagined by Dragomirescu.[7]
The writer was still living mostly in Fălticeni, where, according to literary historian George Călinescu, he lived the life of a bohemian and treasured the drinking culture, profiting from the fact that a relative of his was a tavern owner.[2] The writer was a regular presence at the pub La Plosca Verde ("At the Green Wineskin") in Iaşi.[8] Călinescu also notes that, although he boasted a rustic lifestyle, Dragoslav owned a house "far from being a miserable mud hut", and was the owner of ducks, geese and pigs.[2] He recounts Dragoslav's frequent trips outside his town "with a giant satchel of manuscripts" and his addresses to fellow writers as măi frate-miu (Romanian for "brother o' mine").[2]
Dragoslav pursued a diverse activity in the literary press, and also published his work in, among others, Făt Frumos, Flacăra, Luceafărul, Ramuri, Universul daily and Viaţa Literară.[1] In 1909, he also joined the Romanian Writers' Society, a professional association founded by Anghel, Gârleanu and Pavelescu in 1908.[9] For a while in 1912, he was also affiliated with the Symbolist and modernist venue Insula, edited by Ion Minulescu. According to critic Paul Cernat, Dragoslav was by then "a dissident Sămănătorist", and, with Constant Beldie, the only person from the Insula group not to have been a Symbolist.[10] That same year, the writer was among those who welcomed Macedonski back from his extended trip to France (itself caused by literary scandals).[11] He viewed the event as an opportunity for restoring Macedonski's prestige, and, in a Rampa article, stated: " 'Macedonski has arrived'; this word is on everyone's lips and sounds as if the man has risen from the dead."[12] Together with Stamatiad and Mândru, Dragoslav was instrumental in bridging the gap between Macedonski's Literatorul and Convorbiri Literare, successfully urging Dragomirescu to give his colleague a positive review.[13]
His volumes followed each other in quick succession: Fata popii ("The Priest's Daughter") and Povestea copilăriei ("The Tale of Childhood") in 1909; Novele ("Novellas") and Povestiri alese ("Selected Stories") in 1910; Flori şi poveşti ("Flowers and Stories") in 1911; Volintirii ("The Volunteers") and Împăratul Rogojină ("Emperor Doormat") in 1912; Poveşti de sărbători ("Holiday Stories") in 1913; Poveşti de Crăciun ("Christmas Stories"), in 1914.[1] Several of these books saw print in Orăştie, a town then outside the Kingdom of Romania, in Austro-Hungarian-ruled Transylvania.[1] At an early stage of World War I, when Romania had not yet joined up with the Entente, Dragoslav affiliated with Libertatea, a gazette put out by the controversial agitator and Symbolist poet Alexandru Bogdan-Piteşti, which campaigned in favor of the Central Powers and was reportedly financed by the German Empire.[14] However, as the Central Powers occupied the Romanian south and the Romanian front drew close to Fălticeni, Dragoslav reportedly spend much time at the local high school, reading to wounded soldiers.[15]
During the early interwar period, Dragoslav affiliated with Eugen Lovinescu's Sburătorul modernist club.[1] By the 1920s, he had fallen severely ill with a disease of the liver, argued by Călinescu to have been the result of binge drinking.[2] He was hospitalized for ascites, and his peritoneal cavity was drained of over 6 liters of bodily fluid.[2] He was again hospitalized at the Colţea Hospital, in the care of physician Ioan Nanu-Musceleanu,[2] but died soon afterward in Fălticeni.[1]
Critics have traditionally described Dragoslav's stories as picturesque works evidencing some talent, but overall mediocre.[1][2] His prose is thought to have been heavily influenced by Ion Creangă, a celebrated late 19th century raconteur, who, like Dragoslav, borrowed inspiration from rural culture and Romanian folklore.[1][2] The impact of other works on Dragoslav's work was reviewed with severity by Călinescu, who concluded that the object of his criticism was "far from being a writer."[2] Including Dragoslav's work among an "eclectic" tendency, he rejected most of it as "garrulous" and "adulterous" versions from themes provided by other authors, and called the memoir Povestea copilăriei a "disgraceful pastiche" of Creangă's Childhood Memories.[2]
Some of Dragoslav's other works focus on a number of narrative motifs. Călinescu deemed Facerea lumii, Dragoslav's main work in the fantasy genre, a "sort of glib fairy tale."[2] The story is structured on a biblical model (the Book of Genesis), and introduced by the words: "In the beginning of beginnings there was darkness, there was no light, there was no time".[2] With La han la Trei ulcele, the author illustrated the pretext of protagonists meeting in inns, a common theme in 19th and 20th century Romanian literature (also used by Nicolae N. Beldiceanu, Ioan Alexandru Brătescu-Voineşti, Ion Luca Caragiale, Mihail Sadoveanu, Constantin Sandu-Aldea and Ioan Slavici).[16]
Assessments of Dragoslav's literary work divided the literary circles he frequented. An especially supportive voice among literary promoters was that of Mihail Dragomirescu: he described Dragoslav as a new Creangă,[2] and found some of his works to be masterpieces—an enthusiasm which Ornea attributes solely to the imperative need of finding distinctive works to impose as a new aesthetic guideline.[7] Although himself affiliated with Covorbiri Critice, literary reviewer Ion Trivale commented: "What is the baggage of Dragoslav the short story writer? Sheer poverty, as far as the artistic sphere is concerned."[17] Nevertheless, Călinescu saw one of Trivale's major mistakes as being his "excessive leniency" for both Dragoslav and comediographer Alexandru Cazaban.[18]
Dragoslav was identified by Călinescu as the main source of inspiration for Pitarcă, a secondary character in Mihail Sorbul's novel Mângâierile panterei ("The Panther's Caresses").[19] His appearance is also recorded in a portrait drawn by Iosif Iser.[10]