Panait Cerna | |
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| Born | Panayot Stanchov or Panait Stanciov August or September 1881 Cerna,Romania |
| Died | March 26, 1913(1913-03-26) (aged 31) Leipzig |
| Pen name | Panait Cerna |
| Occupation | poet, philosopher, literary critic, translator, journalist |
| Period | 1897–1913 |
| Genre | lyric poetry,epic poetry,essay |
| Literary movement | classicism,neoclassicism,symbolism,Junimea,Sămănătorul |
Panait Cerna (Romanian pronunciation:[panaˈitˈt͡ʃerna];Bulgarian: Панайот Черна,Panayot Cherna, bornPanayot Stanchov orPanait Staciov; August 26 or September 25, 1881[1] – March 26, 1913) was aRomanian poet, philosopher, literary critic and translator. A native speaker of Bulgarian, Cerna nonetheless wrote inRomanian, and developed a traditionalist style which was connected withclassicism andneoclassicism. Praised by theconservative literary societyJunimea, he was promoted by its leaderTitu Maiorescu, as well as by Maiorescu's disciplesMihail Dragomirescu andSimion Mehedinţi. Cerna became the group's main representative during its decline, contributing to both major Junimist magazines,Convorbiri Literare andConvorbiri Critice. He also contributed pieces to the traditionalist magazineSămănătorul, and was briefly affiliated with other literary journals.
A graduate of theUniversity of Bucharest, Cerna completed his studies in theGerman Empire. There, he attended theUniversity of Berlin and theUniversity of Leipzig, befriending the self-exiled Romanian dramatistIon Luca Caragiale and the literary criticPaul Zarifopol. Cerna died inLeipzig at the age of thirty-one, after a long battle withtuberculosis.
Along with various love poems, Panait Cerna's writings also evince his intellectual pursuits. This intellectual characteristic earned him a dedicated following, but was criticized by many of his peers, who found it artificial and outdated.
Cerna's early name, rendered in Bulgarian as Панайот Станчов, was commonlytransliterated into Romanian asPanait Stanciov,Stancov,Stanciof orStancioff. The poet's preferred name alluded toCerna, his birthplace inTulcea County,Northern Dobruja.[2]
Panait Cerna's father was anethnic Bulgarian schoolteacher, also named Panayot Stachov (Panait Stanciov).[2] He settled in Cerna and married Maria Taşcu. The daughter of local peasants,[2] she was ofAromanian[3] or of Bulgarian origin.[4] Shortly before Maria gave birth to their son, Romanian administration began taking over in previouslyOttoman-ruled Northern Dobruja. Stanchov, who was a Bulgariannationalist, refused to accept this change and left for thePrincipality of Bulgaria, leaving his family behind. Consequently, Cerna never met his father.[2][3] By Cerna's own account, his childhood was 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."[3]
Although his links toBulgarian culture were weakened by his father's departure, Cerna, who was baptized in theBulgarian Greek Catholic Church, became fluent in Bulgarian.[2] According to literary criticGeorge Călinescu, he always had some difficulties conversing in Romanian, but could write it with ease.[5]
After completing primary school in his native village, he graduated froma high school in theDanube port ofBrăila, then enrolled at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy inBucharest.[2][3] He was also attending lectures at the Faculty of Chemistry and Physics.[3] Cerna debuted as a poet in 1897, at the age of sixteen, when hisTrecutul ("The Past")—an adaptation of a piece byNikolaus Lenau—was published inGeorge Coşbuc'sFoaia Interesantă magazine.[3][6] His first original poem,Orientale ("Orientals"), saw print two years later in the magazineCarmen.[3]
Soon after reaching the capital, Cerna became involved in political debates and the literary environment. These early activities are recorded in a 1904 series of articles in the student paperTipuri şi Ticuri, where aP. Stanciov is the object ofsatire.[2] By that time, he was discovered byJunimea, and began collaborating withConvorbiri Literare, a magazine led bySimion Mehedinţi.[7] After 1903, Cerna contributed toSămănătorul,[3][8] and his poems also appeared sporadically in other publications, includingFloare Albastră andRevista Modernă.[3]
Despite ongoing financial difficulties, Cerna graduated from university in 1906.[2][3][6] His thesis was passed with amagna cum laude qualifier.[3] He was by then seriously ill with tuberculosis, and sought a change in climate.[9] Cerna spent much of this period traveling through theOld Kingdom, and several times visited regions of theSouthern Carpathians, in particular the area ofRucăr, theBucegi Mountains, and theJiu Valley.[9] As Călinescu notes, he had bought himself a horse from a Rucăr local on credit, and failed to deliver the promised sum on time.[9]
Cerna's love of rural life, together with what Călinescu describes as a "social preoccupation", made him an outspoken opponent of the way in which the authorities handled thepeasant uprising of 1907.[9] That year, asMihail Dragomirescu parted with Mehedinţi to establishConvorbiri Critice, which advertised aJunimist agenda while standing againstConvorbiri Literare, Cerna became one of his main collaborators.[10] The group ofConvorbiri Critice writers also includedD. Nanu,Corneliu Moldovanu,Emil Gârleanu,I. Dragoslav andGheorghe Vâlsan.[11] In 1908, he decided to continue his studies in theGerman Empire.[12] The decision was influenced and encouraged byJunimea and its leaderTitu Maiorescu,[13] who, asMinister of Education granted him ascholarship.[3] Călinescu describes this as a sign of lateJunimistelitism, a view which implied that all literary men should be academics.[14] This, he argues, was one of the few areas in whichJunimea still differed fromSămănătorul, which was more open to less elitist environments.[14]
Cerna visited theUniversity of Heidelberg, but, following the advice of Maiorescu, decided in favor of theUniversity of Berlin, where he studied Philosophy,English andGerman language literature (1908–1910).[2] Around 1909, he first came into contact with the Caragiales, and, according to the dramatist's own testimony, tutored his son, the future poetLuca Caragiale, providing his "scientific education".[2] Ion Luca Caragiale described Cerna as "a distinguished scientist and a great lover of music".[2] The two writers met a second time inLeipzig, 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."[2] Two years later, Cerna enthusiastically welcomed the literary debut of Caragiale's other son,Mateiu.[15]
From late 1910 to early 1912, Cerna was at theUniversity of Leipzig, where he attended courses held by the philosophers and psychologistsWilhelm Wundt,Eduard Spranger andHans Volkelt.[5] 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 theRomanian Jewish community, adding: "But I do love this decrepit exterior beyond measure ..."[9] Volkelt guided Cerna's research in the scientific field, and coordinated hisPhD thesis of 1913,Die Gedankenlyrik (German for "Contemplative Poetry").[2] According to Călinescu, Cerna's work stated the primacy of "natural ideas" overreasoning, and concluded that "ideas have the purpose of signaling the problematic tensions of the soul."[2] 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").[16] 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 theRomanian Academy'sVasile Adamachi Award.[3] Some of his new poems were still being published byConvorbiri Literare in 1911.[17]
Panait Cerna died in Leipzig, shortly after receiving his diploma.[3][9][16] Zarifopol was present when Cerna succumbed, and recorded that Maiorescu's views on poetry where preoccupied his friend even on his deathbed.[16] The poet was buried in the German city, and later exhumed for burial in Bucharest'sBellu Cemetery.[3]
Cerna was a traditionalist poet, listed by Călinescu among the contributors toRomanian literature whose work "steers towardclassicism", as do those of Dragomirescu, Mehedinţi,Henri Sanielevici,D. Nanu,Ion Trivale,Cincinat Pavelescu,Corneliu Moldovanu,Mihail Codreanu,Alexandru Davila andGeorge Murnu.[18] In this account, Cerna is one in a group of "conceptual" poets, all of whom were connected with Dragomirescu.[19] For part of his life, Cerna was also formally committed toSymbolism and thelocal Symbolist movement, whose aesthetic ideals he merged with his lyrical style, and sought to recover part of theRomantic legacy.[6] He was thus known as the translator of works by Romantic poets, as well as for adopting aMessianic andHumanist perspective on life (notably present in his poemsFloare şi genune, "Flower and Chasm";Zile de durere, "Days of Sorrow"; andPlânsetul lui Adam, "Adam's Sobbing").[6][20]
Literary historianTudor Vianu notes the influence exercised on Cerna and other traditionalists byMihai Eminescu, Romania's major mid-19th-century classicist andJunimist poet.[21]Modernist theoristEugen Lovinescu also believes that the "matter in which [Cerna] worked" was largely "dominated by Eminescu."[20] He also cautions that there is a major difference between the two: Cerna is anoptimist, while Eminescu most often projected apessimistic attitude.[22] According to Zarifopol, the poet considered himself an "improved follower" of Eminescu.[23] Cerna was also a late admirer ofLord Byron, a main figure ofEnglish Romanticism, and translated from hisChilde Harold.[24] One of Cerna's poems was anepic piece inspired by theBook of Genesis, where Adam confronts God. TitledPlânsetul lui Adam, it builds on themes which recalled Byron's 1821 playCain, and constituted an interrogation ofdivine laws.[24]
InPlânsetul lui Adam and various other pieces, Panait Cerna (called a "reflexive poet" by contemporary criticIlarie Chendi)[17] 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 ofrhetoricaldialectic not only that which can be expressed, but also that which can be proven."[20] Paul Zarifopol, who notes that Cerna particularly treasured the classicist poetsFriedrich Schiller,Louise-Victorine Ackermann andJean-Marie Guyau, as well as theParnassianSully Prudhomme,[16] recounted their disagreement when it came to Caragiale, whom Cerna enjoyed only for his power of "observation", but whom he argued lacked "concepts".[23] For Zarifopol, this statement, made with "a fanatical and dogmatic pathos", evidenced a moment of "academic foolishness" in Cerna's career.[23]
Călinescu, who criticizes the poet for his difficulties with the language, describes him as "not accomplished".[9] 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."[9] Lovinescu thought many of the expressions Cerna used in his poetry to be "unacceptable", and argued that they were characterized by banality.[25] 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."[26] Among the writings forming the subject of this disagreement was Cerna'sDin 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 | I never spoke with you, and through open windows |
The subject ofunrequited love was one of the major ones in Cerna'slyric poems and, Călinescu argues, it evoked his actual experience with women, as "the regret of not having lived through the great mystery of love."[9] These pieces, the critic notes, point to the influence of classicist authors such as Eminescu,Dante Aligheri, andGiacomo Leopardi (the latter poet had also been quoted in Cerna'sDie Gedankenlyrik).[9] 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, | My thin path is being flooded in light, |
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."[22] Such features, he concluded, surpassed "everything ever written in our country".[22] For George Călinescu, Cerna's "euphoric thirst for life" recalled the work of Parnassian and Symbolist authorAlexandru Macedonski, but was tempered by "the mellowanemia of the phthisic."[9] One of his better-known pieces from the series of love poems read:
Noi ne-am cuprins de-o flacără curată, | We were brought together by a clear flame, |
Cerna's protest over the violent repression of the1907 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.[9] InZile de durere, he appeals to the Sun to wash out the blood of peasant victims:
Usucă iute câmpurile roşii, | Be quick to dry the red fields, |
Panait Cerna's lifetime success and literary fame made him the target of adulation among his fellow traditionalists, a camp which united variousJunimea affiliates andSămănătorul contributors. According to Călinescu, this group saw him as Romania's answer to Schiller andPercy Bysshe Shelley.[9]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.[7] Mehedinţi's 1914 account of theJunimist promotion of the "original manifestations of Romanian culture" listed Cerna alongsideAlexandru G. Florescu and other minor writers.[27] Literary historianZ. Ornea argues that this evidenced not just a decline in standards, but also Mehedinţi's "tastelessness".[27] Also according to Ornea, the association with Dragomirescu was also characteristic for theJunimist twilight, given that this circle had failed to impose "a new literary direction", and was tributary to the legacy of various traditionalist groups.[11] At the same time, both Dragomirescu and his discipleIon Trivale upheld him as a model to follow, equating him with the mid-19th century classicistGrigore Alexandrescu.[28] Zarifopol deplores Cerna's submission to traditionalist and classicist goals, arguing that it eventually ruined Cerna as a poet and made him unhappy.[16]
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 controversialSymbolists such as Macedonski andDimitrie Anghel.[9] His contributions have helped shaped the style of 20th-century poets with traditionalist tendencies from different schools. Among them are thesocialistAlexandru Toma,[29] later known as an official poet ofCommunist Romania, andSămănătorul'sIon Sân-Giorgiu,[30] whose career later took him through anExpressionist stage and eventually tofascist 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, | A giant you have been in a world filled only with dwarfs, |
In his essayDin 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."[31] 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."[31]
Like Lovinescu, other advocates ofmodernist literature rejected most of Cerna's contributions. One of the first to have done so isOvid 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.[32]
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 ofTulcea County.[3][33] It also features a bust of the poet.[33] The county library inTulcea city is named after him,[3][34] as are a high school inBrăila[35] and streets in Bucharest, Brăila,Bistriţa,Hunedoara,Lugoj andPetroşani. The local authorities in Tulcea County organize an annual Panait Cerna National Poetry and Essay Contest.[3]
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