Mihai Codreanu (; July 25, 1876 – October 23, 1957) was a Romanian poet, particularly noted for his sonnets. A native and lifelong resident of Iași, he published his first volume of verse in 1901, followed by another two years later that solidified his reputation. Aside from another book of sonnets in 1914 and two during the 1920s, he authored three highly successful translations of French plays. He also edited a series of newspapers and wrote widely for an array of literary reviews. Attracted to the stage from early on, he led and reformed the main theatre in his city for several years after World War I, and during the 1930s presided over the arts school in Iași. Beginning in 1905, he developed an eye disease that soon left him unable to read or write, tasks that he accomplished through intermediaries.
Biography
Origins and education
He was born in Iași. His father Mihail Costache Codreanu, a native of Târgu Ocna, was a judge and a Latin teacher at the National College who died of tuberculosis in September 1877. His mother Natalia was born in 1843 to Dimitrie Mânzariu, who later changed the family name to Mârzescu; she worked as an inspector at a maternity hospital. Her brother was Gheorghe Mârzescu, while Mihai's first cousin was Gheorghe Gh. Mârzescu.
He attended secondary school from 1887 to 1894 in Iași, Bacău and Bucharest, and probably moved around schools due to poor conduct. Codreanu's poetic debut came in Lumea ilustrată magazine in 1891. From 1896 to 1900 he studied at the law faculty of the University of Iași, also taking courses in medicine, philosophy and philology. His thesis focused on the patria potestas in Roman and Romanian law. He studied declamation at the Iași Conservatory from 1897 to 1899. In the summer of 1899, after graduation but before receiving his diploma, he attended a theatrical performance by State Dragomir, and began whistling to express his disapproval. An outraged Dragomir demanded punishment; the school's leadership met to discuss its options, and resumed its investigation in autumn. Finally, the Education Ministry decided to withhold his diploma for two years.
Poetic debut and rising reputation
Codreanu took private lessons in dramatic arts with Eugène Silvain at Paris in 1900. While there, he saw a performance of Cyrano de Bergerac and decided to write a translation after receiving written permission from Edmond Rostand. Work on the project went slowly, but he published it in 1920 to great enthusiasm in the cultural milieu; the play premiered in Iași in 1928. Other translations, which sold widely, include Jean Richepin's La Martyre (1901) and Rostand's La Princesse lointaine (1903). Both translations were successfully staged for many years at the Iași National Theatre. In spite of an adolescence spent dreaming of an actor's career, Codreanu's only role on stage came in 1912, when he appeared in his translation of La Martyre.
His first volume of poetry, Diafane ("Diaphanous Forms"), was published in 1901. He convinced Titu Maiorescu to write a preface for the Charles Baudelaire- and Mihail Eminescu-influenced verses. The resultant piece suggested that the young poet drop the imitation of Baudelaire and focus instead on Eminescu's style, which prompted Codreanu to drop the preface entirely. The contemporary press praised his uncluttered style and the classical beauty of his verses.
Din când în când ("From Time to Time") was published in 1903; and when reviewing this work, critics began to regard him as an authentic poet rather than a novice. The volume, initially published at Iași, appeared two years later as part of the prestigious Bucharest-based Biblioteca pentru toți. In 1905, he developed an incurable and hereditary eye disease that prevented him from reading and writing for the rest of his life; the sonnets that form his legacy were thought up and memorized, before he dictated them in final form. He wore dark glasses and often leaned on friends' shoulders when he walked; the disease progressed gradually, so that colors and light slowly disappeared and he was almost entirely blind in old age. He also lost his abundant hair early and took to wearing theatrical wigs. Later, the baldness was somewhat reversed, but as the newer hair was not as rich as the wigs, he invariably appeared in a beret. In 1914, he published Statui ("Statues"), a collection of 99 sonnets, several of which he had composed for the dedication ceremonies of statues in his city. The work was hugely successful, garnering praise from Tudor Arghezi, Eugen Lovinescu and Gala Galaction, as well as from his friends Garabet Ibrăileanu and Octav Botez, although Izabela Sadoveanu-Evan was dismissive.
