- Radu Gyr
Radu Gyr (
pen name of Radu Demetrescu;March 2 1905 , Câmpulung-Muscel –29 April 1975 ,Bucharest ) was aRomania n poet, essayist, playwright and journalist.Gyr was the son of actor Coco Dumitrescu, from
Craiova . He did his secondary studies at theCarol I High School in Craiova. He then studied at theUniversity of Bucharest , where he received his Ph.D. in Literature and became a Senior Lecturer. He joined theIron Guard legionnaire movement, becoming in time a local commander.Gyr received numerous awards for his writings. During the National Legionary Government he was appointed General Manager of the Romanian Theaters. Under his administration the Baraşeum Jewish Theater (later State Jewish Theater) was founded (although it was not allowed to operate until after the January 1941 fall of the Legionary Government).
In prison
He was imprisoned for 20 years and he was never completely rehabilitated as a writer. His first years as a
political prisoner began as soon as the Iron Guard lost their battle withIon Antonescu . After spending time in prison, Radu Gyr was sent to fight on the Eastern Front, a form of punishment which was reserved for former Legionnaires.In 1958 he was sentenced to death by the Communist authorities because of his subversive poem "Ridică-te Gheorghe, ridică-te Ioane!" ("Arise Gheorghe, Arise Ioan!"). The poem had asked for peasants to oppose in every way the regime's agricultural policies: it had been issued as the last wave of brutal collectivization was taking hold of the rural landscape.
His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, but he served only a few years, dying soon after his release.
Forced collaboration
After his release from prison in 1963 he was constantly tailed and threatened by the feared Romanian secret police, the
Securitate . He was forced to collaborate, likeNichifor Crainic , to "Glasul Patriei" (The Voice of the Motherland) -later called "Tribuna României"- a newspaper published by the Securitate targeting exiled Romanians abroad. It is believed that both Gyr and Crainic were forced to be Securitate informers during this period.Published works
*"Plânge Strâmbă-Lemne" (roughly: "The Wood Bender Crieth"; 1927)
*"Cerbul de lumină" ("A Deer of Light"; 1928)
*"Stele pentru leagăn" ("Stars for the Cradle"; 1936)
*"Cununi uscate" ("Dried-up Wreaths"; 1938)
*"Corabia cu tufănici" ("The Ship of Chrysanthemums"; 1939)
*"Poeme de război" ("War Poems"; 1942)
*"Balade" ("Ballads"; 1943) - as well as a series of lyricised tales.External links
*ro icon [http://www.radugyr.ro Website dedicated to Radu Gyr]
*ro icon [http://www.romanianvoice.com/poezii/poeti/gyr.php Poems by Radu Gyr]
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