Poetry
La fântâna Castaliei
Not translated into English
Nicolae Davidescu · 1910
Synopsis
The author's first book of poems, pieces chiselled with Parnassian elegance, according to Jurnalul and Jurnal FM. They readily strike macabre poses and cultivate morbid themes, which the author himself later acknowledged to be a pose rather than a torment. The title refers to the Castalian spring at Delphi. Alina Oltean hears in this poetry a refined sonority, close to the Parnassians, serving themes of classical make.
Context
The author had made his debut in 1906 in the newspaper Prezentul, then published in Viața Nouă; the collection appeared in 1910. It was followed in 1912 by a symbolist exercise in prose, then by Inscripții in 1916, marked by Baudelaire according to Britannica, and his work then turned towards Cântecul omului, a cycle on the history of civilisations written on the model of La Légende des siècles. After the war, his work was withdrawn from circulation and returned only cautiously, towards the end of the sixties, according to Alina Oltean.
Who it is for
Short pieces of careful form and sombre mood, in Romanian; no known French translation.
Prizes and reception
According to Jurnalul, Paul Cernat sees in it what is probably its author's best collection of verse.
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The pages consulted to check this page.