Grigore Vieru
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| Grigore Vieru | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 February 1935 Pererîta, Hotin County, Kingdom of Romania (today Briceni district, Moldova) |
| Died | 18 January 2009 (aged 73) Chişinău, Moldova |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Spouse(s) | Raisa Vieru (m. 1957–2009) |
Grigore Vieru (February 14, 1935 – January 18, 2009) was a Romanian poet and writer from Moldova. He is mostly known for his poems and books for children. His poetry is characterized by vivid natural scenery, patriotism, as well as a venerated image of the sacred mother. Vieru was one of the major writers in contemporary Romanian literature.
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[edit] Early life
He was born in 1935 in Pererîta village, Hotin County, at the time, part of Romania (today part of Briceni district, Moldova). His parents, Pavel and Eudochia Vieru (née Didic) were engaged in farming.
[edit] Personal life
Vieru was married to Raisa Vieru since 1959; they had two sons, Teodor and Călin.
[edit] Creative work
His first publishing debut was in 1957, a booklet of poems for children. The following year, Vieru graduated from the Ion Creangă Pedagogical State University in Chişinău with a degree in history and philology. In 1959, he became editor at the Nistru magazine, published by the Writers' Union of Moldova. From 1960 to 1963, he served as editor in chief of the "Cartea Moldovenească" publishing house.
In 1967, Vieru's book "Poetry for readers of all ages" (published in 1965) was awarded the Moldavian Prize for Youth Literature. The following year, his book "Your name" became part of the contemporary literature curriculum in Moldavian universities.
[edit] Political activity
In 1973 Vieru visited Romania for the first time, remarking
| “ | If somebody dreamed of getting to outer space, for my whole life I have dreamed of crossing the Prut River | ” |
In 1974 and 1977, invited by the president of the Romanian Writers' Union, Vieru visited Bucharest, Constanţa, Iaşi, and cities in Transylvania.
In 1978, the "Junimea" publishing house printed "The Friday Star", Vieru's first work published in Romania.
In 1989 he was elected member of Moldova's Parliament and campaigned for the unification of Romania and Moldova. The following year he was elected Honorary Member of the Romanian Academy. In 1992, the Romanian Academy recommended Vieru for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 1995, he became a member of the Board of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company, and in 1996 he won several Romanian literary awards.
In 2000, Vieru was awarded the "Eminescu" Medal by the Romanian government.
[edit] Death
On January 15, 2009, Vieru was in Cahul, where he, with a group of close friends, was celebrating the birth anniversary of Mihai Eminescu, a well-known XIX century Romanian poet. He decided to return to Chişinău with his friend later that night. At about 1:00 of January 16, his friend who was driving an Opel Astra crashed into a pole. Heavy fog, speeding and exhaustion of the driver were contributing factors to the accident. It is also known that neither the driver nor the passenger had the seat belts on at the time of the accident.[citation needed] Grigore Vieru sustained severe injuries and upon arrival at the hospital was put on life support. The driver was also severely injured, but his condition was stable. A group of Romanian specialists have arrived to Chişinău to evaluate Vieru's condition and possibly transport him over to Bucharest in a military aircraft. However, it was later decided that he was in no condition for transportation.[citation needed]
Vieru died 48 hours after the accident and was buried on January 20. It was estimated that his funeral was attended by about 10,000 people. Entire streets and boulevards in the capital city were shut down for that reason.[citation needed] Vieru's funeral was broadcast live by Teleradio Moldova. The following day after the funeral, the government announced that it has started an investigation against the driver of the car in question.
The Romanian president Traian Băsescu has posthumously awarded Grigore Vieru with the Order of the Star of Romania, Grand Cross.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- (Romanian) Grigore Vieru - virtual monument
- (Romanian) A biography of Grigore Vieru
