Me, Emilgar, sub-lieutenant of Romanian literature

“A thoughtful baby, with his temple too prematurely leaning upon the tiny hand; a rather stiff military, with rectangular shoulders, with the face divided in two by a pair of huge mustaches bent at the extremity in a funny manner….” This is the image of Emil Garleanu depicted from the pictures that reached us together with the literary fragments studied in the elementary school. In his age, biographies were not “in fashion,” the life of the man that was writing moving lines “From the world of speechless beings” did not matter.

Emil Garleanu was born on January 5, 1878. His father, lieutenant colonel Emanoil Garleanu and his mother Pulheria Antipa, a Greek woman, broke up shortly after the child was born, entrusting him to some aunts from Iasi, who fostered his predilection for gentleness and beauty. His father’s example pushed him towards the School of artillery, engineering and navy, while his sensibility directed him to the Letters Faculty, where he failed however to attend classes, even if at the age of 20, when already a sub-lieutenant, he had started to become involved with literature.

He starts as a poet at “Scientific and literary archives” magazine headed by A.D. Xenopol and continues his collaboration at “Evenimentul” newspaper, with lyrics, sketches, reviews, literary and plastic chronicles, published under the penname Emilgar. For these “frivolous” activities, general Leonida Iarca will transfer him for disciplinary reasons to Barlad, where the young man, unable to cope with the provincial monotony and the military life, in 1904 issues the magazine “Fat-Frumos,” following the same ideological line as “Samanatorul,” “Luceafarul” and “Ramuri.” Garleanu’s orientation is therefore clear, as also shown by his writings.

But it is less known that Emil Garleanu saw a profession in literature and writing and set up the Association of Romanian Writers, whose secretary, then chairman he was. Also concerned with theatre, Garleanu was the manager of the National Theatre from Craiova for four years, while he “destroyed, demolished and changed until he made order. He even had the courage to stage Romanian plays.” Thus, he organised a “Caragiale Week,” when he staged the entire repertoire of the great dramatist, after which he made a “theatre swap” with the National Theatre from Iasi, although setting up a touring troop to play Romanian writers in villages.

Somebody once said that snobbism and “minor” literature both benefit and hurt culture. But they are more beneficial than hurting, as these occurrences, no matter how dangerous they may be, are still more valuable than the lack of interest in culture. Emil Garleanu, a minor writer, did more for Romanian culture than a bulk of irascible, capricious and self-important “genies” might have done.