Emanoil Bucuța

Emanoil Bucuța (born Emanoil Popescu; 27 June 1887 – 7 October 1946) was a Romanian prose writer, poet, cultural official, and Corresponding Member of the Romanian Academy.

Early life and education Bucuța was born in Bolintin-Deal, Giurgiu County to Ioniță Popescu, a butler, and his wife Rebeca-Elena (née Bucuța). After moving to Bucharest, he graduated from Saint Sava High School in 1907, followed by a degree in German Studies from the University of Bucharest in 1911. He began his doctoral studies at the University of Berlin in 1912, but was forced to drop out after 1913 due to lack of funds.

As a writer Bucuța made his prose publishing debut in 1903, in Universul ilustrat (a supplement to Universul newspaper).

His first published volume was a book of poetry, Florile inimii ("Flowers of the Heart", 1920). Literary critic George Călinescu remarked: "[Bucuța] is the first intimist in the proper sense of the word, a poet who sings of his small domestic universe".

He published three novels: Fuga lui Șefki ("Șefki's Escape", 1927; winner of the Romanian Writers' Society prize in 1928); Maica Domnului de la mare ("Our Lady of the Sea", 1930) and Capra neagră ("The Black Goat", 1938).

Bucuța was editor-in-chief of two cultural magazines, Graiul românesc (from 1927–1929) and Boabe de grâu (from 1930–1934). His work was also published in several other journals, including Drum drept, Ideea Europeană, Gândirea, Ramuri, and Viața Românească.

While a student in Berlin, he kept a diary, which was posthumously published as Mozaic in 2004. He also published a volume about ethnic Romanians outside of Romania, Românii dintre Vidin și Timoc ("Romanians between Vidin and Timok", 1923). His magazine Boabe de grâu was mainly focused on cultural pluralism within and outside of Romania's borders, a recurring theme in his work.

Bucuța also acted as a translator. He translated Japanese writer Kakuzō Okakura's the Book of Tea (1906) from English to Romanian in 1926. He also translated poetry by Goethe and Russian popular verse. from 1931 to 1944.