Ștefan Petică

Ștefan Petică (; January 20, 1877 – October 17, 1904) was a Romanian Symbolist poet, prose writer, playwright, journalist, and socialist activist. Born in the countryside of Tecuci, he displayed a voracious appetite for literature and philosophy since his early years. After high school, he made his way to the national capital Bucharest, where university studies soon gave way to low-paid newspaper work. Petică published one volume of poetry before his premature death, and left his mark as one of the first exponents of the domestic Symbolist movement.

Biography

Origins, education and intellectual influences Born in Bucești, Galați County, his parents were the free peasants (răzeși) Ianache and Catinca Petică. He attended primary school in nearby Liești, followed by the D. A. Sturdza gymnasium in Tecuci (1888–1892) and the Nicolae Bălcescu High School in Brăila (1892–1896). Petică obtained his high school degree in Bucharest in 1898. He enrolled at the University of Bucharest's literature and philosophy faculty, He was editorial secretary of Alexandru Macedonski's Literatorul from February to June 1899. The public library in Tecuci has borne his name since 1994.