Sadoveanu" redirects here. For other persons of the same name, see Sadoveanu (surname).

Mihail Sadoveanu

1949 photograph
November 5, 1880
Born
Pașcani, Iași County, Kingdom of Romania
October 19, 1961 (aged 80)
Died
Vânători-Neamț, Neamț County, Romanian People's Republic
Resting place Bellu Cemetery, Bucharest, Romania
Pen name Mihai din Pașcani, M. S. Cobuz
novelist, short story writer, journalist, essayist, translator, poet, civil
Occupation
servant, activist, politician
Language Romanian
Nationality Romanian
historical novel, adventure novel, biographical novel, political novel,
Genre psychological novel, crime fiction, memoir, travel literature, nature writing,
fantasy, reportage, biography, sketch story, children's literature, lyric poetry
Literary Realism, Social realism, Naturalism, Sămănătorul, Poporanism, Socialist
movement realism
Years active 1892 – 1952
Spouse Ecaterina Bâlu
 Profira
Children  Paul-Mihu
Mihail Sadoveanu (Romanian: [mihaˈil sadoˈve̯ anu]; occasionally referred to as Mihai
Sadoveanu; November 5, 1880 – October 19, 1961) was a Romanian novelist, short story
writer, journalist and political figure, who twice served as acting head of state for the
communist republic (1947–1948 and 1958). One of the most prolific Romanian-language
writers, he is remembered mostly for his historical and adventure novels, as well as for his
nature writing. An author whose career spanned five decades, Sadoveanu was an early
associate of the traditionalist magazine Sămănătorul, before becoming known as a Realist
writer and an adherent to the Poporanist current represented by Viața Românească journal.
His books, critically acclaimed for their vision of age-old solitude and natural abundance, are
generally set in the historical region of Moldavia, building on themes from Romania's
medieval and early modern history. Among them are Neamul Șoimăreștilor ("The Șoimărești
Family"), Frații Jderi ("The Jderi Brothers") and Zodia Cancerului ("Under the Sign of the
Crab"). With Venea o moară pe Siret... ("A Mill Was Floating down the Siret..."), Baltagul
("The Hatchet") and some other works of fiction, Sadoveanu extends his fresco to
contemporary history and adapts his style to the psychological novel, Naturalism and Social
realism.

A traditionalist figure whose perspective on life was a combination of nationalism and

Humanism, Sadoveanu moved between right- and left-wing political forces throughout the
interwar period, while serving terms in Parliament. Rallying with People's Party, the National
Agrarian Party, and the National Liberal Party-Brătianu, he was editor of the leftist
newspapers Adevărul and Dimineața, and was the target of a violent far right press campaign.
After World War II, Sadoveanu became a political associate of the Romanian Communist
Party. He wrote in favor of the Soviet Union and Stalinism, joined the Society for Friendship
with the Soviet Union and adopted Socialist realism. Many of his texts and speeches,
including the political novel Mitrea Cocor and the famous slogan Lumina vine de la Răsărit
("The Light Arises in the East"), are also viewed as propaganda in favor of communization.

A founding member of the Romanian Writers' Society and later President of the Romanian
Writers' Union, Sadoveanu was also a member of the Romanian Academy since 1921 and a
recipient of the Lenin Peace Prize for 1961. He was also Grand Master of the Romanian
Freemasonry during the 1930s. The father of Profira and Paul-Mihu Sadoveanu, who also
pursued careers as writers, he was the brother-in-law of literary critic Izabela Sadoveanu-
Evan.

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