Ion Creangă

  Ion Creangă (March 1 or June 10, 1837—1889) was a Romanian writer, storyteller and memoirist.^[1]

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Early life

Creangă was born in the village of Humuleşti, located in the foothills of the Eastern Carpathians, in northern Moldavia, in 1837. As the first child of eight, Creangă's mother wanted him to be educated for Orthodox priesthood, traditionally a prestigious position in the village community.

Details of Creangă's youth can be extracted from his Amintiri din copilărie ("Memories of My Boyhood"). He began his education in Humuleşti, then he studied briefly at Broşteni before returning home and enrolling at a school in the neighbouring Târgu Neamţ. After a year at the seminary in Fălticeni, Creangă left for Iaşi, the Moldavian capital, where he continued to prepare for priesthood at the school of the Socola Monastery.

Deacon and teacher

Creangă became a deacon after completing his studies at Socola in 1858, and married the daughter of a priest in Iaşi. He resumed his education in 1864, when he began studying to become a teacher at the Vasile Lupu School, which was headed by the well known politician and literary critic Titu Maiorescu. He became a substitute teacher, and collaborated in the writing of textbooks designed to help primary school pupils to learn how to read and write.

Creangă had great difficulties in adapting himself to urban life. He was constantly in conflict with his superiors in church for unholy behaviour, such as frequenting the theatre and shooting rooks in the courtyard of Golia Monastery, where he officiated. Eventually, his frequent criticisms of church officials and his eccentric behaviour (especially his habit of wearing a common hat instead of a kamelaukion) led to his suspension both as a deacon and as a teacher. To earn his living, he opened a tobacco shop. He bought a humble home on the outskirts of Iaşi, which he nicknamed bojdeuca (i.e. "the tiny hut"). There, he lived a peasant lifestyle, much like in his childhood in Humuleşti.

Later life and literary career

With the help of Maiorescu, Creangă was reinstated in 1874. The following year, during an inspection of the school where Creangă taught, he encountered Mihai Eminescu, the young poet who then worked as a school inspector. A lasting friendship resulted.

Eminescu encouraged Creangă to write down the tales that he frequently recounted orally, and brought him to the Junimea literary society. The bulk of Creangă's work was written during this period, between 1875 and 1883 when he began to suffer from health problems. Beside his masterpiece, Amintiri din copilărie (Childhood memories), some of his most famous stories are Moş Ion Roată şi Unirea, Dănilă Prepeleac, Povestea porcului, Fata babei şi fata moşului and Ivan Turbincă. He retired as a teacher in 1887 and died two years later, on 31 December, from an attack of epilepsy.

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