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Ștefan Tita
(1905–1977), Romanian writer and political figure / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ștefan Tita (born Teodor Solomon; 14 August 1905 – 1 September 1977) was a Romanian left-wing activist and writer in multiple genres. He had his poetic debut as a teenager in 1919, after which he became noted first for his pacifist prose, and later for his contributions to social realism. Before World War II, he had also specialized in satire, and, reflecting his own Jewish roots, had taken up work in the revue genre at The Barașeum. After becoming a disciple of Ion Pas, Tita was attracted into the socialist and anti-fascist movement, joining the Social Democratic Party and working as editor of its press organs. The party was banned in 1938, but he himself continued to write for some two years, being integrated with Mihai Ralea's Muncă și Voe Bună organization. Jewish writers were banned altogether during the pro-Nazi regime established by Ion Antonescu; Tita had to rely on handouts for his survival.
Ștefan Tita | |
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![]() Tita c. 1937 | |
Born | Teodor Solomon (1905-08-14)14 August 1905 Bucharest, Kingdom of Romania |
Died | 1 September 1977(1977-09-01) (aged 72) Bucharest, Socialist Republic of Romania |
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Period | 1919–1977 |
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Returning as a Social Democratic operative immediately after Antonescu's downfall in August 1944, Tita was generally enthusiastic about the leftward shift of Romanian politics; he was also employed as a censor by the Ministry of Propaganda, even though his own politics and Expressionist aesthetics did not yet fully align with the conduct demanded by the Romanian Communist Party. In 1945, as Pas took charge of the Ministry of Arts, he made Tita his right-hand man. Both figures were mistrusted by the communists, who established a Romanian people's republic on the closing days of 1947. Tita was sent to educate himself among the proletariat, then removed from his position at the ministry. He then oriented himself toward a career in communist agitprop, primarily active in political theater and songwriting, as well as focusing on translations from world literature, and on proofreading Pas' novels. His own contributions for the stage (some of which were done in collaboration with Ionel Țăranu and Liviu Floda) were often dismissed by the socialist-realist mainstream, as well as by independent critics, who described them as unbearably melodramatic.
The late 1950s witnessed Tita's return, primarily in the realms of children's and young adult literature—but also integrated within the emerging school of Romanian science fiction. Though prolific, and employed to write teleplays for the state television network, he was widely criticized for his extreme didacticism; he was additionally mocked for his rhyming anecdotes in the humor magazine Urzica, which reviewers found to be excessively bland, and also censured for his attempts at reviving the farce and sex comedy genres. In old age, he expanded on his previous contribution to agitprop songwriting, becoming recognized as a contributor to pop music, which he infused with messages favoring socialist patriotism. His final plays were about two figures of 19th-century progressivism, Teodor Diamant and Constantin Daniel Rosenthal.