Panaït Istrati sous la loupe de la Sigourantza

Panait Istrati under the surveillance of Sigourantza

Abstract

From his debut in 1923, Panait Istrati has been referred to as a particular case on the global literary scene. The mixture of his tumultuous biography with honest writing renders a particular type of excitement, coupled with the interest in social issues, which was a dominant of Istrati’s works. While engaged in very modest jobs in his hometown port of Braila, he began writing articles in the left media in between 1906-1910, being immediately appreciated for his directness and brightness. His first visit to Paris, for a few months between December 1913 and April 1914 took him closer to the international milieu. Five years later, in 1919, he connected with the Nobel Prize laureate, Romain Rolland. This was the key turning point and inspired him to start writing in French rather than Romanian only. Istrati and Rolland exchanged numerous letters in between 1919 and 1935, the year Istrati died. Rolland became for Istrati a mentor-father figure and launched him on the literary milieu in 1923. This paper complements biographical and literary aspects about Panait Istrati, extracted from the extensive documentary material preserved in the Sigourantza archives. Our contribution will focus on original elements included in the collection. Considering the question regarding the novelty of aspects contained in the collection, I look at several examples about his family, acquaintances and intellectuals who were closer or less close to the writer. Information about the writer’s travels, visits by family members or discussions on social, political and literary subjects confirm the coordinates of sincerity, generosity and friendship known to specialists and the general public.