Ion Creangă is the best-loved storyteller of Romanian literature. The son of peasants from the village of Humulești, he turned the living language of rural Moldavia into literary art, and his Amintiri din copilărie (“Childhood Memories”) and tales are read by generations of children and adults.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Key moments in his life
- 1 March 1837 – born in Humulești (Neamț County), to Ștefan a lui Petre Ciubotariul and Smaranda.
- 1847–1859 – studies in Humulești, Broșteni, Târgu Neamț, at the seminary in Fălticeni and then at the Socola Seminary in Iași.
- 1859 – ordained deacon in Iași.
- 1864 – attends the Preparandal School at Trei Ierarhi, where Titu Maiorescu is his teacher, and becomes a schoolteacher. He writes textbooks, including the primer Metodă nouă de scriere și cetire (1868).
- 1872 – is expelled from the clergy. He moves to the “Bojdeuca” in the Țicău district of Iași.
- 1875 – meets Mihai Eminescu, school inspector in Iași. Their friendship becomes legendary. Eminescu brings him to Junimea, and Creangă makes his debut in Convorbiri literare with Soacra cu trei nurori.
- 1881–1882 – publishes the first three parts of Amintiri din copilărie. Part IV appears posthumously, in 1892.
- 31 December 1889 – dies in Iași, in the same year as Eminescu. He is buried at Eternitatea Cemetery.
Major works
Memoirs: Amintiri din copilărie (parts I–IV).
Tales: Capra cu trei iezi, Punguța cu doi bani, Povestea lui Harap-Alb (1877), Fata babei și fata moșneagului, Ivan Turbincă, Dănilă Prepeleac, Povestea porcului, Soacra cu trei nurori.
Short stories: Moș Nichifor Coțcariul, Popa Duhu.
Legacy
The “Bojdeuca” in Iași, where he lived, became Romania’s first memorial museum in 1918. His birthplace in Humulești is also a museum. His characters, from Nică al lui Ștefan a Petrei to Harap-Alb, are part of every Romanian’s childhood, and the language of his stories is regarded as a treasure of folk speech.