Strofe alese: balade vesele și triste

by George Topîrceanu

,,Poezia capătă, în Strofe alese. Balade vesele şi triste, şi un chip… prozaic. Autorul român porneşte în căutarea unui vers care să evadeze din constrângerile metricii tradiţionale şi să ambiguizeze voit discursul, jucându-se constant cu rima, ritmul şi chiar semnele de punctuaţie. Putem totuşi vorbi despre un crepuscularism soft, dublat de escapsimul în livresc întrucât, sub aspect prozodic, Topîrceanu nu exclude în totalitate formele aulice, clasice. Interesul pentru sincretismul formelor este o constantă a scriiturii sale, demonstrabilă în poeme prin alternanţa versurilor scurte şi lungi, prin grija pentru rima internă şi cezura marcând întotdeauna apariţia noii idei poetice. La finalul poemelor, bufonul nu mai râde însă, se deghizează în shakespearianul theatrum mundi din căsuţa sa cu greu dobândită în dealul Copoului, îşi ia rămas-bun de la o anume cucoană, numai de el şi de monografii lui ştiută, îşi ia, mai apoi geamantanul şi iese din scenă, împărtăşindu-ne, din tristeţea lui provincială, un strop de imaginaţie cât să ne ajute să supravieţuim în timpuri ostile faţă de Poezia cu majusculă!” (Livia IACOB)

116 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1920

About the author

Born in Bucharest, Topîrceanu began his schooling in the city, and then moved to the hilly countryside of the Argeş county, in the Șuici commune, where he formed his taste for themes taken from nature. After completing secondary studies, he attended the University of Bucharest Law School, and then its Faculty of Letters, without ever finishing either. This was largely due to a hectic lifestyle punctuated by numerous affairs and heavy alcohol use.He began publishing short verses to increasing critical acclaim. In 1926, he was awarded the National Poetry Prize.
He died of liver cancer in Iaşi.

His three main volumes of poetry, Balade vesele şi triste ("Ballads, Merry and Sad"), Parodii originale ("Original Parodies") and Migdale amare ("Bitter Almonds"), are a compelling mixture of humor and delicate lyricism. Topîrceanu's favorite device is to switch, without warning, from biting sarcasm to genuine sentiment and vice versa, often with beguiling ease. In his own words he aimed to: through jest, render tears all too clear.

Topîrceanu's most celebrated pieces, such as Balada unui greier mic ("The Ballad of a Tiny Cricket") and Rapsodii de toamnă ("Fall Rhapsodies") can be enjoyed for their flowing verse, on an infantile level, as well as appreciated for carefully constructed metaphors, incisive humor and contemplative ambiance. Other, more muscular and less lyrical pieces such as Acceleratul ("The Bullet Train") and Cioara ("The Crow"), display his command of the Romanian language, with cascading similes and emphatic rhythms

Topîrceanu wrote many satirical pieces, almost all first published as articles. His prose works were collected in several volumes: Memories from the Battle of Turtucaia (Bucharest, 1918), In their claw... Memories from Bulgaria and Light Sketches (Jassy, 1920), Letters with No Address, Humorous and Pessimistic Prose (Bucharest, 1930), Pirin-Planina, Tragic and Comic Episodes from Captivity (Bucharest, 1936). He also left an unfinished novella, Minunile Sfântului Sisoe ("Venerable Sisoes' Miraculous Works") published posthumously in 1938.