Haralamb George Lecca (; – March 9, 1920), also known as Haralamb Leca, Har. Lecca,C. D. Fort., "Recenzii. Cărți. Antologia poeților olteni, de I. C. Popescu-Polyclet", in Arhivele Olteniei, Nr. 45–46/1929, p. 546"Noutăți. Știri literare", in Unirea. Foaie Bisericească-Politică, Nr. 28/1907, p. 253 or Haralambie Lecca,Iorga (1934), p. 97Elena Siupiur, "Rapports littéraires roumano-bulgares entre 1878–1916", in Revue Des Études Sud-est Européennes, Nr. 4/1972, p. 704 was a Romanian poet, playwright and translator. He belonged to an upper-class family, being the grandson of artist Constantin Lecca and brother of genealogist , as well as nephew and rival of writer Ion Luca Caragiale. He had an unsettled youth, studying medicine and law for a while, and also reaching a Sub-Officer's rank in the terrestrial army. He debuted in literature under the guidance of Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, who also employed Lecca's services as a medium. His early work was in poetry, often outstandingly macabre, evidencing his familiarity with 19th-century French literature and hinting at a vague affiliation with Symbolism. Briefly a collaborator of Junimea society, then of its dissident wings, Lecca never joined the fledgling Symbolist movement, and spent his later life in relative isolation from all literary circles.
Lecca's poetry, recognized as formally accomplished in its context, won him literary awards from the Romanian Academy, but was discarded by later critics as uninspired and ultimately insignificant. As a dramatist, Lecca impressed his contemporaries. His numbered set of tragicomedies, veering into naturalism and political theater, were the height of fashion in ca. 1898–1908, propelled by a troupe that included Aristide Demetriade, Aristizza Romanescu, and Constantin Nottara. As a dramaturge, he increased the repertoire with numerous but unequal translations, beginning with verse drama by William Shakespeare; this work later led him to contribute translations of Western European prose, in which he was prolific. Lecca also worked directly with the actors, as director of his and others' plays, and sometimes even took up roles on the stage; both his own performance and his insistence on method acting by others were often repudiated or ridiculed.
His conflicts with actors and managers resulted in his sacking from Iași National Theatre, and then his banishment from the National Theatre Bucharest, leaving him to seek work with private companies. In the early 1910s, he also collected his prose poems, also producing memoirs and essays that outlined his ideas on society, and Christian drama. His contribution to screenwriting, albeit pioneering, was shaded by revelations of plagiarism from Caragiale. By then a veteran of the Second Balkan War, he fought on the Romanian front of World War I, and died soon after this ended, following a losing battle with paralysis. He had been largely forgotten as a writer, and was being derided by modernists, even though his plays continued to be performed into the 1930s.
Biography
Early life Born in Caracal, his parents were George (or Gheorghe) Lecca and his wife Zoe (née Mănăstireanu or Mănăstiriceanu); his grandfather was the painter and journalist Constantin Lecca.Mircea Popa, "Lecca Haralamb", in Aurel Sasu (ed.), Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române, Vol. I, pp. 842–843. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. Botar & Tîlvănoiu, p. 51; Călinescu, pp. 592, 1008; Florea, p. 955; Țilică, pp. 30–31 The family belonged to boyar nobility, and, according to family legend, was established in Ancient Rome by Publius Porcius Laeca; their roots may also lead back to Byzantine Bulgaria and the Barony of Gritzena.Țilică, p. 29 In Wallachia, the family patriarch was allegedly the Aga Leca Racotă, aide-de-camp of Prince Michael the Brave, and possibly also Michael's brother-in-law. His direct male descendant, Armaș Radu Lecca, emigrated to Corona (Brașov) in 1730; it was there that his grandson, the painter and Paharnic, was born.Țilică, pp. 29–30
Haralamb's uncles, settled in Oltenia, were Constantin Lecca Jr, a clerk and member of the Assembly of Deputies, and Grigore, a career soldier; he was also very distantly related to Dimitrie Lecca, who held major offices in the United Principalities and the Kingdom of Romania.Țilică, pp. 30–31 His aunt Cleopatra was married to Colonel Grigore Poenaru, nephew of the polymath Petrache Poenaru.George Potra, Petrache Poenaru, ctitor al învățământului în țara noastră. 1799–1875, pp. 12, 214. Bucharest: Editura științifică, 1963. See also Țilică, p. 30 She was also a maternal cousin of the dramatist Ion Luca Caragiale, and, for a while, the love interest of poet Mihai Eminescu.Călinescu, p. 445; Șerban Cioculescu, "Caragiale și Eminescu", in Revista Fundațiilor Regale, Nr. 10/1938, pp. 11–12 Haralamb's father, George Lecca, a cavalryman, had fought with distinction in Romania's war of independence—the setting of at least one poem by his son.Botar & Tîlvănoiu, pp. 51, 52. See also Țilică, p. 30 From a later marriage, he had a much younger son, the magistrate Octav George Lecca, later locally famous as a genealogist, heraldist, and anthropologist, and a daughter, Elvira Yga Lecca.Botar & Tîlvănoiu, p. 56; Călinescu, p. 1008; Țilică, pp. 30–31
Haralamb Lecca was an Oltenian by birth, his work sometimes included in regionalist anthologies. However, as noted by Oltenian scholar C. D. Fortunescu, this was a stretch. Lecca, he argues, "do[es] not owe anything to this region, [...] only the happenstance of [his] birth here, or a short period in [his] childhood, has ever put [him] into contact with us." From 1880, Haralamb was listed among the interns of Pontbriant–Schewitz Institute of Bucharest, in the same class as actor Ion Livescu,George Potra, Din Bucureștii de ieri, Vol. II, pp. 55, 65. Editura științifică și enciclopedică, Bucharest, 1990. but later finished primary school in his native town, attended the Cantemir High School in Bucharest, and completed high school in Craiova.Botar & Tîlvănoiu, p. 51; Florea, p. 955 A reserve Sub-lieutenant in the 6th Artillery Regiment, he may also have had a stint clerking in the Ministry of Finance.Botar & Tîlvănoiu, p. 56; Călinescu, p. 1008 In 1897, he studied medicine at the University of Paris (inspiring him to write poems about dissection),Călinescu, pp. 592, 1008; Florea, pp. 955, 956 but returned to matriculate at the University of Bucharest, where he studied law.Botar & Tîlvănoiu, p. 51; Florea, p. 955; Țilică, p. 30 However, in January 1901, he was reportedly studying letters at the Free University of Brussels."Salon. Literatura. Haralamb G. Leca franțuzeșce", in Familia, Nr. 3/1901, p. 33 He graduated from the law faculty in Bucharest, but only after along hiatus,Botar & Tîlvănoiu, p. 51 and reportedly held both a Medical Doctor degree and a doctorate in letters."Note bio-bibliografice", in Universul Literar, Nr. 36/1929, p. 363
Symbolist debut and Hasdeu circle While he was still in Paris,Ludovic Dauș, "Amintiri despre Haralamb Lecca", in Universul Literar, Nr. 36/1929, p. 363 Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu's Revista Nouă published Lecca's first poem, În cimitir ("In the Graveyard"),Botar & Tîlvănoiu, p. 51; Florea, pp. 941–942, 955; Țilică, p. 30 and awarded Lecca its annual literary prize.Mihail Mora, "Haralamb G. Lecca", in Universul Literar, Nr. 36/1929, p. 362 According to Nicolae Iorga, Lecca's "poetic fecundity" soon took over, turning that magazine into a literary tribune rather than the scientific organ designed by Hasdeu.Iorga (1934), p. 11 Following this, Lecca, an occasional literary columnist at Adevărul, Simona Chițan, "Ieri și azi: Literarul, prin filele vremii", in Adevărul Literar și Artistic, April 19, 2011 became was one of the main contributors to Ioan Slavici's Vatra from 1894 and, from 1899, to Aurel Popovici's daily, Minerva,Z. Ornea, Sămănătorismul, pp. 29, 37–39. Bucharest: Editura Fundației Culturale Române, 1998. his work also appearing in N. Petrașcu and D. C. Ascanio's Literatură și Artă Română.Botar & Tîlvănoiu, p. 53; Dragomirescu, p. 52; Florea, pp. 955, 958; Iorga (1934), p. 44 At the time, Lecca was translating from Tennyson's Enoch Arden, from a French version.Nicolae Iorga, Tennyson (conferință la Societatea Anglo-Română), pp. 12, 14. Vălenii de Munte: Așezământul Tipografic Datina Românească, 1939 He printed this in 1896, followed a while after by selected verses from Romania's German-speaking queen, Carmen Sylva.Angheluță et al., p. 46
His collections of poetry, generally known by numbered titles, began in 1896 with Prima, prefaced by Hasdeu.Angheluță et al., p. 45; Botar & Tîlvănoiu, p. 51; Florea, pp. 955–956; Livescu, p. 163; Rosetti, p. 95 Like the following installments (Cinci poeme, 1897; Secunda, 1898; Sexta, 1901; Octava, 1904; A noua, 1904), it showed strong influences from French writers, in particular François Coppée and other Symbolists.Călinescu, pp. 592, 1008; Florea, p. 956 Per George Călinescu, these works featured verses that were "odiously interpreted" from French models, and with numerous "trivialities".Călinescu, p. 592 Philosopher Mihail Iorgulescu, "the only man to have wept for [Lecca]",Rosetti, p. 101 also finds that in his lyrical poetry, Lecca remained epic and melodramatic, which made his poetic work dated, "once the setting that contained it fell apart."Mihail Iorgulescu, "Cronica dramatică. Haralamb Leca", in Sburătorul, Nr. 51/1920, pp. 566–568 Similarly, Henric Sanielevici asserts that he had "all the qualities that one might pick up working in cabinets". Adrian Jicu, "Un model de critică științifică: H. Sanielevici", in Cultura, Nr. 70, May 2007 However, journalist Mihail Mora defended Lecca against accusations that he had no poetic soul, suggesting that his lyrical "objectivity" and precision were studied, and alternated with "sentimental outbursts." As critic and theatrologist Rodica Florea writes, Lecca did have an "exotic nuance" and a preference for the standards of Symbolist verse, but altogether "exterior, lacking in significance". His poetry stood out for its "physiological detail" and "interminable sadism", with Lecca "gratuitously insisting [...] on sketching out hideous, terrifying or pitiful portraits", on "stenches", "cancer", "pus and fetid dressings".Florea, p. 956
Lecca attained superior technical quality when it came to meter ("impeccable", according to Mora), but even his skill was panned by Iorga, who noted that Lecca had "nothing to surprise us with in his rhymes or rhythms".Florea, p. 956; Iorga (1934), p. 138 Lecca was appreciated by critics in his 1890s context, winning the Romanian Academy's V. Adamachi Prize in 1898, and a Bene Merenti medal, conferred by King Carol I, in 1899."Parte oficială. Ministerul cultelor instrucțiuneĭ publice", in Monitorul Oficial, No. 174, November 4/16, 1899, p. 6010. See also Rosetti, p. 97 While Ilarie Chendi protested against Lecca's "deranged inspiration", he qualified his verdict by insisting that it was nonetheless the inspiration of a "refined artist". Inspiring in turn fellow authors such as Alexandru Toma,Eugen Lovinescu, Istoria literaturii române contemporane, II. Evoluția poeziei lirice, p. 160. Bucharest: Editura Ancona, 1927 Lecca's poems were held in high regard by Hasdeu. Although he initially rejected Lecca as a mere "imitator",Ion C. Chițimia, "B. P. Hasdeu", in Alexandru Dima, Ion C. Chițimia, Paul Cornea, Eugen Todoran (eds.), Istoria literaturii române. II: De la Școala Ardeleană la Junimea, p. 701. Bucharest: Editura Academiei, 1968 he welcomed him at his Editura Socec salon, where Lecca met Radu D. Rosetti, Cincinat Pavelescu, Ludovic Dauș, and the more senior .