Gheorghe S. Becescu-Silvan, or Sylvan (May 1875 – 29 March 1924), was a Romanian writer, lawyer and political figure, also noted as a hiker and mountaineer. His complex, sometimes conflictual, relationship with the Romanian Orthodox Church began in adolescence, when he gave up on his seminary education and joined groups of socialist intellectuals. He was well-liked in his youth for his poetic contributions, with some seeing him as a great promise—especially through his work for Adevărul; however, he also came to be regarded by various peers as indolent, wasteful, and ultimately underachieving. In the 1890s, Becescu established and led magazines that created links between the socialists and the Literatorul circle. He himself came to question the latter, especially after its embrace of Symbolism, preferring instead a form of neo-romanticism, tinged with Romanian nationalism, that inspired his historical novels. He saw himself as an ally of the Sămănătorul group, but had to deal with harsh criticism from its leader, Nicolae Iorga, who regarded Silvan's historical research as subpar. He eventually experienced independent success with his novels, as well as with his work in promoting tourism along the Southern Carpathians; though born in Western Moldavia, he became primarily associated with Prahova County, living most of his life in Ploiești.
Beginning in the 1910s, Becescu-Silvan was primarily a lawyer and a politician—though he promised new novels, including one about Jesus. After a definitive break with Iorga, he stood with the National Liberal Party, into which he channeled his mixture of nationalism and progressivism. He irritated the Conservative Party and other right-wing factions by continuously pushing for electoral and land reforms, as well as with his eyewitness critique of Romanian actions during the Second Balkan War. By the time of World War I, he was serving in the Deputies' Assembly, which had turned itself into a constituent assembly. At this stage, he embraced the Entente's cause, expressing hopes that the still-neutral country would declare against Austria-Hungary and the other Central Powers; thus eventually happened in August 1916.
Following massive defeats in 1916–1917, Silvan followed the rump Parliament to Iași. Here, he moderated his radicalism, emerging as a critic of left-wing dissenters, who had been emboldened by the February Revolution in allied Russia. Self-exiled in republican Ukraine, he returned to capitulating Romania in 1918, living for most of the year in relative seclusion. Silvan and other Ententists were then empowered by the November Armistice and the unexpected creation of Greater Romania, allowing them a triumphal return. He still quarreled with his National Liberal colleagues during the 1919 election, unsuccessfully presenting his own list of "National Peasantists".
Silvan's political career was briefly revived in the early 1920s, when he joined People's League, which sent him to the Senate, and then again to the Assembly. He criticized the group's policies from within, though he remained close to its leader, Alexandru Averescu; the two of them registered a major defeat in the 1922 election, which was also Silvan's final political campaign. He ultimately died of an untreatable pyelonephritis. Though he publicly embraced Freethought, he had always enjoyed a friendly report with the Orthodox monastic communities, including at Cheia Monastery (where he was ultimately buried). His novel about the Romanian War of Independence was sampled in at least one textbook, but its author remained largely forgotten by readers, and sometimes posthumously panned by literary historians.
Biography Early life and debut years Born in May 1875 in Berești (in what was then the Romanian Principality's Covurlui County); Mihail Sevastos, Personalități ploieștene – Episodul III. G. S. Becescu-Silvan (fragment of Monografia orașului Ploiești), hosted by the ATOM Cultural Society of Ploești as recounted by his writer friend, Gala Galaction, he was the son of a country doctor based in Răchitoasa, who, later in life, left his family to become an Orthodox monk. Before that, he made his young son attend an Orthodox seminary. Around 1894, Gheorghe was rebelling against his father and the church, reading banned modern books, performing in impromptu drama recitals, and publishing lay poems in various magazines; with time, he came to be personally acquainted with literary celebrities such as Ion Luca Caragiale and Constantin Mille, and was read with interest by cultural journalist Tudor Arghezi, who declared him a simmering "volcano" in Romanian poetry.Gala Galaction, "Din caietul Săptămâni. Silvan-Becescu a murit!", in Adevărul Literar și Artistic, Issue 174/1924, p. 3 Some of his first poems appeared in Rândunica quarterly, put out in 1894–1895 by Silvestru Moldovan and other Romanians of Austria-Hungary.Remus Zăstroiu, "Rândunica", in Dicționarul general al literaturii române. P/R, p. 807. Bucharest: Museum of Romanian Literature, 2020.
Silvan ended up quitting school, opting for private tutoring (which allowed him to read more books than any if his peers), and finally enlisting at the Bucharest Drama Conservatory. He also briefly worked as a telegraphist for the Romanian Post. His colleagues there included two other aspiring writers, namely Florian I. Becescu and Alexandru Cazaban. Amused by the coincidence, Cazaban wrote the two Becescu into a sketch story, and, in his words, "almost took a beating from both of them."N. Constantinescu, "Cu Alexandru Cazaban despre el și despre alții", in Rampa, 18 March 1929, p. 1 In the meantime, his reported father had been caught up in the Ghenadie Petrescu affair—whereby Petrescu, the Bishop of Argeș, had come to oppose the Sturdza government. As reported by the opposition newspaper Timpul, in June 1896 Becescu Sr. was informally detained, then tormented, by the authorities, who wished to have him confess against his friend the prelate."Cea din urmă a luĭ Sărățeanu", in Timpul, 7 (19) June 1896, p. 1
Silvan had a bohemian existence in Bucharest, affiliated with the socialists at Lumea Nouă magazine, and also wrote for Mille's Adevărul—before emerging as an editor of Carmen, a bi-weekly review. Press historian Remus Zăstroiu sees his contributions of that period, which were mostly accounts about the lives of hard-labor convicts, as a segment of the Adevărul school of literary realism, and "vaguely naturalistic".Remus Zăstroiu, "Adevărul Ilustrat", in Dicționarul general al literaturii române. A/B, p. 73. Bucharest: Museum of Romanian Literature, 2016. According to a 1961 analysis by scholar Savin Bratu, the Carmen group was an assortment of socialists and associates of Alexandru Macedonski from the Literatorul circle, who were engaged in the "absurd" cause of Bishop Ghenadie.Savin Bratu, "Permanențele Contemporanului", in Gazeta Literară, Vol. VIII, Issue 29, July 1961, p. 6 As one of the youngest members of this society, Mihail Sadoveanu recalled Silvan's "tireless and fascinating gift of gab", but also made note that others laughed him off as a "coffee-house genius".Sadoveanu, p. 258
At the time of his encounters with Sadoveanu, Becescu had shunned Macedonski's circle, seeing it as too ridiculous. Some of Macedonski's enemies, including Alexandru Antemireanu, watched with glee as he imitated the senior poet, in particular for offering his disciples gifts of counterfeit gemstones. The parodic spectacle irritated another eyewitness, the journalist Ion Costin, who regarded Macedonski as innately superior to his critics. As recalled by Sadoveanu, Costin also commented that "this Sylvan fella" was outing himself as a "viper in [Macedonski's] bosom".Sadoveanu, pp. 259–261 Becescu himself debuted with a collection of novellas, Cuiburĭ părăsite ("Deserted Nests"), published during the final days of 1897 by Biblioteca Internațională."Litere–Arte–Științe", in Adevărul, 1 January 1898, p. 2 Galaction suggests that he was especially valuable with prose poems taken up by Adevărul, "announcing him as a special talent." He still published occasional conventional poems (especially acrostics), which one of his female readers, who answered a 1903 survey, described as "endearing"."Ancheta noastră. Pe care poet român în viață îl preferați și de ce?", in Adevărul, 21 May 1905, p. 2 Around then, Becescu had become aware that he could not make his living from literature alone, and, as Galaction notes, wrote more infrequently and without much investment. In pursuit of a professional career in law, he is known to have studied at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and the Free University of Brussels (ULB).Ciopraga, p. 590
Although hailing from Western Moldavia, Becescu lived most of his life in the Muntenian center of Ploiești, and married a local. In 1904, his address was No. 9 Ștefan cel Mare Street,Torouțiu, p. 211 though he was later known to be living at No. 3 Ferari Street."Politica în Prahova. Boala D-lui Silvan", in Virtutea, Issue 251/1923, p. 3"†Gheorghe Becescu Silvan", in Universul, 2 April 1924, p. 5 A man of athletic built and exotic looks, known to his friends as Maurul ("The Moor"), he indulged his passion for the Southern Carpathians, and spent much of his free time hiking. Sadoveanu was present at a meeting where Silvan reported on his trip to the Buzău Mountains, where he had discovered glaciers. When he complained that he only had had to photograph his finds, but not for publishing a topical article, Costin smiled and winked—meaning to suggest that Silvan was too lazy.Sadoveanu, pp. 258–259 Silvan and his mountaineering wife Erotheea were passionate about the more remote spots, outside the resorts of Prahova Valley, and helped discover Cheia (in the Ciucaș range). By 1906, the two Becescus also had a holiday cottage in Bușteni, at No. 381 Carol Street.Gulea, p. 42
Historical novelist In July 1901, Silvan took a doctorate of law from the ULB."Ediția de seară. Ultime informațiunĭ", in Adevărul, 8 July 1901, p. 3 Upon his return from Brussels, he joined H. Coșoi in putting out Revista Modernă ("The Modern Review"). It endures in cultural memory for having hosted one of Sadoveanu's earliest novellas, Ion Ursu, and ideological essays by Constantin Sandu-Aldea—though, as scholar Constantin Ciopraga notes, both its editors were equally "obscure" figures.Ciopraga, p. 33 In anticipation of positions later illustrated by Nicolae Iorga's Sămănătorul magazine, the group campaigned for Romanian nationalism, or a "national moment" in arts and letters.Ciopraga, pp. 33–34 As a champion of this trend, Sadoveanu had asked Coșoi to vouch that Silvan, who "has returned from abroad", was "still a Romanian, that is, whether his contributions are still in the Romanian language and the subjects are still Romanian. [...] if Gh[eorghe] Silvan were in any way different [from us], I would never forgive him, nor would I forgive you"."Sadoveanu și Revista Modernă. Corespondență inedită din 1901–1902", in Gazeta Literară, Vol. IX, Issue 46, November 1962, p. 3