Otilia Cazimir

• Name — Otilia Cazimir • Native Name — Alexandra Gavrilescu • Pen Name — Otilia Cazimir • Born — 12 February 1894 • Birthplace — Cotu Vameș, Neamț County, Romania • Died — 8 June 1967 • Place of death — Iași, Iași County, Romania • Resting Place — Eternitatea cemetery, Iași • Occupation — Poet, prose writer, translator, publicist • Language — Romanian • Education — Alexandru Ioan Cuza University • Genres — Poetry, prose • Subject — Children's poems • Notable Works — Lumini și umbre, Fluturi de noapte, Cântec de comoară

Born in Cotu Vameș, Neamț County, she was the fifth child of schoolteachers Gheorghe Gavrilescu and his wife Ecaterina (née Petrovici). She attended middle and high school in Iași and took courses at the University of Iași's literature and philosophy faculty, but did not graduate. Her pen name, which she never liked, was selected by her mentors, Mihail Sadoveanu and Garabet Ibrăileanu: the former came up with "Otilia", the latter with "Cazimir". She was quoted as saying: "Allow me to confess to you, after so many years, that this name, that I still bore in dignity, I never liked. I have nothing in common with the heroines of German legends, and the first Otilia that I have ever met, the little girl I shared a school bench in first grade, was stupid, fat and pimply...". She is known to have also utilised other pen names, such as Alexandra Casian, Ofelia, Magda or Dona Sol, which she used to sign in the press, particularly her more "feminist" works. In 1912, she made her debut with poems in Viața Românească, to which she remained a loyal contributor. Other magazines that published her work include Însemnări ieșene, Adevărul literar și artistic, Lumea, Bilete de Papagal, Iașul nou, Iașul literar, Orizont, Gazeta literară and Cronica. Her first book was the 1923 poetry volume Lumini și umbre, followed by Fluturi de noapte (1926) and Cântec de comoară (1931). Cazimir's poems focus on the universe becoming domestic, while in its turn, the domestic perpetuates the cosmic. Her prose books were Din întuneric. Fapte și întâmplări adevărate. Din carnetul unei doctorese (1928), Grădina cu amintiri și alte schițe (1929), În târgușorul dintre vii... (1939); she also authored a novel, A murit Luchi... (1942). Some of these works include poetic sketches reminiscent of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry or Colette, while others are in a more realist vein. Cazimir worked as inspector-general of theaters in the Moldavia region from 1937 to 1947. She was involved in a discreet, years-long relationship with the married poet George Topîrceanu.

• Lumini și umbre, Viața Românească Publishing, Iași, 1923; • Fluturi de noapte, Cartea Românească Publishing, București, 1926; • Cântec de comoară, "Naționala" S. Ciornei Publishing, București, 1931; • Jucării, București, 1938; • Poezii, "Regele Carol II" Literature and Art Foundation, București, 1939; • Catinca și Catiușa, două fete din vecini (in collaboration with Th. Kiriacoff-Suruceanu), Cartea Rusă Publishing, București, 1947; • Stăpânul lumii, Cartea Rusă Publishing, București, 1947; • Alb și negru (in collaboration Th. Kiriacoff-Suruceanu), Cartea Rusă Publishing, București, 1949; • Baba Iarna intră-n sat, Tineretului Publishing, București, 1954; • Poezii, „Regele Carol II” Literature and Art Foundation, București, 1956; • Versuri, preface by Const. Ciopraga, Editura de Stat pentru Literatură si Artă, București, 1957; • Poezii, București, 1959; • Partidului de ziua lui, București, 1961; • Poezii (1928-1963), preface by Const. Ciopraga, București, Tineretului Publishing, 1964; • Cele mai frumoase poezii, preface Const. Ciopraga, București, Tineretului Publishing, 1965; • Poezii, Ion Creangă Publishing, București, 1975; • Ariciul împărat, Ion Creangă Publishing, 1985 • Illustration — Cazimir and George Topîrceanu • Illustration — Cazimir's house in Iași