MIHAIL SADOVEANU – THE CORRESPONDENCE SENT TO SEXTIL PUȘCARIU
(Abstract)

Mihail Sadoveanu (1880–1961) and Sextil Pușcariu (1877–1948) are two major figures in the Romanian culture and society of the 20th century. Not only where they both prolific authors, with fundamental contributions to Romanian culture, but they also held, for decades, multiple key-positions in Romania’s cultural (and sometimes political) institutions. The correspondence published here, 9 documents (letters or postcards, dating from 1904–1933), written by Sadoveanu and addressed to Sextil Pușcariu, provides a valuable perspective on the Romanian society of the early 20th century in terms of editorial practices (for both periodical publications as well as book publishers), education in rural communities, or Romanian culture in general. The documents are part of the Sextil Pușcariu correspondence archive, available at the “Sextil Pușcariu” Institute of Linguistics and Literary History, Romanian Academy, Cluj-Napoca branch. Apart from their philological or literary value, the documents may be of great interest to historians or sociologists interested in early-modern Romania, as Sadoveanu’s comments are often focused on important figures or events from that time – for example, in one of his letters, Sadoveanu extensively discusses about Nicole Iorga (one of the most important Romanian historians from that time), more specifically about his departure from the famous Sămănătorul magazine and about his editorial practices as director of the magazine.

Keywords: Mihail Sadoveanu, Sextil Pușcariu, correspondence, N. Iorga, Romanian literature.