Gândirea

Gândirea
Biruitorul at en.wikipedia · Public domain · source
Title	Gândirea
Editor	Nichifor Crainic
Editor title	Editor
Category	Literary magazine
Frequency	Monthly
Publisher	Editura Institutului de Arte Grafice C. Iordache
Firstdate	1921
Finaldate	1944
Country	Romania
Based	Bucharest
Language	Romanian

Gândirea

Gândirea was a Romanian literary and cultural magazine founded in 1921 in Bucharest that became a central forum for debates among poets, theologians, critics, and politicians during the interwar period. It drew contributors from networks associated with Sibiu, Cluj-Napoca, Iași, Timișoara, and other cultural centers, engaging with contemporary currents linked to Symbolism, Expressionism, Modernism, and Orthodoxism. Over its run until 1944 the magazine intersected with personalities and institutions connected to Romanian Academy, University of Bucharest, Ateneul Român, and various publishing houses, shaping discussions that involved figures from literary to political spheres.

History

Founded in 1921 by young intellectuals around Lucian Blaga and Vasile Voiculescu, the periodical initially published in Cluj and later moved editorial life to Bucharest. Early iterations reflected affinities with Sămănătorul-inspired regionalist debates and with poets tied to Symbolist movement lineages like George Bacovia, Tudor Arghezi, and Ion Barbu. In the mid-1920s editorial control shifted, and by the late 1920s Nichifor Crainic emerged as a leading figure, aligning the magazine with strands of Orthodox theology, conservative cultural currents associated with Nicolae Iorga, and intellectual networks overlapping with Uniunea Culturală Națională. During the 1930s Gândirea became entwined with debates involving Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, Iron Guard, and other nationalist organizations, while maintaining links to artistic communities including Tristan Tzara-adjacent modernists and sympathizers of Dumitru Kiriac-Georgescu music circles. The magazine continued publication through the shifts of the late 1930s and early 1940s, navigating censorship pressures under regimes associated with Carol II of Romania and later Ion Antonescu, until its cessation in 1944 amid wartime transformations.

Editorial Profile and Contributors

The editorial board combined theologians such as Justinian Marina-adjacent clerical thinkers, critics like Eugen Lovinescu, and poets including Lucian Blaga, Vasile Voiculescu, Octavian Goga, and George Topîrceanu. Regular contributors encompassed a wide network: philosophers and literary critics such as Nae Ionescu, Mircea Vulcănescu, G. Călinescu-linked figures, historians like Nicolae Iorga, and younger modernists connected to Ion Barbu and Benjamin Fondane. Musicians and artists contributed visual and musical criticism—names associated with Constantin Brâncuși, Theodor Pallady, Nicolae Tonitza, George Enescu, and Dinu Lipatti appeared in essays or reviews. The magazine also published translations and commentary on foreign authors, engaging with pages referencing Rainer Maria Rilke, Friedrich Nietzsche, Paul Valéry, T. S. Eliot, Charles Baudelaire, Walt Whitman, Romain Rolland, and Georg Trakl.

Content and Themes

Gândirea featured poetry, prose, literary criticism, theological essays, art and music reviews, and cultural polemics. Its aesthetic discourse oscillated between reverence for folk traditions tied to Mihai Eminescu-inspired iconography and explorations of modernist forms akin to Symbolism and Expressionism. The magazine foregrounded Orthodox spirituality and national specificity, publishing theological reflections that invoked patristic authors and church debates linked to Mount Athos traditions and liturgical revival. Cultural nationalism, ruralism, and the defense of Romanian heritage engaged with studies of folklore and ethnography that referenced researchers associated with George Coșbuc-era scholarship and collectors tied to Ciprian Porumbescu and Ștefan Octavian Iosif. Literary polemics addressed formal innovation versus tradition in dialogue with critics tied to Sburătorul gatherings, debates where competitors included Eugen Lovinescu and E. Lovinescu-linked circles.

Influence and Reception

The magazine influenced interwar Romanian letters by shaping careers of poets and critics who would later occupy academic chairs at University of Iași and University of Bucharest and posts at Romanian Academy. Its alignment with conservative and Orthodox currents attracted praise from supporters such as Nicolae Iorga and criticism from liberal modernists connected to Sburătorul and internationalist intellectuals including Benjamin Fondane and Tristan Tzara. Political reception oscillated: some saw the publication as a cultural beacon invoking Romanian nationalism and spiritual renewal, while others associated it with the authoritarian and radical movements of the 1930s including reactions to Carol II of Romania's policies and the rise of Iron Guard. International observers linked its debates to broader European conversations among conservative cultural journals in France, Italy, Germany, and Greece.

Publication and Format

Published monthly, the periodical used a mixture of long-form essays, serialized novels, short stories, and poetry sections, often illustrated with reproductions from artists connected to Nicolae Grigorescu-influenced painters and modernists like Theodor Pallady. Special thematic issues focused on subjects such as folk traditions, Orthodox theology, or monographs on individual authors including studies on Mihai Eminescu, Lucian Blaga, and Octavian Goga. Printing and distribution involved presses and publishers active in Bucharest and regional hubs; circulation peaked during the late 1920s and early 1930s before political polarizations and wartime shortages affected print runs and subscriptions.

Legacy and Archives

The magazine’s legacy persists in Romanian literary historiography, with its archives consulted by scholars at Romanian Academy Library, Central University Library of Bucharest, National Archives of Romania, and university special collections across Cluj-Napoca and Iași. Its pages continue to inform studies on interwar culture, theology, and nationalism in analyses by researchers linked to contemporary departments at University of Bucharest, Babeș-Bolyai University, and international centers in Paris, London, and Berlin. Reprints, critical editions, and doctoral dissertations examine contentious episodes involving editors and contributors, while museum exhibitions at institutions like Muzeul Național de Artă al României and symposia at Ateneu Român revisit its artistic and intellectual contributions.

Category:Romanian magazines Category:1921 establishments in Romania Category:1944 disestablishments in Romania