I. Valerian
I. Valerian (Valeriu Ionescu; August 1, 1895 – November 21, 1980) was a Romanian writer and journalist. He was born in Ivești, Galați County, and grew up in Tecuci. He studied in Tecuci and Galați, then served in World War I after finishing the Military Reserve Officers' School in Bucharest. He fought in the Battle of Mărăști, was wounded on August 6, promoted to lieutenant, and knighted with the Order of the Crown.
After the war, he recuperated in Bârlad, working with writers Alexandru Vlahuță and George Tutoveanu, and joined Academia Bârlădeană. He published his first verses in Florile Dalbe. He married Elena Ganea in 1922 and they had five children. In 1925 he moved to Bucharest, joined the Sburătorul literary circle, and published in Revista literară. He joined the Romanian Writers’ Society in 1922 and earned his degree magna cum laude from the University of Bucharest in 1925.
His first book, Caravanele tăcerii (The Caravans of Silence), appeared in 1923 and won a Romanian Academy prize in 1924. In 1925 he was elected a member of the Royal Romanian Geographical Society. From 1926 to 1941 he edited Viața Literară, which helped launch many writers, and he also contributed to Sentinela (1939–1944). His verse Stampe (1927) and his novel Cara Su (1936) received praise.
He worked in the Education Ministry’s military teaching department (1932–1937), headed the Office of Romanian Youth Education (1937–1938), and was involved with Straja Țării. During World War II he headed a department in the press section of the Ministry of National Propaganda and held a leadership role in the Writers’ Union. He remarried in 1943, to Aurelia Grigoriță Tomescu (Grig Malciu). Retired in 1945, he supported national defense through AVSAP. In 1967 he was readmitted to the Writers’ Union of Romania. He published Cu scriitorilor în veac, based on 39 interviews, and in 1969–1970 released revised Cara Su and Chipuri din Viața Literară. He died in 1980.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 08:36 (CET).