Well-known Moldovan literary critic, translator passes away

Chisinau, 5 March /MOLDPRES/ - A literary critic, translator, essay writer  Argentina Cupcea-Josu died at the age of almost 89 years on 4 March.  

Argentina Cupcea-Josu was born in a family of intellectuals in the Cupcui village, southern Cahul county, now Leova district, on 6 June 1930. She studied at the Regina Elisabeta (Queen Elisabeth) theoretical lyceum (1941-1944) and at the Philology Faculty of the Moldovan State University (1948-1953).    

Cupcea-Josu worked as teacher of Romanian at the Chisinau-based Ion Creanga State Pedagogical University, scientific researcher at the Language and Literature Institute of the Moldovan Academy of Sciences (ASM). She wrote studies and critical articles about the contemporary literary process: Conceiving and making the artistic image, Evolution of character, Talent of writer and literary mastership, etc. She is co-author of textbooks, writer of prefaces of books; studies on the mastership of literary translations from Nekrasov, Mayakovsky, Sholokhov, Ilf and Petrov; about the mastership of translators Igor Cretu and Alexandru Cosmescu. She translated into Romanian works by Maupassant, Stendhal, Avijius, Chekhov, Nusic, Gorky and others. Cupcea-Josu is co-author and co-editor of the Chisinau Encyclopedia.        

According to guild colleagues, Argentina Cupcea-Josu made herself conspicuous also through her spirit of animator of the literary and artistic life, active member of the Coordinating Council of the Our Romanian Language Society. She founded and led the literary club, A smile for the third age, at the Onisifor Ghibu public library from Chisinau. In 1994, Cupcea-Josu was awarded the title of master of literature from Moldova and in 1996 – the Mihai Eminescu medal. In 2010, Argentina Cupcea-Josu was awarded the Labour Glory order. 

Argentina Cupcea-Josu will be buried at the Central Orthodox Cemetery on the Armeneasca Street from Chisinau on 6 March.