Moldova marks 100th birthday anniversary of poet, translator

Chisinau, 22 July /MOLDPRES/ - The 100th anniversary of the birthday of poet, translator, holder of the honorific title, Master of Literature, Paul Mihnea is marked today.   

Mihnea’s true name is Pinhas Șilman. The poet’s patents died in the ghetto from the Transnistrian region.

Paul Mihnea was born in the Briceni town in 1921. He studied at the Romanian lyceum from Chernivtsi. Afterwards, the poet studied at the Chernivtsi University. Mihnea used to write poems back in his school years.   

According to the National Calendar, Paul Mihnea wrote an intellectualized poetry, of a special sensitiveness. He was an extraordinary sonneteer, but his sonnets were reformulated. Mihnea was a “pure poet’,’ as writer Vladimir Besleaga described him. Academician Mihai Cimpoi said Paul Mihnea was a ‘’true monk of poetry’’, ‘’a writer who fed himself only from writing, the poetry being a holiday of the intellect for him.’’   

Besides Romanian, he also knew the French and German languages. In 1940, Mihnea wrote his first book in Chernivtsi. During the Second World War, he took refuge in Tver. In 1945, he returned to Chisinau.  

In 1960s-1970s, the writer went through a crisis period and thus he had to resort to poems about mother, neighbours, merchants, beggars, buyers and wrote a string of biographic poems.   

In his last years of life, Mihnea wrote poems in French. He also had a book in French, which was not printed. As of 1988, the writer wrote 174 poems in French. Paul Mihnea was also a skilful translator. He translated works from French, German, Latin, Russian. In 1992, the poet was awarded the literary prize of the year for a volume of sonnets and in 1993 – the title of Master of Literature.

Paul Mihnea died on 31 August 1994.