While he has fallen into obscurity in English, the Francophone Romanian writer Panait Istrati was well-known across Europe in the interwar period. Istrati grew up in poverty in the Danube port town of Brăila, whose residents lived alongside a cosmopolitan mix of Greeks, Turks, Jews, and Russians. He left Romania in 1906, traveling to Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, and Greece, then left for southern France in 1913 and spent World War I in Switzerland, where he taught himself French by reading classic works. In 1919, Istrati wrote a plea for support to Romain Rolland, and when his letter was returned unread, he attempted suicide in Nice, but, when he was rescued, it was sent again. Rolland subsequently became a strong supporter of the Romanian writer and wrote an enthusiastic introduction to his…
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Citation: Sabatos, Charles. "Panait Istrati". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 January 2021 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14685, accessed 22 November 2024.]
