Liviu Deleanu

(pseudonym of Lipa Samuilovich Kligman). Born Feb. 8 (21), 1911, in Iaşi; died May 12, 1967, in Kishinev. Soviet Moldavian poet.

Until 1940, Deleanu worked in Bucharest as a lithographer and proofreader and contributed to democratic magazines. His first collection of poems, Enchanted Mirrors, was published in 1927. Notes of social protest resound in the collections Hours of Vigil (1937) and White Silt (1940). The poet condemns fascism in Swords Over Spain (1940).

In his works Deleanu expressed his sympathy for the oppressed and their struggle against the capitalist system. Some of his poems were influenced by symbolism. During the Great Patriotic War (1941-45), Deleanu wrote inspired verses, imbued with Soviet patriotism. He celebrated the feat of the heroic underground Komsomol organization of Krasnodon in the poem Krasnodon (1950; published in 1957 under the title Immortal Youth; Russian translation, 1958). His dramatic poem The Enchanted Mace (1951; Russian translation, 1959) allegorically reflects the friendship of the Moldavian and Russian peoples. Deleanu’s lyric poetry is outstanding for its sincerity and sometimes for its ardor. Deleanu wrote numerous works for children.