Vlaicu Bârna
Vlaicu Victor Virgil Bârna (December 4, 1913 – March 11, 1999) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian poet. Born in Crișan, Hunedoara County, in the Transylvania region, his parents Ion Bârna and Maria ("née" Pavel) were peasants. After graduating from Avram Iancu High School in Brad in 1932, he entered the literature and philosophy faculty of Bucharest University, earning his degree in 1936. He was editing secretary for "Azi" magazine and editor at "Rampa" and "România" (under Cezar Petrescu's direction in 1938–1939) and at the daily "Ardealul". From 1941 to 1947, he was press representative at the Propaganda  Ministry and the Foreign Ministry. Under the Communist regime, he was editor at Editura de Stat pentru Literatură și Artă from (1949–1951), literary adviser at Radiodifuziunea română (1951–1966), editor at "Viața Românească" (1968–1974) and literary secretary of the Romanian Writers' Union (1972–1976). He edited and headed the publications "Arta" (1941; "Arta nouă" in 1942–1943) and "Galeria" (1941–1943). He was a participant in the "Sburătorul" circle, particularly from 1933 to 1935. Bârna's first published poems appeared in "Azi", "Viața literară" and "Litere" in 1934; his first poetry book was the 1936 "Cabane albe". His work appeared in "Revista Fundațiilor Regale , Familia", "Universul literar", "Gazeta literară", "România Literară" and "Steaua". In 1944, during World War II, he edited the bimonthly "Câmpia Libertății", a publication that protested against fascism and the Second Vienna Award. Starting with "Brume" (1940) and through the retrospective selection "Cupa de aur" (1970) and "Patria mea, plai al Mioriței" (1977), he sought to evoke a medieval Transylvania dominated by mountain landscapes and the turbulent history of the "moți". Under communism, in the socialist realist framework, he also celebrated the new societal conditions. He wrote two historical novels for young people: "Romanul Caterinei Varga" (1961) and "Când era Horia  împărat" (1962). Authors he translated include Adam Mickiewicz, Heinrich Heine and Victor Hugo. He won the Ion Pavelescu Prize for sonnets in 1934 and the Romanian Academy's Mihai Eminescu Prize in 1977.