„Vreau s-ajung steaua de acolo....” – Cum a început Magda Isanos să scrie? Imaginea literară a Magdei Isanos în Basarabia şi în România

Abstract

Magda Isanos starts writing lyrics around thirteen, right around the time of
her stay in Chisinau, when, one night, she opens the door of her house to a drunken
man, given the location, to whom she comes forward with a paperweight in her hand.
Her father regards the passion of composing with a malignant and restless
attitude, tearing or burning her first poetry notebooks. Thus, there only remain some
lyrics memorised by the writer’s sister, for instance, some stanzas devoted to her little
sister on her three years old anniversary. There are also some short poems with satiric
concept that Magda creates by collaborating with a boy from the neighbourhood, who, at
a certain point, reminded of her physical flaw.
In 1932, she publishes for the first time in the Firefly Magazine (year I, no.2,
May 28) of Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu Boys’High School from Chisinau, the poems I’d
like a fairy tale and Spring. In Chisinau it also appears the first number of the magazine
Bessarabian Life. In 1933, in the same magazine in which she debuted (Firefly, year II,
no.2, April 1), she publishes the poem Jealousy. Magda also attends and has a significant
role in creating the Cultural Society Iulia Hasdeu from around The Diocesan Girls’
High School from Chisinau. She receives the second award in a contest of the Society
Romanian Youth from Bucharest to which she joined with an essay on the theme The
Woman’s Rights. The award is being offered to her by the professor Nae Dumitrescu, the
Society’s president.
In 1934, her poem Rain appears in the magazine Bessarabian Life ( year III,
no.3, March). On this occasion, Magda is integrated in the history of bessarabian
literature.
Magda Isanos continues to publish in some other popular magazines of those
times, and in the spring of 1937, Magda Isanos’ heart flourished of joy, when, having
breakfast at the Housekeeping Hostel, she heard from the table near her two gentlemen
who appreciated her poems, not knowing that the one staying next to them was the
authoress herself.
During her life, Magda Isanos had two moments of literary success. The first
echo fame was felt when she was twenty years old, after Mihai Codreanu recommended
her during a reunion organised by the Notes of Iasi as being a poetess of great sensibility
and of real depth. [ Grati, 2016:43]. Having Mihail Sadoveanu as a mentor, the group of
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the dedicated magazine was formed by the most reputed men from Iasi, and their
agreement offered young Magda a resounding victory with the public. It is true that her
writings were printed until then in one of the most significant bessarabian magazines,
Bessarabian Life, but frequenting the Notes of Iasi during 1936-1938 with a significant
number of creations, and also the Literary Journal in 1939, coordinated by George
Călinescu, she had the privilege of being integrated in the circle of the young ones who
were read and reproduced. The second glorious moment in the writer’s career was in
1943 when editing the only volume antuma Poems, printed with the Brawo Publishing
House, that was also coordinating the Notes of Iasi magazine. The book stimulated the
interest of reputed critics such as Pompiliu Constantinescu, Gheorghe Bezviconi, Serban
Cioculescu, Ion Caraion, Virgil Ierunca, who published reviews in the magazines Royal
Foundations, Time, Young Romania, Literary Universe, The literary and artistic truth.
In Bessarabia, it is difficult to create the literary image of Magda Isanos due to
the existing situation from 1940-1989. As is well known, the literary atmosphere from
the interwar period was favourable for sustaining the writer’s creation.
Among the authors that are not accepted by the new procedure installed after
Bessarabia joined the Soviet Union is also Magda Isanos. For the new generations that
are reading moldavian literature from the East of the Prut, the poetess is anonymous.
She becomes known only after 1989, due to some studies realised by Vasile Badiu in the
local magazines, in which he shares from Magda Isanos’ will, describing her as being a
poetess of great sensibility, in whose poetry are pulsing pieces of Bessarabia’s soul. In
the same year, the Artistic Literature Publishing House publishes in Latin the volume of
lyrics, sketches and chronicles, named Lyrical Confessions.
If Magda Isanos’ poetry suggests or not a bessarabian mark, it remains to be
found. The concrete part is that in 1938, in the study The young bessarabian lyrical,
Laurentiu Fulga includes her in the elite of bessarabian spirituality.