Mircea Demetriade (Demetriad) | |
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| Born | September 2, 1861 |
| Died | September 11, 1914 (aged 53) |
| Pen name | M. C. Dimitriade, Mircea des Métriades, Ali-Baba, Demir, Dimir, D. Mir |
| Occupation | poet, dramatist, journalist, literary critic, stage actor |
| Nationality | Romanian |
| Period | 1880–1914 |
| Genre | lyric poetry, sonnet, fable, comedy, fantasy, history play, verse drama, vers libre, essay |
| Literary movement | Symbolism (Romanian) Parnassianism |
Mircea Constantin Demetriade (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈmirtʃe̯a konstanˈtin demetriˈade]; also rendered as Demetriad, Dimitriade, Dimitriadi, or Demitriadi; September 2, 1861 – September 11, 1914) was a Romanian poet, playwright and actor, one of the earliest animators of the local Symbolist movement. Born in Oltenia to a theatrical family, he largely gave up on a similar career to become a bohemian writer. He associated with, and was inspired by, Alexandru Macedonski, building on early romantic influences at Literatorul magazine. Later, he incorporated borrowings from Charles Baudelaire and Arthur Rimbaud, two of the authors Demetriade would translate into Romanian.
Demetriade's work, which mainly consists of lyric poetry and verse drama with fantasy elements, was often included in the National Theater Bucharest programs; however, critics and historians have dismissed it as a rather minor contribution to Romanian literature. In addition to pioneering Symbolism, Demetriade affiliated with the socialist circle of Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea and Constantin Mille, and was a local promoter of Freemasonry. During the 1880s, he cultivated the friendships of writers Vasile Alecsandri and Bonifaciu Florescu, editing Analele Literare, a magazine which mixed Symbolist activism and literary scholarship. He is additionally remembered for helping to found the society of writers at Kübler Coffeehouse circle, and for being one of the regulars at Macedonski's literary salon.