Bacovia, George (1881–1957)

Romanian poet. Plumb/Lead (1916), his first volume of poems, shows the influence of Symbolism. Melancholy and pessimism characterize Bacovia's work; the volumes Scintei Galbene/Collected Poems (1926) and Bucati de noapte (1926) evoke an atmosphere of damp, rain, and snow, where decay is ever present.

Bacovia was born in Bacǎu in eastern Romania, from where he took his adopted name. His first work appeared in 1898 in Alexandru Macedonski's review Literatorul. In later works, such as Cu voi (1930) and Comedii in fond (1936), Bacovia's fixation with putrefaction is replaced by social and political observation.