{{Short description|Romanian poet and prose writer}} thumb|Demostene Botez '''Demostene Botez''' (July 2, 1893 – March 18, 1973) was a Romanian poet and prose writer.
Born in Trușești (then called ''Hulub''), Botoșani County, his parents were Anghel Botez, a Romanian Orthodox priest, and his wife Ecaterina (''née'' Chirica), the daughter of a priest. After attending the first two grades of school in his native village, in 1900 he was sent to learn at Botoșani and later at Iași. There he was first a student at a private high school and then at the Boarding High School, from which he graduated in 1912. In 1915, he obtained a law degree from the University of Iași. He made his published debut in 1911, in the Iași-based ''Arhiva'' magazine. After seeing frontline action during World War I, he published the short poetry book ''Munții'' (1918), which was prefaced by Garabet Ibrăileanu and received the Romanian Academy's Adamache literary prize. He practiced law in Iași and in Bucharest for several decades,<ref name="sasu"/> which allowed him to write in relaxed fashion without material cares.<ref name="astefan"/>
While still a high school student, Botez entered the literary circle surrounding ''Viața Românească''. In 1919, he briefly edited ''Însemnări literare'' magazine. During the interwar period, he wrote for the left-wing press on a consistent basis. The poems from his early books (''Floarea pământului'', 1920; ''Povestea omului'', 1922; ''Zilele vieții'', 1927; ''Cuvinte de dincolo'', 1934; ''Pământ și om'', 1942) combine idyllic, traditionalist touches with psychic states and Symbolist motifs. They are significant representatives of the sentimental side to Romania's Symbolist movement.<ref name="sasu"/> His novels (''Ghiocul'', 1931; ''Înălțarea la cer'', 1937) were written in a traditional style partly influenced by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.<ref name="astefan"/>
After the rise of the communist regime, his themes fit the new authorities' line (''Oameni în lumină'', 1956; ''Bucuria tinereții'', 1957; ''Carnet'', 1961).<ref name="sasu"/> His 1956 poetry book ''Curcubeu peste Dunăre'' reflected on Romanian-Bulgarian friendship,<ref name="sasu"/><ref name="adf253">Alex Drace-Francis, ''The Traditions of Invention: Romanian Ethnic and Social Stereotypes in Historical Context'', p. 253-54. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 2013. {{ISBN|978-90-04-21617-4}}</ref> and the 1958 ''Prin ani'' included additional poems about Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia.<ref name="adf253"/> ''Prin U.R.S.S.'' is a 1962 account of his Soviet travels.<ref name="sasu"/><ref name="adf253"/> As a senior cultural figure, he was able to publish his late-1920s impressions of Marseille in a French review, and the verses in ''Carnet'' were inspired by a trip to Paris.<ref name="adf253"/> His translations include ''Madame Bovary''; during his vacations, he wrote memoir-type articles and children's literature.<ref name="astefan"/> Botez was a member of the Assembly of Deputies<ref name="sasu"/> and of the Great National Assembly,<ref name="astefan">{{in lang|ro}} Alex. Ștefănescu, [http://www.romlit.ro/demostene_botez "Demostene Botez"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924114522/http://www.romlit.ro/demostene_botez |date=2015-09-24 }}, in ''România Literară'', nr. 10/2003</ref> and from 1963 a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} [http://www.acad.ro/bdar/armembriLit.php?vidT=B Membrii Academiei Române din 1866 până în prezent] at the Romanian Academy site</ref> He served as editor-in-chief and later director of ''Viața Românească'''s new series. From 1964 to 1965, he was interim president of the Romanian Writers' Union.<ref name="sasu">Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 196-97. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. {{ISBN|973-697-758-7}}</ref>
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Botez, Demostene}} Category:1893 births Category:1973 deaths Category:People from Botoșani County Category:Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni Category:Symbolist poets Category:Romanian magazine editors Category:Romanian opinion journalists Category:Romanian travel writers Category:Romanian military personnel of World War I Category:Corresponding members of the Romanian Academy Category:Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Category:Members of the Great National Assembly Category:20th-century Romanian poets Category:20th-century Romanian novelists Category:20th-century Romanian translators Category:20th-century Romanian lawyers Category:20th-century Romanian journalists Category:20th-century Romanian male journalists