Died 1953 | ||
Ludovic Dauș (September 19, 1873–1953) was a Romanian prose writer, playwright, poet and translator.
Born in Botoșani, his parents were Alfred Dauș, an engineer of Czech origin, and Maria Negri, the niece of Costache Negri. He attended high school in Botoșani, Fălticeni and Bucharest; the first two towns, located in the Moldavia region, would later form the backdrop for his prose. He subsequently earned a law degree from Bucharest University and practiced as a lawyer. Active in public life, he served as deputy, senator, director of the state press, director of the Chișinău National Theatre, president of the Romanian Athenaeum and of the Bessarabian Press Association, deputy director of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company.
Dauș made his published debut with poems in Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu's Revista nouă. His written output was prodigious, including poetry volumes (În zări de foc, 1915; Drumul sângelui, 1924), novels (Străbunii, 1900; Dușmani ai Neamului, 1904; Iluzii, 1908; Drăceasca schimbare de piele, 1927; Asfințit de oameni, 1932; O jumătate de om, 1937), verse plays (Akmiutis, 1898; Blestemul, 1904; Doamna Oltea, mama lui Ștefan, 1906; Ioana, 1942) and short story collections (Satana, 1912; Porunca toamnei, 1943). His verse plays Eglé, Moș Crăciun, Akmiutis, Vis pierdut, Doamna Oltea and Vlad Țepeș formed part of the National Theatre Bucharest's repertoire. His dramatic work, largely in verse, has fallen into obscurity. He published translations from Antoine François Prévost, Jonathan Swift, Molière, Victor Hugo, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Arthur Conan Doyle, Honoré de Balzac, William Shakespeare, Gustave Flaubert and François Coppée. Dauș was awarded the Romanian Writers' Society prize in 1938.