George Bacovia (; the pen name of Gheorghe Vasiliu ; – 22 May 1957) was a Romanian symbolist poet. While he initially belonged to the local Symbolist movement, launched as a poet by Alexandru Macedonski with the poem and poetry collection ("Lead"), his poetry came to be seen as a precursor of Romanian Modernism and eventually established him in critical esteem alongside Lucian Blaga, Tudor Arghezi, Ion Pillat, Ion Barbu, and Octavian Goga as one of the most important interwar Romanian poets. In the 1950s, he wrote the poem "Cogito", which is his poetical testament. Biography Childhood Bacovia was born Gheorghe Vasiliu in Bacău, the son of a merchant, Dimitrie Vasiliu, and his wife Zoe "Zoița" Vasiliu (born Langa). At only six years of age he began his study of German. Between 1889 and 1890 he started his schooling at an academy in Bacău, before registering in 1891 at the "Domnească" Primary School in the same city. In June 1893, he finished his primary schooling and afterward began studies at the Ferdinand Gymnasium, also in Bacău. One autumn night, an oversight by the sexton led to his being locked overnight in the tower of the Precista church, an experience which would later inspire his first major poem, 1899's Amurg violet (Purple Twilight). He exhibited a talent for drawing and developed into an excellent violinist in the school orchestra, which he directed. He also distinguished himself in gymnastics. In 1899, he received the national first prize in the contest "Tinerimii române" for "artistic drawings of nature". His poem Și toate – written a year earlier under the name of "V. George" – was published in the magazine Literatorul on 30 March, launching his literary career. Studies In 1900, Bacovia matriculated at the Military Academy in Iași, but dropped out during his second semester, unable to bear military discipline. In 1901 he began studies at the Liceul Ferdinand in Bacău, from which he graduated in 1903. He wrote the poem Liceu (High School) in response to a Ministry of Education questionnaire sent to graduates in the course of Spiru Haret's educational reforms. He matriculated at the Faculty of Law in Bucharest and soon became a fixture in the city's literary life; an early reading of his poem Plumb (Lead) at Alexandru Macedonski's salon produced a powerful impression. He continued reading his poems at Macedonski's salon, and in 1904 his Nervi de toamnă