After his book "Cetățile albe" appeared in 1946, Stelaru underwent the fate of several in his literary generation, including Geo Dumitrescu and Constant Tonegaru, and was unable to publish under the nascent communist regime until 1963, when "Oameni și flăcări" appeared.
After his book "Cetățile albe" appeared in 1946, Stelaru underwent the fate of several in his literary generation, including Geo Dumitrescu and Constant Tonegaru. He declined to publish adult literature under the nascent communist regime with its socialist realist ethos until 1963, when "Oameni și flăcări" appeared.