FURTUNǍ, ENRIC

FURTUNǍ, ENRIC (pseudonym of Henry Peckelmann) (1881–1965), Romanian poet. Born in Boti̯şani, Furtunǎ practiced as a physician in Jassy. He spent much of his time writing poetry which he published both in Jewish periodicals, such as Ha-Tikvah and Adam, and in general Romanian journals. Two important verse collections were De pe Stâncǎ ("From the Rock," 1922) and Poemele resemnǎrii ("Poems of Resignation," 1940). Many of Furtunǎ's poems had Jewish themes and he showed particular concern for the tragic homelessness of the Jewish people, for which the only remedy he saw was a return to Zion. Some of his poems are on biblical themes, the last being Abíşag, a dramatic work published in Tel Aviv in 1963 when Furtunǎ was over 80. There are other poems which show a biblical influence. Furtunǎ also wrote plays and translated Hebrew poetry, especially that of Ḥ.N. Bialik and David Shimoni, and Yiddish writers, notably Itzik Manger and Halper Leivick. Furtunǎ emigrated to Ereẓ Israel in 1944 but he left after two years and returned to Romania. In 1958 he settled in Brazil where he died in São Paulo. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: E. Lovinescu, Evolutia poeziei lirice (1927), 161–3; S. Lazar, in: Viaţa noastrǎ (July 20, 1965). (Abraham Feller)