Spiridon Vangheli

Spiridon Vangheli (14 June 1932 – 21 June 2024)^[1][2] was a Moldovan children's writer, poet and translator.

Career

Vangheli graduated Ion Creangă State Pedagogical University in 1955 and after various jobs in schools, including as math professor, he joined Moldovan Writers' Union and became consulting editor.

His first publishing debut was in 1962, a book for children "In the land of butterflies".

His books were translated in 40 languages^[3]

Legacy

His most characteristic work are the series of children books about the adventures of Guguță^[4] - a little boy who received from his father a big traditional lamb skin hat, that became his inseparable attribute.^[5] The story goes that Guguţă invites his classmates and the entire village to snuggle under the hat, protecting everyone from the winter cold. As more people join, the hat grows bigger, a metaphor of growing generosity. The books about Guguţă became widely popular and the personage became a national symbol.

Works

• 1964, Chișinău – "The Little Boy in the Blue Hut"
• 1967, București – "The Adventures of Guguță"
• 1970, Chișinău – "Abecedarul", in collaboration with Grigore Vieru and painter Igor Vieru
• 1979, Chișinău – "Guguță - captain of the ship"
• 1981, Chișinău – "The horse with blue eyes"
• 2001, Chișinău – "Children in the handcuffs of Siberia"

References