Panait Istrati

Panait Istrati was a writer who began writing in French. Before turning to literature, he worked as an apprentice, street vendor, laborer and stoker on Romanian passenger ships, among other occupations. His travels took him through several Mediterranean countries and across Europe. In 1916, he contracted tuberculosis and stayed at a sanatorium in Leysin, Switzerland. There he met Josué Jéhouda, who taught him French and introduced him to the novels of Romain Rolland. Rolland became an important intellectual influence on Istrati.