He attributed his moods of deep melancholy to his Moldavian heritage, against which he later rebelled in "Impotriva Moldovei" (Against Moldavia), an article published in 1927.
Because of his father's military postings, the Eliades moved twice before settling in Bucharest soon after the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, in a house on Melodiei Street whose attic played an almost mythical role in the writer's life. Eliade entered the elementary school on Mantuleasa Street, which he later described in the novel Pe strada Mdntuleasa (1968; translated as The Old Man and the Bureaucrats, 1979). In September 1917 he was admitted to the prestigious Spiru- Haret high school in Bucharest. At about ten he began reading novels and detective stories and became passionately interested in natural sciences, chemistry, zoology, and entomology. In the spring of 1921 Eliade's first article, "The Enemy of the Silkworm," was published injurnalul stiinfclor populare (Journal of Popular Sciences); it was followed by a scientific story called "Cum am descoperit piatra filozofala" (How I Discovered the Philosopher's Stone), which was awarded the first prize in a competition sponsored by the same journal. Encouraged by the publication of these articles, Eliade wanted to work in the field of science while also feeling a strong vocation for imaginative literature.
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