Peter Neagoe, American artist and writer, was a native of what is now Romania. Although nearly forgotten by the time of his death, he acquired a small reputation as a writer in the late twenties for his simple, lyrical fiction about his homeland. Neagoe's first stories appeared in transition and other Paris little magazines shortly after he abandoned a painting career to write. While in Paris Neagoe also worked as coeditor of the little magazine the New Review and edited Americans Abroad (1932), an anthology of work by American expatriate writers in Europe.

Neagoe's father was a wealthy notary of a small Transylvania village, and, although he was raised in an intellectual atmosphere, young Neagoe preferred to spend his time among the peasants who herded sheep and farmed in this harsh, rugged region of southeastern Europe. Facts, feelings, and images from his childhood among people he loved and admired...