Editing Marin Preda (section)

=== Leaving his native village ===
In 1937, avoiding the Teacher Training School in [[Alexandria, Romania|Alexandria]], where the fees were too high, Preda instead sought to attend school in [[Câmpulung|Câmpulung-Muscel]], but was rejected at the medical examination due to [[Near-sightedness|myopia]]. His father then tried to send him to a trade school; however, a librarian, Constantin Păun from [[Miroși]], intervened and sent Preda to school in [[Abrud]], where he received a successful grade of 10 in the scholarship examination. Preda soon integrated into daily life at a pedagogical institute. The teaches were satisfied with him and he got along well with his Transylvanian colleagues; in 1939 he spent the winter holiday with a colleague from Abrud.{{Relevant?|date=July 2022}}

In the autumn of 1939 he was transferred to a school in [[Cristuru Secuiesc|Cristur-Odorhei]], where he continued his studies for another year. As with Abrud, he showed a special interest in history, Romanian, and mathematics. At the meetings of the Literary Society in the school, he was noticed by the teacher Justin Salanțiu, who predicted that "he will become a great writer". While in the Literary Society he wrote and read some short sketches, which were chosen for publication in his school's literary magazine; however, due to changing political circumstances in Romania, the magazine shut down and his writings went unpublished. The three years of Transylvanian life were later evoked in the semi-autobiographical novel ''Viața ca o pradă'' ("Life as Prey") and in ''Cel mai iubit dintre pământeni'' ("The Most Beloved of Earthlings"). In 1940, following the [[Second Vienna Award]], which transferred parts of [[Transylvania]] to [[Hungary]], Preda began to attend school in [[Bucharest]].

In January 1941 he witnessed the turbulent events of the [[Legionnaires' rebellion and Bucharest pogrom|Legionary Rebellion]] and its repression by [[Ion Antonescu]]. He kept contact with Transylvanian refugees and met with soldiers settled in Bucharest. Three decades later, he would recount these events in ''Viața ca o pradă'' and ''Delirul'' ("The Delirium").

At the end of the 1940–1941 school year, with help of the school's headmaster, he took the skills examination, but due to material difficulties he dropped out of school.

During the summer, Preda did not return to his native village: ''"I had the impression that if I return, I will not be able to leave."'' He had failed to publish anything and not even found a job, Marin Preda found increasingly difficult: ''"It is impossible for me to remember and understand how I was able to live, from what sources, all autumn and all winter of 1941 -1942. Only unrelated, unnatural things ... I had nowhere to sleep, there was sleet all over Bucharest, and I walked non-stop by tram from [[Bucharest North railway station|Gara de Nord]] to Gara de Est. All day and all night."'' Sometimes he visited his brother Nilă, in a tiny attic where "he was lost for hours, with his elbows under his neck."{{Cite quote|date=July 2022}}

In the collected volume of poems ''Sârmă ghimpată'' ("Barbed Wire"), Romanian poet [[Geo Dumitrescu]] intended to include Preda's poem, "The Return of the Wandering Son", but the collection was banned from print. In 1941, also through Geo Dumitrescu, Preda was hired as a proofreader for the newspaper ''Timpul''.