While he initially belonged to the local Symbolist movement, launched as a poet by Alexandru Macedonski with the poem and poetry collection Plumb [ro] ("Lead"), his poetry came to be seen as a precursor of Romanian Modernism and eventually established him in critical esteem alongside Lucian Blaga, Tudor Arghezi, Ion Pillat, Ion Barbu, and Octavian Goga as one of the most important interwar Romanian poets.

One autumn night, an oversight by the sexton led to his being locked overnight in the tower of the Precista church, an experience which would later inspire his first major poem, 1899's Amurg violet (Purple Twilight).

His poem Și toate – written a year earlier under the name of "V. George" – was published in the magazine Literatorul on 30 March, launching his literary career.

He matriculated at the Faculty of Law in Bucharest and soon became a fixture in the city's literary life; an early reading of his poem Plumb (Lead) at Alexandru Macedonski's salon produced a powerful impression.

Helped by his growing reputation, he gained a position at the review Arta de la Iași and was able to stop his law studies.

In 1914, Bacovia was interned at the sanitorium of Dr. Mărgăritescu in Bucharest, from where he published poems in the literary supplement of the newspaper Seara and sent Plumb out for publication.

By 1925, however, he had become the primary director of the review Ateneu cultural, and published his book of poetry Scântei galbene (Yellow sparks) at his own expense.

In 1929, he republished Plumb and Scântei galbene in a single edition, entitled Poezii and produced by Editura Ancora; soon after, the dormant review Orizonturi noi resumed publication under his direction.

He gained a post as an inspector at the Ministry of Popular Education, but after the publication of his collection Cu voi (With you), he returned with his wife to Bacău, where he spent three years unemployed.

In 1931, Agatha gave birth to Bacovia's only son, Gabriel; in 1932, the Romanian Society of Writers approved a monthly pension of 1,000 lei.

He continued to write, and in 1946 published the volume Stanțe burgheze (literally translated into English Bourgeois Stanzas), which led to his hiring by the Ministry of the Arts.