Culture
Under the reign of Ceausescu, Romanian writers, artists and performers
endured prosecution and censorship. However, many – such as
writers Norman Manea and Herta
Müller – took off from the country. Today, with
the arrival of Capitalism, intellectuals
and artists will be facing a new danger, which Manea terms
‘economic censorship’. However, with
a strong artistic tradition and spirit, Bucharest prevails
as the beating heart of Romania’s cultural and artistic activity.
Tickets to performances are available at the various venues. Listings
and information on cultural events in Bucharest are available online
(website: www.inyourpocket.com/romania/bucharest/en).
Literary Notes
Bucharest’s cultural glory days ran from the last half of
the 19th century to the first few decades of the 20th, when its
thriving café society produced poets, writers and philosophers
in abundance. The man seen as having given birth to these literary
glory days is Romania’s national poet, Mihai
Eminescu (1850-89). The personification of a Romantic poet,
his verses celebrated Romania’s history and folklore, at a
time when it was struggling to develop a culture independent of
foreign influence. His most famed poem, ‘Luceafarul’
(‘The Evening Star’) has become a classic of
Romanian literature. Eminescu belonged to Bucharest’s Junimea
(Youth) literary society, dedicated to discussing Romania’s
cultural direction. Another member was playwright
Ion Luca Caragiale (1852-1912), a brilliant observer of
national characters and attitudes.
In the early 20th century, symbolist poets like Tristan
Tzara (1896-1953) experimented with the meanings of words
through their sounds. Tzara left for Zurich, to form the Dada movement
in 1916. He and other symbolist writers influenced the absurdist
playwright, Eugène Ionesco (1912-94). Meanwhile,
Romania’s tradition of lyric poetry was continued by Ion
Barbu< (1895-1961) and Tudor Arghezi (1880-1967).
Between the World Wars, a generation of Socialist Realist writers
transpired, including the novelists Liviu Rebreanu (1885-1944)
and Mihail Sadoveanu (1880-1961). But following
World War II, the shackles of Communism forced many good writers
to pursue their careers in the West – or be silenced. Novelists
who managed to break through the Communist mould are Eugen
Barbu (1924-94) with his 1957 novel Groapa (The
Pit), about a sleazy Bucharest neighbourhood, and Augustin
Buzuru (1938-) with 1984’s Refugii (Places
of Refuge), about life under Ceausescu. Although set in
Timisoara, German-Romanian writer Herta Müller
gives a scary portrayal of political and personal unrest during
Ceausescu's reign, in The Land of Green Plums (1996),
winner of the IMPAC Dublin literary award in 1998.
For a crash course in Romanian literary heroes, visitors should
wander around the Writers’ Circle in Cismigiu Park, where
busts of Romania’s major writers have been erected. |
