Romanian Literature Wiki
Romanian Literature Wiki
Literatura romana 2teancuri

Several editions of classic, modern and contemporary Romanian writers.

Romanian literature is literature written by Romanian authors, although the term may also be used to refer to all literature written in the Romanian language or to include literature written in Romania in other languages (see German-Romanian writers).

Structure[]

Although relatively young compared to other European literatures and not using an internationally used language, Romanian literature benefitted from numerous synchronist efforts and went a long way from 1800 to 1900 and from 1900 until today. The popular literature with its structural diversity and the numerous foreign influences helped build cult writing.

From the point of view of quantity and (roughly speaking) quality, poetry is the genre considered to have flourished the most, justifying in retrospect Vasile Alecsandri's famous saying that the "Romanian is born poet"... Mihai Eminescu is considered the most important and influential within the history of Romanian poetry and holds the status of "national poet" (title initially given to Vasile Alecsandri and with which have also been described George Coșbuc, Octavian Goga and even George Bacovia). Alexandru Macedonski, Tudor Arghezi, Ion Barbu, Lucian Blaga, Nichita Stănescu were also significant.

Second to poetry is fictional prose, considered as such due to the slow development of the novel and the limited number of prose writers that have achieved relevance outside the borders of the country. Indeed, non-fictional prose was in some ways stronger and has a longer tradition (see history of non-fiction). However, the abundance of notable (neo)realist novels (such as Ion, Enigma Otiliei or Moromeții), the innovative prose writers associated with the avant-garde (Urmuz and especially Max Blecher) and the diversity of the contemporary fiction (out of which have been singled out so far Mircea Cărtărescu, Dumitru Țepeneag, Gheorghe Crăciun, Radu Aldulescu, Filip Florian and several others) should not be neglected.

Due to the various contexts, Romanian drama had developed to a lesser degree, in spite of the canonic importance and influence of Caragiale. Most major playwrights are also known for their prose and/or poetry: Vasile Alecsandri, Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea, Victor Eftimiu, Lucian Blaga, Camil Petrescu, Mihail Sebastian, Radu Stanca, Marin Sorescu, D.R. Popescu, Fănuș Neagu, Ion Băieșu, Ion D. Sârbu, Matei Vișniec, Saviana Stănescu. Among the few more or less major playwrights that wrote little in other forms were Mihail Sorbu, Victor Ion Popa, George Ciprian, Tudor Mușatescu, Aurel Baranga, Horia Lovinescu, Vlad Zografi etc. The most significant playwright after Caragiale was, however, Eugen Ionescu, who wrote and published most of his internationally-recognised plays in French. (See history of exile writers)

Romanian writers from Bessarabia and Romanian writers from Serbia are two chapters that still remain somewhat distinct, even though many of them in the past decades have finally been added to accounts of literature in Romanian. (See the two main articles)

History[]

Origins[]

The earliest surviving document in Romanian is Neacşu's Letter (Scrisoarea lui Neacșu din Câmpulung) written in 1521, to the jude ("judge and mayor") of Braşov, Hans Benkner.

Romanian culture was heavily influenced by the Eastern Orthodox Church, brought to the Romanian land by the Apostle Andrew. The earliest translated books into Romanian were Slavonic religious texts from the 15th century. The Psalter of Şchei (Psaltirea Şcheiană) of 1482 and the Voroneţ Codex (Codicele Voroneţean) are religious texts that were written in Maramureş.

The first book printed in Romania was a Slavonic religious book in 1508. The first book printed in the Romanian language was a catechism of Deacon Coresi in 1559. Other translations from Greek and Slavonic books were printed later in the 16th century. Dosoftei (1673) was the first Romanian metrical psalter, producing the earliest known poetry written in Romanian.

Early efforts to publish the Bible in Romanian started with the 1582 printing in the small town of Orăştie of the so-called Palia de la Orăştie - a translation of the first books of the Old Testament - by Deacon Şerban (a son of the above-mentioned Deacon Coresi) and Marien Diacul (Marien the Scribe). Palia was translated from Latin by Bishop Mihail Tordaş et al., the translation being checked for accuracy using Hungarian translations of the Bible.  The entire Bible was not published in Romanian until the end of the 17th century, when monks at the monastery of Snagov, near Bucharest, translated and printed „Biblia de la Bucureşti” - "The Bucharest Bible" in 1688.

Humanism. Illuminism. Pre-modern period[]

European humanism came to Moldavia in the 17th century via Poland with its representative, Miron Costin, writing a chronicle on the history of Moldavia (following the chronicle of Grigore Ureche). Another humanist was Dimitrie Cantemir, who wrote histories of Romania and Moldavia.

The 18th century in the Romanian lands was dominated by the Ottoman Empire, which decided not to allow Romanian rulers in Wallachia and Moldavia and ruled, instead, through Greek merchants of Istanbul, called phanariotes. Thus, Greek culture influenced the developments of Romanian literature. For example, one of the greatest poets of this century was Alecu Văcărescu, who wrote love songs in the tradition of ancient Greek poet Anacreon. His father, Ienăchiţă, was a poet as well, but he also wrote the first Romanian grammar and his son, Iancu, was probably one of the greatest poets of his generation. A human comedy was developed in the anecdotes of Anton Pann, who tried to illustrate a bit of the Balkanic spirit and folklore which was brought by the Ottomans in the Romanian lands. However, the next generation of Romanian writers headed toward European Illuminism for inspiration, among them Gheorghe Asachi, Ion Budai Deleanu and Dinicu Golescu. The Origin of the Romanians began to be discussed and in Transylvania, a Latinist movement - Transylvanian School (Şcoala Ardeleană) - emerged, producing philological studies about the Romanic origin of Romanian and opening Romanian language schools.

1848[]

See main article: 1848ism (pașoptism).

The first half of the 19th century marks the debut of modern Romanian literature as we know it today. The slow development of literary language meant that, for a long time, forms of popular literature were vigorous and their influence was apparent on cult writing up until the second half of the 20th century (see traditionalism).

As the revolutionary ideas of nationalism spread in Europe, they were also used by the Romanians, who desired their own national state, but were living under foreign rule. Many Romanian writers of the time were also part of the national movement and participated in the revolutions of 1821 and 1848. Romanians studied in France, Italy and Germany, and German philosophy and French culture were integrated into modern Romanian literature, lessening the influence of Ancient Greece and the Orient over time. In Wallachia an important figure of the time was Ion Heliade Rădulescu, who founded the first Romanian-language journal and the Philharmonic Society, which later created the National Theatre of Bucharest.

In 1840, Mihail Kogălniceanu, Vasile Alecsandri and Costache Negruzzi release the magazine Dacia literară (Literary Dacia), whose intro manifesto (Introducție) written by Kogălniceanu proposed a new literary direction. In the first issue was also published Costache Negruzzi's masterpiece, Alexandru Lăpușneanul, the first historical novella written in Romanian literature.

Vasile Alecsandri was a prolific writer, author of poetry, prose, several plays, and collections of Romanian folklore. As the title of his first collection (Poezii poporale. Balade (Cântice bătrânești). Adunate și îndreptate de d. V. Alecsandri - "Popular Poems. Ballads (Old Songs) gathered and fixed by V. Alecsandri") indicates though, he (as other Romanticist folklorists did) apparently done a lot of edits. There were many controversies on whether the version of Miorița collected by Alecsandri is authentic, edited or altogether created by Alecsandri, as G. Călinescu proclamed it "one of the fundamental myths of Romanians", while Nicolae Manolescu considers it "Alecsandri's masterpiece". The case has not been settled yet, but the poem is nevertheless of canonic importance. Alecsandri is especially known as the author of Pasteluri and of a cycle of comedies (Coana Chirița) which predate those of Caragiale.

Other writers of this period include Vasile Cârlova, Dimitrie Bolintineanu (popular poet and author of some of the first attempts of Romanian novel, Manoil and Elena), Grigore Alexandrescu (author of fables), Alecu RussoAndrei Mureșanu (noted for Un răsunet, now known as the national hymn Deșteaptă-te, române!), Cezar Bolliac, C.A. Rosetti, Alecu Donici etc. A major prose writer appeared to the end of this period: Nicolae Filimon, author of the novel Ciocii vechi și noi.

Junimea (second half of 19th century)[]

     See main article: Junimea.

Titu Maiorescu's Junimea literary circle, founded in 1863 and frequented by many Romanian writers, played an important role in Romanian literature. Many outstanding Romanian writers, including Ion Luca Caragiale, who wrote some of the best Romanian comedies, Ion Creangă, Ioan Slavici and Barbu Ştefănescu Delavrancea, published their works here during this time. Besides promoting, out of the previous generation, Vasile Alecsandri, Maiorescu especially promoted Mihai Eminescu (initially at a time when the poet had only published very few poems), who would become the most important and influential Romanian poet. His romanticist poetry had many of its roots in Romanian traditions, but was also influenced by, among others, German philosophy and Hindu traditions. Besides having written poems such as Luceafărul, Eminescu is also noted for being a radical innovator of literary language, pushing Romanian to its very limits at a time when linguistic standards were still unstable. Widely read for generations upon generations, Eminescu was influential on Romanian language altogether and not just literature.

Post-Eminescu period. Symbolism. Early traditionalism (late 1880s-late 1900s)[]

See main articles: Eminescianism, Romanian Symbolism and Traditionalism.

In the years after Eminescu's death, Alexandru Vlahuță and George Coșbuc were the most popular poets. However, more influential in the long-term was the development of Romanian Symbolism, led by Alexandru Macedonski, movement that has also spawned several other significant poets: D. Anghel, Ștefan Petică, Ion Minulescu (most popular poet associated with Symbolism) and, last but not least, George Bacovia (initially considered by critics a minor symbolist, but now considered one of the most important and influential poets in the Romanian literature of the XXth century).

Traditionalism has emerged from the ashes of eminescianism and provided a form of literature that was in many ways a cult offshoot of folklore/popular literature.

Golden age. Interwar period. Modernism, avant-garde and traditionalism (1910s-1939)[]

After achieving national unity in 1918, Romanian literature entered what can be called a golden age, characterized by the development of the Romanian novel. Traditional society and recent political events influenced works such as Liviu Rebreanu's Răscoala ("The Uprising"), which, published in 1932, was inspired by the 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt, and Pădurea Spânzuraţilor ("Forest of the Hanged"), published in 1922 and inspired by Romanian participation in World War I. The dawn of the modern novel can also be seen, among others, in Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu (Concert din muzică de Bach—"Bach Concert"), Camil Petrescu (Ultima noapte de dragoste, întâia noapte de război—"The Last Night of Love, the First Night of War"). An important realist/traditionalist writer was Mihail Sadoveanu, who wrote mainly novels which took place at various times in the history of Moldova.

Important writers were also the poets Tudor Arghezi, Ion Barbu, Lucian Blaga (and Bacovia, who was recognised later). Tudor Arghezi revolutioned Romanian poetry 50 years after Eminescu, creating new pillars for the modern Romanian poem. Lucian Blaga, one of the country's most important artistic personalities, developed through his writings a complex philosophic system. His poetry was influential on neomodernism and later expressionism. Ion Barbu also achieved great critical acclaim and is as well part of the canon.

The Criterion group was strong in the 1930s. The most well-known author among them is Mircea Eliade, today also considered the greatest historian in the field of religions. His prose spans a range between authentic, subjective realism (the novel Maitreyi) and fantastic stories (Domnișoara Christina, La țigănci etc.).

G. Călinescu is the complex personality of this period: novelist, playwright, poet, literary critic and historian, essayist, journalist, he published authoritative monographs about Eminescu and Creangă, and the monumental (almost 1,000 pages in quarto) History of Romanian Literature from Its Beginning Until Today (1941).

Romanian avant-garde (late 1910s/early 1920s-early 1940s)[]

     See main article: Romanian avant-garde

Born in Romania, Tristan Tzara, a poet and essayist, is the main founder of Dada, a nihilistic revolutionary movement in the arts, and may have been responsible for its name (Romanian for "Yes yes"). Later he abandoned dada nihilism for Surrealism and Marxism. For the first time in its history, Romanian culture was fully connected to Western culture, while Dadaism is the first Romanian artistic and literary movement to become international. Dadaism and Surrealism are fundamental parts of the avant-garde, the most revolutionary form of modernism. (Due to its nature, the Romanian avant-garde is considered by many historians different to Romanian manifestations of moderate modernism and traditionalism.) Important Romanian avant-garde writers are: Urmuz, Tristan Tzara, Ion Vinea, Ilarie Voronca, Stephan Roll, Barbu Fundoianu, Geo Bogza, Gellu Naum, Gherasim Luca, Max Blecher, Constantin Fântâneru, H. Bonciu and others.

Late traditionalism (1920s-early 1940s)[]

Traditionalism achieved even more popularity, but also relevance, in the period of the magazine Gândirea led by Nichifor Crainic. Poets such as Ion Pillat and Vasile Voiculescu remain relevant for their mix of traditional themes and modernist devices and structures.

Surrealism. Lost generation (1940-1947)[]

     See main articles: Surrealism and Lost generation.

The last branch of the avant-garde (the Romanian Surrealist group, 1940-1947) is active in the same time with the first offshoot of the avant-garde, the Albatros circle that includes Geo Dumitrescu, Ion Caraion, Constant Tonegaru. They are considered, alongside prose writers such as Pavel Chihaia, "the lost generation" that has been silenced in 1948, when socialist realism was imposed. Most of the important Romanian writers have been banned; as a result, some have changed their style (Mihail Sadoveanu, the socialist realist poets who were previously modernists), some have been prosecuted in prisons (Radu Gyr, Vasile Voiculescu, Nichifor Crainic), while others left the country before or after the arrival of the Communists (Mircea Eliade, Eugène Ionesco, Emil Cioran, Ștefan Baciu, Horia Stamatu, Isidore Isou, Gherasim Luca and many others). (See also Sibiu literary circle - Radu Stanca, Ștefan Aug. Doinaș, Ion Negoițescu, Ioanichie Olteanu etc.)

Socialist realism (1948-early 1960s)[]

     See main article: socialist realism.

With the exception of pre-1948 writings of Mihail Sadoveanu, Maria Banuș, Nina Cassian, Virgil Teodorescu and arguably Mihai Beniuc, the socialist realists are only relevant today as an example of how wrong can literature go under the pressure of imposed canon and rules exterior to aesthetics. The history of literature (and history in general) had been reduced to the moments that are convenient to the ideology of the Communist regime (for instance, Eminescu was reduced to a fragment of Emperor and Proletarian, while Caragiale was interpreted as critic towards capitalism and bourgeoisie). First signs of "defrost" appear in the second half of the 1950s, as Marin Preda with the novel Moromeții ("The Moromete Family") and Eugen Barbu with Groapa ("The Hole") got past censorship. In the meantime, Tudor Arghezi, George Bacovia and Ion Barbu have been accepted again (though with certain sacrifices), while Nicolae Labiș and the poets of the Steaua circle have made the first attempts to revive lyrical poetry (until then, all themes such as love and death were considered "decadent" themes or were heavily eskewed in practice). Nicolae Labiș's early death transformed him into the icon and role model of the generation that followed in his footsteps, the 1960's generation.

Neomodernism and early experimentalism (1960-late 1970s)[]

See main article: 1960's generation and experimentalism.

Nichita Stănescu, Cezar Baltag and Ilie Constantin were in 1960 the poets to open the poetry books collection Luceafărul. With the support of critics such as Paul Georgescu, Eugen Simion and Nicolae Manolescu, a new generation has rised and was eventually accepted. The influence of modernist poetry can be finally acknowledged as of 1964, when the arrival of a new leader, Nicolae Ceaușescu, meant much increased liberty for most writers and artists until 1971, when censorship returns. The period between 1964 and 1971 is a period of flourishment in poetry (Nichita Stănescu, Marin Sorescu, Ștefan Augustin Doinaș, Ana Blandiana, Adrian Păunescu, Gabriela Melinescu, Ileana Mălăncioiu) and prose (Marin Preda, Fănuș Neagu, D.R. Popescu, Nicolae Breban, Constantin Țoiu, Augustin Buzura). Somewhat less mainstream were the writers of the so-called oneirist movement (Leonid Dimov, Dumitru Țepeneag, Virgil Mazilescu, Vintilă Ivănceanu, Daniel Turcea) which did not exist as a group for a long time (due to the pressure of the regime, who saw their manifesto attempts as a threat); other trends and directions in the poetry and prose of the 1960s and 1970s include neo-expressionism (Ioan Alexandru, Ion Gheorghe, Gheorghe Pituț; similar forms exist in the poetry of Cezar Ivănescu, Angela Marinescu, Cristian Simionescu, Vasile Vlad), nouveau roman adaptations (Sorin Titel), magic realism (Ștefan Bănulescu, George Bălăiță), the Târgoviște School (Mircea Horia Simionescu, Radu Petrescu), poetry of the banal/Steaua school (Mircea Ivănescu, Petre Stoica, A.E. Baconsky, Petru M. Haș), objectualism (Constantin Abăluță, Gheorghe Grigurcu, George Almosnino), echinoxism/Echinox school (Dinu Flămând, Adrian Popescu, Ion Mircea) and various forms of new mannerism (Gheorghe Tomozei, Mircea Dinescu, oneirist Leonid Dimov, Emil Brumaru, Șerban Foarță).

It is noteworthy that the critical acclaim and the position in the canon of contemporary literature of each of these writers can vary (with very few exceptions, such as Nichita Stănescu and Marin Preda) from one period to the another; some critics and the regime had developed a certain canon with Nichita Stănescu at the top, but after 1989 many voices among critics and readers have expressed their doubts. Critics such as Gheorghe Grigurcu, Marin Mincu, Ion Bogdan Lefter or Virgil Nemoianu[1] have suggested for a place in the canon writers such as Gellu Naum, Geo Dumitrescu, Leonid Dimov, Mircea Ivănescu, Mircea Horia Simionescu, Gabriela Adameșteanu, Angela Marinescu, Nora Iuga, Șerban Foarță, writers that were initially considered unimportant. Other suggestions (such as Adi Cusin, George Astaloș, Florin Mugur, Vasile Vlad, Eugen Dorcescu, Alice Botez, Dana Dumitriu or Alexandru Monciu-Sudinski) remain currently more or less eccentric. Recent cases such as the one of Petru M. Haș suggest that the canon of the period is still very unstable and subject to changes.

Writers such as Leonid Dimov, Mircea Ivănescu, Mircea Horia Simionescu or Dumitru Țepeneag were the ones to anticipate the next paradigm shift, the postmodernism of the 1980s generation.

Postmodernism. 1980's generation[]

     See the main articles: postmodernism and 1980's generation.

Thanks to Nicolae Manolescu and his Cenaclul de Luni ("Monday Literary Circle"), the core members of this generation (Mircea Cărtărescu, Traian T. Coșovei, Florin Iaru, Ion Bogdan Lefter) have managed to impose the Eightism ("optzecismul") quickly after 1989. However, there may be several slightly different accounts of the history of this period. Marin Mincu, the first critic to attach a concept to the new generation (textualism), has identified its roots in the 1977 volume by Petru Romoșan, Ochii lui Homer ("Homer's Eyes"). Claims have also been made regarding Ileana Zubașcu's 1978 volume Întru totul ("With Everything"), which contains titles such as Generația noastră (Our Generation) or Cântecul generației mele (The Song of My Generation) [2]. However, 1979 (Traian T. Coșovei, Ioana Ieronim, Denisa Comănescu, Mircea Nedelciu) and 1980 (Mircea Cărtărescu, Florin Iaru, Liviu Ioan Stoiciu, Nichita Danilov, Matei Vișniec, Alexandru Vlad) are the years that mark the significant debuts. These were followed in the next years by the debuts of Ion Stratan, Ion Mureșan, Mariana Marin, Alexandru Mușina, Bogdan Ghiu, Magda Cârneci, Romulus Bucur, Elena Ștefoi, Mariana Codruț, Călin Vlasie, Ioan T. Morar, Gheorghe Crăciun, Sorin Preda, Ioan Groșan and others. Beginning with the end of the 1970s, however, the period is dominated by collective debuts, as the publishing houses were forced, like the most of the society, to cut costs and restrict individual debuts. Important collective debut books include Aer cu diamante, Cinci, Nouă poeți, as well as the panorama of young German-Romanian poets Vânt potrivit până la tare (rediscovered and reissued in 2012). Infamous cases of books that were "murdered" by censorship include Antologia poeților tineri ("The Anthology of Young Poets") by George Alboiu, Urcarea muntelui ("The Mountain Climbing") by Ileana Mălăncioiu, Laborator spațial ("Space Laboratory") by Călin Vlasie and Poemul de oțel ("The Steel Poem") by Viorel Padina.

A new generation of socialist realism (Ion Crânguleanu, Petre Ghelmez, Violeta Zamfirescu) had emerged after 1971, when Ceaușescu reduced the liberty of artists, but socialist realism was not a must anymore (however, poems dedicated to Ceaușescu or to the Communist Party were often needed to earn more priviledges, to get a book through the publishing queue easier or fool the censorship). As a consequence, these relatively underground youngsters (often nicknamed "the generation in blue jeans", as they illegally wore blue jeans, a symbol of then unaccessible American freedom; it is interesting though that the first reference to blue jeans in a poem appears in the 1960s-dated Blue Jeans poems by George Astaloș) were attracted to extreme formalism and ways of aesthetic independence (especially after the Paul Goma incident, everything related to the social and politic environment was subject to censorship, which made many edits and deletes). With the notable exception of Aktionsgruppe Banat, this period was not marked by actual disidence - Ana Blandiana, Mircea Dinescu, Andrei Pleșu and Gabriel Liiceanu are cited officially as examples of disidence, but writers such as Florica Mitroi have came with different theories.[3]

1990's generation[]

      See the main article: 1990's generation.

1988-1989 mark the end of the Communist regime, but also mark the arrival of a new wave of poets (Cristian Popescu, Daniel Bănulescu, Mihail Gălățanu, Ioan Es. Pop, Augustin Ioan, Anca Mizumschi, Paul Daian, the Brașov School) that some considered to be "late eightists" (as they are classified as such by Alexandru Mușina), while others (such as Marin Mincu) considered them a different generation with a different sensibility. They share many features with the 1980s generation, but are usually less textualist-orientated and favor certain gestures. Daniel Bănulescu and Mihail Gălățanu are known in particular for poems that initially shocked the audience (as censorship disappeared after 1989) and for which they were deemed sexualists. The most influential poet is considered though Cristian Popescu, who died young in 1995. His few books of prose poems, which had not been reissued until now, continue to be influential on contemporary poets. A new generation of prose writers has also emerged: Radu Aldulescu, Alexandru Ecovoiu, Dan Pleșa, Horia Gârbea, Vlad Zografi (also known as a playwright), Horia Ursu, Ovidiu Verdeș and others. Other poets include Marian Drăghici, Paul Vinicius, Iustin Panța, Ruxandra Cesereanu, Saviana Stănescu, Rodica Draghincescu, Ionel Ciupureanu, Vasile Baghiu, Lucian Vasilescu, Judith Meszaros, Adrian Suciu, O. Nimigean. The transition towards the 2000s generation is marked by the works of Adela Greceanu, the Fracturi school (Dumitru Crudu, Marius Ianuș) and the Constantza group ("Kiustendje Brotherhood").

2000's generation[]

     See the main article: 2000's generation.

The years 2000-2001 were marked by the debuts of Marius Ianuș, Zvera Ion, Dan Sociu, Adrian Urmanov, Constantin Virgil Bănescu, George Vasilievici, Mugur Grosu, Victor Nichifor, Sorin Gherghuț, Doina Ioanid, Sorin Stoica, Ioana Nicolaie, Elena Pasima; the editor Nicolae Tzone had concealed early on the "2000+ Generation" collection, but it was Marin Mincu and the Euridice literary circle that he moderated which helped establish the so-called 2000s generation (often noted in opposition to the 1980s generation, seen by some of the younger writers as rather artificial and unconvincing). Marius Ianuș, Dan Sociu, Răzvan Țupa, Elena Vlădăreanu, Dan Coman, Claudiu Komartin, Radu Vancu have quickly gained reputation among critics and some of the readers, but the late 2000s mark a point of rupture, due to, on one hand, the death of Marin Mincu, Constantin Virgil Bănescu and George Vasilievici, the defect of Marius Ianuș, Adrian Urmanov, and the early peaking of Constantin Acosmei and Ruxandra Novac; on the other hand, poets such as Radu Vancu, Dumitru Bădița and V. Leac contributed to a more relaxed climate, while Stoian G. Bogdan and M. Duțescu continued to develop based on the roots of fracturism. In the meantime, Lucian Dan Teodorovici, Ionuț Chiva, Veronica A. Cara and other prose writers managed to gather some following thanks to the EGO prose collection. Writers such as Mihai Mateiu or un cristian continue this cinematographic realism, but dark (Cristina Nemerovschi) and surrealistic (Iulian Tănase) fantasy is also currently popular.

Now[]

     See the main article: 2010's generation.

In spite of debuts such as the one of Cătălina Cadinoiu or Matei Hutopila having been said to signal a new generation, 2010 seems to mark the beginning of an eclectic climate in poetry, instead of a reaction to the previous generation.

Herta Müller has received in 2009 the Nobel Prize in Literature. Mircea Cărtărescu (who is now very popular and is discussed even in schools) and Norman Manea are rumoured to be on the nominees list lately.

See also[]

  • History of poetry
  • History of fictional and non-fictional prose
  • History of drama
  • Literary canon
  • Literary critics
  • Literary historians
  • Science fiction
  • Paraliterature
  • Exile
  • Romanian writers from Bessarabia
  • Hungarian-Romanian writers
  • Romanian-Serbian writers
  • German-Romanian writers
  • Turkish-Romanian writers

Bibliography[]

(List may be considered incomplete.)

Literary works and (critical) anthologies[]

M. Eminescu,

Octavian Goga,

George Bacovia,

Lucian Blaga,

Tudor Arghezi, Nicolae Manolescu, Poezia română modernă

Marin Mincu, O panoramă critică a poeziei românești din secolul al XX-lea (A Critical Panorama of 20th Century Romanian Poetry), Pontica Publishing House, Constanța, 2007

Literary criticism/history[]

  • Titu Maiorescu, Critice: 1867-1892, Soccecu & comp. Library, Bucharest, 1892
  • Iacob Negruzzi, Amintiri din Junimea ("Memories from Junimea Period"), Viața Românească Publishing House, Bucharest, 1921
  • Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea, Studii critice (Critical Studies), Viața Românească Publishing House, Bucharest, 1923
  • Nicolae Iorga, Istoria literaturii românești ("History of Romanian Literature"): vol. I, 1925, vol. II, 1926, vol. III, 1933
  • Garabet Ibrăileanu, Scriitori români și străini ("Romanian and Foreign Writers"), 1926
  • Perpessicius, Mențiuni critice ("Critical Mentions"), vol. I-V (1928 - 1946)
  • Felix Aderca, Mărturia unei generații ("The Testimony of a Generation"), S. Ciornei National Publishing House, 1929
  • Pompiliu Constantinescu, Critice, Bucharest, 1933
  • Eugen Ionescu, Nu ("No"), Vremea Publishing House, Bucharest, 1934
  • Nicolae Iorga, Istoria literaturii românești contemporane ("History of Contemporary Romanian Literature"), Adeverul Publishing House, Bucharest, 1934
  • Eugen Lovinescu, Istoria literaturii românești contemporane ("History of Contemporary Romanian Literature"), Socec & Co. Library, Bucharest, 1939 (first complete edition)
  • G. Călinescu, Istoria literaturii române de la origini până în prezent ("History of Romanian Literature from Its Beginning Until Today"), The Royal Foundation for Literature and Art, Bucharest, 1941
  • Tudor Vianu, Arta prozatorilor români (The Art of Romanian Prose Writers), Contemporană Publishing House, 1941
  • Șerban Cioculescu, Vladimir Streinu, Tudor Vianu, Istoria literaturii române moderne ("History of Modern Romanian Literature"), vol. I, 1944
  • Eugen Simion, Orientări în literatura contemporană ("Orientations in Contemporary Literature"), EPL, Bucharest, 1965
  • Nicolae Manolescu, Lecturi infidele ("Infidel Readings"), 1966
  • Ion Pop, Avangardismul poetic românesc ("Romanian Poetic Avant-garde"), 1969
  • Adrian Marino, Dicționar de idei literare ("Dictionary of Literary Ideas"), vol. I, 1973
  • Șerban Cioculescu, Itinerar critic ("Critical Itinerary"), vol. I-V, 1973-89
  • Eugen Simion, Scriitori români de azi ("Romanian Writers Today"), vol. I-IV, 1974-89
  • Eugen Simion, Dimineața poeților ("The Morning of Poets"), 1980
  • Nicolae Manolescu, Arca lui Noe. Eseu despre romanul românesc ("Noe's Ark. Essay on Romanian Novel"), vol. I-III, 1980-1983
  • Al. Piru, Istoria literaturii române de la început până azi ("History of Romanian Literature From Its Beginning Until Today"), Univers Publishing House, Bucharest, 1981
  • Ion Pop, Jocul poeziei ("The Game of Poetry"), 1985
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References[]

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