Textualism

Marin Mincu, Ion Barbu: Essay About Poetic Textualization (1981)

Textualism was a term used to describe a style that emerged in the second half of the 1970's and was in the spotlight in the 1980's. The extensive use of the generic term postmodernism eclipsed the term textualism per se, now used strictly for the most typical and consistent writers. Their texts are self-referential and contain an extremely high amount of metadiscourse (often crossing the borders between mere poetry or prose and theoretical essay). Although some of the poetic mecanisms (such as intertextuality) are common with that of most postmodernists, the most radical textualists have in common the belief that a text thrives only to the degree it "swallows" its own creator. There is also a set of "textualizing" images frequently employed by them: that of the penetrating pen or of the "blind eye" (George Vulturescu). One of the apparant influences is that of Tel Quel theories (see also the article Noii).

Essay by Gheorghe Iova, Textual Action. The Visionary Common Sense

According to Marin Mincu's theory in the book Ion Barbu - eseu despre textualizarea poetică (1981), Ion Barbu should be considered the quintessential textualist avant la lettre and the ancestor, if not assumed model, of "today's poets". In Eseu despre textul poetic II (1986), Mincu explicitly talks about a "textualist generation". In his later anthologies, Mincu marks the birth point of the textualist trend 1977, with the release of Petru Romoșan's debut volume Ochii lui Homer ("Homer's Eyes"). The 1986 book received a rather lukewarm reception, as some critics and even a few of the poets that were tagged then as "textualist" (including Mircea Cărtărescu, who tends to link the idea of text with "late modernism", and Ion Mureșan) expressed their doubts if not rejected altogether the textualist theory. In a 1986 debate on postmodernism, critics such as Nicolae Manolescu, Ovid S. Crohmălniceanu and even Livius Ciocârlie have tried to define postmodernism in opposition with textualism and, in general, modernist formalism. As a reaction, Mincu rejects postmodernism as a concept that is "too vague to be functional" and points out again that the young writers "don't write anymore about (and with) emotions, but about (and with) writing". Manolescu considers that a trademark of the postmodernist generation is "prosaic realism", but Mincu argues that "it is childish to consider that poets such as Petru Romoșan, Mariana Marin, Matei Vișniec, Ion Mureșan, Călin Vlasie etc. have a simple speech or that their reality is the immediate, prosaic one". Mincu (re)proposes the concept of experimentalism instead of that of postmodernism.

Bogdan Ghiu, The Poem With One Meter Side

Examples of textualist books include the volumes of poetry by Bogdan Ghiu - Manualul autorului (Author's Manual, 1989), Poemul cu latura de un metru (The Poem With One Meter Side, 1996) etc.-, Acte originale/copii legalizate (Original Papers/Legalised Copies, 1982) and Frumoasa fără corp (The Disembodied Beauty, 1994) by the novelist Gheorghe Crăciun, texteiova by Gheorghe Iova, Marin Mincu's cycle of novels Intermezzo and volumes of poetry (Proba de gimnastică), some of Mircea Nedelciu's novels - especially Efectul de ecou controlat (Controlled Echo Effect, 1981) and Tratament fabulatoriu (Fabulatory Treatment, 1986) -, Comedia literaturii (The Comedy of Literature, 1980) by Petru Romoșan, Poemul care nu poate fi înțeles (The Poem Which Cannot Be Understood, 1993) by Ion Mureșan, Texte de dincoace (Texts From This Side, 2007) by Gheorghe Ene a.s.o.

Șerban Foarță, Holorhymes

Frequently cited as forerunners of textualism are the oneirist prose writer Dumitru Țepeneag (with the text "Înscenare" from Frig, 1966 and several of his books published in Romanian after 1989) and the poets Șerban Foarță (with the text Istoriile unui matroz întors de pe Planeta Roz, published in the 1978 volume Simpleroze and reissued in an illustrated and extended version in 2007; volumes such as Copyright and Șalul, eșarpele Isadorei/Șalul e șarpele Isadorei should also be retained), Mircea Ivănescu, Mihai Ursachi, Gheorghe Grigurcu, Dinu Flămând and Ion Drăgănoiu.

Post-textualism

See main article: post-textualism.

Textualism has partially faded after 1989, as the mainstream literary life sought to recover the literature of the exiled writers and the "drawer literature" of writers who remained in Romania, but could not publish their uncompromising writings. The "harvest" was later deemed to be rather poor compared to the expectations, but, in any case, it was the symptom of a sea change. The emergence of popular, uncensored paraliterature and the success of (auto)biographies and diaries constituted a different focus for the readers.

Cristian Popescu, Foreword

The often formalist poets of previous years have been partially eclipsed by the "sound and fury" of younger sexualists, who took advantage of the freedom acquired after the "Revolution". Some of the front-row postmodernists, like Mircea Cărtărescu, remain popular until today, but the underground also drawn inspiration from a newer poetic.

The generation of Cristian Popescu, especially to the promoters of postmodernism, seemed to follow their footsteps, but others, especially Marin Mincu, argued that they represent a new sensibility. Mincu talks about post-textualism, a generic term that describes a reaction to the actional and formalist nature of textualism - poets seeked a "clinical" approach, insisting on the link with psychological reality, while still retaining some textualist influences.

Răzvan Țupa, poetic. delft sky and other romanian bodies (2011)

Some of the poets that mark the early, transitional phases of the 2000's generation are also described by him as post-textualist, beginning with Adela Greceanu and Grigore Șoitu and ending with Elena Vlădăreanu (from Pagini) and Răzvan Țupa.

This linear narrative, in which the techniques and mecanisms of textualism leave space for authenticism, may not prove entirely valid though. The use of intertextuality and metadiscourse was felt by many poets of the core of the 2000's generation as "obsolete", but since the late 2000's there have been subtle hints of a "comeback". More recently, there has been a discussion on conceptual poetry emerging as a distinct trend. The late writings of Bogdan Ghiu, for example, could be now tagged as "conceptual".

See the main article: conceptual poetry.

Writers associated with textualism

• Marin Mincu
• Gheorghe Iova
• Bogdan Ghiu
• Gheorghe Crăciun
• Mircea Nedelciu
• Gheorghe Ene
• Petru Romoșan
• Aurel Pantea
• Ioan Flora
• Matei Vișniec
• Ion Stratan
• Călin Vlasie
• Ioan Morar

Late textualism and post-textualism

• Emilian Galaicu-Păun
• Cristian Popescu
• Ioan Es. Pop
• George Vulturescu
• Paul Daian
• Nicolae Coande
• Marian Drăghici
• Judith Meszaros
• Lucian Vasilescu
• O. Nimigean
• Grigore Șoitu
• Adela Greceanu
• Elena Vlădăreanu
• Răzvan Țupa

Bibliography

• Marin Mincu, Ion Barbu - eseu despre textualizarea poetică, Cartea Românească, 1981
• Marin Mincu, Eseu despre textul poetic II, Cartea Românească, 1986
• Marin Mincu, Textualism și autenticitate, Pontica, 1993
• Marin Mincu, Poezia română actuală, Pontica, 1998/1999
• Marin Mincu, O panoramă critică a poeziei române din secolul al XX-lea, Pontica, 2007
• Gheorghe Crăciun (coord.), Competiția continuă. Generația 80 în texte teoretice, Editura Vlasie, 1994 (second edition: Paralela 45, 1999)
• Gheorghe Crăciun, Aisbergul poeziei moderne, Paralela 45, 2002
• Octavian Soviany, Cinci decenii de experimentalism. Compendiu de poezie românească actuală, Casa de Pariuri Literare, 2011