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Entries from November 7th, 2013

Poetry in Translation (CCXX): Aleksandr SOLZHENITSYN (1918-2008), Russian Poet, “Confession”, “Spovedanie”

November 7th, 2013 · 1 Comment · International Media, PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations

How easy it is to live with You, O Lord.
How easy to believe in You.
When my spirit is overwhelmed within me,
When even the keenest see no further than the night,
And know not what to do tomorrow,
You bestow on me the certitude
That You exist and are mindful of me,
That all the paths of righteousness are not barred.
As I ascend in to the hill of earthly glory,
I turn back and gaze, astonished, on the road
That led me here beyond despair,
Where I too may reflect Your radiance upon mankind.
All that I may reflect, You shall accord me,
And appoint others where I shall fail

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Cameo: Queen Anne de Romania, Princess of Denmark and of Bourbon-Parme

November 7th, 2013 · Comments Off on Cameo: Queen Anne de Romania, Princess of Denmark and of Bourbon-Parme · Diaspora, Genealogy, Genealogy, PEOPLE

King Mihai de Romania and Anne Princess of Denmark and of Bourbon-Parme[/caption] Anne de Bourbon-Parme, Queen of Romania, is a descendant of Jeremy Movila, Voyevode of Moldavia, via Maria Leczynska Queen of Louis XV of France and through their descendants to the Bourbon-Parme branch of the French and Danish Royal Families.
Prince Ieremia Movila was a great patron of the arts and founder of the painted monasteries of Bucovina. During his reign the Principality of Moldavia experienced a Rennaissance of its decorative arts, especially the post-Byzantine religious embroideries.
Pornind pe linie directa ascendenta a familiei de Bourbon-Parma, deci pe linie barbateasca, ajungem la Ferdinand I de Bourbon, Duce de Parma (1751-1802) nepotul Lui Filip V regele Spaniei si Duce de Anjou (1683, Versailles – 1746 Madrid).
Acest Ferdinand I Infante de Spania (1751-1802), care preceda cu sase generatii pe Ana de Bourbon-Parma a noastra [sper si a domniei tale] era casatorit cu printesa Louise Elisabeth de France (1727-1759), fiica lui Ludovic al XV regele Frantei si a sotiei lui Maria Leczynska, (1703-1768) regina Frantei, care, la randul ei, era fiica lui Stanislas Lesczynski regele Poloniei si Duce de Lorena (1677-1766).

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Poetry in Translation (CCXIX): Vasko POPA (1922-1991), SERBIAN -VLACH, Poet of Serbo-Croat Expression, “Soare Orb”, “Blind Sun”

November 4th, 2013 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (CCXIX): Vasko POPA (1922-1991), SERBIAN -VLACH, Poet of Serbo-Croat Expression, “Soare Orb”, “Blind Sun” · Books, Diaspora, International Media, PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations, Translations

Two blighted legs
Holding a blind Sun.

The morning rays – gone to work
On the other side of the sky,
Rather than its threshold.

The Noon is beyond the Pale.
Cavorting with thunders,
She’s never at home.

The evening takes to the road,
The bedstead on her back,
She’s begging on some constellation.

Only the Night appears,
With outstretched arms,
To welcome a blind Sun.

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Collection of Antique Prints and Engravings (16thc – 19th c), (Part II)

November 2nd, 2013 · Comments Off on Collection of Antique Prints and Engravings (16thc – 19th c), (Part II) · Art Collections, Art Exhibitions, Diaspora, International Media, OPINION, PEOPLE, Reviews

From a prima facie evidence it seems that this collection is not matched by similar efforts in the public domain, either in Romania, or elsewhere. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, also has not got this material although it covers immediately adjacent areas, such as the Levant and the Middle East, through the recent acquisition of a collection from a retired Shell executive.
The late Professor’s Oprescu’s collection, given to the Romanian Academy Prints Department, has some beautiful examples of watercolours and sketches, some by Count Prezziosi, but does not overlap with our prints. Prince Nicholas of Romania’s collection of maps has been dispersed soon after the Second World War. Sadly “Ceausescu’s surrogate “Muzeul Colectiilor” of Calea Victoriei, in Bucharest has relegated an important inter-war collection of historic engravings, donated by a private collector, to a “deposit” in a damp basement, sadly forgotten and most certainly ruined: such is the wisdom of our Wallachian luminaries, otherwise, known as “boierii mintii”(…).

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