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ROMANIAN-JEWISH TOPICS: (Part two of two)

May 10th, 2009 · Comments Off on ROMANIAN-JEWISH TOPICS: (Part two of two) · Books, PEOPLE, quotations, Translations

ROMANIAN-JEWISH TOPICS: (PART TWO OF TWO) (continued from Part ONE) Quotations from an Alternative Anthology: “Blouse Roumaine – the Unsung Voices of Romanian Women” Presented and edited by Constantin Roman, Preface by Catherine Durandin, published by the Centre for Romanian Studies (London), 2009 1,100 pages, 160 biographies, 600 quotations, 4,000 references, performances & exhibition credit, […]

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Pourquoi Matisse?

May 6th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Books, Communist Prisons, Diaspora, Famous People, History, International Media, OPINION, PEOPLE, Poetry, POLITICAL DETENTION / DISSENT, quotations, Reviews, Translations

Après la chute de Ceausescu, l’image de la Blouse roumaine retrouva graduellement sa place, lentement, comme le réveil après un cauchemar surréaliste : est-ce que la transition existe ? Est-ce pour de vrai ? Le passé va-t-il se répéter ? Dans ce sens, une mise en garde fut émise par le porte-parole du Parlement polonais lorsqu’il déclara : « Il ne faut que quelques semaines aux Empires pour s’écrouler, mais la mentalité impérialiste a besoin de plusieurs générations avant de disparaître. »

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Romantic Travels on the Lower Danube (1800-1940)

April 28th, 2009 · 3 Comments · Books, quotations, Reviews

EXAMPLES OF SAMPLE PAGES
This is an area covering parts of the former Ottoman, Russian and Habsburg empires, with a special focus on the historic regions of Wallachia, Banat, Transylvania, Moldavia, Bukovina, Bessarabia, Black Sea and the Lower Danube.
These engravings could be historic maps, or showing views, architectural monuments, costumes, military battle scenes, battle plans, uniforms, costumes, transport, traditions, historical portraits or political cartoons.

Some Distinguished Travellers: to mention only a few, would be Lady Mary Wortley Mantagu, the Bishop of Aleppo, Count Alexander Demidoff, Sir Samuel Baker, Gordon of Khartoum (former British Consul at Galatz), Sir Samuel Baker and in the 20th century Satcheverel Sittwell and Patrick Leigh Fermor.

Some distinguished artists: Theodore Aman, Bartlett, Pierre Francois Basa, Bouquet, Cham, Daumier, Heath, Auguste Alexandre Hirsch, Lancelot, WH P.F. Preziosi, Raffet, Schlotterbeck, William F. Sorrieu, Tardieu, Turner, Valerio, Emile-Louis Vernier, Claude Vignon.

Notable Cartographers: Castaldo, De Fer, La Feuille, Hondius, Homann, Lotter, Mercator, Merian, Munster, Moll, Ortelius, Probst, Ruscelli, Schenk, Sanson, Stackhouse, Valk, Winter .

Further reading about the Collection:
http://www.constantinroman.com/pages/interests.html

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Romanian Destinies in The Times of London Obituary: Monica Lovinescu

April 27th, 2009 · 4 Comments · Books, Diaspora, Famous People, History, International Media, OPINION, PEOPLE, POLITICAL DETENTION / DISSENT, quotations

Romanian dissident whose broadcasts from exile in Paris enraged the communist authorities
Monica Lovinescu
Asked in April 2002 about her opinion on the desirability of a Nuremberg-style trial of communism, Lovinescu answered:

The trial of communism might have offered Romanian mentality a real chance for change. The handful of initiatives taken so far are built entirely on moving sands. We cannot consider a Nuremberg-style trial simply because that involves winners and losers. Or, in this particular instance, communism lost its own war: it simply imploded, not exploded. But one should consider at least a moral prosecution. It is impossible to contemplate the fact that torturers in Romania have not been yet morally indicted.

Monica Lovinescu, M.Litt., Grand Officer, Order of the Star of Romania, was married to fellow journalist, literary critic and political analyst Virgil Ierunca (1920-2006). They leave no children and their estate has been bequeathed to a Romanian government foundation.

Monica Lovinescu
Image :1 of 4

The voice of the journalist and human rights activist Monica Lovinescu in her regular Paris broadcasts to the people of Romania during the postwar decades became synonymous with freedom and was a lifeline for those listeners behind the Iron Curtain.

As a result she was severely beaten up on the orders of the communist authorities in Bucharest, and, in a vengeful act, her elderly mother was sent to prison, where she died.

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ROMANIA VAZUTA “ALTFEL”: ‘Blouse Roumaine – the Unsung Voices of Romanian Women’

April 26th, 2009 · Comments Off on ROMANIA VAZUTA “ALTFEL”: ‘Blouse Roumaine – the Unsung Voices of Romanian Women’ · Books, Diaspora, PEOPLE, quotations, Translations

In primul rand mesajul lucrarii NU este unul ‘oficial’, parafat de cei care ne dramuiesc adevarul. Autorul este constient de faptul ca traim intr-o perioada a nesfarsitei “Tranzitii” unde bajbaim inca, pe carari intortocheate, ca sa ne aflam identitatea, Pe aceleasi carari misuna ‘experti’, autoproclamati ‘boieri ai mintii’, care nu numai ca isi dau coate intre ei ca sa ramana in capul bucatelor, dar sunt gata ori si cand sa ne abureasca memoria si sa ne re-scrie istoria. Metodele sunt aceleasi care au fost folosite sub dictatura: o amnezie preprogramata, urmata de un facsimile cosmetizat atat de neverosimil incat tipa dela distanta.

Acest fenomen nu este unul propriu Romaniei ci se afla in speta in toate tarile ‘ex-comuniste’ fiind insumat perfect de simplu si plastic de catre un parlamentar Polonez cand a afirmat:

‘Imperiile se destrama doar in cateva saptamani, in timp ce mentalitatea imperiala are nevoie de cateva generatii ca sa dispara’.

Antologia de fata nu isi poate permite sa ‘corecteze’ dintr-un condei aceste aberatii care se impamantenesc, dar isi propane in schimb sa ofere cititorului o lucrare sub un unghi ‘alternativ’ si pe undeva neconformist, despre o realitate istorica perceputa ‘de partea cealalta a baricadei’.

In al doilea rand alegerea subiectului si al punctului de referinta, plasarea lui intr-un context istoric si social dar si intr-un cadru European, plaseaza antologia “Blouse Roumaine” intr-o categorie foarte diferita.

In al treilea rand, ca Forma, lucrarea se adreseaza nu numai specialistilor din Universitati dar si publicului larg, facand-o accesibila unei categorii mari de cititori romani si straini.

In acest context formatul Antologiei ofera pentru prima data cititorilor Anglo-Saxoni, nefamiliarizati cu Romania, posibilitatea de a intelege ca Romanii nu au fost doar simpli consumatori ale unor valori Euuropene dar au contribuit in mod substantial la cultura Europeana si de peste Ocean. Aici Antologia evoca o panoplie intreaga de voci de femei de profesii foarte diverse si uneori neasteptate evocand astfel imagini cu totul insolite si admirabile: femei ramase in Romania dar si femei desradacinate, care au luat drumul exilului sau care s-au nascut pe pamant strain doar pentru ca parintii sau bunicii lor s-au exilat, femei care au reusit in mod extraordinar sa isi pastreze valentele romanesti.

Pe parcursul cartii vom putea face o selectie dintre cele o suta saizeci de biografii critice sau ne vom putea delecta alegand dintre cele sase sute de citate, in majoritate traduse pentru prima oara in limba engleza. Aici se vor gasi nu numai citate in proza dar si versuri. Cei care ar dori sa aprofundeze unele aspecte specifice au la dispozitie o bibliografie de circa 4.000 referinte inclusiv situri web (URL), credite de spectacole, recitaluri si expozitii, inregistrari audio, s.a.
Iata de ce, fara nici un dubiu “Blouse Roumaine” se poate considera o carte “altfel”. o Antologie foarte diferita care ramane, totusi, o carte de capatai si poate un manual de studiu pentru aprofundarea subiectelor de interes mai specializat.
Cautarea selectiva este usurata considerabil de existenta a nu mai putin de sase Indexuri organizate pe profesii, subiecte de citate, localitati geografice, nume de familie, sau ordine alfabetica sau cronologic.

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An Alternative Anthology of Romanian Women

April 26th, 2009 · 1 Comment · Books, PEOPLE, quotations, Reviews, Translations

‘Blouse Roumaine – the Unsung Voices of Romanian Women’
An E-Book Anthology by Constantin ROMAN
Synopsis

A Spanish grandee and Ambassador to the Court of St James’s once compared the success of an Anthology to that of a culinary chef d’oeuvre: for Santiago de Mora Figueroa y Williams, Marques of Tamarón, a great Anglophile but also a refined European:

The perfect anthology, like the perfect hors d’oeuvre, should turn us into gluttons. The many small dishes add up to a balanced and nourishing meal, but they are so exquisite that they whet one’s appetite for more. And the anthology should also include unexpected delicacies, things that even the literary gourmet had not heard about.

blouse-roumaine-cover2On a deeper reflection, Tamarón’s metaphor encapsulates perfectly well the ethos of the ‘Blouse Roumaine’. Yet, as an Anthology of Romanian women, this corpus was initially conceived to connect with a French painting of Henri Matisse – the eponymous canvas, ‘La Blouse Roumaine’ (1940), which hangs today in the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris: for every and each biography contained in this Women’s Anthology is like a minutely embroidered stitch on an ethnic tapestry, such as we have admired, not so long ago in the Retrospective exhibition of Matisse’s collection of textiles, presented at the Royal Academy in London and later also shown in New York. For those of us who missed this exhibition the analogy to the current book is like a roll call of women presented in a sequence of biographical cameos. These sketches are displayed like a series of miniatures in a virtual National Portrait Gallery: they are all glittering stars from Western galaxies and Eastern nebulae, in all 160 of them…

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Voices and Shadows of the Carpathians

April 7th, 2005 · Comments Off on Voices and Shadows of the Carpathians · Books, Diaspora, PEOPLE, quotations, Reviews, Translations

” ………………. Site Index Index: Table of Contents. Postface: A Conspiracy of Silence. “Voices & Shadows of the Carpathians” …………………………………………………………………………………….. An Anthology of Romanian Thought – selected and introduced by Constantin Roman Postface: A Conspiracy of Silence. …………………………… “Now, I am a person who likes simple words. It is true, I had realised before this […]

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Poetry in Translation (XVI – XVII): Florenta ALBU (1934-2003) – “Left – Right …” & “Bucharest Carol”

July 11th, 2003 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (XVI – XVII): Florenta ALBU (1934-2003) – “Left – Right …” & “Bucharest Carol” · PEOPLE, Poetry, quotations

Florenta ALBU (1934-2003) – “Left – Right …”
Swimming in the mud
we are swimming in this historic misery of ours
and that fear
is shouting at us
from the sides
and from behind us
in an interminable rhythm – that silly continuous
left – right – left!

Whilst we – of old and of new
we dastardly exhausted cowards
sunken up to our ears asking
deafening questions
of ourselves, two by two
forward skew-whiff march
left – right – left!

What might be ahead of us
what might be behind us
how much longer till where
this march in the mud
a historical fear over and over again shouting
left – right – left!

Translated by Constantin ROMAN, July 2003
From the Anthology “Greenhouse effect” (Efectul de sera)(1987)

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“Writing in a Foreign Tongue” – Dumitru Tsepeneag

February 23rd, 2003 · Comments Off on “Writing in a Foreign Tongue” – Dumitru Tsepeneag · Diaspora, quotations, Translations

“The writer who is compelled to abandon its native tongue to replace it with a new one, is like the rank, without his gun, deserting his country, in a breathless flight, living a timeless nightmare. A deep wound, if there must be one. Some old sentences are still sticking to the flesh and once they […]

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Poetry in Translation (IX): Hélène Vacaresco – “Romania”

February 18th, 2003 · Comments Off on Poetry in Translation (IX): Hélène Vacaresco – “Romania” · Diaspora, PEOPLE, quotations

“My voice comes from faraway, therefore it is faint and also, because it is a woman’s voice, it is trembling of the emotion imposed by your presence, as much as of the honour of being listen to. My voice comes from faraway, but it hopes when you will listen to it that it will resound in your hearts.

My voice comes from the midst of this nation, which having been placed on the threshold of Europe, will have loved and admired France and like France, and often through it, she would have strived for freedom, vowed to have accomplished a splendid destiny and face bravely the changing mood of Fortune.

You may well recognise in these qualities Romania, land of suffering, land of enlightenment and of valour placed across the promontory against the dredge of Asian invasions and like a beacon being mightily conscious of defending the civilization which gave it its people and its laws”.

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Note:
Hélène Vacaresco (1866, Bucharest-Paris,1947),
Poet, Diplomat – addressing the Societe des Nations, Paris, 27th April 1925
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Translated from Romanian by:
Constantin Roman.

http://www.blouseroumaine.com/buy-the-book/index.html

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