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Association from Europe

CARMINA BALCANICA
REVIEW OF SOUTH-EAST EUROPEAN SPIRITUALITY AND CULTURE

Year II, no. 1 (2) May 2009

DIRECTORS AND FOUNDERS: DAN ANGHELESCU & VASILE DATCU

EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR IN CHIEF: DR. MIHAELA ALBU (University of Craiova, Romania) ASISTANT TO THE EDITOR IN CHIEF: MARIUS CHELARU (writer, Iasi, Romania) - Studies and Essays Editor: Mihaela Albu
Correspondence regarding contributions: e-mail: malbu_10@yahoo.com

- Poetry and Haiku Editor: Marius Chelaru

Correspondence regarding contributions: e-mail: marius.1961@yahoo.com

- Book Reviews Editor: Dan Anghelescu

Correspondence regarding contributions: e-mail: dan45_anghelescu@yahoo.com

Specialist Consultant: Dr. Mircea Muthu (University Babes-Bolyai, ClujNapoca, Romania) Editors: Dr. Emilia Parpala, Dr. Gabriela Rusu-Pasarin, Dr. CodrutaAnca Stanisoara, Dr. Camelia Zabava (University of Craiova) English Editors: Dr. Aloisia Sorop, Dr. Iolanda Manescu (University of Craiova), Maria-Denisa Albu, Dr. Catalin Florea, Dr. Camelia Minoiu (USA)
INTERNATIONAL BOARD Zdravko Kissiov (writer, Bulgaria) DR. Apostolos Patelakis (Institute of the Balkan Studies, Thessaloniki, Greece) ACAD. Katica Kulavkova (Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, Macedonia) Baki Ymeri (writer, Albanezul Magazine, Romania & Macedonia) Pavel Gtianu (writer, Europa Magazine, Serbia) DR. Theodor Damian (Metropolitan College of New York, USA) DR. Constantin Eretescu (writer, USA) DR. Sanda Golopentia-Eretescu (Brown Univeristy, USA) DR. Heinz-Uwe Haus (University of Delaware, USA) DR. Aurelia Roman (Georgetown University, USA) DR. Marian Gh. Simion (Harvard University, USA) - The Editors assume no responsibility for any statement of fact or opinion expressed in the published papers. Cover: Map of Ancient Balkans; Pictures from old city Ruse, Bulgaria: from the private collection of engineer Ventseslav Stoyanov, published in: From Roustchouk to Ruse, Avangard Print Editions, Ruse, Bulgaria, 2008 ISSN 2065 - 0582 Correspondence regarding subscriptions should be sent to the editor in chief (e-mail: malbu_10@yahoo.com); Institutional subscription: 10 Euro; Individual subscription: 5 Euro

CONTENTS
STUDIES AND ESSAYS Mircea Muthu (Romania) Europa Central/ Europa de Sud-Est/ p. 6 Central Europe/ South Eastern Europe/ p. 14 Heinz-Uwe Haus (USA, Germany) - Time of Paranthesis Posdmodernism and Christian Identity/ p. 22 Vasile Datcu (Romania) - Socrate, Isus i spiritul european/ p. 27 Socrates, Jesus and the European Spirit/ p. 30 Baki Ymeri (Macedonia, Romania) Fenomenologia albano-romn. Un miracol al istoriei/ p. 32 Albanian-Romanian Phenomenologya Miracle of History/ p. 39 Marius Chelaru (Romania) - Aromnii din Kosovo, fii ncercai de soart i uitai de prini/ p. 45 The Aromanians in Kosovo - Doomed Sons Deserted by Parents/ p. 49 Mihaela Albu (Romania) Un topos literar Brganul/ p. 55 A Romanian Literary Topic The Baragan Plain/ p. 63 Dan Anghelescu (Romania) Muzica i Levantul/ p. 72 The Levant and the Miraculous Art of Sound/ p. 81 Mihaela Cojocaru (Romania) Scrisul feminin aristocratic. Dora dIstria/ p. 87 Aristocratic Feminin Writing. Dora dIstria/ p. 90 Iolanda Mnescu (Romania) Aglaja Veteranyi sau despre destinul tragic al unei artiste dezrdcinate/ p. 93 Aglaja Veteranyi or about the Destiny of the Uprooted Artist/ p. 97 Diana Solkotovi (Serbia) Ion Milo Portretul unui poet romn, cetean al lumii/ p. 101 Ion Milo The Portrait of a Romanian Poet, a Citizen of the World/ p. 105 Vasile Andru (Romnia) - La Sarajevo, Balcanii se citesc prin foc/ p. 109 In Sarajevo the Balkans Are Read Through Fire/ p. 116 Gabriela Rusu-Psrin (Romania) - Calendarul popular romnesc. Srbtorile verii/ p. 123 On Summer Feasts in the Romanian Folk Calendar/ p. 126 Camelia Zbav (Romania) O srbtoare bulgaro-romn: Zrezeanu/ p. 130 A Bulgarian and Romanian Feast: Zrezeanu/ p. 134

POEZIE/ POETRY Hakija Kari (Bosnia and Hertzegovina) / p. 138 Pero Pavlovi (Bosnia and Herzegovina)/ p. 140 Boiko Bogdanov/ (Bulgaria)/ p. 144 Boiko Lambovski/ / (Bulgaria)/ p. 148 Antoaneta Nikolova/ A (Bulgaria)/ p. 152 Iglika Peeva/ (Bulgaria)/ p. 156 Nelie Piguleva/ (Bulgaria)/ p. 160 Marina Kljajo-Radi (Croatia)/ p. 164 Anastasia Moula-Hatzi (Greece)/ p. 166 Katica Kulakova (Macedonia)/ p. 170 Pavel Gataiantzu (Serbia)/ p. 174

HAIKU
Verica ivkovi (SERBIA) (haiku)/ p. 178 Valentin Nicoliov (Romania), desen/ picture by: Alexandra Ivoylova (Bulgaria) (haiga)/ p. 179 Darko Plazanin (CROATIA) (haiku)/ p. 181 Zoe SAVINA (Greece) (haiku)/ p. 182 Vasile Smrndescu (Romania) (haiku, tanka)/ p. 183 BOOK REVIEWS Hemus, o antologie de poezie balcanic/ p. 184 Hemus, An Anthology of Balkan Poetry (Apostol Patelakis, Greece)/ p. 185 Andr Scrima Antropologie apofatic/ p. 186 Apophatic Anthropology (Dan Anghelescu, Romania)/ p. 187 Haibun n spirit de haiku/ p. 189 Haibun Written in the Spirit of Haiku (Vasile Moldovan, Romania)/ p. 190 Viszar Zhiti Funeralii nesfrite/ p. 191 Viszar Zhiti Endless Funerals (Dan Anghelescu, Romania)/ p. 192 Baki Ymeri iubete n limba romn/ p. 194 Baki Ymeri Loves in Romanian (Vasile Andru, Romania)/ p. 195 Evanghelos Moutsopoulos Muzica n opera lui Platon/ p. 196 Evanghelos Moutsopoulos Music in Platos Works (Dan Anghelescu, Romania)/ p. 197

Notes about contributors/ p. 199

Aducnd cu sine coabitarea celor trei straturi culturale - arhaic, medieval i modern Sud-Estul poate ajuta Europa s-i renvee trecutul i, nu n ultimul rnd, s-i remodeleze proiectele de viitor. Accompanied by the cohabitation of the three cultural substrata archaic, medieval and modern the Southeast can help Europe relearn its own past and, last but not least, to remodel its projects for the future. (Mircea Muthu)

STUDII I ESEURI / STUDIES & ESSAYS

Mircea Muthu (ROMANIA) Europa Central / Europa de Sud-Est

Att Europa Central, ct i aceea de Sud-Est dein o situaie paradoxal: ambele sunt ex-centrice i, n acelai timp, propun/impun replici viguroase, pe palierul naional, la occidentalo-centrismul de astzi. Elementele definitorii pentru orice ar european spiritul grec, dominaia roman i cretinismul sunt regsibile, ntr-o alchimie specific, i n acest spaiu greco-slavo-latin centripetal prin lanurile muntoase ce l strbat de la nord spre sud i centrifugal prin prezena litoralului marin n toate punctele cardinale. Astfel, aezarea geografic (ntre Orient i Occident, la confinele Europei cu Asia), ataamentul organic la romanitatea prelungit sub forma de universalitate (Nicolae Iorga) a mileniului bizantin, modelul spiritual cretin n cheie preponderent ortodox traducnd n chip specific, apoi, nu n ultimul rnd, amintirea dureroas a unui trecut nc foarte apropiat, deci nesedimentat i marcat ieri: de impactul secular cu Semiluna; azi: de deceniile post-Yalta au fcut posibil elaborarea conceptului de balcanitate ce acoper o axiologie comun popoarelor din aceast zon, localizabil ntre veacurile XV i XIX.

Faptul c termenul Europa Central nu se bucur actualmente de un consens general se datoreaz insuficienei criteriilor folosite, dar i atitudinii polemice, nscut dintr-o istorie dramatic. Unghiul geopolitic sau acela, mai generos, dar i mai puin vertebrat, numit obinuit geocultural aproximeaz entitatea numit Europa Central n condiiile n care, istoric vorbind, amintirea Imperiului Habsburgic concretiznd i localiznd doar parial conceptul greveaz asupra procesului de circumscriere n perioada postbelic. S-au schiat, de pild, un numr de trei etape n evoluia ideii de Europ Central. Prima dintre ele, ilustrat de ctre Oscar Halecki pe la jumtatea secolului trecut,

pornea paradoxal oarecum de la comunitatea cultural reprezentat de continentul european i, mai ales, de la nelegerea, mai corect, a fenomenului reconsiderat, pozitivat chiar de balcanizare. Plednd pentru unitatea dintre Europa Central i cea de Sud-Est, Halecki venea aadar d i n s p r e acest din urm segment geografic, a crui alteritate s-ar datora elementului asiatic motenit de la dominaia otoman. n jurul anilor 80 precipit o alt viziune asupra Europei Centrale n sensul c, pe de o parte, indiferent de discurs cultural (Kundera sau Milosz) ori prin excelen istoric (Jen Scz) ea a devenit un concept eliberator n care Rusia devenea alteritatea Europei Centrale i, pe de alt parte, nici Balcanii i nici Sud-Estul nu-i mai gseau locul ntr-o asemenea ecuaie cu finalitate identitar. Dup 1990 ideea de Europ Central trece o dat cu tratatul de la Viegrad din sfera politicii culturale n domeniul praxisului politic, fiind valorificat ca un argument eficient de a intra n cadrul instituional european1 i ntr-o relaie mereu opozitiv cu Rusia, dar i cu Balcanii, relaie alimentat de ceea ce s-a numit falia Huntignton2. In tot acest context, opinia lui Predrag Matvejevi din Europa Central privit din Europa de Est este ntructva singular3, dei ea reitereaz efortul, mai comprehensiv, al lui Halecki. Oricum, etichetri mai recente de tipul istoricitatea Occidentului opus istoriei absurde a Europei Centrale i, mai grav, an-istoricitii Estului (Josef Kroutov) nu limpezesc nici harta valorilor reale i nici pe aceea a orientrilor i tendinelor ce alctuiesc spectrul politic, social i cultural. Ideea de Europ Central continu s fac obiectul unor interpretri aproape izomorfe. Pentru Jacques Rupnik, de exemplu, principala caracteristic a culturii politice a Europei Centrale este dualitatea ntre autoritarism i democraie, ntre Vest i Est, dar i discontinuitatea dezvoltrii politice, care a fost ntotdeauna dependent de orientarea politic a marilor puteri din regiune4. n textul cel mai cunoscut consacrat problemei, Milan Kundera scria c Europa Central este o zon nedefinit de mici naiuni, aflat ntre Rusia i Germania; mai exact, prin sistemul su politic, Europa Central este
Maria Todorova, Balcanii i Balcanismul, Humanitas, 2000 p. 250. .a. Sammuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations?, n Foreign Affairs, vol. 72, 1993, pp. 23-49. Cf. i observaiile pertinente formulate de ctre Al. Duu, n Ideea de Europa i evoluia contiinei europene, All, Bucureti, 1999, pp. 417-432 (Falia Huntington). 3 Predrag Matvejevi, Central Europe Seen from the East Europe, n volumul In Search of Central Europe, Polity Press, Cambridge, 1989, pp. 183-190. 4 Jacques Rupnik, n cutarea Europei Centrale (1993), n Aurora, Oradea, 1994, nr. 3.
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Est iar prin cultur este Occident1. De aici, concluzii precum liberalismul ratat sau semi-autoritarismul Europei Centrale ce ntrein ambiguitatea ncercrii de a preciza, totui, un areal ale crui nereuite s-ar datora, aa cum se sugereaz, i proximitii cu Estul inventat de fapt la nivelul multor stereotipii de Vestul secolului al XVIII-lea2. A conchide n acest mod despre Europa Central mpreun cu Milan Kundera i Jacques Rupnik nseamn s-l acceptm pe n t r e ca operator cu valoare delimitativ-integratoare. Or, el este cu adevrat funcional n circumscrierea Europei de Sud-Est, aflat ntre Orient i Occident, ntre viziunea cosmocentric i aceea antropocentric . a. Acest ntre presupune aadar un sistem de cercuri care se ntretaie avnd arce comune, aa cum definea Sud-Estul european balcanologul Victor Papacostea. Iat motivul pentru care ntrebri precum Ce relaie exist ntre spaiul central-european i spaiul sud-est european?, ntruct sunt acestea zone distincte i unde aflm, totui, numitorii comuni? . a. sunt absolut necesare n tentativa de a schia mcar constantele i diferenele specifice. Ar fi de remarcat, mai nti, c raporturile comerciale seculare, deplasarea grupurilor masive de populaie sub impactul rzboaielor girate, n esen de trei mari puteri, alianele politice mai mult sau mai puin pasagere ce au permanentizat sentimentul colectiv de echilibru instabil, apoi disputele religioase i coninutul, mereu mai modificat, al lui homo religiosus n conjuncturile favorabile procesului de laicizare a gndirii, cu diferene specifice de ritm fa de Vestul Europei, toate acestea conduc la o eviden, anume c frontierele dintre Europa de Sud-Est i Europa Central au fost i rmn permeabile. Existena, n aceast ordine a spaiilor cu valoare de turnant, precum Banatul, Transilvania, Slovenia . a. complic i mai mult desenul care, ntr-un fel asertorizat, i pierde din rigoarea, ca s nu spun din rigiditatea discursului politic (mai ales!) al central-europeanului. Tocmai de aceea, schiarea elementelor comune/ deosebitoare dintre cele dou spaii trebuie s porneasc probabil de la: 1. Proiectarea ambelor meridiane, central i sud-estic, pe ecranul unei Europe unitare n diversitatea sa etnic, cultural etc.
Milan Kundera, Tragedia Europei Centrale, n volumul Europa Central Nevroze, Dileme, Utopii. Coordonare de Adriana Babei i Cornel Ungureanu, Polirom, Iai, 1997, pp. 221-235. 2 Cf. Larry Wolff, Inventarea Europei de Est. Harta civilizaiei n epoca luminilor, Humanitas, Bucureti, 2000.
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2. Conceptul de spaiu sud-est european, mai bine cristalizat sub raportul determinrilor convergente travers les sicles. n primul caz, e vorba de plasarea celor dou areale nvecinate n cadrul raportului dintre centru i periferie, ce se rediscut acum n cel puin dou contextualizri postulate de istoria post-Columb: confruntarea, la nivel planetar, dintre Nord i Sud i apoi relaia, restrns la continentul nostru, dintre Vestul industrializat, cu societatea de consum aflat ntr-un lent declin de la prima criz a petrolului, i Estul abia ieit din utopia dureroas a ideologiei marxist-leniniste. Dac nu s-a produs o rsturnare copernican n relaia dintre periferia considerat ca alteritate la centrul imperial, din punct de vedere cultural semnele unei atare schimbri sunt evidente, i asta n pofida perimetrului de rspndire i a prestigiului celor patru limbi europene, respectiv engleza, franceza (n recul), spaniola i, n oarecare ascensiune, germana. De altfel, starea de criz, deocamdat lent, a centrelor consacrate este vizibil n utilizarea conceptelor ce acoper o geografie spiritual tot mai restrns: antropocentrism europocentrism occidentalocentrism. Realitatea este c policentrismului, schiat nc n perioada de emergen romantic i de cristalizare a naiunilor n cea de-a doua jumtate a secolului al XIX-lea, i corespund la o prim ochire caracteristicile zonale ale culturilor latine, slave i germanice sau, dup criteriul geografic propriu-zis, ale culturilor din Sudul, Vestul, Centrul, Nordul i Sud-Estul Europei. Jocul constantelor i al variabilelor precizeaz sfera culturilor naionale, dar i a grupului de culturi, adesea dincolo de nrudirea etno-lingvistic, aa cum este n Centru i n Sud-Est. Sensul lor general de micare sau, mai concret spus, tendina lor general a fost ntotdeauna aceea de integrare n ritmul determinat de Vest. Limes-urile culturale mai au nc nostalgia i complexul centrului, Parisul ori Londra continu s dea tonul. Or, n acest cadru, att Europa Central ct i aceea de Sud-Est dein o situaie paradoxal: ambele sunt ex-centrice i, n acelai timp, propun/impun replici viguroase, pe palierul naional, la occidentalo-centrismul de astzi. Exist aici, afirma Claudio Magris ntr-un colocviu inut la Budapesta, o tendin de a apra ariile marginale mpotriva centrului i mpotriva oricrui model standard. Tot pentru el renaterea Europei Centrale, la care adaug i Sud-Estul e o metafor a protestului mpotriva dominaiei sovietice n Europa de Est i

mpotriva modului de via american n Europa1. Numai c policentrismul afirmat mai cu seam dup a doua conflagraie mondial poate nsemna i un cmp de fore centrifuge prezidat de naionalismul cu un comportament cameleonic. Tot epoca romantic, att de generoas n idealuri, a contribuit la echivalarea, eronat i periculoas, a etnicului cu naiunea i apoi cu Statul Naional, dei se cunoate faptul c neamurile n-au produs ntotdeauna state naionale. Exist state, ca n Balcani, care apar naintea naiunii i contribuie la maturizarea ei.2 Dar o asemenea utopie retrospectiv, n virtutea creia etnia se suprapune conceptului de popor i susine proiectul statului modern, caracterizeaz i arealul defunctului Imperiu Habsburgic, dinamitat i de exacerbri ideologice precum ilirismul, panslavismul . a. Nu e deloc ntmpltor aadar faptul c a m b e l e spaii umane au cunoscut, n conjuncturile restrictive ale istoriei de ieri i de azi, fenomenul pe care l-am numit altdat de implozie. El este detectabil fie n exasperarea formelor de comunicare artistic ce a condus la barocul trziu sau la anticamera avangardismului european (n Centru), fie la resurecia spiritului epopeic n romanul istoric, spirit diseminat n creaia folcloric sau la formula rsu-plnsu ce impregneaz, ambele, mentalitatea colectiv (n Sud-Est). Al doilea reper pentru o eventual definire a Centrului este necesar s fie Europa de Sud-Est.3 Reamintesc doar c elementele definitorii pentru orice ar european spiritul grec, dominaia roman i cretinismul sunt regsibile, ntr-o alchimie specific, i n acest spaiu greco-slavo-latin centripetal prin lanurile muntoase ce l strbat de la nord spre sud i centrifugal prin prezena litoralului marin n toate punctele cardinale. Astfel, aezarea geografic (ntre Orient i Occident, la confinele Europei cu Asia), ataamentul organic la romanitatea prelungit sub forma de universalitate (Nicolae Iorga) a mileniului bizantin, modelul spiritual cretin n cheie preponderent ortodox traducnd n chip specific, apoi, nu n ultimul rnd, amintirea dureroas a unui trecut nc foarte apropiat, deci nesedimentat i marcat ieri: de
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Cf. volumul Cross Currents, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1991, nr. 10. 2 Al. Duu, Solidaritile nationale i utopiile, n vol. colectiv Sud Estul i contextul european, Buletin, vol. I, 1944, p.11 .a. 3 i aceasta n temeiul adevrului, formulat de Michael Heim, c Europa central, ca entitate cultural, va depinde ntotdeauna de relaia sa cu alte spaii. (Un Babel fericit, Polirom, Iai, 1999, p.75).

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impactul secular cu Semiluna; azi: de deceniile post-Yalta au fcut posibil elaborarea conceptului de balcanitate ce acoper o axiologie comun popoarelor din aceast zon, localizabil ntre veacurile XV i XIX. Coordonatele enunate demonstreaz att clasicitatea constitutiv a ceea ce s-a numit romanitate oriental, ct i vocaia european a suddunreanului. Dac, ne amintim iari, umanismul reprezenta n forma lui bizantin i apoi consacrat, din veacurile XVI i XVII prima etap de integrare programatic n marile curente culturale europene, cristalizarea naiunilor dup 1848 a constituit un al doilea efort integrator. Cum apare aadar Centrul european din perspectiva sud-est europeanului? Ca s rspundem mcar sub form de schi, s apelm la exemple culturale, plonjnd direct n arcele comune (Victor Papacostea), dar i n specificitile ariilor vizate. Astfel, Turcocraia aflat n descompunere accelerat perpetueaz, n degradeuri succesive, tipologia cavalerului (sau a eroului), a intelectualului (dragomanul, istoriograful etc.) sau a preotului ce populeaz creaiile ex-iugoslavilor Andri i Selimovi, albanezului Kadare, grecului Kazantzakis, bulgarului Stanev sau ale lui Sadoveanu. n Europa Central exist de asemenea o tipologie s-i spunem crepuscular ofierul, funcionarul i artistul elaborat mai cu seam n literatura Kakaniei (Robert Musil), una a contestaiilor i a scepticismului, ambele ntoarse spre rsul amar al unor Nuici sau Haek. Pe de alt parte, exemplele extrase tot din lumea personajului aflate n proza lui Krlea, Bulatovi sau Kusniewicz particularizeaz elemente integrabile, desigur parial, perimetrului sud-estic mai ales n amintitele spaii-turnant. Iat, rebrenianul Apostol Bologa confirm paradigma musilianului om fr caliti; o cltorie prin cenua unui imperiu, alturi de Krlea, Hrabal sau Haek ne scoate pe cellalt versant din tradiia ardelean, obturat, n istoria literar romneasc, de militantismul ilustrat de linia Cobuc Octavian Goga. Apariia lui Emil Cioran n acelai spaiu e semnificativ, mpreun cu eroii care se usuc ncet, de la Agrbiceanu la Sorin Titel, toi integrndu-se n aceeai paradigm a derealizrii (Cornel Ungureanu). n acelai context de confluene i analogii, n centrul european dar i n sud-est exist o combinaie ciudat ntre o mare siguran intelectual i o mare nesiguran identitar1 racordabil, iari paradoxal pentru un ochi din afar, la un

Tony Judt, Europa iluziilor, Polirom, Iasi, 2000, p.77.

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concept cu valoare operatorie, acela de identitate multipl.1 n acest sens, ntoarcerea lui Filip Latinovi a lui Miroslav Krlea o definiie sui-generis a Europei Centrale este fin cu proiectul lui Ivo Andri n romanul Cronica din Travnik, dup cum sincroniile politice, sociale dar i culturale sunt uimitoare, ele circumscriind n durata lung i n cea medie un ritm unitar.2 E la fel de adevrat ns c diferenieri majore se nregistreaz la nivelul unor componente ce aluvioneaz o forma mentis vertebrat de cultur. Mitul bizantin (n Sud-Est) i mitul habsburgic (n Centru) polarizeaz meditaia artistului, dar i pe aceea a politologului sau a istoricului. Dac, de pild, Sud-Estul a crezut n istoria-care-se-fcea n epoca de ecloziune a naiunilor, zona central-european, cu un Imperiu n declin vizibil, avea, aa cum s-a observat, o viziune mai degrab ironic i o creativitate de factur alexandrin, ilustrat de romanul filosofic i eseistic (Milan Kundera, Herman Broch), de preferina pentru foileton (Karel apek), genul aforistic (Karl Kraus) sau pentru variaiunile pe teme date (Danilo Ki n Variaiuni pe tema Europei Centrale). Se certific existena unui univers agonic, n care jocul interdsciplinar i metamorfic anun discursul antifilosofic (Emil Cioran) i antipolitic (G. Konrad), tincturat de o ironie coroziv.3 n schimb, n Sud-Est, spiritul epopeic, diseminat ntr-o vast literatur istoric, este aluvionat de nclinarea narativ pentru diegeza pur (povestire), dup cum universul paremiologic i al apologurilor faciliteaz, n continuare, proiecia imaginarului literar n desenul parabolic prin asimilarea canoanelor neistovitei oraliti. De asemenea, grecitatea ca pol aglutinator n Sud-Est i iudaismul n Centru difereniaz fr-ndoial aceast forma mentis. Cei doi poli asigur coridoarele de circulaie a valorilor i, mai mult dect att, le focalizeaz n problematica strict local generat de nevoi politicoDac pentru Kundera sau Konrad Mitteleuropa e un termen nobil, ns destul de vag, conceptul de Europ Danubian ar avea probabil mai mult pregnan, dei ar implica sau circumscrie un numr sporit de spaii-turnant. 2 Astfel, ntr-un tabel sinoptic, alctuit dup lectura unui instructiv volum, Cronologia Europei Centrale, 1848-1989, numitorii comuni cu Sud-Estul european aproape ar echilibra, ca volum i importan, diferenele specifice. 3 n substaniala Prefa la G. Konrad, Vizitatorul, Univers, Bucuresti,1998, Cornel Ungureanu amintete i de categoria de antipersonaj, ce confirm ideea de univers agonic, alturi de ntreitul blestem al Europei Centrale, anume antisemitismul agresiv, Kitschul proliferant i familia imperial degenerat.
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sociale presante. Intrm ns i aici n domeniul arcelor comune: diaspora evreiasc, variat ca densitate demografic i amplificat cu sefarzi, va fi mai mult dect tolerat n Turcocraie, la fel, comunitile aromne n special alctuiesc o estur cu ochiurile foarte largi din Balcani pn la Pcs i Viena. Circulaia mrfurilor pe vechea reea de drumuri comerciale, dar i circulaia ideilor, respectiv a crii, leag de fapt Centrul de Sud-Est, n pofida ritmului cteodat lent al translaiilor dintr-o parte sau alta. Este i motivul pentru care cele dou geografii, cu ncrctur simbolic diferit nu sunt nici incomparabile din punct de vedere metodologic i nici, n consecin, nite constructe incompatibile. Nu e mai puin adevrat c politica marilor puteri privilegiaz azi (a fcut-o i ieri) cutare spaiu pe criteriul strategiei economice i nu numai. Fenomenul de balcanizare n sens de dezbinare i nfruntare sngeroas a forelor ce triesc utopia recuperrii etnicului pur are acelai neles cu acela de libanizare sau, mai nou, de kossovizare. Situaiile explozive caracterizeaz nu numai Balcanii, dei zona continu s fie considerat drept paradigm negativ din perspectiva Occidentului ce, deloc paradoxal, poate fi culpabilizat, periodic, de la 1453 ncoace. Culoarea peiorativ a termenului de balcanizare este i produsul unei contaminri, la fel de restrictiv i de nedreapt, de la perechea bizantinism/bizantinizare. Regiunea balcanic a perpetuat de la Bizanul milenar o filosofie a supravieuirii, alturi de un model de civilizaie, mereu mai apreciat de Europa apusean contemporan. Oricum, structura de puzzle etnic a Centrului i Sud-Estului, cu tensiuni aproape eternizate de istorie certific, i ea, unitatea n diversitate a continentului nostru, n care delimitrile, circumscrierile i, bineneles, tranrile de orice fel vor trebui pn la urm s cedeze n faa interferenelor i a concilierilor reciproce, att de necesare.

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Central Europe / South-Eastern Europe

Both Central and South Eastern Europe embody a paradoxical situation: they are both ex-centric, proposing/imposing vigorous hard lines on the local national level, in response to todays occidentalo-centrism. The defining elements of any European country - the Greek spirit, Roman dominance and Christianity are equally identifiable in a specific form of alchemy in this Greek-Latin-Slavic space, which is centripetal, through the mountain range that traverse it from north to south, and centrifugal, through the sea shores lying in all cardinal directions. Its geographical setting (between the Orient and the Occident, at the frontier between Europe and Asia), the Byzantium millenniums organic attachment to the Romance spirit extended, according to historian Nicolae Iorga, until late under the guise of universality, the Christian spiritual model, appropriated in a predominantly Orthodox expression, and, last but not least, the painful memory of an as yet near and hence unsettled past, marked, now by the agelong impact of the Ottoman Empire, now by the post-Yalta decades, all these elements generated the coining of the term Balkanism, that designates a common axiology of the peoples in the region, between the fifteenth and the nineteenth centuries.

The fact that there is currently no consensus over the term Central Europe is due to the insufficient definitional criteria and the polemical attitudes at work, attitudes born out of a dramatic history. The geo-political, or the more generous albeit less articulate angle, commonly referred to as geo-cultural, vaguely defines an entity known as Central Europe against a background where references to the Hapsburg Empire provide only a partial individuation and localization of the concept, impeding upon the process of its delineation in the postwar period. Three stages have been distinguished in the evolution of the idea of Central Europe. The first is illustrated by Oscar Halecki in the latter half of the twentieth century and starts, somewhat paradoxically, from an understanding of the cultural community constitutive of the European continent, one that reconsiders, indeed posits the phenomenon from a perspective informed by Balkanization. Pleading for the unity between Central and Southeastern Europe, Haleckis position was grounded in this latter geographical segment whose otherness was accounted for by the Asian component of the Ottoman legacy. In the 1980s another vision gains currency which, irrespective of the nature of discourse - whether cultural (Kundera or Milosz) or quintessentially historical (Jeno Scz) - fore grounded Central Europe as a liberating concept, Russias other, articulating an equation whose identity

14

finality accommodated neither the South-East, nor the Balkans. After 1990 and the ratification of the Visegrad Treaty, the idea of Central Europe leaves the sphere of the politics of culture and enters that of political praxis, valorised as an effective argument in favour of the European Union membership1, situated in constant opposition with Russia and the Balkans, a relationship fostered by what has been referred to as the Huntington rift2. Against this backdrop, although reiterating the more comprehensive effort of Halecki, Predag Matvejevi strikes a somewhat solitary note3. More recent labels such as the historicity of the West versus the absurd history of Central Europe and, more impactful, the non-historicity of the East (Josef Kroutov) clarify neither the hierarchy of real values nor that of the directions and tendencies of the political, social and cultural scope. The idea of a Central Europe continues to form the object of almost isomorphic interpretations. To Jacques Rupnick, for instance, the main characteristic of the political culture of Central Europe is the duality between authoritarianism and democracy, West and East, as well as the discontinuity of the political development, always dependent upon the political orientation of the superpowers in the region.4 In a seminal text devoted to the problem, Milan Kundera wrote that Central Europe was an indistinct region comprising small nations, situated between Russia and Germany; it was, to be more exact, Eastern in its political system, and Western in its culture5. Hence the various assumptions about the missed liberalism or the semi-authoritarianism of Central Europe, which perpetuate ambiguity in the effort to pin down an area of specificity supposedly owing its failures to the proximity of an East, for the larger part already invented at the level of several stereotypes by the

Maria Todorova, The Balkans and Balkanism, Humanitas, 2000, p. 250. Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations in Foreign Affairs, vol. 72, 1993, 23-49. See also Ideea de Europa i evoluia contiinei europene / The Idea of Europe and the Evolution of the European Consciousness, Cambridge: Polity Press, Bucharest: All, 1999, 183-90 pp. 3 Predag Matvejevi, Central Europe Seen from the East Europe in volume In search of Central Europe, Cambridge: Polity Press, 1989, 183-90 pp. 4 Jacques Rupnik, In Search of Central Europe (1993) in Aurora, Oradea, 1994, no 3. 5 Adriana Babei and Cornel Ungureanu (ed.s), Milan Kundera, The Tragedy of Central Europe in volume Central Europe: Neuroses, Dilemmas, Utopias. Iai: Polirom, 1997, p. 221-235.
2

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eighteenth-century West.1 To conclude in this way on Central Europe, and thus echo Milan Kunderas and Jacques Rupniks opinions, is to accept in-betweenness as a delineating and integrating marker. This, however, is a functional marker in the circumscribing of South-Eastern Europe, which is located between the Orient and the Occident, caught between a cosmocentric and an anthropocentric vision. It follows that this in-betweenness presupposes, according to Balkanologist Victor Papacostea, a system of intersecting circles with common arcs. This is exactly why questions such as what is the relationship between the Central European and the South Eastern European space, or since these regions are distinct what are their common denominators reveal themselves as instrumental in the attempt to identify the constant traits and specific differences of these areas. Mention must be made that the commercial trade going back several centuries, the circulation of large groups of population under the impact of the wars waged in the main by three great powers, the more or less fleeting political alliances making for the collective sentiment of a constantly unstable equilibrium, the religious frictions and a homo religious undergoing constant change against the backdrop of the process of secularization of thought, marked by considerable differences of timing from Western Europe, point to one conclusive piece of evidence, namely that the borderline between Central and Eastern Europe has been permeable at all times. The existence of frontier regions such as the Banat, Transylvania, Slovenia, a.o. further complicates the picture, which loses some of the rigor (read rigidity) of the Central European discourse, particularly manifest in the political discourse. This is why the process of pinning down the common denominators and distinctions between the two spaces has to start from the following: 1. Projecting both meridians, the Central and the Southeastern one against the background of a unitary Europe, unified in its ethnic and cultural diversity. 2. The concept of a Southeastern European space, better articulated from the vantage point of convergent determinations travers les sicles.

In Larry Wollf, Inventarea Europei de est: harta civilizaiei in epoca luminilor (Inventing Eastern Europe: The Map of Civilization on the Mind of the Enlightenment). Trans. Bianca Rizzoli, Bucharest: Humanitas, 2000.

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In the case of the former prerequisite, what is at stake is the positioning of the two neighbouring areas within the relationship between centre and periphery, currently under reconsideration in at least two forms of contextualisation promulgated by post-Columbus history: the dispute between north and south manifest on a planetary scale and, at the European level, the relationship between the industrialized West, featuring a consumer society that entered a slow decline since the first oil crisis, and an East that only just came out of the painful utopia of Marxist-Leninist ideology. Thus, if a Copernican turnaround in the relationship between the margins - viewed as the imperial centres others - and the centre failed to take place, culturally speaking the signs of a similar change are evident, despite the area of manifestation and the prestige of the four European languages, English, French (on the decrease), Spanish and German (on a certain rise). In fact, the as yet slow crisis, undergone by the established centres, is visible in the use of the terms that cover an ever-narrower spiritual geography: anthropocentrism, Eurocentrism, occidentalocentrism. The truth of the matter is that polycentrism, already emergent in the Romantic age and developing against the backdrop of nation formation in the latter part of the nineteenth century, had its regional correspondence, at first sight, in the Latin, Slavic and Germanic cultures, or, according to a geographical criterion, in those of Southern, Western, Central, Northern and Southeastern Europe. The game of dominant features and variables renders the sphere of national cultures and of cultural groups distinct, often beyond the ethnolinguistic affinities at work; such is the case of the Centre and the Southeast. Their general direction of movement or, more specifically, their general tendency has always been that of dancing to the beat of a drum played by the West. The cultural limes (walls protecting the ancient Roman empires borders) still have the nostalgia for and complex of the centre. Paris and London still set the tone. In the above-mentioned framework, both Central and South Eastern Europe embody a paradoxical situation: they are both ex-centric, proposing/ imposing vigorous hard lines on the local national level, in response to todays occidentalo-centrism. As Claudio Magris argues in a colloquium held in Budapest, a tendency to defend marginal areas against the centre as against any standard model is discernible here. Magris goes on to say that the renaissance of Central Europe, indeed of Eastern Europe, we would like to add, is a metaphor for the protest against

17

Soviet dominance in Eastern Europe and against the American lifestyle in Europe.1 But polycentrism, asserted mainly after World War II, can equally be taken to mean a field of centrifugal forces presided over by a form of chameleon-like nationalism. It was the romantic age, so generous in ideals that contributed to the fallacious and dangerous placing of an equal sign between the ethnic and the national, and, later, the nation state, despite historical evidence showing that nationalities did not necessarily give rise to nation states. There are states such as the Balkan states that appeared before nations, contributing to the latters coming of age.2 One such retrospective utopia, however, legitimising the overlapping of the concept of ethnicity with that of people, endorsing at the same time the modern state project, was characteristic of the area of the fallen Hapsburg Empire, also undermined by ideological exacerbations such as Illyrism, pan-Slavism. It is not by accident that both regions experienced, within the constrained contexts of the remote and the recent past, a phenomenon that on a different occasion we termed implosion. This can be detected both in the exasperation of the forms of artistic communication that led to the late baroque or the antechamber of the European avant-gardes (at the Centre), and in the resurrection of the epic vein in the historical novel, a vein that found its expression in folklore or the laugh-cry formula, both of which pervade the collective unconscious in the Southeast. Southeastern Europe acts as the latter landmark to be considered for a definition of the Centre.3 Let me repeat that the defining elements of any European country - the Greek spirit, Roman dominance and Christianity are equally identifiable in a specific form of alchemy in this Greek-Latin-Slavic space, which is centripetal, through the mountain range that traverse it from north to south, and centrifugal, through the sea shores lying in all cardinal directions. Its geographical setting (between the Orient and the Occident, at the frontier between
In volume Cross Currents, New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 1991, [volume 10]. 2 Al. Duu, Solidaritile naionale i utopiile (National Solidarities and Utopias) in Sudul i contextul european (The South-East and the European Context), Buletin, volume I, 1944, p 11 et al. 3 This is substantiated by the validity of Michael Heims statement concerning the degree to which Central Europe, as a cultural entity, will always owe its identity profile to its relations with other regions. In Un Babel fericit (A Cheerful Babel), Iai: Polirom, 1999, p. 75.
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Europe and Asia), the Byzantium millenniums organic attachment to the Romance spirit extended, according to historian Nicolae Iorga, until late under the guise of universality, the Christian spiritual model, appropriated in a predominantly Orthodox expression, and, last but not least, the painful memory of an as yet near and hence unsettled past, marked, now by the age-long impact of the Ottoman Empire, now by the post-Yalta decades, all these elements generated the coining of the term Balkanism, that designates a common axiology of the peoples in the region, between the fifteenth and the nineteenth centuries. The coordinates above demonstrate both the Classicism constitutive of what has been termed Oriental Romanity, and the European calling of the people dwelling south of the Danube. Thus, if humanism, in its Byzantine form, (to be established in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries), represented the first stage in a process of programmatic integration into the great European cultural currents, the formation of the nation states after 1848 stood for a second integrating effort. The question arises, how is the Central European region represented in the perspective of the southeastern European? The answer, however schematic, calls for cultural examples and the common identity loci (in Papacosteas terms), as well as the specificity of these regions. Thus, a rapidly collapsing Turkish autocracy perpetuates, in successive shades and colours, the typology of the cavalier (or hero), of the intellectual (the dragoman, historiographer, etc.) or that of the priest that people the literary works of former Yugoslav writers Andri and Selimovi, of the Albanian author Ismail Kadare, the Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis, the Bulgarian Stanev, or the Romanian Mihail Sadoveanu. In Central Europe there also exists what one may term a twilight typology, exemplified by the officer, the clerk and the artist, created by the literature of Kakania (Robert Musil), one of contestation and skepticism, prone to the bitter laughter of Nuici or Haek. On the other hand, the illustrations found in the fictional universe of Krlea, Bulatovi or Kusniewicz typify elements that can be integrated, albeit in part, into the Southeastern perimeter, especially manifest in the aforementioned frontier regions. Thus, Apostol Bologa, Liviu Rebreanus iconic character in Forest of the Hanged, reinforces Musils man without qualities paradigm. A journey through the ashes of an empire that one embarks upon in the company of Krlea, Hrabal or Haek, takes one to the other side of Transylvanian tradition, obliterated in Romanian literary history by the Cobuc Goga line of militancy.

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The emergence of Emil Cioran on the scene is significant, just as is that of the slowly emaciating heroes featuring in works ranging from Agrbiceanu to Sorin Titel, all fitting in the same derealisation paradigm (Cornel Ungureanu). In the same context of confluences and analogies there exists in both Central and East European imaginary a strange identity mix, evincing a blend of great intellectual confidence and identity insecurity1 that can be circumscribed, paradoxically again for the outsider, to a concept invested with operational value, that of multiple identity2. In this respect, Krleas Return of Filip Latinovi a sui-generis definition of Central Europe is consonant with Andris project as dramatized in the novel Travniks Chronicle, as are the stunning political, social and cultural synchronicities, articulating a medium- and long-term unitary pace.3 It is equally true, however, that major differences can be traced at the level of various elements constitutive of the cultural mindset. The myth of the Byzantium in the Southeast and the Hapsburg myth in the centre, polarize the attention of the artist, the political scientist and the historian. Thus, if the South-Easterner believed history to be in the making during the period of the exclusion of the nation states, the Central European, facing a visibly declining empire, nurtured, as we have tried to show, a vision characterized by irony and an Alexandrine sensibility, exemplified by the philosophical and essayistic novels of Milan Kundera and Herman Broch, the preference for the buildungsroman in Karel apeks writing, the aphoristic works of Karl Kraus, or the variations on a given theme in Danilo Kis Variations on the Theme of Central Europe. The existence of an agonic universe is thus certified, one in which the interdisciplinary and metamorphic game paves the way for Ciorans anti-philosophical discourse and G. Konrads anti-political one, spiced up by corrosive irony.4

Tony Judt, Europa iluziilor (A Europe of Illusions). Iai: Polirom, 2000, p. 77. If for Kundera and Konrad Mitteleuropa is a noble and as yet conceptually vague term, the concept of Danubian Europe will perhaps appear as somewhat more distinct, albeit one entailing or circumscribing a larger number of frontier regions. 3 Thus, in a synoptic table the drawing of which was inspired by the reading of a highly insightful volume, Cronologia Europei Centrale 1848-1989 (The Chronology of Central Europe 1848-1989), the common denominators shared with Southern Europe would almost redress, in size and importance, the balance of the specific differences involved. 4 In the comprehensive Preface to G. Konrad, Vizitatorul (The Visitor), Bucharest: Univers, 1998, Cornel Ungureanu calls to mind the anti-hero category, which reinforces the idea of
2

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In the Southeast, on the other hand, the propensity for the epic materialised in the form of a vast body of literature distinguished by a disposition toward pure diegesis, in the same way as a paremiologic universe facilitates the projection of the literary imaginary along parabolic lines through the assimilation of the canon of a relentless orality. The influence of Greek traditions as a polarising factor in the Southeast, and of Judaism, in the Centre, further differentiates the mindset in the region. The two poles ensure the passageways of values and, more importantly, posit these in the strictly local problem area engendered by pressing political-social needs. Here, too, we enter the territory of common loci: the Jewish Diaspora, demographically varied and amplified by the Sephards, will be more than tolerated under Turkish autocracy, the Aromanian communities forming at the same time a tightly knit fabric that extends from the Balkans to Pcs and Vienna. The circulation of goods via the old network of trade roads, as well as the circulation of ideas, indeed of books themselves, links up the centre and the South-east, despite the sometimes slow rhythm of translation at one end or the other. This is the very reason why the two geographies, possessed of a different symbolical sensibility, are neither methodologically incomparable, nor consequently incompatible constructs. An equally valid point is that the political superpowers are positively biased (today as in the past) toward such and such region on grounds of strategic criteria, economic and other. The phenomenon of Balkanisation in the sense of the divide and the bloody confrontation of the forces experiencing the utopia of recuperating the pure ethnical component seems to have become synonymous with Libanisation or Kossovisation. But explosive situations are not the appanage or perquisite of the Balkans alone, even though the region maintains its function of a negative paradigm stereotype in the eyes of the West that has not in the slightest been paradoxically or periodically susceptible to culpability since 1453 onwards. The derogatory acceptation of the term Balkanisation is the result of a contamination, restrictive as it is unjust, from the pair Byzantism / Byzantinisation. The Balkans took over and perpetuated the philosophy of survival from millenary Byzantium, along with a model of civilisation increasingly valued by Western Europe.
agonic universe, along with that of the threefold curse of Central Europe, namely, the aggressive anti-Semitism, the proliferating kitsch, and the degenerate imperial family.

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The ethnic puzzle structure of Central and Eastern Europe, marked by tensions almost eternalized by history, confirms the unity in diversity of our continent, where delimitation, circumscribing and delineation of whatever kind will eventually have to give way to what appear as necessary interactions and reconciliations.
(Translation: Adriana Neagu)

Heinz-Uwe Haus (USA, GERMANY) Time of Parenthesis - Postmodernism and Christian Identity
The period in which we now live is often called "postmodernism". Postmodernism is associated with relativism, "anything goes". All aspects of life could be interpreted from a religious point of view, and a large number of the population believed in God and Christianity. Postmodernism and Christian belief agree that one should appreciate cultural/ethnic diversity rather than treating people as "other". Christians today are encouraged by their churches to show grace towards non-Christians since they themselves have been saved by God's grace. The envisioned co-existence of the islands inhabitants with their diverse religions, Christian-Orthodox, Roman-Catholic, Maronites, Jewish and Muslim, in one body of citizenship and European identity appeared to be a strong weapon to withstand the occupier's long term strategy.

We are living in a time of parenthesis, a time between eras, my friend Jacobos Kambanellis, the Greek writer, liked to say, when we discussed the Cold War "scenery" in the early 1980s. If man was not a thing, as declared by Erich Fromm, what companionship, then, could be found in that world? I had my experiences of communist totalitarianism. Jacobos remembered his youth in Dachau, where he survived the Nazi camp, and Paris, where he studied Sartre, who documented how easy victim and executioner can change the role1.Today again; we have, in
1

Jean Paul Sartre writes in his review of Henri Alleg's book, The Question, which tells how the author, an Algerian journalist, was tortured by the French: "According to circumstances, anyone, anytime, will become either the victim or the executioner". In: MANAS Reprint, Vol. XXII, No. 3, January 15, 1969, p. 2.

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short, overwhelming moral reason but almost no cultural foundation for believing in ourselves. Our hearts fill with intense longing for heroic behavior, but our heads are loaded with pedestrian indoctrination about "conditioning". Our rhythm of existence is like a chain of opportunities. We must not be afraid of the contradictions between the intended results and the unintended consequences of the measures taken. Remember, the 1989 victory over the Soviet empire was not ending global struggle for freedom and democracy, as we know now clearer than in the weeks of revolution. After all it was the great opportunity of Europe to re-start its engine for a challenging race worldwide. While thinking globally, if we look to the EU the place to make a difference politically is still at the national level. Despite occasional outcries of postmodernist self-expression to the contrary, Westerners are capable and desirous of participating in political decisions to a greater extent than the present representative system permits. At the same time, the outcome of the ongoing processes is still uncertain, even if the people involved know exactly what the ultimate goal is towards which they are working. It is as though we have bracketed off the present from both the past and the future, for we are neither here nor there. We have not quite left behind the either/or of the past, but we have not embraced the future either. We have done (as always) the human thing: We are clinging to the known past in fear of the unknown future. The question is how to outline an interpretation of that future in order to make it more real, more knowable. It is obvious, that those who are willing to handle the ambiguity of this in-between period and to anticipate the new era will be a quantum leap ahead of those who hold on the past. That's why one can draw the conclusion, that the time of the parenthesis is a time of change and questioning. Following the modern directions of Descartes, we believe in reason, and that human reason can grasp truths independent of time and place. The period in which we now live is often called "postmodernism". This view rejects that there are certain self-evident principles that may provide a foundation for other types of knowledge. According to Nancy Murphy1 the use of the term in the Anglo-American world started some time around 1950. Others would perhaps say that postmodernism is something which evolved after 1968. But anyway, in 1979 Jean1

Nancy Murphy, Anglo-American Postmodernity, New York, 1984.

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Francois Lyotard published a book called The Postmodern Condition1. From then on the term is defined and the ideas of postmodernism have been much debated in the Western world. According to them, it is our possession of language that makes us human. Consciousness, thinking, and behavior have no source outside language. The slogan reads: "Reality does not determine language, language determines reality". This idealistic linguistic became the dominant paradigm for academic studies in the humanities and a powerful influence in the social sciences, and functions as major philosophical vehicle for secular humanism in the West. For theatre makers from Aeschylus to Zuckmayer such propositions are un-dialectical and bizarre and have no "use value", as Brecht would say. But we are talking here about more than just academic fashion; we deal with hardcore "conditioning". Postmodernism opposes Christianity, natural sciences, and all philosophies that give priority to natural science as a system of knowledge (including positivism). Christianity states that human nature and the human situation precede the gift of language. Kierkegaard, for example, strongly insisted that human nature defines language, rather than - as postmodernism claims - language defining human nature. Natural science states that human nature exists, is biological, and is a product of Darwinian evolution by natural selection. Positive philosophies assert that science is the only valid investigatory procedure for determining objective truth. Postmodernism denies the existence of "truth" in any sense that would fit the preceding sentence2. Postmodernism is associated with relativism, "anything goes". It is the position where one has left the belief in absolute truth, and instead embraces the idea that knowledge is dependent on one's perspective. Lyotard emphasized that in postmodernism one has left the idea of a grand narrative. In the Enlightenment, one had certain ideas guiding the culture, a unified project, where knowledge and information were important. In the Middle Ages, belief in God and the Bible gave society a grand narrative. All aspects of life could be interpreted from a religious point of view, and a large number of the population believed in God and Christianity. But in postmodernism, society is more
1 2

Jean-Francois Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition, Paris, 1979. see Andreas Saugstad, Postmodernism: What is it, and What is Wrong With It?, North American Mission Board, January25, 2001.

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fragmented. Belief in the One Truth, or universal criteria, has been substituted by a number of "small stories", and a diversity of criteria. No doubt, the postmodernists succeeded to determine our time as one of multiple-option mood. If the megatrends1 realize, such is the time, as one of the parenthesis, its challenges, its possibilities, and its questions. Although the time between eras is uncertain, it is a great and yeasty time, filled with opportunity. If we can learn to make uncertainty our friend, we can achieve much more than in stable eras. In stable eras, everything has a name and everything knows its place, and we can leverage very little. But in the time of parenthesis we have extraordinary leverage and influence - individually, professionally, and institutionally - if we can only get a clear sense, a clear conception, a clear vision, of the road ahead. Another dogma of postmodernism is social constructivism. Whatever version we get presented the main idea again is that there is no objective knowledge or absolute representation of reality. No question, many of our concepts and categories are based on the social reality, and not because we veridical can represent physical reality. Not only theatre and religion reject mechanical materialism, common sense and human experience, and last but not least science, train us, that reality is not created by social reality. In short postmodernism indoctrinates in the following directions: 1. There is no objective truth (all knowledge, even formal knowledge, is relative to language systems). 2. There are no universal values shared by all human groups. 3. There is no predetermined human nature or human constants (gender, for example, is a existential language system construction). 4. Subjectivity (thinking, feeling, self-conception) is the measure of all worth. 5. Personal confusion is the result of power of other persons over you (rather than, for instance, the result of invalid reasoning or factual misinformation). The result, I repeat, of such teaching is pernicious. Such intellectual position is the basis for wholesale assault on, for example, principles of justice as embodied in the law in the Western democracies. In the
1

John Naisbitt, Megatrends, 1982, p. 283.

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Judeo-Christian understanding the individual is responsible for her own behavior; intentional killing is to be distinguished from accidental killing; punishment is based on a person's actions rather than their status - these principles, among others, are denied by strict postmodernism. But living in our time of parenthesis, a time between eras, it is of crucial importance, that those stories we are exposed to, at the sociocultural, religious, and educational levels, should be "inspiring, harmonious, peaceful and constructive ones, that open our eyes to the world, and that build and do not destroy"1. For the promotion of a global multiculturalism as an urgently needed change from a culture of war to a co-existence in peace, postmodernism can be an ally. Postmodernism rightly opposes utopianism; it reminds us of our great capacity to fail (Christians would include "sin" here) as well as to oppress "the other". Humans are prone to self-deception and rationalization. From a Christian point of view, deep sinfulness prevents achieving earthbound utopias. One must be routinely self-critical and wary of values opposing God's kingdom, which can easily creep into our minds. However, the key interpretive grid (hermeneutic) should not be, as Pope Benedikt told at his visit in Istanbul "one of suspicion, but of trust and charity, which enhances relationships with God and others"2. Postmodernism and Christian belief agree that one should appreciate cultural/ethnic diversity rather than treating people as "other". Christians today are encouraged by their churches to show grace towards non-Christians since they themselves have been saved by God's grace. Colonialism, oppression, and slavery do not inevitably follow Christian belief. The Bible expresses sensitivity to the weak, the suffering, and the oppressed such as orphans, widows, and the alien. God Himself suffers with the human being (see Matt. 25:31-46; Acts 9:4). I remember Cypriot-Orthodox Archbishop Makarios, Church and state leader as well, reminding his people only months after the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and in the midst of a brute destruction of Byzantine heritage in the occupied territory: "Christians must show that their 'grand story' is both plausible and not inherently oppressive; rather, we are created by God to flourish when we are rightly related to him and others. Because we are recipients of God's grace, we have no right to
1

Ada Aharoni, Global Multiculturalism versus the "War of Cultures", abstract for the GSPCconference, Istanbul, 23.-27. June 2004. 2 Berliner Zeitung, Berlin, 24 June, 2006.

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think of ourselves as superior to non-Christians"1. It was Makarios' goal to fight the demographic change and the "muslimization" through political means and not on religious terms. The envisioned co-existence of the islands inhabitants with their diverse religions, Christian-Orthodox, RomanCatholic, Maronites, Jewish and Muslim, in one body of citizenship and European identity appeared to be a strong weapon to withstand the occupier's long term strategy. Since then and especially at the present negotiations in Nicosia it is obvious, that it is not the clash of doctrines which determines their outcome. It is about how to face each others indissoluble identity and accept responsibilities without clinging to the known past in fear of an unknown future.

VASILE DATCU (ROMANIA) Socrate, Isus i spiritul european

Secolele 19 i 20 vor transforma vestul Europei dintr-un spaiu cultural cu o singur religie, ntr-un spaiu cu dou religii, una sacr, a lui Isus, pentru trebuinele sufleteti i alta desacralizat, profan, a lui Socrate, pentru trebuinele curente, ultima la fel de teribil n determinri i la fel de rigid n precepte, ca i cea dinti. () Omul nu este msura tuturor lucrurilor, cum i-ar fi plcut lui Protagoras s fie, dar lucrurile fptuite de om dau msura socotinei sau nesocotinei sale. Pn la urm, att raionalismul lui Socrate ct i dragostea cretin a lui Isus nu sunt dect instrumente de cunoatere.

De o vreme, spiritualitatea Europei Occidentale este preocupat de o problem important: dou personaje, care au existat istoric la o distan de aproximativ 400 de ani mare la scara omului, dar mrunt la scara istoriei cu existene i destine asemntoare; au trit n ceti de mic ntindere, dar influena exercitat de doctrinele lor a fost una covritoare; nu au scris nimic, toat nvtura fiindu-le preluat i transmis de discipoli; amndoi au creat coli care au nfruntat cu succes secolele; au fost condamnai la moarte i s-au svrit n numele unor adevruri neacceptate de cetile lor; au ajuns mituri la puin vreme dup moartea lor; amndoi au primit ndemnul de a prsi cetile ce-i condamnau, n scopul de a se salva i a-i continua opera n spaii de
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Heinz-Uwe Haus, Cypriot diary (unpublished).

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cultur mai permisive, amndoi refuznd, n numele unei morale care se confunda cu nsi raiunea lor de a fi; au trit n umilin, umilii i batjocorii de cea mai mare parte a concetenilor lor, fr s renune cu nici un pre la credina n adevrul ce le cluzise ntreaga via; dar cea mai interesant asemnare st n aceea c amndoi i influenau pe cei care-i ascultau, ntr-o manier iraional, profund emoional, prin sentimente ce le erau induse interlocutorilor, prin dragostea stimulat de acetia i nu prin argumente raionale. i, cu toate aceste asemnri, unul a creat religie, pe cnd cellalt, nu! De ce? Aceasta ar fi ntrebarea la care s-au ncercat mai multe rspunsuri, toate nesatisfctoare, unele aparent lmuritoare, dar n nici un caz linititoare. n ncercarea de fa noi nu ne propunem s rnduim rspunsurile dup un criteriu prestabilit ori s mrim, cu nc unul, numrul blocurilor de granit ce alctuiesc postamentul adevrului, ci vrem s vedem dac ntrebarea e ndreptit i dac nu cumva o alta ar avea ceva mai deplin ndreptire. n perioada cretinismului timpuriu, cnd Europa Occidental se nfiora majoritar la suflul zeului Wotan, spiritul descoperea cu umilin i uimire mreia nvturii lui Isus, trind, prin exponenii ei cei mai devotai, n peniten i rugciune. i cutau astfel pacea interioar, mpcarea cu sine i uneori chiar reueau. Dar la un moment dat, n jurul anului 500 d.H, apare n istorie un personaj, un clugr italian cu numele de Benedict de Nursia, care, n ciuda tuturor eforturilor lui n direcia unei viei de renunri i rugciune, nu reuete s-i gseasc linitea interioar i atunci inventeaz o nou norm de conduit, total neobinuit n raport cu credina din care se nutrea, concentrat n deviza Rugciune i munc. Aceast adevrat schimbare de paradigm, datorat nelinitilor unui clugr, avea s aib n timp consecine incalculabile pentru spiritualitatea Europei Occidentale. i acesta deoarece rugciunea presupunea o atitudine contemplativ n faa existenei, n timp ce munca presupunea exact contrariul, respectiv o gndire orientat spre natur, dar n mod pozitiv, bazat pe raionament, capabil s asigure aciunii umane eficien i randament maxim. Astfel, neastmprul acestui clugr va scoate cretinismul din locul unde trebuia s-i ndeplineasc menirea i-l va duce ntr-un loc unde urma s se intersecteze inevitabil cu individualismul socratic i unde chiar nu i era locul. Faptul, aparent mrunt, va duce peste secole la o foarte stranie revan a lui Socrate, astfel c secolele 19 i 20 vor

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transforma vestul Europei dintr-un spaiu cultural cu o singur religie, ntr-un spaiu cu dou religii, una sacr, a lui Isus, pentru trebuinele sufleteti i alta desacralizat, profan, a lui Socrate, pentru trebuinele curente, ultima la fel de teribil n determinri i la fel de rigid n precepte, ca i cea dinti.Aceast stare de lucruri nu putea duce spiritul european dect acolo unde l-a i dus, ntr-o profund criz, situaie evideniat de toi marii gnditori ai nelinitii timpurilor moderne dar cauza nu st ctui de puin n nchinarea deopotriv la dou diviniti, din care doar una este identificat ca atare. Cauza, dup prerea noastr, st n faptul c, n mod cu totul surprinztor, n cuprinsul evoluiei spirituale, Europa Occidental a uitat unul din preceptele eseniale ale lumii care a inventat gndirea, acela de msur (metron), pentru care vechii greci aveau un adevrat cult; msura, acea categorie a dialecticii reprezentnd intervalul n care schimbrile cantitative ale unui lucru nu duc la modificri ale calitii lui. Lipsa de msur (hybris-ul) a dus spiritul european acolo unde se afl el azi: ntr-o criz att a dimensiunii sacre a finei umane, ct i a mpcrii ei cu mediul n care triete. Cnd msura e nesocotit, orice ntreprindere omeneasc i pierde atributul de uman i devine contrariul lui i acesta indiferent de natura acelei ntreprinderi, fie ea sacr, fie profan. Omul nu este msura tuturor lucrurilor, cum i-ar fi plcut lui Protagoras s fie, dar lucrurile fptuite de om dau msura socotinei sau nesocotinei sale. Pn la urm, att raionalismul lui Socrate ct i dragostea cretin a lui Isus nu sunt dect instrumente de cunoatere. Lipsa de nelepciune nu st n uzul unui instrument n dauna celuilalt, sau a amndurora deodat, ci n abuzul lor. Spiritul european, combinnd n creuzetul propriu att nvtura lui Socrate, ct i nvtura lui Isus, nu i respect niciunuia semnificaiile din spatele celor predicate de fiecare, la modul cel mai profund, nelndu-i i pe unul i pe cellalt. De aici i starea de fapt. Aadar, ntrebarea fireasc ce ar fi trebuit pus este urmtoarea: de ce spiritul Europei Occidentale nu a folosit aceste instrumente pentru cutarea adevrului, dar cu msur? S nu uitm, spiritul estului, n evoluia lui de-a lungul veacurilor, a glisat de la msura (metron) lumii antice, la oikonomia epocii bizantine, rmnnd aadar ntotdeauna nscris n cadrul unei limitri impuse fiinei, de autoriti spirituale i temporale, acceptate ca incontestabile, aflate dincolo de ea.

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Socrates, Jesus, and the European Spirit

The 19th and 20th centuries transformed Western Europe into a cultural space with two religions instead of one: Jesus sacred one, for the needs of the soul, and Socrates secular, profane one, for the usual needs, the latter being as terrible in determination, and as rigid in precepts, as the former. ()Man is not the measure of all things, as Protagoras would have liked, but mans deeds are the measure of mans sense or lack of sense. Eventually, both Socrates rationality and Jesus Christian love are in fact knowledge tools.

Western Europes spirituality has been preoccupied lately with an important issue: two individuals with similar lives and destinies lived in different historical eras, separated by almost 400 years (a long time in terms of human perception, but a short one in terms of historical perception). They both lived in small towns but the influence of their doctrines was worldwide; neither of them ever wrote anything and their teachings were spread by their disciples; they were both school creators; they were both condemned to death and died for their ideals that were not accepted by their fellow citizens. They both became myths shortly after their deaths, they were both advised to leave their towns in order to save their lives and continue their work in more tolerant cultural spaces, but, in the name of a morality representing their very reason for existence, they refused; they both lived humbly and they were humiliated and mocked at by most of their fellow citizens but they did not give up their faith that guided their lives. The most interesting similarity is that they both influenced those who were listening to them, in an unconscious and profoundly emotional way, through inducing feelings to the people around and promoting love not through rational arguments. Nevertheless, in spite of all these similarities, one of them created a religion and the other one did not! Why? This would be the question, with several proposed answers, all of them unsatisfactory, some of them apparently enlightening, but none of them reassuring. In this paper we are not trying to present these answers according to pre-established criteria, or to add a new granite block to the pedestal of truth, but we intend to see if this question is justified, and if there is a more justified question that we might ask. During early Christianity, when most Western Europeans worshipped Wotan, they discovered, humbly and amazed, the greatness of Jesus teachings, and were living, through their most fervent

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representatives, a life of penitence and prayer. They were thus searching for their peace of mind, for accepting themselves, and, sometimes, they even succeeded in doung so. Nevertheless, around 500 AD, an Italian monk, Benedict of Nurcia, in spite of all his efforts to live a life of penitence and prayers, could not find his inner peace and invented instead a new totally unusual conduct related to his faith, focused on the motto: Pray and work. The paradigm shift caused by this monk was to have incalculable consequences for Western spirituality. The reason is that praying implies a contemplating attitude, while working implies, on the contrary, a dynamic nature-oriented thinking in a positive way, based on rationality. So, this monks anxiety brought Christianity to the point where it inevitably intersected Socratic individualism. This fact, apparently unimportant, caused a revaluation of Socrates during the 19th and 20th centuries which transformed Western Europe into a cultural space with two religions instead of one: Jesus sacred one, for the needs of the soul, and Socrates secular, profane one, for the usual needs, the latter being as terrible in determination, and as rigid in precepts, as the former. This state of affairs could only lead the European spirit to a profound crisis. The situation is highlighted by all the important philosophers of anxiety of modern times. However, the cause is not at all related to worshipping two divinities out of which only one is identified as such. In our opinion, the cause is related to the fact that, absolutely surprisingly, Western Europe has forgotten, during its spiritual evolution, one of the essential precepts of the world that promoted thinking, the concept of measure (metron), that was worshipped by the ancient Greeks. Measure is that category of the dialectics that represents the interval in which the quantitative changes of a thing do not alter its quality. Lack of measure (hybris) brought the European spirit to a crisis involving both the sacred dimension of man, and his reconciliation with the environment. When measure is disregarded, all human actions lose their human character becoming their opposite, regardless of the nature of the actions, be they either sacred or profane. Man is not the measure of all things, as Protagoras would have liked, but mans deeds are the measure of mans sense or lack of sense.

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Eventually, both Socrates rationality and Jesus Christian love are in fact knowledge tools. Lack of wisdom does not depend on the use of one tool to the detriment of the other or both, but on their abuse. The European spirit that combined Socratess teachings with Jesus teachings does not follow the profound significances of what they each preached, deceiving thus both. Therefore, the question to be asked is this: Why did the Western European spirit not use these tools to find truth, with measure? We should remember that, throughout the ages, the Eastern spirit glided from the measure (metron) of the ancient world to the oikonomia of the Byzantine era, remaining thus forever within the frames of the limitation imposed on the being by the spiritual and temporal authorities that were accepted as incontestable, and were placed beyond it.
(Translation: Iolanda Mnescu)

BAKI YMERI (MACEDONIA-ROMNIA)

Fenomenologia albano-romn. Un miracol al istoriei
Singurul popor din lume nrudit cu romnii pe linie dacotraco-ilir este poporul albanez. Pentru cercettorii n domeniul culturii n general, al etnologiei, istoriei, limbii i literaturii n special, aceste raporturi reprezint numai o parte din dovezile autohtonismului celor dou popoare pe meleagurile lor. Romanitatea noastr nu ncepe prin invazia traian (101-106), nici n vremea lui Decebal sau Burebista, ci ncepe mult mai de timpuriu, prin pastoralitate. Aici trebuie urmrite elementele lingvistice, etnografice i cele etnologice. Raporturile etnospirituale dintre pastoralitatea traco-romn si iliro-albanez parvin din perioada protoroman, respectiv protolatin.

Tematica aceasta se nscrie n ncercarea noastr de a cunoate, n dimensiunile lui reale, un fenomen foarte interesant i anume cel legat de vechimea i amploarea legturilor spirituale dintre cele dou popoare (romn i albanez), asupra crora mai dinuie nc destule mistere. Singurul popor din lume nrudit cu romnii pe linie daco-traco-ilir este poporul albanez. Pentru cercettorii n domeniul culturii n general, al etnologiei, istoriei, limbii i literaturii n special, aceste raporturi reprezint numai o parte din dovezile autohtonismului celor dou popoare pe meleagurile lor. Este vorba, deci, despre un teren fascinant,

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nc insuficient explorat, de interferene care i au sorgintea chiar n nceputurile istoriei. Relaiile albano-romne sunt att de profunde i ample, nct circul i astzi printre albanezi sintagma Vllahu sht vlla (Vlahul este frate). Albanezii i romnii sunt veri de snge1, spunea N. Iorga. Am mai vorbit de albanezi i m ntorc la dnii cu plcere. Este un adevr ce nimeni nu l-a scris: Cine va avea pe albanezi i pe romnii macedoneni, va avea Orientul. Sunt o mulime de romni din Albania ce nu se pot deosebi de albanezi. Aceste dou neamuri sunt cele mai vnoase din aceste ri. Romnii se nvoiesc mai bine cu albanezii dect cu ceilali. Lucru ciudat! Datinile albanezilor sunt ntocmai ca cele ale romnilor din Macedonia, i, ce este mai curios, c seamn mai n toate cu cele ale romnilor din Principate.2 Nu este nimic de mirare n aceasta supoziie, dac lum in calcul existena lor pastoral de la nordul i sudul Dunrii. Romanitatea noastr nu ncepe prin invazia traian (101-106), nici n vremea lui Decebal sau Burebista, ci mult mai de timpuriu, prin pastoralitate. Aici trebuie urmrite elementele lingvistice, etnografice si cele etnologice. Raporturile etno-spirituale dintre pastoralitatea traco-romn si iliroalbanez parvin din perioada protoroman, respectiv protolatin. Am ales aceast tem n primul rnd pentru c albanezii au strvechi legturi cu romnii prin substratul comun (lingvistic), care i are originile ntr-o vechime de dinaintea cretinismului, printr-o continuitate direct, etno-geografic: Albania Kosova Valea Timocului Romnia. Istoria i religia, ca i existena acestor dou popoare explic i justific nrudirea i apropierea acestor neamuri, aflate, fr dubiu, pe aceeai treapt a vecintii antice i a dezvoltrii contemporane. ntre romni i albanezi sunt i funcioneaz relaii strvechi i profunde, ce au fost neglijate numai de politicienii de ocazie. n timp ce romnii au rezistat n arcul carpato-danubian, albanezii au rezistat ntr-o zon pe care romanii, slavii i turcii n-au putut-o domina. Aceste trei valuri succesive n-au putut terge sau anula identitatea albanez, nu i-au alterat trsturile care o apropie de romni.
Nicolae Iorga, Din conferina Albania, ieri si azi, inut de prof. Iorga n dup-amiaza zilei de 7 decembrie l934. Kuvendi Kombetar (Asamblea Nationala), nr. 40, Bukuresht, 2l dhjetor l934, p.3. 2 Dimitrie Bolintineanu, Cltorii la romnii din Macedonia, Editura Pentru Literatur, Bucureti, l968, pp. 84-85.
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Albanezii i romnii s-au aflat n direct vecintate, ntrerupt de slavi. Legturile strnse dintre cele dou popoare se confirm prin limb, folclor, obiceiuri, tradiii, mbrcminte, toponimie. n lucrarea lui Iorgu Iordan, Rumanische Toponomastik (1924), se dau i unele nume de locuri care au legtur direct cu albaneza: Arbnai (n Buzu), Arnutul (Negru), Fntna Arnutului, Movila Arnutului, Arnaut Bostan-Dere (n Constana) etc. Unii autori cred c prin arbna se poate subnelege i aromnul. Nu odat, spun ei, li s-a dat din partea dacoromanilor din Muntenia i Moldova, numele de albanezi i aromnilor, fiindc acetia veneau din provinciile albaneze, cum s-a procedat i n Bulgaria. Totui, se tie tot aa, c albanezii mpmntenii n Romnia, nc din secolele trecute, erau cunoscui din partea locuitorilor i ca arnui, chiar i ca turci. n afar de aceste nume, mai ales arbnai i arnut, se gsesc n toponimia romn i o serie de localitii care au concordan cu toponimia albanez. Istoricul legturilor romno-albaneze prezint trsturi remarcabile n plan temporal, spaial-geografic, istoric, social-psihologic, religios, culturalartistic. Aceste legturi se bazeaz pe o profund simpatie, fapt care le explic diversitatea, vitalitatea i cordialitatea. n lucrarea de doctorat cu acelai subiect, am ncercat s stabilim o fixare cronologic a evenimentelor culturale ntre secolele XVI-XX. n acest sens, abordnd unele teme inedite, precum i cele cercetate/ publicate de savani romni i strini, am ncercat s artm c noi ne motenim unii pe altii i ne demonstrm unii altora tradiii, datini, obiceiuri, credine i ritualuri. n timp ce relaiile dintre romni i albanezi sunt legate de nsi esena i obria celor dou popoare, relaiile cu vecinii slavi sunt relaii de circumstan politic, care apar mai trziu. Abordnd pericolul slav n cadrul unor lucrri, am ncercat s demonstrm un adevr foarte puin mediatizat la noi. n timp ce ruii i srbii, prin politica lor expansionist, au periclitat identitatea noastr i existena unor teritorii romneti sau albaneze (Basarabia, Bucovina, Banatul de Vest, Valea Timocului, Kosova etc.), relaiile cu albanezii au fost ntotdeauna de cordialitate i colaborare. Aceast lucrare nu-i propune abordarea politic a fenomenului Kosova, aflat actualmente n protecia comunitii internaionale, cum ar trebuie s fie i Basarabia. De ce? Fiindc noi tratm problema din punct de vedere lingvistic i istoric, cu elemente inedite. Cnd vine vorba de limb, pentru studierea elementelor nelatine ale limbii romne, albaneza este o limb de o importan excepional. Cele mai sigure elemente romneti motenite

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din traco-dac sunt cele care au corespondene identice sau asemntoare n albanez.1
Pe scurt (n alb. shkurtimisht), n decursul civilizaiei multiseculare, albanezii i romnii s-au ntlnit n plan spiritual, lingvistic, istoric i etnic. Dansurile populare, costumele naionale i comportamentul ne pot convinge uor de nrudirea apropiat dintre cele dou popoare, fapte relevante prin care putem spune c albanezii sunt conaionalii notri care pentru foarte frumos zic fort bukur. Chiar dac aceast afirmaie pare incredibil, ea se simte, pentru c nu este vorba numai de argumente istorice sau lingvistice. E vorba aici i de argumente sentimentale, dorul fiind o trstur comun, lucru care cntrete mai mult decat argumentul istoric i care, ntr-o foarte scurt vreme, se va integra n atitudinea european a celor dou popoare.

Ipoteze i teorii privind legturile de nrudire romno-albaneze n opinia unor savani, albanezii, romnii si aromnii sunt recunoscui ca adevrai autohtoni ai inuturilor sud-nord-dunrene, fiind descendeni i continuatori ai traco-ilirilor2. Rsrit din substratul traco-iliric, poporul albanez apare abia n secolul al II-lea, pentru ca apoi s dispar pentru multe veacuri din zarea istoriei (ca atestare documentar - n.n.). ntr-adevr, n acest secol se face pentru ntia dat meniune despre o populaie de pe actualul teritoriu naional albanez cu numele Albanoi, avnd ca centru oraul Albanopolis. Dup aceast scurt pomenire, urmeaz o tcere pn n secolul al XI-lea, cnd se amintete despre o rscoal din Albania, la care au luat parte si albanezii. Din aceast ntrerupt amintire ce se face la un interval att de mare, reiese c nceputurile istorice ale poporului albanez se aseamn cu acele ale poporului romn3. Conform istoriografiei, din timpuri strvechi i pn n vremea noastr, zona sud-dunrean, balcanic, mai precis cea cuprins ntre Mrile Neagr, Adriatic i Egee, foarte prielnic vieuirii omeneti, a fost viu disputat de numeroase seminii. n zorii istoriei antice, aici s-au
Grigore Brncu, Bashkeperkimet e lashta rumuno-shqiptare - nje mrekulli e historise (Vechile concordane romno-albaneze - un miracol al istoriei), interviu luat de subsemnatul - B.Y., n Fjala (Cuvntul), nr.5, Prishtina, l987, p. 3. 2 Constantin Papanace, Geneza si evoluia contiinei naionale la macedo-romni, Bucureti, 1995, p. 33. 3 Theodor Capidan, Simbioza albano-romn i continuitatea romanilor n Dacia, n Revista Fundaiilor Regale, nr.5, Bucureti, l943, p.244.
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dezvoltat dou neamuri nrudite, dar totui distincte: tracii si ilirii, strmoii romnilor i albanezilor de azi. Dup Nicolae Iorga, temelia acestor dou popoare romn i albanez sunt seminiile iliro-tracodacice, care au populat ntreaga Peninsul Balcanic, trecnd Dunrea, sub numele de gei i daci i lindu-se apoi peste ntregul platou al Ardealului1. Scriind despre nrudirea limbii romne cu cea albanez, redactorul unei reviste albano-romne din Bucureti scria, sub pseudonimul Boirevista, urmtoarele: Fa de niciunul din elementele care constituie limba noastr de azi nu ne poate cuprinde ns atta duioie ca fa de cel ce ne e comun cu albanezii, cci vechimea lui ntrece douzeci de veacuri.2 Albaneza i romna se caracterizeaz, n interiorul uniunii lingvistice balcanice, printr-o strns nrudire. Aceast nrudire se ntrevede, cum se tie, n ntregul sistem al celor dou limbi, n alctuirea fonetic, n structura morfologic, n construcia sintactic, n frazeologie, n formarea cuvintelor i n vocabular3. Relatnd despre geneza elementelor pe care romna le are n comun cu albaneza, despre evoluiile independente n fiecare dintre cele dou limbi, precum i despre motenirile independente din substratul tracodac (n romn) sau traco-ilir (n albanez), prof. univ. dr. Grigore Brncu subliniaz faptul c romna i albaneza sunt nrudite prin substrat, sub nrurirea cruia au aprut inovaii comune4. Relaiile romno-albaneze, respectiv traco-ilire, se dovedesc a fi foarte vechi, drept pentru care exist o serie de similitudini, paralele i concordane n viaa spiritual i cultural a celor dou popoare. Studiind aceste raporturi, distinsul lingvist albanez Eqrem Cabej avea s afirme: Apropierea este att de mare, nct lingvistul deseori are impresia c are n faa lui o singur materie de limb, reprezentat sub dou forme diferite. Acelai nvat aprecia: din caracterul acestei afiniti se poate afirma cu destul siguran c, n istoria lor, poporul albanez i poporul romn au fost n vecintate unul cu altul, pe alocuri

Nicolae Iorga, conferinaa Albania, ieri i azi. Boirevista, nrudirea limbei romne cu cea albanez, n Tribuna Albano-Romn, nr.1-2, Bucuresti, 1916, p.15. 3 Luan Topciu, Sentimentul dorului la Asdren, Poradeci i Kuteli, Bucureti, l999, p.ll. Eqrem Cabej, Introducere n istoria limbii albaneze, Editura Universitii din Bucureti, Bucureti, l997, p.10. 4 Grigore Brncu, Cercetri asupra fondului traco-dac al limbii romne, Institutul Romn de Tracologie, Bucureti, 1995, p. 8-9.
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poate au trit n simbioz1. Pentru filologul italian Giuliano Bonfante, albanezii i romnii erau ntr-o vreme unul i acelai popor, care a primit acelai val de latinitate, cam trziu, prin veacurile II-III ale e.n.2 Ideea strvechii legturi de nrudire etnic i lingvistic dintre romni i albanezi dateaz nc din secolul al XVIII-lea. Pionierul cercetrilor istorice i lingvistice sud-est europene, Johann Erih Thunmann, era convins c exist o nrudire ntre romn i albanez, bazat pe o vecintate apropiat: albanezii sunt descendenii vechilor iliri, la fel cum i vecinii lor vlahi, de care m voi ocupa ulterior, sunt fii ai tracilor. De remarcat c Thunmann socotea necesar s explice orientarea cercetrilor sale: Nou, celor din prile apusene ale acestui continent, nici unul dintre popoarele Europei nu ne este mai puin cunoscut n privina originii, istoriei i limbii sale, ca albanezii i vlahii. i cum nu este vorba de popoare de rnd, este vorba despre popoare de seam, pe care orice istoric ar trebui s vrea s le cunoasc, a cror istorie ar putea s umple o lacun din istoria mai veche i mai nou a Europei. Dar ele nu mai joac astzi un rol important, ele sunt popoare lipsite de libertate, de drepturi i de noroc, iar istoricul este adesea tot att de nedrept ca orice om: el l dispreuiete pe cel fr noroc.3 Din cercetrile ulterioare, lingvitii notri au constatat c, ntradevr, preferinele comparative s-au ndreptat cu precdere spre limba albanez, a crei nrudire originar cu substratul romnesc este unanim recunoscut. Misterioasa noastr nrudire cu albanezii este realitatea apropierii sufleteti ntre cele dou popoare: o anumit cldur n raporturile reciproce, toate acestea izvorte dintr-o comunitate de civilizaie care are nceputurile n strfundul veacurilor. Conform convorbirilor cu acad. Grigore Brncu: Cu ocazia unei cltorii n Albania, n anul 1957, Alexandru Rosetti a fost surprins s aud c albanezii au acelai ritm al frazei. Albaneza, dup Rosetti, este o limb centum, prin elementele ei care se explic prin ilir, i o limb satem, prin elementele care se explic prin trac. Elementele pe care albaneza le are n comun cu romna se explic - afar de cteva excepii - prin trac. n acest sens, Rosetti aduce drept
1

Eqrem Cabej, Hyrje ne historine e gjuhes shqipe (Introducere in istoria limbii albaneze), Tirana, l97l, p. l7l. 2 Giuliano Bonfante, Studi romeni, Roma, 1973, p. 68. 3 Johann Tunmann, Untersuchungen ueber die Geschichte oestlichen europaeischen Voelker, 1774, preluat de cartea lui Max Demeter Peyfuss, Chestiunea Aromneasc, Edit. Enciclopedic, Bucureti, 1994, p.7.

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dovad unele elemente ale vocabularului comun al romnei i albanezei, corespondene fonetice ntre cele dou limbi, expresii comune, argumentnd acestea prin existena unui substrat comun n dou sau mai multe limbi balcanice. n Istoria limbii romne, Rosetti susine autohtonismul albanezilor n nordul teritoriului actual, n vecintate cu populaia vlah, acest lucru fiind exemplificat prin numeroasele analogii n materie de limb, care nu s-au putut dezvolta dect printr-un contact intim al celor dou popoare. Th. Capidan este de prere c poporul albanez s-a format pe teritoriul naional din nordul Albaniei, ntr-un inut n care putea veni n atingere cu populaiunile romneti medievale din sudul Dunrii.1 Prin aceasta trebuie s admitem existena unei simbioze albano-romne. Unii lingviti romni constatau c, acum o mie de ani, masa romneasc timocean nainta pn n regiunea oraelor Ni-Vranje, unde fcea legtura cu masa etnic albanez, care se lete pn la Adriatica. Numai admind aceast legtur, care s-a rupt n epoca modern, ne putem explica i raporturile culturale i de limb dintre poporul albanez i cel romn. Un punct de vedere interesant, consemnat nu numai de noi, este faptul c aromna cunoate mai puini termeni albanezi dect romna, o dovad n plus c albanezii au trit n mai strns legtur cu romnii dect cu aromnii, probabil n Kosova i nc mai spre nord-vest, adic spre Valea Timocului. Indiferent de faptul c n terminologia oficial se folosete termenul Kosovo, Kosova nu poate fi Kosovo cum nici Moldova, Craiova, Orova sau Cruova nu pot fi Moldovo, Craiovo, Orovo sau Cruovo. Despre vecintatea dintre cele dou popoare au scris i ali cercettori albanezi. Dac vorbim despre albanezii kosovari aflai n vecintate direct cu romnii timoceni, n anii 1877-1878, srbii au alungat din aceast zon peste 300 de mii de etnici albanezi, numai cu hainele ce le purtau pe ei, rmnnd acolo (pe Toplia), numai vlahii. Iat unde se ascund urmele simbiozei albano-romne, existente n substrat! Aceeai prere despre nrudirea i asemnrile romno-albaneze este susinut i de civa lingviti romni, conform crora greaca i albanez sunt singurele limbi autohtone care s-au pstrat din antichitate n Balcani. Elementele comune ale albanezei numai cu romna, ca i fapte de alt natur, fac ca albaneza s fie considerat tot mai mult continuarea acelei limbi care constituie substratul limbii romne.
1

Theodor Capidan, Simbioza albano-romn i continuitatea romanilor n Dacia, n Revista Fundaiilor Regale, nr. .5, Bucureti, l943.

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The Albanian-Romanian phenomenologya miracle of history

The Albanians are the Romanians only relatives from the Dacian-ThracianIllyrian family. We will uncover here a fascinating terrain of interlinkages dating back to the beginning of history and which have not yet been sufficiently explored. Our Roman-ness did not begin with Trajans invasion (101106 AD), nor did it begin with Decebalus or Burebista. It started much earlier, by means of pastoral farming. We will analyze here its linguistic, ethnographic, and ethnological elements. The ethno-spiritual relationships between the Thracian-Romanian and Illyrian-Albanian pastoralism date from the proto-Roman and proto-Latin periods.

We will attempt to get to know the very interestingand still rather mysteriousage and scope of the spiritual ties between Romanians and Albanians. The Albanians are the Romanians only relatives from the Dacian-Thracian-Illyrian family. We will uncover here a fascinating terrain of interlinkages dating back to the beginning of history and which have not yet been sufficiently explored. The Albanian-Romanian relationships are so profound and ample that even today the expression Vllahu sht vlla (English translation: The Vallachian is our brother) is commonplace in Albania. The Albanians and the Romanians are blood brothers,1 used to say Nicolae Iorga. I have written about the Albanians before and I am delighted to return to this subject. This is a truth that nobody has written before: That who controls the Albanians and the Macedonian Romanians, he controls the Orient. There are plenty of Romanians in Albania who are no different from Albanians. These two nations are the strongest there. Romanians are getting along better with the Albanians than with others. Odd thing! Albanians traditions are identical to those of Romanians from Macedonia, and, stranger still, they are very similar to those of Romanians from the Principates.2 There is nothing strange in this supposition if we take into account Romanians pastoral life to the North and South of the Danube. Our Roman-ness did not begin with Trajans invasion (101106 AD), nor did it begin with Decebalus or Burebista. It started much earlier, by means of pastoral farming. We will analyze here its linguistic, ethnographic, and ethnological elements. The ethno-spiritual relationships between the
Nicolae Iorga, 1934, excerpt from lecture presented at the conference titled Albania: Yesterday and Today, December 7. Kuvendi Kombetar (National Convention), No. 40, Bucharest, pp. 3. 2 Dimitrie Bolintineanu, 1968, Cltorii la romnii din Macedonia (Travels to the Romanians in Macedonia), pp. 8485 (Bucharest: The Publishing House for Literature).
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Thracian-Romanian and Illyrian-Albanian pastoralism date from the protoRoman and proto-Latin periods. I have chosen this topic because Albanians share ancient ties with the Romanians through language. These date back to before Christianly through an ethno-geographical link: AlbaniaKosova Timok ValleyRomania. History and religion explain and justify the closeness of these peoples both as ancient neighbors and modern developing nations. Old and deep ties connect the Romanians and the Albanians; only second hand politicians have ever ignored them. While Romanians survived in the arch traced out by the Carpathian Mountains and the Danube, the Albanians survived in an area that the Romans, the Slavs, the Turks did not manage to dominate. These three successive waves did not manage to destroy nor annihilate the Albanian identity and did not alter its features that render it so close to Romanians. Albanians and Romanians have always been neighbors, except during the Slavic dominance. Their close ties reveal themselves in language, folklore, customs, traditions, clothing, and toponymy. In his work titled Rumanische Toponomastik (1924), Iorgu Iordan gives names that are direly linked to the Albanian, such as Arbnai (in Buzu), Arnutul (Negru), Fntna Arnutului, Movila Arnutului, Arnaut Bostan-Dere (in Constantza), etc. Some authors believe that arbna also means Aromanian. Daco-Romans from Muntenia and Moldavia often referred to Aromanians as Albanians, because they came from the Albanian provinces, as they did in Bulgaria. It is similarly known that Albanians who settled in Romania in centuries past were known to the locals as arnui and even Turks. The Romanian toponymy has a number of words other than arbnai and arnut which relate to the Albanian toponymy. The Romanian-Albanian ties have remarkable features that relate to time, space, history, social-psychology, religion, culture, and art. These ties are based on a profound sympathysomething that explains their diversity, vitality, and cordiality. In the PhD thesis with the same title, I provided a chronological account of the cultural events which took place between the 16th and the 20th Centuries. Drawing on a mix of unique publications by Romanian and foreign researchers, I have thus tried to show that we have a common heritage in that we share traditions, customs, habits, beliefs, and rituals. While the Romanian-Albanian ties are linked to the very essence and origin of the two peoples, the later relations with their Slavic neighbors are of political circumstance. I have tackled the issue of the Slavic danger in another paper, in which I tried to argue for a truth that is little known here. While the Russians and the Serbs, through their expansionist politics, have endangered both our identity and the existence of certain Romanian or Albanian territories (e.g., Bessarabia, Bukovina, Western Banat, The Timok

40

Valley, Kosova, etc.), our relations with the Albanians have always been cordial and collaborative. This paper does not take a political stance in discussing Kosova - currently under the protection of the international community- as should Bessarabia be, too. I do not focus on the politics because I wish to discuss the issue from the linguistic and historical point of view, whilst bringing in novel elements. When it comes to language, the Albanian language is of key importance in the study of non-Latin elements pertaining to the Romanian language. The most straightforward Romanian elements inherited from the Thracian-Dacian language are those that have similar or identical counterparts in Albanian. 1 In short (scurt in Romanian, shkurtimisht in Albanian), Albanians and Romanians have developed commonalities in terms of spirituality, language, history, and ethnography over our multi-century civilization. Folk dances, national costumes, and behavior are all proof of their brotherhood; we may call Albanians our co-nationals who say fort bukur for foarte frumos (English translation: very beautiful). Even if this statement may seem too daring, we feel it holds true for reasons that go beyond history or language. By this I mean that there are sentimental arguments, the passion for a common traitwhich in fact could weight more than the historical argumentand which shortly will be evident in the European attitude of the two peoples. Hypotheses and brotherhood theories concerning the Romanian-Albanian

According to some scientists, Romanians and Aromanians are known as the true indigenous inhabitants of the lands to the North and South of the Danube, as descendants of the Thracian-Illyrians. 2 Born from the Thracian-Illyrian subfamily, the Albanians appeared in the 2nd Century, only to vanish from history for many subsequent centuries. Indeed, the 2nd Century witnessed the first mention of a population inhabiting the current territory of Albania that went by the name of Albanoi and centered on the city Albanopolis. After this brief endorsement, there was silence until the 11th Century, when a revolt is mentioned one that took place in Albania
Grigore Brncu, 1987, Bashkeperkimet e lashta rumuno-shqiptare - nje mrekulli e historise (Romanian: Vechile concordane romno-albaneze - un miracol al istoriei; English: Old Romanian-Albanian harmony), Interview taken by this articles author B.Y. in Fjala (Romanian: Cuvntul; English: The Word), No 5, pp. 3, Prishtina. 2 Constantin Papanace, 1995, Geneza i evoluia contiinei naionale la macedo-romni (English: The origin and evolution of Macedonian Romanians national consciousness), pp. 33, Bucharest.
1

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and was set out by Albanians. This enormous gap suggests that the historical beginnings of the Albanians are quite similar to those of Romanians. 1 According to historiography, from ancient times to today, the South-Danube, Balkan region between the Black, the Adriatic, and the Aegean Seas a very friendly area for human settlements has been vividly disputed by several nations. At the sunrise of ancient history, there were two related, yet distinct nations which developed here: the Thracians and the Illyriansthe grand-grand-fathers of todays Romanians and Albanians. According to Nicolae Iorga, the Romanians and the Albanians foundation are the Illyrian-Thracian-Dacian tribes which inhabited the Balkan Peninsula and later crossed the Danube, took the name of Getae and Dacians, and later spread all over Transylvania.2 In a paper discussing Romanian-Albanian links, the editor-in-chief of a Bucharest magazine wrote, using the pseudonym Boirevista, that There is no element in present day Romania towards which we have more affection than is the Albanian element, for it is more than twenty centuries old. 3 Within the Balkan language family, Albanian and Romanian are closely related. This relatedness manifests itself in phonetics, morphology, syntax construction, phraseology, the formation of words, vocabulary. 4 In a paper about the origin of common linguistic elements, independent trajectories, and distinct Thracian-Dacian or Thracian-Illyrian inheritances, Professor Grigore Brncu underlined that the Romanian and Albanian languages are related through a sublayer which is the source of common innovations.5 Romanian-Albanian and Thracian-Illyrian relations are ancient; for this reason, there are many similarities, parallels, interlinkages in terms of spiritual and cultural life. In writing about these relations, the distinguished Albanian linguist Eqrem Cabej stated that The closeness is so apparent that the linguist often feels he is faced with a single language
Theodor Capidan, 1943, Simbioza albano-romn i continuitatea romanilor n Dacia (English: The Albanian-Romanian symbiosis and the continuity of Romans in Dacia), Revista Fundaiilor Regale, No. 5, pp. 244, Bucharest. 2 Nicolae Iorga, 1934, excerpt from lecture presented at the conference titled Albania: Yesterday and Today, December 7. 3 Boirevista, 1916, nrudirea limbei romne cu cea albanez (English: The relationship between the Romanian and the Albanian languages), Tribuna Albano-Romn, No. 12, pp. 15, Bucharest. 4 Luan Topciu, 1999, Sentimentul dorului la Asdren, Poradeci i Kuteli, Bucharest, p.ll. Eqrem Cabej, Introducere n istoria limbii albaneze, pp. 10 (Bucharest: The University Publishing House). 5 Grigore Brncu, 1995, Cercetri asupra fondului traco-dac al limbii romne (English: On the Thracian-Dacian foundations of the Romanian language), mimeograph, The Romanian Thracology Institute, pp. 89, Bucharest.
1

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presented in two different forms. He also wrote that based on this affinity one can state with quite some certainty that over the passage of time, Albanians and Romanians have been neighbors and may have even lived in symbiosis. 1 The Italian philologist Giuliano Bonfante asserted that the Albanians and the Romanians were at a certain time the same people and later were subject to the same Latin wave in the 2nd or 3rd Centuries AD.2 The idea of the ancient ethnic and linguistic brotherhood between Romanians and Albanians dates back to the 18th Century. The pioneer of historical and linguistic research on South-East Europe, Johann Erih Thunmann, was convinced that there was a link between the two languages based on close proximity: Albanians are the descendants of ancient Illyrians, while their Vallachian brothers, whom I will discuss further below, are the sons of Thracians. Interestingly, Thunmann thought it necessary to explain the focus of his research: To us, those who live in the Eastern parts of this continent, there are no people that are less well-known from a historical and language point of view as are the Albanians and the Vallachians. And these are not commonplace, but distinguished people, people that any historian should like to get to know, and whose history is likely to fill a gap in the older and younger history of Europe. Nowadays, these nations no longer play an important role: they are stripped of freedom, rights, and opportunity. And historians are often as unjust as any other people: they despise the less fortunate. 3 Based on earlier research, our linguists have come to the conclusion that comparative studies have predominantly analyzed the Albanian language, whose initial connectedness with the Romanian sublayer is widely recognized. Our mysterious brotherhood with the Albanians is at the core of the closeness between the two peoples souls and certain warmth in our interactions. These come from a communion of civilization that began many centuries ago. As stated by Grigore Brncu, On the occasion of a trip to Albania in 1957, Alexandru Rosetti was surprised to learn that Albanians have the same phrasal rhythm. According to Rosetti, Albanian is a Centum language due to its commonality with the Illyrian, and a Satem language due to its links with the Thracian. The elements that are common to the two languages are, with few exceptions, of Thracian origin. Hence
Eqrem Cabej, 1971, Hyrje ne historine e gjuhes shqipe (Romanian: Introducere in istoria limbii albaneze; English: Introduction to the history of the Albanian language), Tirana, pp. 171. 2 Giuliano Bonfante, 1973, Studi romeni, pp. 68, Rome. 3 Johann Tunmann, 1774, Untersuchungen ueber die Geschichte oestlichen europaeischen Voelker, reprinted from Max Demeter Peyfuss Chestiunea Aromaneasca (English: The Aromanian question), 1994, pp. 7 (Bucharest: The Encyclopedic Publishing House).
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Rosetti brings to this argument some vocabulary elements, the phonetic correspondences between the two languages, and common expressionsall of which underpin the common layer of two or more Balkan languages. In The History of the Romanian Language, Rosetti lends support to the Albanians autochthony in the North of todays territory, close to the Vallachians; the numerous language analogies could not have developed without close contact between the two. Similarly, Theodor Capidan believes that the Albanians formed on the territory of todays Northern Albania, in a place where contact with medieval Romanian populations from the South of the Danube was possible.1 These arguments lead us to agree to the presence of an Albanian-Romanian symbiosis. Some Romanian linguists asserted that, one thousand years ago, the Timok Romanian population was spread all the way to the Ni-Vranje cities, where it met with the ethnic Albanian population which inhabited the land to the Adriatic Sea. By admitting this link alonea link that has been broken in the modern erawe can understand the cultural and linguistic relations between Albanians and Romanians. An interesting viewpoint, also presented elsewhere, is that the Aromanian language has fewer Albanian elements than the Romanian language; it is additional proof that Albanians have been in closer vicinity with the Romanians than they have with the Aromanians, probably in the regions of Kosova and further to the NorthWest, in the Timok Valley. Although officially termed Kosovo, Kosova cannot be Kosovo just like Moldavia, Craiova, Orova, Cruova cannot be Moldavio, Craiovo, Orovo, Cruovo. Other Albanian researchers have written about the closeness of the two nations. For example, in the case of the Kosovar Albanians who lived in close proximity with the Timok Romanians, the Serbs forced more than 300,000 ethnic Albanians to leave the region during 187778. Only the Vallachians were left in the area (on the Toplitza River). These are the traces of the Albanian-Romanian symbiosis! The same opinion concerning the Romanian-Albanian brotherhood is shared by several Romanian linguists, according to whom Greek and Albanian are the only indigenous languages which have been preserved in the Balkans. The elements shared by these languages underpin the evolving belief that Albanian is a continuation of that language which constitutes the sublayer of the Romanian language. (Translation: Camelia Minoiu)
Theodor Capidan, 1943, Simbioza albano-romn i continuitatea romanilor n Dacia (English: Albanian-Romanian symbiosis and the continuity of Romans in Dacia), Revista Fundaiilor Regale, No. 5, Bucharest.
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MARIUS CHELARU (ROMANIA) Aromnii din Kosovo, fii ncercai de soart i uitai de prini
Este fapt cunoscut c aromnii, continuatori ai romanitii balcanice, se regsesc n toate statele din Peninsula Balcanic i nu uitm c ei au alctuit i formaiuni statale: Vlahia Mare, n Thesalia, Vlahia Mic n Acarnania i Etolia, sau Imperiul aromno-bulgar al frailor Petru i Asan. Mai puin cunoscut este modul n care fiecare ar a tratat ca etnie pe aromni i extrem de puin se tie cum anume a neles, cel puin dup 1945, statul romn s nu i uite, mcar.

Globalizarea si noua fa a hainelor media ale Terrei ne fac adesea s credem c tim despre o zon sau alta a planetei. Dar, de multe ori, imaginea care ni se ofer este destul de superficial i, nu rareori, filtrat de diverse interese. Pentru unii aa este i n ceea ce privete Kosovo, cunoscut i cu denumirea oficial Kosovo-Metohia, regiune/ provincie a fostei Iugoslavii din 1945 10.887 Km2, cu relief variat i dou cmpii: Kosovo i Metohia. Regiunea din Balcani, n care izvoarele antice situeaz pe dardani, a fost sub diferite stpniri1, fr s aib posibilitatea s ntruchipeze o unitate statal independent/ autonom. Istoria aromnilor din aceast regiune nu este mai puin zbuciumat. Este fapt cunoscut c aromnii, continuatori ai romanitii balcanice, se regsesc n toate statele din Peninsula Balcanic i nu
n antichitate: parte a statului macedonean, din secolul II .e.n.: sub influen roman, apoi bizantin pe timpul Evului Mediu, din secolul VII ncep nvlirile slavilor, la mijlocul secolului X Kosovo este ocupat de bulgari, apoi din nou de Bizan, sub Vasile al II-lea Macedoneanul, 976-1025, din 1189 este parte a statului srb al lui tefan Nemania mai muli autori srbi consider c, atunci, o parte a populaiei vlahe/ aromne din Kosovo a fost srbizat forat, pe diverse ci1 , dup 15 iunie 1389, btlia de pe Cmpia Mierlei/ Kosovopolje1, intr sub stpnire otoman, din 1437 fiind inclus n sangeacul Shkup/ Skopje i cunoscut pn n 1912 ca vilaetul Kosovo, n 1912, n timpul primului rzboi balcanic, intr sub jurisdicia srbilor Tratatul de la Bucureti, 1913, o declar parte integrant a Regatului Serbiei, n timpul primului rzboi mondial ajunge sub ocupaia bulgar, dup 1918 parte a Iugoslaviei regale, n timpul celui de-al doilea rzboi mondial estul este ocupat de bulgari, restul regiunii ajunge parte a Albaniei, n 1939 este ocupat de italieni, ntre 19431945 de germani, din 1945 are un statut special n cadrul Republicii Serbia, una din cele ase care alctuiesc Federaia Iugoslav, ntre 1974-1989 este provincie autonom, cu organe proprii de conducere, din 1989 autonomia este retras; apoi au urmat evenimentele sngeroase intens mediatizate).
1

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uitm c au alctuit i formaiuni statale: Vlahia Mare, n Thesalia, Vlahia Mic n Acarnania i Etolia, sau Imperiul aromno-bulgar al frailor Petru i Asan. Mai puin cunoscut este modul n care fiecare ar a tratat ca etnie pe aromni, i extrem de puin se tie cum anume a neles, cel puin dup 1945, statul romn s nu i uite, mcar. Este tot un fapt c, adesea, politica unor state balcanice, din varii motive, nu a sprijinit pstrarea identitii aromnilor, pe alocuri chiar i-a mpins, uneori prin metode mai puin ortodoxe ctre asimilare. Printre altele, ntr-o carte semnat de T. Bujduveanu1 este readus n atenie istoria aromnilor din Kosovo al cror numr, dei au rezistat din rsputeri asimilrii, foarte important fiind profunda lor credin religioas2, este astzi, scrie autorul, n continu descretere. Kosovo a fost strbtut de Sfinii Apostoli Andrei i Pavel acesta din urm a ajuns n a doua cltorie misionar n Balcani, la Dyrrachium (Durazzo, azi Durres, n Albania) i Apollonia3, regiunea fiind recunoscut pentru numrul mare de martiri cretini (autorul i citeaz pe Sf. Mucenici Flor i Lavru, martirizai n sec. al II-lea n Ulpiana, lng Pritina). Mai ales dup edictul de la Mediolanum, 313, n Dardania apar scaune episcopale la Skopje, Ulpiana i altele, n orae mai mici. ntr-o scrisoare ctre Rufus, episcop de Tesalonic, Papa Inoceniu I (401-417) afirm c Dardania (ale crei comuniti/ episcopii sunt latine4) ine de Eparhia Tesalonicului. mpratul Justinian, prin Novela XI, 14 aprilie 535, a dispus nfiinarea episcopiei autocefale la Tauresium, n noul ora Justiniana Prima cuprinznd cele cca. 25 de mitropolii/ episcopii din Dardania. Dup nvlirile slavilor, apoi ale bulgarilor, arhiepiscopia Justiniana Prima dispare, eparhiile acesteia fiind din nou trecute la Vicariatul Tesalonicului pn n 737 (sau 731), cnd mpratul Leon III Isaurul trece tot teritoriul Balcanilor de sub jurisdicia Romei sub cea a Patriarhiei de Constantinopol. Apoi a venit separarea populaiilor romanizate de slavi, cretinarea bulgarilor (864)
1

Tnase Bujduveanu, Aromnii din Kosovo, Les Aroumains de Kosovo, The Aromanians from Kosovo, ediia romn-englez-francez, Editura George Iustinian & Justin Tambozi, Bucureti i Editura Cartea Aromn, Constana, 2002. 2 n dialectele aromn, meglenoromn i istroromn dei terminologia bisericeasc este, n mare, de origine slav/ greac, pentru c nu au avut organizare bisericeasc proprie dect rar/ scurt timp sunt muli termeni bisericeti de sorginte latin asemntori/ identici cu cei din dacoromn. 3 Vezi Epistolele ctre Filipeni i Tesalonicieni. n epistola ctre romani (15-19): a predicat Evanghelia de la Ierusalim i rile de primprejur, pn la Iliric. 4 Dovezi: numele ierarhilor, inscripiile funerare etc.

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sub arul Boris I (852-889), nfiinarea patriarhiei bulgare n timpul lui Simion (893-927), nfiinarea Patriarhiei Ohridei (care primea impozitul canonic i de la vlahii de prin toat Bulgaria1, conform hrisovului lui Vasile al II-lea din 1020) de ctre Vasile al II-lea .a.m.d. ntr-o list a eparhiilor care ineau de Ohrida, n secolul al XIlea, a 24-a era Episcopia vlahilor. La nceputul secolului XIII vlahii sunt stpnii regiunii Kosovo. Actele srbeti de dup regele tefan I (1196-1227) pomenesc des pe vlahi, mprii n unele documente n dou categorii distincte, cu drepturi diferite: voinicii (mai privilegiai) i cltorii (regim apropiat de al ranilor dependeni). Vlahii sunt denumii n diverse feluri n documentele srbeti: cei dintre Prziren i Pec primikjur, apoi celnic; sunt menionai i n Skopje i, n general, cam pe tot cuprinsul regatului srb, ocupndu-se mai ales cu pstoritul, dar i cu agricultura, industria mic. n secolele XIV-XV au fost micri masive ale vlahilor, care au migrat n numr mare din Kosovo i de pe Vardar spre nord, pe Valea Timocului i a Moravei. n timpul dominaiei otomane (secolele XIV-XX) lucrurile s-au complicat i mai mult pentru aromni, i prin determinarea de modificri etnice dei, scrie autorul, regiunea slav cuprins ntre sudvestul provinciei Kosovo i nord-vestul Macedoniei nregistreaz influene pronunate din partea pstorilor aromni, organizai pe grupuri de familii conduse/ reprezentate n faa autoritilor de un celnic. n Evul mediu otomanii au orchestrat un continuu proces de musulmanizare a populaiei din Kosovo. Statisticile Imperiului Otoman dau numai informaii confesionale, nu i etnice. Aa se face c la sfritul secolului al XIX-lea se purta, scrie autorul, o veritabil lupt pentru nvmntul romnesc n toat Peninsula Balcanic din 1878 autoritile turceti au permis nvmntul n limba romn. Statisticile nvmntului romnesc din Balcani (exista un inspector al colilor romne din Turcia) cuprindea, de exemplu, coli primare la Prizren, Tetovo, Skopje vilaetul Kosovo. ntr-un document2 de la Monastir, 17 octombrie 1906, inspectorul i administratorul colilor i bisericii romne din Turcia, Lazr Duma, meniona n vilaetul Kosovo 7 coli cu 247 de elevi, numr total de romni: 4340. Apoi, autorul arat cum, dup nglobarea
Autorul scrie c vlahii din toat Bulgaria se consider a fi toi cei din teritoriile anexate de Bizan, inclusiv Kosovo. 2 Tablou general asupra situaiunii colilor i bisericilor romneti din Turcia, coninnd totodat i numrul populaiunii romneti mprit n romni declarai i romni grecomani.
1

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provinciei Kosovo i a unei pri a Macedoniei n Sebia, aceasta nu mai recunoate autonomia colilor romneti. Dac nainte de 1913 funcionau n vilaetul Kosovo i Macedonia de Sud 10 biserici i 32 de coli romneti, dup primul rzboi mondial, scrie autorul, cnd aromnii nu au mai fost recunoscui de autoriti ca minoritate etnic distinct, bisericile devin srbeti i colile desfiinate. Amintim c din 1891 patriarhia de Constantinopol i dduse acordul ca populaia s aib episcopi autohtoni dar, cu toate acestea, sunt scrieri care atest c, n a doua jumtate a secolului XIX, aromnii erau ameninai cu excomunicarea dac i trimiteau copiii la coala romneasc. Tnase Bujduveanu descria ocupaiile aromnilor: agricultori, pstori, industria mic, comerul dintre sudul i nordul Peninsulei Balcanice, comerciani de cereale care au nfiinat (n special gropeenii), de pild, pe calea ferat Skopje-Mitrovia, localitatea Firizovici (Urosevat); n Mitrovia sunt muli aromni, ca i n Pritina (cu peste 1000 de aromni), unde sunt considerai primii negustori din ora, n Prizren (loc de ntlnire pentru crvnarii i negustorii aromni din diverse zone mai ndeprtate) aromnii nseamn aproape jumtate din populaie, Tetovo, azi n Macedonia, Giacovo majoritari, sau tarapanii, cum sunt cunoscui aromnii de la est, ctre hotarul Bulgariei, care conserv aromna .a. Oricum, stabilirea ct de ct precis a numrului aromnilor este greu, dac nu imposibil de realizat, din diverse motive. n perioada ocupaiei germane (1943-1945) s-a dus o politic de modificri etnice, cretinii fiind mpini ctre nord, n locul lor fiind adui albanezi. Capii comunitii aromne din Bucureti au propus nfiinarea unui stat/ unei organizri statale a aromnilor, autonom n zona central a Balcanilor, cuprinznd i Kosovo. A fost prezentat un memoriu autoritilor germano-italiene i marealului Ion Antonescu1. Sunt pagini tulburtoare din istoria unor oameni de un neam cu noi, care au avut i nc mai au de nfruntat ncercri dramatice, dei legislaia modern duce la schimbri n bine i aici. Cnd a fost rzboiul din fosta Iugoslavie ci dintre noi s-au gndit c acolo erau ucii, rnii, sufereau, ntre atia nevinovai, i aromni? Ce nseamn pentru Romnia aromnii? Se discut despre romnii din Basarabia, adesea se uit Bucovina de Nord, iar ceilali romni sunt trecui ntr-un fel de
1 Sunt parte dintre evenimentele/ iniiativele legate de acest lucru am mai putea aminti Londra, anul 1912, cu propunerea nfiinrii unui Canton romnesc, Republica de la Samarina (n aromn: Samarina, Xamarina, azi ora din Grecia, prefectura , Greven) din vara anului 1917 .a.

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capitol anex, la i alii. Fr o legtur coerent cu Romnia, soarta aromnilor din Kosovo i din alte regiuni ale Peninsulei Balcanice este uor de anticipat. Factorii politici trebuie s priveasc responsabil, fr prejudeci (cum i noi ncercm din ce n ce mai atent cu minoritile din Romnia) pe romnii din fosta Iugoslavie1, Albania, Bulgaria, Ucraina sau Ungaria. Nu este vorba de un potenial conflict (nu putem schimba istoria, motivele/ cauzele le putem analiza sau nu, greeli s-au fcut i la noi, dar nu putem lsa rnile s sngereze), ci despre responsabilitate, raiune i, nu n ultim instan, dreapt msur, dreptate. Nu putem trece peste faptul c sunt multe localiti n care romnii/ aromnii sunt numeroi, c, de pild, n sate ca Naupara, din Kosovo, peste 50% din oameni vorbesc romna. Trebuie ca Romnia s cear, acolo unde nu se ntmpl acest lucru, respectarea dreptului lor de a tri ca etnie cu limb, tradiii, obiceiuri proprii.

The Aromanians in Kosovo - Doomed Sons Deserted by Parents

The Aromanians, continuators of Balkan Romanity, live in all Balkan Peninsula states. It is worth mentioning that hundreds of years ago they built several state formations such as Great Vlachia in Thessaly, Small Vlachia in Acarnania and Etolia, and the Aromanian-Bulgarian Empire ruled by two brothers, Peter and Asan. What is perhaps less known is the way in which every country considered the Aromanians as an ethnic group and even less than less how the Romanian state, at least in the aftermath of World War II, understood not to forget them to say the least.

Globalization and new forms of media often induce us to believe we know one or the other areas of the globe. But, quite frequently, the image we are provided with is rather superficial and more often than not filtered through the lens of certain interests. This holds true about Kosovo, officially known as Kosovo-Metohia, a
1

n statisticile iugoslave sunt 175.000 de romni i vlahi n 1948, 86.000 n 1981; n toat fosta Iugoslavie, oficial, romnii: 1 %, aromnii/ vlahii: 0,4 %. Sunt autori i din fosta Iugoslavie care spun/ analizeaz motivele pentru care aceast statistic este eronat, considernd numrul lor real mult mai mare. De pild, arat autorul, dr. Shefki Sejdiv, Universitatea din Pritina, scrie despre aa-numiii skie tbut, slavii calmi, de fapt, vlahi/ aromni slavizai forat. Prof. Stoiadinovici crede c srbizarea a pornit cu numele, apoi cu obligarea oamenilor s se declare drept srbi, i nu aromni/ romni.

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region/province of 1945 Yugoslavia, that covers an area of 10.887 square km, with varied relief and two plains: Kosovo i Metohia. This Balkan region where ancient documents place the Dardani was under various rules. In ancient times it was part of the Macedonian state, starting with the 2nd century BC it was under Roman influence, then, in the Middle Ages, under Byzantine influence. Slavic invasions started in the 7th century, at the middle of the 10th century Kosovo was occupied by the Bulgarians, then by the Byzantine state again under the rule of Basil II the Macedonian, between 976-1025. Beginning with 1189 it became part of Stephen Nemanias Serbian state. Several Serbian authors consider that part of the Vlach/Aromanian population was Serbianized by force through different methods1. After the battle of Blackbird Plain/ Kosovopolje2 which took place on 15 June 1389, Kosovo fell under Ottoman domination, being included into what was known as Vijalet of Kosovo between 1437 and 1912. In 1912, during the first Balkan war, Kosovo came under Serbian jurisdiction as the Treaty of Bucharest in 1913 declared it an integral part of the Kingdom of Serbia. During the World War I Kosovo came under Bulgarian occupation, after 1918 it returned to Yugoslavia as part of Royal Yugoslavia. During World War II eastern Kosovo was occupied by the Bulgarians while the rest of the country became part of Albania. In 1939 Kosovo was occupied by the Italians, between 1943-1945 by the Germans, between 1945-1974 Kosovo had a special status within the Serbian Republic being one of the six nations that formed The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Between 1974-1989 Kosovo was an autonomous province with its own administrative structures but in 1989 its autonomy was withdrawn. Then the violent events intensely broadcast followed which left Kosovo without the possibility of informing an independent/autonomous state unit.

For instance, regarding the name of Milos Obilic who killed Murad 1st on the Blackbird Plain, Professor Latif Nulaku from Pritina demonstrated in Zur Toponymie des Kosovo that the Serbian term Obilici/ Kopilici in Albanian is etymologically explained by the Romanian copil (child) as are toponyms like Kopilje, Kopilova. 2 Two contingents of Vlachs/Aromanians from the region south of the Danube also participated in the battle. Tanase Bujduveanu and other historians hold they were not an army sent by Mircea The Old, the Wallachian prince, as it was long believed. Among the Aromanians who joined the coalition was Teodor Muat, a member of the ruling family in Musacchia principality in Albania.

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The history of the Aromanians in this region was not less troubled. The Aromanians, continuators of Balkan Romanity, live in all Balkan Peninsula states. It is worth mentioning that hundreds of years ago they built several state formations such as Great Vlachia in Thessaly, Small Vlachia in Acarnania and Etolia, and the AromanianBulgarian Empire ruled by two brothers, Peter and Asan. What is perhaps less known is the way in which every country considered the Aromanians as an ethnic group and even less than less how the Romanian state, at least in the aftermath of World War II, understood not to forget them to say the least. Another fact is that quite frequently, the policies of some Balkan states were such as not to encourage the Aromanians to preserve their national identity, they sometimes even forced them through unorthodox means to let themselves assimilated. The Aromanians from Kosovo 1 by Tanase Bujduveanu, brings the history of the Aromanians in Kosovo under focus. Their number is on the decrease, as the writer points out, in spite of their steady resistance to assimilation mostly based on their religious faith2. Kosovo has a long tradition in Christian history. It was crossed by Saints Andrew and Paul. The latter reached the Balkan region, Dyrrachium (today Durres) i Apollonia3, during his second missionary travel here and the region is known for the great number of Christian martyrs (such as Florus and Laurus, martyred in Ulpiana near Pristina). After the Edict of Milan was passed in 313, in Dardania there were established dioceses in Skopje, Ulpiana and other, smaller communities. In a letter to Rufus, the bishop of Thessaloniki, Pope Innocent I (401-417) stated that Dardania (whose communities/dioceses were Latin4) was part of the Eparchy of Thessaloniki. Emperor Justinian, through Novela XI on 14 April 535 established the autocephalous
Tnase Bujduveanu, Aromnii din Kosovo, Les Aroumains de Kosovo, The Aromanians from Kosovo, Romanian-English-French, Editura George Iustinian & Justin Tambozi, Bucureti i Editura Cartea Aromn, Constana, 2002 2 In the Aromanian, Megleno Romanian and Istro Romanian dialects there are lots of religious (Christian) terms of Latin origin similar or identical to their counterparts in Daco Romanian, though church terminoogy is basically of Greek or Slavic origin, because they had their own religious administration very rarely and for a short time. 3 See the Epistles to the Philipianns and the Thessalonians. In the Epistle to the Romans (15-19): Paul preached the Gospel starting from Jerusalem and the neighbouring countries up to Illyrium. 4 Proofs: the names of priests, funeral inscriptions a.o.
1

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bishopric of Tauresium, in the newly founded town of Justiniana Prima covering the 25 dioceses that existed in Dardania. After the invasions of the Slavs and later, of the Bulgarians, the archbishopric of Justiniana Prima disappeared, its dioceses being transferred to the Vicarage of Thessaloniki until 737 (or 731) when Emperor Leon III the Isaurian transferred the whole territory of the Balkans from under Romes jurisdiction to that of the Patriarchy of Constantinople. Then followed the separation of the romanized populations from the Slavs, the Christening of the Bulgarians (864) under Tzar Boris I (852-889), the establishing of Bulgarian Patriarchy during the reign of Simeon (893927), and of the Patriarchy of Ohrid (which collected canonical taxes from the Vlachs all over Bulgaria1 according to the documents of Basil II in 1020. The Bishopric of Vlachs was the 24th on a list of eparchies subordonated to the one in Ohrid in the 11th century. At the beginning of the 13th century the Vlachs were masters of the Kosovo region. The Serbian documents after the reign of King Stephen I (1196-1227) mention the Vlachs quite often. Some documents describe them grouped into two categories with distinct rights: the braves (the privileged) and the travelers (closer to dependent peasants). The Vlachs are called differently in Serbian documents: those living between Prziren and Pec are called primikjur, then celnic. They are mentioned as living in Skopje and all over the Kingdom of Serbia and their occupations were herding, agriculture and small industry. In the 14th and 15th centuries there were massive movements of the Vlachs who emigrated in great numbers from Kosovo and the banks of Vardar to the north, to the Timoc and Moravia Valleys. During the Ottoman domination (14th and 15th centuries), things got even more complicated for the Aromanians because of the ethnic modifications they underwent, although, the author of a document noted, the Slavic region between the south-eastern part of Kosovo and north-western part of Macedonia underwent powerful influences on the part of Aromanian shepherds organized in groups of families led/represented by a celnic. During the Dark Ages the Ottomans led a continuous process of Muslimazation of the population in Kosovo. The statistics of the Ottoman Empire only give confessional information not
1

The author writes that the Vlachs all over Bulgaria are considered to be all those living in the territories annexed by Byzantium, Kosovo included.

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ethnic. That is why, the author notes, at the end of the 19th century a battle was being fought to spread instruction in the Romanian language throughout the Balkan Peninsula starting with 1878 Turkish authorities allowed instruction to be carried out in Romanian. The statistics of Romanian instruction in the Balkan area (there was an inspector for Romanian schools in Turkey) shows there were primary schools in Prizren, Tetovo, Skopje Vijalet of Kosovo. In a document1 from Monastir dated 17 October 1906 Lazar Duma, who was the inspector and administrator of the Romanian schools and church in Turkey, mentioned 7 schools with 247 pupils in Vijalet of Kosovo where the total number of Romanians was 4340. Then the author shows how after the province of Kosovo and a part from Macedonia were included into Serbia, the autonomy of Romanian schools was no longer recognized. If before 1913 there were 10 Romanian churches and 32 Romanian schools in the Vijalet of Kosovo and southern Macedonia, in the aftermath of World War II, when the Aromanians were no longer officially recognized as a distinct ethnic minority, the churches turned Serbian and the schools were closed down. It is also worth mentioning that as early as 1891 the Patriarchy of Constantinople had agreed that the population should have local bishops. Nevertheless, there are documents testifying that in the latter half of the 19th century the Aromanians were threatened with excommunication if they sent their children to Romanian schools. Tnase Bujduveanu described the Aromanians occupations: agriculture, herding, small industry, trade between the south and the north of the Balkan Peninsula, cereal trade. Firizovici (Urosevat) was established on the railway connecting Skopje and Mitrovia. In Mitrovia there are many Aromanians, and so are in Pritina (over 1000 Aromanians), who are considered the first tradesmen in town. In Prizren (a gathering place for Aromanian tradesmen from remote areas) the Aromanians count half the population. In Tetovo, in todays Macedonia, and Giacovo they form a majority of the population and are called tarapani, and the same situation is met towards Bulgarias frontier where the Aromanian language is preserved. But it is difficult if not impossible to say the exact number of Aromanians living in these areas.
1

(General Picture of the Situation of the Romanian Schools and Churches in Turkey, also Containing the Number of the Romanian Population Divided into Declared Romanians and Greekoman Romanians)

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During the German occupation (1943-1945) there was carried out a policy of ethnic modifications, Christians being pushed to the north and replaced by Albanians. The leaders of Aromanian community in Bucharest suggested the establishing of an autonomous Aromanian state or state organization in the central Balkan area, Kosovo included. A memorandum was presented to the German-Italian authorities and to Mareshal Ion Antonescu in Bucharest. That was not a singular enterpise1. These are poignant pages from the history of a people that are the Romanians next of kin and who had and still have to face dramatic events although modern legislation brings changes for the better.When the war in the former Yugoslavia broke out how many Romanians thought that among so many innocent people who were killed, wounded or suffered in the region there were Aromanians too? What do they mean to the Romanians? We often talk about the Romanians in Bessarabia, but we tend to forget Northern Bucovina and other places where Romanians or their kins live. The other Romanians are transferred to an annex or and others chapter. Without a coherent connection to Romania the fate of the Aromanians in Kosovo and other regions of the Balkan Peninsula is easy to anticipate. The political authorities should feel more responsible for the Romanians living in the former Yugoslavia2, Albania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, or Hungary, without prejudices in the same way we try to consider the minorities living in Romania. It is not that a potential conflict is lurking in the region (we cannot change history, but we can analyse the motives and the mistakes made so far, we cannot have wounds bleed). We refer to resposiblity, reasonable action and in the last analysis, justice. We cannot forget that
These are part of the facts / initiatives concerning this thing could be remembered London, where in the year 1912 it was suggested that a Romanian canton should be established, the Republic of Samarina ((n aromanian: Samarina, Xamarina, today a town azi from Greece, , Greven Prefecture) in the summer of 1917 etc. 2 In Yugoslavian statistics there were 175.000 Romanians and Vlachs n 1948, 86.000 in 1981; the official data in the whole former Yugoslavia: Romanians - 1 %, Aromanians/ Vlachs - 0,4 %. There are authors, some from former Yugoslavia, who claim the official data are erroneous and the real number of (A)Romanians is a lot larger. They also analyse the causes of the situation. Dr. Shefki Sejdiv from the University of Pritina shows that the so-called skie tbut, calm Slavs, are in fact Vlachs/ Aromanians Slavised by force. Prof. Stoiadinovici believes that the process of Serbianisation started with people being forced first to change their names and then declare themselves as Serbians not (A)Romanians.
1

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there are many communities in which the (A)Romanians are numerous and in such villages as Naupara in Kosovo, over 50 % of the population speak Romanian. Romania has to demand that their rights as an ethic group to speak their native language and practise their own traditions and customs should be observed there where they are not.
(Translation: Aloisia Sorop)

MIHAELA ALBU (ROMNIA) Un topos literar - Brganul

Pentru muli scriitori romni, Cmpia Brganului a fost ntotdeauna o geografie suprareal sau mai degrab o utopie i un mit. Brganul are o existen milenar, iar cei care locuiesc acolo tiu bine c el este uneori lene i nesupus, oamenii avnd sentimental c viaa se ncheag din somnolen i se perpetueaz n miraj. (Panait Istrati). Acest miraj este ntr-un mod metaforic visul fr sfrit al trecerii peste limit, al nclcrii granielor ctre civilizaie.

Moto: Osia lumii trece Prin Brgan (Fnu Neagu) 1. Stepa romneasc Cmpia Brganului

Dac un romn ar fi ntrebat despre specificul geografic al rii sale, ar vorbi n mod obinuit despre diversitatea de relief i, cu siguran, muli se vor referi la ceea ce poetul i filosoful Lucian Blaga denumise spaiu ondulat. Dei noi ne definim n funcie de acel spaiu mioritic, spaiu ondulat, de spaiul-matrice cu alternana dealvale, fr ndoial c trebuie s inem seama i de alte arii geografice de pe teritoriul Romniei. Astfel, pe lng Munii Carpai i dealurile noastre, n sud se ntinde, dup cum tim, o vast cmpie, acea Cmpie a Dunrii care include i Brganul. Acesta este preeria romneasc care amintete de stepa rus, de pusta maghiar, dar i de nesfritul mrii sau al oceanului: aceeai imensitate i aceeai iluzie a nermuritului. Acest teritoriu aparte nu putea s nu constituie subiect de inspiraie

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pentru scriitorii romni, el fiind descris n maniere diverse, dar i din puncte de vedere diferite de Alexandru Odobescu, Panait Istrati, Mircea Eliade, George Clinescu, Marin Preda, tefan Bnulescu, Fanu Neagu, Constantin oiu .a. Etimologic, termenul provine din limba turc i are sensul de furtun sau uragan, Brganul fiind un teritoriu unic, o regiune ciudat i minunat n acelai timp, o combinaie ntre deert i nondeert, cum l caracterizase odat Nicolae Iorga. Modelul clasic al descrierii Brganului, un exemplu de descriere literar de altfel, l gsim n acea singular i interesant carte care este eseul Pseudokynegeticos de Alexandru Odobescu. O formul inedit avnd ca pretext vntoarea, acest eseu este de fapt o plimbare literar prin istoria artelor, a muzicii, a literaturii, prin folclor i tradiii, un mozaic (n accepiunea lui G. Clinescu), dar este mai presus de toate o cltorie n timp i spaiu. M-am apucat s colind rstimpii i spaiile, cutnd cu ochii, cu auzul i cu inima, priveliti, rsunete i emoii vntoreti, spunea Odobescu n scrisoarea sa adresat celui care i ceruse s scrie o doar Prefa pentru tratatul su, dl. C.C. Cornescu. (v. Alexandru Odobescu, Pseudokynegetikos, 1964: 25). 1. a. Brganul Arcadia romneasc i eu am fost n Arcadia! exclama Odobescu la nceputul descrierii Brganului, spaiul n care vntorii pot ntlni Paradisul. ntreaga descriere se ncadreaz ntre aceast exclamaie i blestemul gogolian Dracu s v ia, cmpiilor, c mult suntei frumoase! (Idem: 39). Recunoscnd c descrierea sa este aproape o adaptare a fragmentului din Taras Bulba de Gogol, scriitorul romn sugereaz implicit similaritile dintre Brganul nostru i stepa ruseasc. Odobescu, Clinescu i Fnu Neagu descriu Brganul ca pe o Arcadie, un teritoriu bogat n grne, dar i un spaiu atractiv, cum l percepea Fnu Neagu n Postfaa crii sale n vpaia lunii (Fnu Neagu, 1979: 355), dar i Panait Istrati cnd exclama: Doamne, ce frumos e! (Istrati, 1987: 210). Grul este bogia Brganului, grul l-a fcut cunoscut, grul este legea omului, aa cum legea calului este iarba, iar a vinului cntecul, aduga Fnu Neagu. Osia lumii trece prin Brgan fiindc nceputul i durata tuturor lumilor trece prin spicul unui fir de gru, i continua scriitorul n mod metaforic confesiunea sa. (Ibidem).

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Pe de alt parte, n volumul de proz Un regat imaginar, tefan Bnulescu descria pmntul ntreg (care) e galben de atta porumb. Cnd apune soarele, rmne ziu c e porumbul. (Bnulescu, 1997: 45). Deopotriv lanurile de gru i porumb dau impresia unei imensiti galbene i oamenii aproape c nu mai deosebesc porumbul de soare: n fa ncepea s creasc o dung galben. Porumbul sau soarele. (Idem, op. cit.: 47). Viaa oamenilor n Brgan este influenat de anotimpuri, viaa lor este coordonat de vreme. Vara, cmpia le druiete recolte, acesta fiind, de fapt, scopul pentru care ranul lucreaz ntregul an. Legea lui era grul, semnat cu mna n Brgan pentru toi, urcat cu spinarea n moar. Acesta este Brganul, cmpia ai crei plmni respir gru. (Fnu Neagu, op. cit: 357). 1. b. Brganul ara salcmului
Satul meu i sprinjin oasele pe salcmi (Fnu Neagu)

Baraganului, acestei cmpii miraculoase, aa cum muli scriitori romni au perceput-o, acestui teritoriu bogat i srac n acelai timp, un straniu melanj de slbticie i bogie, unde deopotriv vntori i rani i gsesc motivaia de a tri, acestui spaiu i este specific numai o anumit flor. n afar de ciulini, n vastul teritoriu, unde iarna zpada este din abunden, iar vara soarele strlucete cu putere, singurul copac care poate rezista climei agresive este salcmul. n satul Moromeilor, n fundul grdinii lui Moromete, locul era plin de salcmi i de iarb nalt. Un salcm uria foarte stufos i nalt (Marin Preda, 1955: 53) devine o parte important n conflictul romanului. Moromete, ranul care ncearc s evite pltirea impozitelor deoarece i el (ca majoritatea) nu are bani, a tiat salcmul i l-a vndut: de vreme ce nu avea altceva s vnd, salcmul trebuia tiat, va comenta naratorul. Mai trziu, Moromete, trist i mndru n acelai timp, va vorbi n termeni admirativi despre pomul sacrificat pentru a-i plti impozitele. Naratorul nsui va sublinia importana simbolic a salcmului: Salcmul tiat strjuia ns prin nlimea i coloana lui stufoas toat partea aceea a satului; acum totul se fcuse mic. Grdina, caii, Moromete nsui artau bicisnici. Cerul deschis i cmpia npdeau mprejurimile. (Idem, op. cit: 56).

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i Fnu Neagu amintea de asemenea de multe ori (n n btaia lunii) despre salcmii tiai (mori, cu alte cuvinte), descriindu-i ca pe nite fantome. 1. c. Brganul ara ciulinilor Paradoxal, Brganul, ara grnelor, este de asemenea un cmp slbatic, ara ciulinilor violei care l-au inspirat pe scriitorul romnfrancez Panait Istrati n faimosul roman Ciulinii Brganului. Aici, Istrati recurge la nceputul naraiunii la o proiecie a timpului i o delimitare a spaiului: Cnd sosete toamna, ntinsele cmpii elinoase ale Munteniei dunrene se pun s triasc, timp de o lun, existena lor milenar. (Istrati, op.cit., 1987: 207). Prin urmare, toamna i existena milenar sugereaz repetiia care nseamn un timp fr sfrit i un spaiu nelimitat (cmpia ntins). A doua propoziie se refer din nou la stepa fr hotar i, n mod gradual, autorul introduce localizarea Muntenia (Wallachia), duioasa Ialomia i Dunrea ursuz, adjectivul fiind o proiecie a sentimentelor locuitorilor. Felul relaiei ntre om i Brgan este de asemenea accentuat nc de la nceput: lupta viclean cu omul harnic pe care nu-l iubete.(). Ca un deert, Brganul e singuratec. Pe spatele lui nici un copac. (Idem, op. cit: 208). De multe ori, naratorul transfer caracterisiticile umane ctre teritoriu: La nceput Brganul pare pasiv, ca un om care s-ar trnti cu faa la pmnt i n-ar mai voi nici s se scoale, nici s moar. Un uria! (Idem: 208). O important prezen narativ o constituie pustiurile Dunrii i ale Deltei sau cmpia Brganului, remarca criticul Aureliu Goci n Prefaa la una dintre reeditrile versiunii romneti la Ciulinii Brganului (op. cit.: 14). n roman are loc o continu lupt ntre cmpie i om, iar ctigtorul este aproape totdeauna Brganul: ntins de cnd lumea, peste toate arinile pe care le arde soarele, ntre duioasa Ialomi i Dunrea ursuz, n lupta viclean cu omul pe care nu-l iubete i cruia i refuz orice bunstare, afar doar de aceea de a hoinri i de-a urla n toat voia. () Cci Brganul e singuratec. (Idem, 1987: 208). Cnd vine toamna, iar cocorii pleac spre rile calde, Brganul rmne singurul stpn. Aici, omul se afl sub dominarea geografiei pe care trebuie s o accepte i s nvee cum s supravieuiasc dup regulile acestui special teritoriu - pmntul care nu cunoate nici un stpn (Idem: 29), unde nu gseti pe spatele lui,

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nici un copac! i de la un pu la altul, ai tot timpul s mori de sete. Nici mpotriva foamei nu prea e treaba lui s te apere. (Ibidem). Fr ndoial, din timp n timp, scriitorul nu poate uita c acolo se gsesc i pri ale Brganului n care pmntul pare a fi o Arcadie i descrie ambele maluri ale rului Ialomia, unde pmnturile sunt mnoase, moiile numeroase. Acolo, Brganul i rupe dinii. (Idem, 1987: 226). 1. d. Brganul ara crdurilor de dropii (Odobescu) Chiar dac n mare parte Brganul e ara ciulinilor, fauna este, n schimb, bogat i variat. De aceea putem spune, printre altele, c Baraganul este n acelai timp i ara crdurilor de dropii: n iulie, dropiile, la fel ca flamingii de la Dunre, i trec puii prin gru ca s-i mbrace n purpur, scrie metaforic Fnu Neagu. (op. cit.: 358). Este o pasre foarte ciudat, foarte dificil de vzut sau de prins aa cum aflm de la un alt scriitor, nscut n Cmpia Dunrii, tefan Bnulescu. n nuvela sa intitulat Dropia, pasrea aceasta nu este numai o metafor, ci i o prezen vie a locului. Aceast pasre rar este greu i de vzut, nu numai de prins. () Dropia nu se poate prinde nici vara, nici toamna, e greu i de zrit, st la capt de mirite, n soare. i n soare nu te poi uita. Numai iarna pe polei o poi atinge, cnd are aripile ngreuiate i nu poate zbura i seamn la mers cu o gin. Greu i atunci, explic aluziv Victoria unui strin, Miron, care i cuta fosta dragoste din tineree. Rar cineva care s prind clipa potrivit. De multe ori, cnd e polei, nu-i dropie, i cnd e dropie nu cade polei, continu ea n acelai stil metaforic i aluziv. (Bnulescu, op. cit.: 43). 2. Brganul un pmnt legendar Mircea Eliade, binecunoscutul savant i scriitor romn, a vzut Brganul ca pe un teritoriu legendar, unde spaiul este mai puternic dect timpul. Prin urmare, aproape c nu este ceva neobinuit c aproape peste tot, n orice oper literar, cititorul poate descoperi n paralel sau n interferen deopotriv elementele geografice reale i perspectiva utopic. Ponderea diferit creeaz diferena. La Bnulescu, n Cartea Milionarului, conform unui alt critic literar romn, Ion Negoiescu, cmpia este Utopia n sensul su larg, de topos plsmuit, contravenind realului chiar dac i mprumut elemente diverse. (Ion Negoiescu, 2000: 43). Una dintre crile lui Bnulescu se numete chiar Un regat imaginar i cteva poeme din final au titluri care par desprinse din

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basme (Om fr noapte, Cuitul de aur, Soarele, corb auriu, Omul i moartea). Pentru Fnu Neagu, Brganul este poarta de intrare n eternitatea bucuriei (n vpaia lunii: 355). Vechile poveti, legendele, oamenii de la cmpie au fost subiecte constante i fundal pentru crile sale. Toate acestea i-au dat de asemenea acel dar special de a visa, permindu-i s construiasc un pod ntre prezent i trecut, ntre mit i realitate i chiar (dup cum el nsui afirm) s-l fac scriitor: Brganul, apele, povetile bunicii i ale prinilor () au fcut s se nasc n mine scriitorul de mai trziu. (Idem: 356). n alt sens, Brganul este chiar o fata morgana, miracolul creat de imensitatea deertului. Aa este pentru romancierul G. Clinescu. Cnd i urmeaz personajele Felix i Otilia n drumul lor la ferma din Brgan, ca oaspei a unui fermier bogat, Pascalopol, cmpia pare un loc ciudat, fr hotar (ca un deert), aflndu-se totodat n afara timpului. Cu o lips a proporiilor sau cu proporii nebune, Brganul se arat ca un teritoriu nelimitat unde civilizaia nu are niciun sens i pare un deert scitic anistoric: Era un ceas numai de cnd Felix coborse din tren, i Felix se simea pierdut de sute de ani pe locuri n care orice urm de civilizaie fusese distrus de mult de soare i de ierburi. (Enigma Otiliei, 2000: 55). Astfel, ni se sugereaz, n Brgan, soarele i vegetaia sunt singurii stpni. Timpul i chiar spaiul i-au pierdut dimensiunile reale: Felix nu-i putu da seama dac se aflau la dou sute de metri deprtare sau la civa kilometri. (Ibidem). Dac privim n ansmblu, romanele care au ca fundal Brganul plecnd de la o descriere literar a locului geografic real la identificare cmpiei cu regiune utopic, parcurgem drumul dintre fragmentele descriptive (n manier clasic) i povestirile sau romanele mitice i simbolice. 3. Brganul un ocean imprevizibil n eseul lui Odobescu, potenialul vntor trece prin deertul Brganului, dar n faa lui se ntinde ntotdeauna spaiul nemrginit cu valurile de iarb ca un nestatornic ocean (op. cit.: 36). n Moromeii, de asemenea, vntul de diminea face cmpul semnat cu gru s par n unduire ca valurile mrii. Acest fel de comparaie, cu muli termeni din acelai cmp lexical, este folosit i de Clinescu i o ntlnim ntr-o descriere memorabil a Brganului din Enigma Otiliei.

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Astfel, civa copaci izolai n cmpia goal preau pierdui ca nite trunchiuri moarte pe valurile mrii. Vntul cald era masiv ca o und marin. Cltorii Felix i Otilia pluteau pe o mare galben-verzuie, n care valurile prea nalte mpiedicau ochii s trag linia orizontului. (op. cit.: 54). 4. Brganul i conotaiile sale semantice Termenul Baragan este un substantiv propriu, un loc real, dar i o caracteristic, avnd o conotaie special n limba romn. Panait Istrati, un expert n cmpia aceasta, explic una dintre ele. Dup el, n toate rile locuite de romni, cnd o persoan i ngduie prea multe liberti n public, este apostrofat: Ia ascult, m: ce, ori te crezi aici pe Brgan? (Idem: 208). Astfel, lipsa de limite este transferat oamenilor, modului lor de comportament i de nelegere a lumii. n aceeai direcie, dar cu un plus de conotaii este i o alt sintagm comun: sta-i sfritul lumii, copii. Ei fac din noi tot ce le place, ca pe Brgan. (Idem: 274). i s nu uitm c Ciulinii Brganului este o carte dedicat poporului romn, celor 11.000 de rani asasinai de ctre guvernul romn n rscoala din 1907! 5. Omul i Cmpia Dac Lucian Blaga ne-a propus conceptul de spaiu mioritic ca o manier filosofic de a explica spiritul romnesc prin peisajul nostru (spaiul deal-vale, ondulat i infinit), au fost de asemenea i ali scriitori care au perceput obiceiurile i sufletul ranului din sudul Romniei prin marca infinitii i a monotoniei reliefului cmpiei. Marin Preda, unul dintre cei mai autentici scriitori romni contemporani, vedea ranul din Cmpia Dunrii ca pe un gnditor, un contemplativ, ns mai mult n manier socratic i mai puin una pragmatic. n cmpia Dunrii, cu civa ani naintea celui de al doilea rzboi, perioada cnd familia Moromete este descris ca un model de familie romneasc, timpul avea cu oamenii nesfrit rbdare; viaa se scurgea aici fr conflicte mari. (Marin Preda, Moromeii, 1995: 7). Era viaa unei familii din Brgan i Moromete, tatl i prototipul ranului de la cmpie, care are propria filosofie de via, este surprins de la nceput cum sttea pe stnoaga poditei i se uita peste drum. Sttea degeaba, nu se uita n mod deosebit. Chiar fumul igrii din mna lui se ridica drept n sus, fr grab i fr scop. (Ibidem).

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Lipsa de grab i de scop pare s caracterizeze viaa din Brgan. Oamenii acestor largi spaii au mprumutat de la cmpie sentimentele speciale de vastitate i eternitate. Dac cumva eti narmat contra acestor dou nevoi ale gurii (setea i foamea, n.n.) i dac vrei s te afli singur cu Dumnezeul tu, atunci du-te pe Brgan. E inutul pe care Creatorul l-a hrzit Munteniei, pentru ca romnul s poat visa n voie. (Idem: 208). Locuitorii cmpiei au trstura special a omului din Brgan, tendina de a visa i de a contempla lumea. Sunt locuri n lume destinate contemplrii. Cel care locuiete n Brgan e o fiin oarecum tcut. () Visri, gndiri, nlare i pntec gol, iat ce d gravitate omului nscut pe Brgan. Omul prefer s asculte cuviincios i aceasta se ntmpl fiindc viaa lui e grea i el ndjduiete mereu c cineva va veni poate odat s-i arate cum ar putea s munceasc mai cu folos ndrtnicul lui Brgan. (Idem: 209). Concluzii Pentru muli scriitori romni, Cmpia Brganului a fost ntotdeauna o geografie suprareal sau mai degrab o utopie i un mit. Brganul are o existen milenar, iar cei care locuiesc acolo tiu bine c el este uneori lene i nesupus, oamenii avnd sentimental c viaa se ncheag din somnolen i se perpetueaz n miraj. (Istrati: 1337). Acest miraj este ntr-un mod metaforic visul fr sfrit al trecerii peste limit, al nclcrii granielor ctre civilizaie, ctre oraul unde locuitorii au pine pe mas. n opinia lui Lucian Blaga, esurile romneti sunt pline de nostalgia plaiului. i, de vreme ce omul de la es nu poate avea n preajm acest plai, sufletul i creeaz pe alt cale atmosfera acestuia: cntecul i ine loc de plai. (L. Blaga, Spaiul mioritic, n Trilogia culturii, 1944: 168). Putem gsi nostalgia plaiului n literatura n care personajele triesc n Cmpia Romn? Nu am gsit-o, cel puin la autorii citai aici. Putem descoperi acelai mod de sens mioritic al destinului n folclorul celor de la cmpie? Este un subiect care va trebui studiat cu alt ocazie. Ne-am limitat la civa dintre scriitorii care au vzut omul ducndu-i destinul ca locuitor al spaiului fr limite al cmpiei. Aceast cmpie, ca un ocean, i determin o perspectiv diferit. Scriitorii au descris acest teritoriu i s-au strduit s neleag deopotriv existena locuitorilor din Brgan i modul lor particular de a nelege viaa.

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A Romanian Literary Topic The Baragan Plain

For many Romanian writers the Baragan plain has always been geography beyond real, or rather a utopia and a myth. The Baragan has a millenary existence, and the people who live there know that it is sometimes lazy and disobedient and they have the feeling that life takes its form from sleepiness and gets its continuity from mirage. (Panait Istrati). This mirage is in a metaphorical way the endless dream of walking the line, of crossing borders toward civilization.

Motto: The world axle is passes through Baragan. (Fanus Neagu)

1. The Romanian Steppe the Baragan Plain If you were to ask the Romanians about the geographic specificity of their country, the answer would commonly refer to the diversity of the relief and especially to what the poet-philosopher Lucian Blaga called the undulatory space. Even though we usually define ourselves according to what Blaga called the mioritic space, the undulatory space, the matrix-space with the alternation hill-valley, we have to take into consideration the other geographic areas of the Romanian territory. Besides the Carpathians and the hills, a vast plain lays in the south, the Danube Plain, which includes the Baragan. This is the Romanian prairie that reminds us of the Russian steppe, of the Hungarian pusta, but also of the unlimited sea or ocean: the same immensity, and the same illusion of no boundaries. This vastness of plain, reminiscent of the immensity of the sea or of the ocean, was described in different manners and from different points of views by the Romanian writers such as Alexandru Odobescu (18341895), Panait Istrati (1884-1935), Mircea Eliade (1907-1986), George Calinescu (1899-1965), Marin Preda (1922-1980), Stefan Banulescu (1926-1998), Fanus Neagu (1932-), Constantin Toiu (1923-), etc. In Romanian, the word comes from Turkish and means gale, snowstorm. The Romanian Baragan is a very strange area, a combination between desert and no desert, as one of the most important Romanian historians Nicolae Iorga (1871-1940) described it. The classic example of the Baragan picture (being at the same time a model of a literary description) could be found in one of the most singular and interesting books in Romanian literature, the essay called Pseudocynegeticos, by Odobescu. An inedited literary formula, taking

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as a pretext the hunting, the essay is a kind of literary journey in the history of arts, of music, of literature, in folklore and traditions, it is a mosaic (in George Calinescus terms), but it is above all a journey in time and space. I started scouring the ages and spaces, looking for sounds and hunters emotions with my eyes, my ears and my heart, wrote Odobescu in his Preface. (Alexandru Odobescu, Pseudokynegetikos, Bucureti: Tineretului, 1964: 25). 1. a. The Baragan a Romanian Arcadia Et in Arcadia ego! exclaims Odobescu in the beginning of his description of the Baragan plain, the space where hunters can find their Paradise. The entire description is framed between that exclamation and a Gogolian expletive Damn you, plains, you are so beautiful! (Idem: 39). Recognizing that his description is almost a kind of translation of a fragment from Gogols Taras Bulba, the writer implicitly suggests the similarities between the Romanian Baragan and the Russian steppe. Odobescu, Calinescu and Fanus Neagu described the Baragan as an Arcadia, a rich territory in grain and an attractive space. Out of what Baragan really is, my flesh withholds the everlasting fragrance of the wheat, confesses Fanus Neagu in the Postface of his book n vpaia lunii (Under the Moonshine, 1979: 355.) or Panait Istrati exclaims: God, such a beauty! Wheat is the real richness of the Baragan, wheat has made this land famous; wheat is the human law, just as the horses is grass and the wines, song, adds Fanus Neagu. The worlds axle passes through Baragan, because the beginning and the duration of all worlds passes through the ear of a stalk of wheat, the writer continues metaphorically his confession. On the other hand, in his short stories book An Imaginary Kingdom - Stefan Banulescu describes the yellow land with the abundance of corn; when the sun sets, daylight goes on because of the corn. (Banulescu), 1997: 45). Both wheat and corn fields give the impression of a yellow vastness, such that people almost cant tell corn from sun anymore. A yellow stripe began growing on the horizon. The corn or the sun. (Idem: 47). The seasons influence peoples life in the Baragan. Their life is coordinated by the time of year. In summer, the plain gives them crops, which is in fact the real purpose for which the peasant works an entire

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year. His law is wheat, active in every action of life.. This is the Baragan, the plain whose lungs breathe wheat. (Fanus Neagu, op. cit.: 357). 1. b. My village props its bones on acacia trees (Fanus Neagu) The Baragan, this miraculous plain, as many Romanian writers felt or wrote, this edge of infinity, this rich and poor territory, a strange mlange of wilderness and richness, where both hunter and peasant find their reason to live, can be branded through some specific plants. Besides the thistles, in this vast territory, where in winter snow is abundant, and in summer the sun shines so hard, the only tree that could resist to the aggressive weather is a species of the acacia. In the village of the Morometes the place was full of acacias and tall grass. A giant acacia tree very leafy and tall becomes an important part in the plot of the novel. Moromete, the peasant who tries to avoid paying taxes because he (as most others) has no money, cut the acacia and sold it: since they had nothing else to sell, the acacia had to be cut down (Marin Preda, Morometii, p. 111), the narrator comments. Moromete himself, in a simultaneously sad and proud tone, describes admiringly the sacrificed tree. The acacia had to be standing there, with its majestic height and its leafy crown like a sentinel above all that part of the village; now everything seemed to have shrunk in size. The garden, the horses, Moromete himself, looked as if they had been dwarfed. The open sky, and the fields now seemed to dominate the neighborhood. Fanus Neagu remembers also many times (in Under the Moonshine) about the dead acacias and describes them as phantoms. 1.c.. The Baragan - the country of the thistles Paradoxically, the Baragan, the country of grain, is also a wild field, the country of the violet thistles, which inspired the RomanianFrench writer Panait Istrati1 in his well-known novel The Thistles of the Baragan., Istrati begins his novel with a projection of time and the
Andr Gide (Univers, 1970: 551) wrote about the French-Romanian writer: It was with great pleasure that I read Kira Kiralina, the particularly lively story of Panait Istratis, a narration of a genuine fragrance redolent of some stories from Thousand and one nights or maybe of any other picaresque novel.
1

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delimitation of space: When autumn dawns, for one month, the vast, wild plains of Danubian Wallachia settle down to their millenary existence (Panait Istrati, The Thistles of the Baragan, NY: The Vanguard Press, 1930: 9). Therefore, the fall and the millenary existence suggest the repetition that means an endless time and a boundary space (the vast plain). The second sentence refers again to the endless steppe and gradually the author introduces the place Muntenia (Wallachia), the woeful Ialomitza river and the grumbling Danube, the adjectives being a special projection of the inhabitants feelings. The type of relation between man and the Baragan is stressed also from the very beginning: the sly battle with the hardworking man whom he loves not () Like a desert, the Baragan is solitude itself. Not a tree on his back (Istrati: 11). The narrator transfers human characteristics to the territory: At first the Baragan appears passive, like one who lies down, buries his face in the ground and refuses either to rise or die. A giant! (op. cit.: 10). An important narrative presence is the emptiness of the Danube and the Delta or the Baragan prairie, writes the critic Aureliu Goci in the Preface to one of the Romanian versions of The Thistles of Baragan (Ciulinii Baraganului, Bucureti: Mondero Publishing House, 1992: 14). In this novel there takes place a continuous fight between plain and man, and the winner is, almost always, the Baragan: Stretched out, since all eternity, over all the sun-scorched lands between Ialomitza and the Danube, the Baragan wages a sly war, throughout spring and summer, against the hard-working peasant whom it loves not and to whom it refuses any comfort, except for that of wandering and screaming of the top of his lungs (...) For the Baragan is solitude itself When fall comes and the storks leave for warmer countries, the steppes of the Baragan assume complete mastery. (op. cit.: 10-11). In Baragan, the man is under mastership of the geography, and he has to accept this and learn how to survive according to the rules of this special territory, that land that knows no master (Idem: 29), where you cannot find a tree on its back; and between one well and the next, a man has time aplenty to die of thirst. (Idem: 11). Here, man is under the dominion of geography, which he must accept and learn to survive under the rules of this special landscape, the land which known no master (Idem: 29), on whose back you find no tree! And from one well to the next, one has all the time in the world to

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die of thirst. Even against hunger this land will not defend you. (Ibidem). Undoubtedly, from time to time, the writer cannot forget that there are also parts of the Baragan where the land seems to be an Arcadia and describes both sides of the Ialomitza river where the land is fertile and farms numerous. There, the Baragan gnaws with broken teeth. (Idem, 1987: 226). 1.d. The Baragan - The land of bustard flocks (Odobescu) Even if most of Baragan is the land of acacia trees, its fauna is instead quite rich and varied. That is why we can also say that the Baragan is also the land of bustard flocks: In July the bustards (), like the Danube flamingos, walk their chicks through the wheat fields to dress them in purple, wrote Fanus Neagu (op. cit: 358). It is a very strange bird, very difficult to see or to catch as we learn from another Romanian writer, born in the Danube Plain, Stefan Banulescu. In his novel entitled Dropia (The Bustard), this bird is not only a metaphor, but also a reality of this part of the country. This rare bird is hard to catch sight of, not only to grasp. The bustard cant be caught either in summer or in autumn, it is difficult to get a glimpse of, it stands in the sun at the edge of the stubble. And one cant look at the sun. It is only on the glazed frost in winter that one can touch it, when its wings get heavy hindering its ability to fly and making its walk look like a hens. Even then its a hard job, explains allusively Victoria to a stranger, Miron, who was looking for his first love. Rarely can anyone catch the right moment. Many times, when there is glazed frost, there is no buster in sight, and when there is one, there is no glazed frost, she continued in the same metaphoric and allusive style. (Banulescu, op. cit.: 43). 2. The Baragan a legendary land Mircea Eliade, the well-known scholar and writer, saw the Baragan Plain as a legendary territory, where space is stronger than time. Therefore, almost everywhere, in every Romanian literary work, the reader can detect in parallel or in interference both the real geographical elements and the utopian perspective. The difference in scale makes the difference. In Banulescus The Millionaires Book (Cartea Milionarului), according to another Romanian critic, Ion

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Negoitescu, the plain is the Utopia in a large sense, like an imaginary topos, in perfect opposition with the real, even though it borrows different elements from it. (Scriitori romani contemporani, 2000: 43). One of Banulescus book is named exactly An Imaginary Kingdom and the titles of some poems in the end of the volume seem to come from a fairy tale (A Man with no Night, The Gold Knife, The Sun, a Golden Raven, Man and Death). For Fanus Neagu, the Baragan is the gateway into timeless joy. (op. cit.:355). The old stories, the legends, the people from the plain themselves were constant subjects and background for his books. All these gave him also that special gift of dreaming, allowing him to make a bridge between past and present, between myth and reality, and, as he admits himself, made him a writer: The Baragan plain, the bodies of water, my parents and my grandparents stories gave birth to the writer in me.(Idem: 356). In another way the Baragan is a fata morgana, the miracle created by the vastness and the immensity of the desert. This is true for novelist George Calinescu, for example, when he follows his characters Felix and Otilia on their way as the guests of a rich farmer, Pascalopol, the Baragan plain seems a very strange place with no limits (like a desert) and beyond time. With a lack of proportions or with mad proportions, the Baragan looks like a wasteland where civilization has no meaning and seems to be a historical scythic deserts: It was only one hour since Felix had gotten off the train, but he felt lost for hundreds of years in the places where all trace of civilization had long been destroyed by the sun and vegetation (G. Clinescu, Enigma Otiliei. Otilias Enigma, Bucureti, Cartex, 2000: 55). So, in Baragan, the absolute masters are the sun and vegetation. Time and even space lost their real dimensions: Felix couldnt realize if they were two hundred meters or a few kilometers away. (Ibidem). Thus, from a literary description of the real geographical place to the identification of the plain with the Utopian region, this is the road between the descriptive fragments (in the classical manner) and the mythical and symbolical stories or novels. 3. The Baragan a fickle ocean In Odobescus essay about hunting, the potential hunters scour the desert of the Baragan, but in front of them is always that boundless space with waves of grass like a fickle ocean. In Morometii (The

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Morometes) also the light morning breeze transforms the wheat into sea-waves. This kind of comparison, with many words from the same lexical field Calinescu uses, too, in a memorable description of the Baragan in his novel Otilias Enigma. Some isolated trees in the empty field seemed dead block stems on the waves of the sea. The warm wind was massive like a marine wave. The two main characters, like two travelers Felix and Otilia were floating on a yellow-green sea, where the high waves hinder the eyes to set the horizon line in its place (op.cit.: 54) 4. The Baragan and its semantic connotations The Baragan is a proper noun, a real place, but also a qualification with a special connotation in the Romanian language. Panait Istrati, an expert in the Romanian plain, explains one. According to him, everywhere in Romania, when a man takes too many liberties in public, he is apostrophized: where do you think you are: on the Baragan? (Idem: 208). Thus, the lack of boundaries is transferred to the people, to their behavior and way of understanding the world. In the same direction, but with a plus of connotation is another commonly used phrase: Its the end of the world, children. They are doing as they please with us. Its like the Baragan. (Idem: 247). Lets not forget that The Thistles of the Baragan is dedicated to the Romanian people; to its eleven thousand peasants murdered by the Romanian government in the 1907 revolt! 5. The Man and the Plain If Lucian Blaga invented the concept of the mioritic space as a philosophical manner to explain the Romanian soul and spirit through the Romanian landscape (the undulating and infinite landscape of hills and valleys), there are also other writers who described the behavior and the spirit of the peasant from the south of Romania through the mark of infinity and the monotonous relief of the plain. Marin Preda, considered one of the best Romanian contemporary writers, sees the peasant from the Danube Plain as a thinker, a contemplative, in a Socratic manner, and less as a practitioner. Down in the plain of the Danube, at least a few years before the Second World War, the time when the Moromete family is seen as a model for a Romanian peasant family, time seems to

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have been endlessly patient with the peasantry; life went on without too much trouble. (M. Preda, op. cit.: 7). It was the life of a family in the Baragan, and Moromete, the father and the prototype of the peasant from the plain, who has his own philosophy over life, is seen from the very beginning of the story seated on the rail of the plank-bridge and looking across the bridge. He just sat there, at a loose end, looking at nothing in particular. () Even the smoke of the cigarette in his hand was rising straight up, without haste or purpose. (Ibidem) The lack of haste or purpose appears to characterize life in Baragan. The people of large spaces seem to borrow from the plain the special feeling of vastness and eternity. If you are armed against these two twin ailments of the flesh (thirst and hunger), wrote Panait Istrati, and if you wish to walk alone with your God, go out to the Baragan; it is precisely the place the Creator allotted to Wallachia so that the Romanian can dream away at his leisure (Idem: 208). The inhabitants of the plain have this special feature of the Baragan-man, his tendency to dream and to contemplate the world. There are places in the world destined for contemplation (op. cit., p. 4). He who dwells on the Baragan has a rather grave character. () Dreams, meditation, aspiration and a hollow belly are what give those born in the Baragan gravity. (p. 12).Man prefers to listen differentially because his life is hard and because he lives with the hope that someone may appear to teach him what to do so as to wrest the best possible advantages from the stubborn Baragan steppes. (Ibidem). Conclusions For many Romanian writers the Baragan plain has always been a surreal geography, or rather a utopia and a myth. This plain has a millenary existence, and the people who live there know that it is sometimes lazy and disobedient and they have the feeling that life takes its form from sleepiness and gets its continuity from mirage. (Istrati: 133). This mirage is in a metaphorical way the endless dream of walking the line, of crossing the borders towards civilization, toward the city where its inhabitants have bread on the table. In Lucian Blagas opinion, Romanias lowlands are imbued with longing for the high mountain meadows. The people from the fields do

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not have such meadows, so their soul and mind make up for this atmosphere through their songs. (Blaga, Mioritic Space in Ten Steps to Romania, 1999: 56). Can we find this longing for the high mountain meadows in the novels where the characters live in the Romanian plain? I cannot find it, at least in the authors cited above. Can we depict the same kind of Mioritic sense of destiny in the folklore of those who live in the plain? It is a topic that can be studied with another occasion. We limited this study to the Romanian writers who saw man living his destiny as an inhabitant of the boundless space of the field. This field, like an ocean, gives him a different perspective. The writers described this territory and tried to understand both the life of the Baragan inhabitants and their particular viewpoint about life.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Blaga, Lucian, Trilogia culturii, Bucureti, Fundaia Regal Pentru Literatur i Art: 1944. Clinescu, George, Istoria literaturii romne de la origini pn n prezent, ed. a II-a, Bucureti: Minerva, 1982. Gide, Andr, Jurnal, Bucureti: Univers, 1970. Negoitescu, Ion, Scriitori romani contemporani, Piteti, Ed. Paralela 45, Colecia Cercul Literar de la Sibiu, 2000. Ten Steps to Romania, Bucureti, Fundaia Cultural Romn, 1999. SOURCES Banulescu, Stefan, Un regat imaginar (An Invented Kingdom), Bucuresti: ALLFA, 1997. Calinescu, George, Enigma Otiliei (Otilias Enigma), Bucuresti: Cartex, 2000. Istrati, Panait, The Thistles of the Baragan, NY: The Vanguard Press, 1930. Idem, Mo Anghel, Codin, Ciulinii Brganului, Bucureti, Minerva, 1987. Preda, Marin, Morometii (The Morometes), Bucureti: Ed. 100+1 Gramar, 1955. Neagu, Fanus, In vapaia lunii (Under the Moonshine), Bucuresti: Eminescu, 1979. Odobescu, Alexandru, Pseudokynegetikos, Bucuresti: Albatros, 1990. (Translation:Maria-Denisa Albu)

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DAN ANGHELESCU (ROMNIA) Levantul i miraculoasa art a sunetelor

Pentru etnologi este o certitudine c dacii, ilirii, moesienii sunt popoare de nrudire thracic. Muli dintre anticii poei ai Heladei erau cunoscui sub numele de Thracul. Tradiiile au consemnat deja, despre cultul muzelor, c ar fi originar din Pierida i c thracul Orpheu slluia pe valea rului (numit de thraci) Tonzus, la poalele muntelui Haemus. Un sistem de corelaii ntre raporturile aritmetice condensa n viziunea anticilor simbolurile vieii universale, ale cosmosului, ale armoniei, frumuseii i dragostei, n consonan direct cu Sufletul Lumii (Matila C. Ghyka). Atunci cnd vorbeau despre muzic, armonie i ritm, vechii greci i reprezentau nu doar o percepie, ci mai ales o trire direct i ireversibil a numrului, cuvntul numr (n gr. rythmos), nsemnnd curgere. Deopotriv cu lumile muzicii, i lumile arhitecturii erau imaginate ca emanaii ale numrului. Subtila conaturalitate dintre muzic i arhitectur, pregnant exprimat de gnditorii vechii Helade, va reizbucni puternic revigorat de veacul XX prin gndirea, dar i prin opera unora dintre cele mai strlucitoare i proeminente personaliti. Cel care va relumina, la propriu, i va demonstra conaturalitatea originar, prin reversibilitate! dintre arhitectur i muzic va fi (coinciden?!) tot levantin: Iannis Xenakis. Creaia lui aparine deopotriv muzicii i arhitecturii, el avnd o serioas instrucie matematic, studiind simultan muzica i arhitectura i devenind asistentul lui Le Corbussier.

Cu greu ne-am putea imagina cum ar arta arta sunetelor altfel spus civilizaia sonor a lumii europene de astzi (aa cum o cunoatem de la Monteverdi, Gesualdo Da Venosa, Buxtehude sau Bach, pn la Mozart, Wagner, Arnold Schnberg, Enescu ori Bartok i Messiaen), dac n spaiul dintre Carpai, Dunre, Marea Neagr, Balcani i Mediterana (l vom numi Levant) nu ar fi nflorit n timpuri aurorale strvechile civilizaii care i vor fi atins o inegalabil i fascinant strlucire (con)topite n ceea ce azi numim i nelegem prin marea cultur heladic. Cnd e vorba despre fenomene att de complexe, desfurate pe mari ntinderi de timp, o anume parte a devenirii rmne n umbr, prea puin cunoscut sau cu totul ignorat. Evident, rdcinile culturii heladice sunt foarte vechi i adnci, configurarea ei realizndu-se din ntregul melanj de spiritualitate al popoarelor ce vieuiau n fabulosul trm levantin. ntr-un studiu pe care l publica n 1953 n paginile uneia dintre cele mai

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importante reviste ale exilului romnesc1, Mircea Eliade avansa cteva afirmaii eseniale: Nu trebuie s uitm o clip c acolo unde s-a ntins Grecia, Roma i cretinismul arhaic, s-a conturat adevrata Europ, nu cea geografic, ci Europa spiritual. i toate valorile create nluntrul acestei zone privilegiate fac parte din patrimoniul comun al culturii europene. Nu ne putem imagina o cultur european redus numai la formele ei occidentale. Culturalicete, ca i spiritualicete, Europa se ntregete cu tot ce a creat i a pstrat spaiul carpatic-balcanic. Ceva mai mult: avem motive s credem c spaiul n care s-au ntruchipat Zalmoxis, Orpheu i misterele Mioriei i ale Meterului Manole nu i-a sectuit izvoarele de creaie /./ Europa nu este i nici nu poate fi un bloc monolitic. Ea are, deci, nevoie de dimensiunea orphic i zalmoxian pentru a se putea ntregi i a putea plsmui noi sinteze. Pe urmele rostirii unui alt mare gnditor european, i el fascinat de lumea heladic am spune c tot ceea ce au tiut oamenii acelor vremuri este pentru noi neobinuit, uimitor, dificil i totodat dumnezeiesc, dat fiindc ei n-au avut de-a face cu lucrurile omeneti. Dac alte popoare au avut sfini, oamenii acelor timpuri au avut poei i nelepi2. Cutnd explicaia numeroaselor asemnri elementare i fundamentale ce par s caracterizeze spiritualitatea popoarelor din Balcani, istoricul Nicolae Iorga o ntrezrea n elementul etnic strvechi de natur thrac, anterior expansiunii latine, revrsrii slave, cuceririi turanice i chiar civilizaiei elenice3. Pentru etnologi este se pare o certitudine c dacii, ilirii, moesienii sunt popoare de nrudire thracic. S mai reamintim c muli dintre anticii poei ai Heladei erau cunoscui sub numele de Thracul. Tradiiile au consemnat deja, despre cultul muzelor, c ar fi originar din Pierida i c thracul Orpheu legendar cntre al antichitii slluia pe valea rului (numit de thraci) Tonzus, undeva la poalele muntelui Haemus. Ca i Olymp, sau Orpheu, ca i stolul inspirat al Muzelor, ca i legendarul poet Eumolp (de numele cruia se leag apariia ceremoniilor eleusine) toi acetia pogorau din neguroii muni ai Thraciei. Pe o cup attic, semnat de Hieron, Eumolp este figurat n compania lebedei. Simbolizndu-l pe Apollon
Destinul culturii romneti, n revista Destin, Caietul 6-7, aug. 1953, Madrid, Spania, p. 32. 2 Friedrich Nietzsche, Naterea filosofiei n epoca tragediei greceti, ed. Dacia, Cluj, 1992, p. 32. 3 Nicolae Iorga, n cursul Istoria statelor balcanice inut la Universitatea din Bucureti n 1913.
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Hyperboreul, lebda consacra nu numai originea mistic, ideal, a poetului, ci era totodat o emblem a patriei sale; tradiia antic i atribuia drept prini simboluri aparintoare de Thracia: Poseidon i Chione, Marea i Zpada.1 Iat dar c n context exist suficiente raiuni ce ne justific n rememorarea severului idealism al Thracilor hiperboreeni, a perfeciunii i puritii zeului lor Zalmoxis, a credinelor Thraciei (aa cum erau ele consemnate de Herodot) n esena crora naterea era ntrevzut n sensul unei tragice decderi a sufletului din condiia divin. Odat introdus n Grecia sub numele lui Dionysos (zeul din Nysa), cultul lui Zalmoxis instaura credina n perpetuitatea sufletului i n fuziunea lui cu suprema armonie a lumii. Prin urmare, sunt suficiente argumente pentru a considera c, n esena ei i prin cultul lui Dionysos ntreaga art heladic poart indelebila amprent a spiritului thracic. Sentimentul frumosului absolut, fervoarea spiritual, cultul raiunii i al simetriei, idealul de perfeciune i armonie a lumii, profundele melancolii n faa destinului, dualitatea sufletului (cel sensitiv, legat de materie Psihe, i cel legat de eternitate Nous-ul), toate par s mrturiseasc survenirea i proveniena ei de stare originar. Aadar, o concluzie pe care o va fi formulat i poetul Dan Botta este ct se poate de potrivit: Thracii sunt aceia cari au insuflat Greciei sensuale concepia unui suflet absolut, de natur divin. Prin Orpheu, Eumolp i Pythagora prin cultele i doctrinele iniiate de geniul lor legendar i pe cari legendele i istoria le declar aduse din Thracia Marile Eleusinii, tragedia i filosofia greac s-au putut ivi. Ideea religioas thracic a provocat, aadar, cea mai nobil eflorescen a spiritului uman.2 n mod firesc, atunci cnd ne vom referi la arta fr icoane a sunetelor, o afirmaie cum este aceea c i astzi, dup mai bine de dou milenii i jumtate nu am ncetat s cugetm n siajul aceleiai nalte spiritualiti nu va fi o exagerare!... Vom fi n msur s ilustrm n mod evident c, n miraculoasele alctuiri sonore, transpare mereu cu privilegiatele ei ntmplri spiritualitatea acelei lumi. Vorbim despre Muzic! Evanescentele sale obiecte sonore sunt n esen acele fiinri gritoare (Sprechendseins)3 prin care ptrundem n suprasensibil, ne deschidem ntr-o irepresibil libertate transcendental, ridicndu-ne n cea mai pur uitare de sine: uitarea
Cf. Dan Botta, Unduire i moarte Scrieri, vol IV, EPL, Bucureti 1968, p.81. Dan Botta, Frumosul romnesc, op. cit. p. 70. 3 Hans-Georg Gadamer, Expresia estetic i cea religioas, din vol. Actualitatea frumosului, Ed. Polirom, 2000, p.134.
2 1

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presantelor urgene ale vieilor noastre. Ptrundem astfel ntr-un superius, cel al plcerii dezinteresate, adeverind c arta sunetelor ne face s nelegem mai profund i mai autentic adncimile cunoscutei formule kantiene: uninteressiertes Wohlgeffalen. n lumea anticei Helade muzica dobndise rolul deosebit de important de propedeutic a nsuirii dialecticii i apropierii de logos. Dintr-o asemenea perspectiv Platon afirmase c filosofia e muzica suprem (Phaidon). Perechea de noiuni mousike philosophia apare n mod curent i n diferite, uneori destul de neateptate ipostaze. Opernd referiri la vechea nelepciune a grecilor, Athenaios considera c aceasta este ndreptat, n principal, ctre muzic. De aceea /./ cei mai buni muzicieni i cei mai nelepi sunt, pe de-o parte, Apollo printre zei, iar pe de alt parte Orpheu printre semi-zei1. Atribuit muzicii, termenul de Sophia l regsim i la Pindar unde prin el sunt desemnate att experiena medical i chirurgical, dar i o deosebit iscusin poetic. Cu dou milenii i jumtate n urm, doctrina pithagoreic conturase natura mistic-inefabil a muzicii ca paradigm a cosmosului. Mimesisul ei fiind legat de raporturi numerice, muzica era considerat o survenire din regiunile ideale ale logosului. Aadar pentru Pithagora, Parmenide sau Platon muzica era aceea prin care se putea atinge trmul miracolului fundamental, ea fiind parte din filosofia matematic. Ceea ce ei (precum i urmaii lor Leibnitz, Russell, Einstein, Edington), consider c poate s exprime n esen ntreaga filosofie.Totul este ornduit prin numr afirmase Pithagora n Hieros Logos. Chiar Sufletul Lumii (Anima Mundi), se exprima prin Numrul Idee, Numrul-pur, preexistent n spiritul Demiurgului Creator. Lucrurile sunt numere va susine i Aristotel (Metafizica). n acord cu numrul au fost create toate, i timpul, micarea cerurilor, astrele i ciclurile tuturor lucrurilor era ncredinat i Nicomah din Gherasa. Un sistem de corelaii ntre raporturile aritmetice rezultate din trinitatea tetractys, pentad, decad, condensa n viziunea anticilor simbolurile vieii universale, ale cosmosului, ale armoniei, frumuseii i dragostei, ale omenescului n general, n consonan direct cu Sufletul Lumii2. Vom mai observa c la Platon noiunea de armonie nu aparinea
Cf. P. Boyance, Le culte des Muses chez les philosophes grecs, tudes dhistoire et de psychologie religieuses, Paris, Boccard, 1936, p. 35, n. 2. 2 Matila C. Ghyka, Estetica i teoria artei, Ed. tiinific, Bucureti, 1981, cap. De la ritm la incantatie, p. 106.
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exclusiv de sfera muzical ; aceasta se raporta n primul rnd la noiunea de numr! Concepia platonic asupra muzicii prezenta noiuni matematice, dar fcea apel uznd i de analogii muzicale n interpretarea numeric a Universului, introducnd astfel muzica n cosmologie. Natura este pentru el o construcie armonioas i Platon va transpune noiunea respectiv pornind de la nivelul microcosmosului uman, dar ncercnd s o ridice la scara ntregii lumi spre a oferi o interpretare a realitii Universului. Aa se face c n Timaios scopul evident este acela de a contura, printr-un mit cosmogonic, o interpetare a genesei transcendentale a Universului sensibil.1 Tot n Timaios se procedeaz la o distincie net ntre ce este fiina venic ce nu are devenire, i ce este devenirea venic ce nu are fiin !... Ceea ce este venic identic cu sine poate fi cuprins n gndire printr-un discurs raional, dar ceea ce devine i piere, neavnd niciodat fiin cu adevrat, este obiectul opiniei i al sensibilitii iraionale.2 Se subnelege c demiurgul este transcendent n raport cu materia i c el intervine precum Nous-ul lui Anaxagora pentru a ordona: ...tot ce era vizibil, lipsit de repaus i aflat ntr-o micare discordant i haotic.3 Muzica era prin urmare considerat ca fiind un dar al zeilor care mplinete la om aceeai sarcin ca i voina demiurgului cosmic. Sufletul lumii va fi deci ordinea ideal imprimat materiei aflat n neostoit devenire, singura care convine realitii materiale, materia incoerent fiind supus aciunii Inteligenei, care i va imprima o configuraie ce va mijloci Formele i Numerele4. Este deci lesne de concluzionat c atunci cnd vorbeau despre muzic, armonie i ritm, vechii greci i reprezentau nu doar o percepie ci mai ales o trire direct i ireversibil a numrului, cuvntul numr (n greac rythmos), nsemnnd curgere. n artele cu aciune vizual timpul, durata, evoluia erau gndite de ei ca fiind solidificate ntruct se integrau sub form de linii, suprafee, volume reversibile; muzica pur reprezenta, n acest tip de viziune, doar una dintre modalitile posibile5. n chip firesc rezult c acordurile i nlnuirile lor erau nelese att cu sensul de raporturi numerice, ct i geometrice; dup
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E. Moutsopoulos Muzica n opera lui Platon, Ed. Omonia, Bucureti, 2006, pp. 393, 394, 395. 2 Platon, Timaios, n vol. Opere VII, Ed. tiinific, Bucureti, 1993, p. 142. 3 Ibid. 30 a. 4 E. Moutsopoulos, op. cit., p 401. 5 Matila C. Ghyka, op. cit., p.107.

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cum succesiunile de proporii armonioase dintr-un ansamblu arhitectural se exprimau cu ajutorul unor subtile analogii muzicale sub numele de consonan (symphoniai) sau eurithmie. i trebuie de asemenea subliniat grecii nu orbeciau prin confuzii terminologice. Percepia lor se exprima cu deosebit exactitate i profunzime, terminologiile reflectnd fineea i subtilitatea intuiiei lor. Deopotriv cu lumile muzicii, i lumile arhitecturii erau imaginate ca emanaii ale numrului. i gndite ntr-o aceeai conaturalitate ce deriva din raporturile n care timpul ca durat devenirea, micarea pulsau fie din configuraii substaniale (linii, suprafee, jocuri de volume, goluri, umbre, culori), fie din configuraiile imponderabile ale muzicalului, dar n esen i prin reversibilitate! i ele tot construcii (deci arhitecturi!) ce luau forma desenului melodic, a maselor acordice dense ori aerate, a culorilor timbrale, sumbre sau luminoase, a fluidelor pnze sonore coagulate pe centre de discret gravitaie. Subtila conaturalitate dintre muzic i arhitectur, pregnant exprimat de gnditorii vechii Helade, va reizbucni puternic revigorat de veacul XX prin gndirea, dar i prin opera unora dintre cele mai strlucitoare i proeminente personaliti. Readus n atenie prin intermediul dialogurilor unui Platon fascinat de gndirea pithagoreilor, tema armoniei cosmice va reveni strbtnd deprtarea (de timp i spaiu) ce ne desparte de spiritul heladic. Visul solar al antichitii se (re)insinua cu o percutant, modern i nou exprimare n art, (re)aducnd o imagine a lumii n care din nou se va putea spune: geomtrie et dieux sigent ensemble! (Le Corbusier). Presiunea pozitivismului determinase n primele decenii ale veacului XX o mare apeten pentru raionalitate, inclusiv n domeniile att de evanescente ale artei! Cercul de la Viena decreta lipsa de sens a metafizicii, pretinznd ca ntregul cunoaterii s fie structurat sub influena paradigmelor specifice tiinelor exacte. Demersurile ce aspirau la o reconstrucie a logicii (prin Frege, Peano, Schrder, Whithead i mai ales Russell n Principia Mathematica) exacerbau importana dimensiunilor cognitive, inclusiv n orizonturile aparinnd de ontologia faptului de art. Transferul unor tipuri de gndire dinspre tiin ctre zona esteticului ncercau s configureze un cu totul alt cadru de nelegere i concepie n chiar interiorul actului de creaie. Astfel, o serie de principii, cum era cel formulat de Heisenberg (principiul indeterminrii), ca i teoriile i calculul probabiltii deveneau fundamente inclusiv pentru noile structurri ale lumii sonore. Ca i n

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filosofie unde (ncepnd cu Bertrand Russell) ntoarcerea la pithagoreism se considera nu numai legitim ci mai ales ntr-o ordine a firescului acestei epoci, similar i n arta sunetelor, instaurarea unei excelene a ordinii matematice devenea potrivit unei exprimri a lui Michel Seuphor le carrefour ou tous les arts se rencontrent. Dac n arhitectur o asemenea ntmplare spiritual nu oferea motive de contrarietate, n arta eminamente romantic a sunetelor ar fi fost de ateptat ca o asemenea tendin s fie privit cu o oarecare mefien. Surprinztor, muzicienii vor fi printre cei mai grbii s-i manifeste i chiar s-i concretizeze (re)orientarea. Una dintre cele mai subtile explorri ale amplexiunilor originare dintre muzic i arhitectur s-a profilat n orizontul gndirii europene prin scrierile unei personaliti care, nu era nici arhitect, nici muzician ci ... poet! Preocupat de capacitatea artistic-constructiv a Spiritului, ca proiecie n real a unei interioriti, Paul Valry aborda n Eupalinos forma dialogului antic.Vorbind despre forma pur a demersului arhitectural, despre virtualitile ce rezid din nsi fundamentul lui matematic, Valry prea c aproape aude cum edificiile cnt ambiionnd n tentativa unei veritabile disecii (!) a momentului de extaz estetic. Astfel n percepia lui un delicat templu antic ascunde imaginea matematic a unei fete din Corint; pstreaz vibraiile secrete din graia inexplicabil, din armonia unei fiine fermectoare. Cnd vorbete despre legtura dintre templu i muzic un personaj al dialogului consider faptul drept o divin analogie. Cci spune n continuare o asemenea meditaie atinge chiar marginea fiinei, extrema realitate. Urmrindu-i meditaiile am putea crede c (re)auzim rostindu-se chiar glasul anticilor: artele despre care vorbim trebuie, /.../ cu ajutorul numerelor i al raporturilor de numere, s zmisleasc n noi nu o poveste, ci acea putere ascuns care creeaz toate povetile.1 Cel care ns va reilumina, la propriu, i va demonstra conaturalitatea originar (prin reversibilitate!), dintre arhitectur i muzic, va fi ns (coinciden?!) tot un levantin: Iannis Xenakis2. Creaia lui aparine deopotriv muzicii i arhitecturii, Xenakis fiind posesor al unei serioase instrucii matematice: a studiat simultan la fel de profund i aplicat muzica (cu Honegger, Varse i Messiaen) i
1

Paul Valry Eupalinos sau arhitectul n vol. Poezii. Dialoguri. Poetic i estetic, Editura Univers, 1989, pp.244, 245, 247 i urmt; (subl. n.). 2 Iannis Xenakis, arhitect i compozitor francez de origine greac, nscut la Brila n 1922.

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arhitectura, n care a performat devenind asistentul lui Le Corbusier. Aa se face c n 1958 se afla n situaia de a construi Pavilionul Philips al Expoziiei universale de la Bruxelles. Considernd c revenirea la pithagoreismul numerelor i dialectica lui Parmenide sunt de o importan esenial pentru prezentul i viitorul artei sunetelor1, Xenakis publica n revista La Nef sub titlul Vers une metamusique o analiz a structurilor din muzica omofon. n postura de teoretician, situndu-se n siajul textelor lui Aristoxene din Tarent, el avansa ipoteza c prin pionierii ionieni Thales, Anaximandru i Anaximene ne-am putea rentoarce la punctul de plecare al culturii noastre celei mai adevrate, aceea a raiunii.2 Totodat, susine el tranant, muzica trebuie scoas din serele atrofiate ale tradiiei i repus n natur ; numai astfel ne putem regsi (re)ntorcndu-ne la ideea favorit a anticilor potrivit creia muzica este armonia lumii expresie a unor viziuni ale universului, ale undelor sale, ale arborilor, ale oamenilor, ea ridicnduse la nivelul motrice al matematicilor pure ce au sondat straturile abstracte ale noiunilor i fizicilor, care coboar n abisul schimbrilor proteiforme ale materiei.3 Preocupat s regseasc calea uitat ctre acea dimensiune esenial i subtil n interiorul creia arhitectura i muzica erau gndite i chiar se ntlneau la origini, el va prezenta la festivalul de la Donaueschingen (1955), n prim audiie, compoziia Metastasis pentru 61 de instrumente. ncununare a cutrilor sale n domeniul limbajului muzical, aceasta demonstra conaturalitatea real n profunzime dintre arhitectur i muzic. Structurat pe calcul i configuraii utilizate anterior ntr-o lucrare de arhitectur (!), compozitorul Xenakis prelua de la arhitectul Xenakis, un ansamblu de curbe pe care l reproiecta ntro ipostaz de lume sonor. Se realiza astfel o remodelare a materiei sonore fondat pe o ntreag i ampl axiomatic n care erau utilizate interpretri probabilistice din mecanica ondulatorie, precum i din principiile relaiilor de indeterminare formulate de Werner Heisenberg. Noutatea unei asemenea orientri n muzic era doar pn la un anume punct surprinztoare, prin aceea c ilumina originara,
Iannis Xenachis n vol. Muzica Arhitectur, Ed.Muzical a Uniunii Compozitorilor i Muzicologilor din Romnia, p. 64. vorbete despre orfismul care nelegea c sufletul omenesc este un Dumnezeu deczut cruia doar extazul, ieirea din sine (ek-stasis) putea s-i revele adevrata sa natur. 2 Ibid, p. 64. 3 Ibid. p. 14.
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strvechea dimensiune esenial i subtil pe care anticii o intuiser n chip uimitor. Dar aspectele s spunem calculatorii, mai mult sau mai puin complexe, nu lipsiser niciodat din sfera gndirii muzicale. Ceea ce, ncepnd de acum, se ntrezrea cu deosebit limpezime mai era i faptul c produsul artistic prin introducerea matematicilor n compoziie nu devenea nici mai cerebral i nici mai arid dect n muzica clasic, ori n cea dodecafonic. De altfel, n configurarea limbajului sonor al barocului, clasicismului i, ulterior, al serialismului dodecafonic, ideea de constructie, de arhitectur sonor, constituise o constant aflat principial la temelia oricrui tip de discurs muzical. Fascinanta form de fug desvrit de Bach nu excludea calculele i nici servituile unui amplu travaliu. n creaia clasicilor a fost mereu vorba despre diferitele forme de travaliu; travaliul thematic spre exemplu, care, n esen, presupunea o form de calcul. Era ns un aspect asupra cruia publicul nu a resimit niciodat nevoia de a fi instruit. Ba, n virtutea persitentelor mitologii romantice era mult mai tentat s resping, i cu ostilitate, ideea de calcul. n ceea ce privete ns finalitatea artistic (eficiena expresiv a comunicrii muzicale!) a acestui caz s spunem aici particular pare potrivit s consultm opiniile unor comentatori de talia lui Roland de Cand: rien dans la musique de Xenakis ne trahit les calculs auxquels il se livre avec autorit. Elle est au contraire extremment loquente et mme envotante; son fourmillement sonore, son intense posie, ou sa viollance barbare donnent une impression de naturel.// une fois loeuvre acheve, les mathematiques naparaissent pas plus dans la composition musicale quen architecture.1 Fiinare special, ce nu se va putea lsa niciodat cuprins altfel dect parial n chingile raionalitii, arta sunetelor a nceput de aici din Levant s fie simit i gndit ca o lume a unui venic departe i a unui inexplicabil aproape. La nivelul esenelor ea pare capabil s interesecteze totalitatea lumilor posibile, pstrndu-i ns o indelebil identitate. Ceea ce sugereaz ideea unei perihoreze a lumilor muzicale sub raport cu alte lumi, dar cu osebit aplecare ctre lumile artei. n acest sens, aseriunea plotinian, potrivit creia n spirit (nous), orice e coninut n orice, fr a-i pierde identitatea cunoate astfel o fireasc aplicabilitate. Purttoare ale unor ndeprtate ecouri, ori ale unei venic
1

Roland de Cand Histoire universelle de la musique tome 2, ed.Seuil, 1978, p. 378.

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simite prezene, fiindurile ei (subtle body /corpus volatile seu spirituale!) au sugerat dintotdeauna ideea unei apropieri dac nu chiar a unei identificri a fenomenului muzicii cu ceea ce Rudolf Otto nelegea prin Numinosum. Cci aa cum fiecare dintre noi a avut ocazia de a simi arta sunetelor are miraculoasa putere de a atinge trmurile cele mai profunde ale fiinei noastre, inaccesibile pe orice alte ci; dup cum pare s poat pulveriza, uneori, hotarul ferecat al deprtrilor eseniale ce ne despart de Dumnezeu. Este, probabil, ceea ce l determina pe Beethoven s afirme c muzica este o mediere a divinului i o revelaie mai nalt dect orice nelepciune i filosofie.

The Levant and the Miraculous Art of Sound

Ethnographers are certain that the Dacians, the Illyrians, and the Moesians share Thracian origins. In addition, many ancient Greek poets were referred to as the Thracians. Tradition yields that the cult of the Muses originates in Pierida, and that the Thracian Orpheusantiquitys chief musicianlived on the bank of the Tonzus river (as Thracians called it), somewhere at the bottom of the Haemus Mons. In the ancients vision, the correlations between arithmetic relations condensed and reflected the symbols of universal life, of the Cosmos, of harmony, beauty and love, of humanity in general, in direct consonance with The Worlds Soul. When speaking of music, harmony, and rhythm, the ancient Greeks did not only refer to a perception, but to the direct and irreversible experience of number, the word-number (in Greek, rythmos) meaning running). What is interesting is that the accords and chain-linking were both understood as numerical and geometric relations. Like music, architecture was regarded as a product of the numberin fact, architecture was seen by the Greeks as solidified music! The one who will illuminate once againin the heraldic spiritbut in his own way, the original co-naturalness between architecture and music (through reversibility!), will be, coincidentally, yet another Levantine: Iannis Xenakis. His creation belongs to both music and architecture.

The configuration of the art of soundunderstood in the sense of the civilization of sound in todays Europeoriginates in the spirituality of cultures dating back to immemorial times in the space traced out by the Carpathians, the Danube, the Black Sea, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Searching for an explanation for the many basic and fundamental similarities concerning the spirituality of Balkan peoples,

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the historian Nicolae Iorga dated back this configuration to ancient Thrace, which preceded the Latin expansion, the Slavic overflow, the Turanian conquest, and even the Hellenic civilization.1 Ethnographers are certain that the Dacians, the Illyrians, and the Moesians share Thracian origins. In addition, many ancient Greek poets were referred to as the Thracians. Tradition yields that the cult of the Muses originates in Pierida, and that the Thracian Orpheusantiquitys chief musician lived on the bank of the Tonzus river (as Thracians called it), somewhere at the bottom of the Haemus Mons. Olympus, Orpheus, the inspiring Muses, and the legendary poet Eumolpwhose name is linked to the Eleusinian initiation ceremoniesall came from Thraces mountains. On an Attican cup signed by Hieron, Eumolp appears next to a swan. Symbolizing Apollo the Hyperborean, the swan not only embodies the poets mystical origin, but is also the emblem of his motherland. His parents were believed to have been Thracian: Poseidon and Chione, the sea and the snow. 2 It follows that we cannot speak here of the Hyperborean Thracians sharp idealism, the perfection and purity of their god Zalmoxis, of Thraces faith (as recalled by Herodotus)in which birth was seen as the transformation of the soul into the divine. The cult of Zalmoxisbrought to Greece under the name of Dionysus (the god of Nysa)sedimented the faith in the souls immortality and its fusion with supreme harmony. It is thus natural to think that, in the essence, both the cult of Dionysus as well as the entire ancient Greek art, bear the stamp of the Thracian spirit. Absolute beauty, spiritual fervor, the cult of reason and of symmetry, perfection and global harmony, a profound melancholy in the face of destiny, and the duality of the soulthat which is linked to matter (the Psihe) and that which is linked to eternity (the Nous)all these elements exude a unique origin. Hence, the conclusion once formulated by the poet Dan Botta is as fair as it gets: The Thracians are those who inspired to sensual Greece the conception of an absolute divine soul. It is through Orpheus, Eumolp, and Pythagoras, through the cults and doctrines initiated by their celebrated genius testified by legend and history as having originated in Thrace, that the Eleusinian
1

See Nicolae Iorga in his lecture titled Istoria statelor balcanice (English translation: The History of the Balkan Nations) held at the University of Bucharest in 1913. 2 Dan Botta, 1968, Unduire i moarte Scrieri, Vol. 4, pp. 81 (Bucharest: Editura pentru Literatura/The Publishing House for Literature).

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Mysteries, the Greek Tragedy and Philosophy could be born. The Thracian religious core has thus ignited the noblest efflorescence of the human spirit.1 In the world of ancient Greece, music was attributed the important role of basic training toward acquiring the dialectics and approaching the Logos. From this perspective, Plato had stated that philosophy is the supreme music (Phaidon), the pair of notions mousike and philosophia appear frequently. In reference to Greeks ancient wisdom, Athenaeus considered this to be oriented mainly towards music. For this reason [] the best musicians and the wisest of men are Apollos among the gods and Orpheuses among the demigods.2 In characterizing music, the term Sophia appears in Pindars writings, too, who uses it to express medical and surgical experience, as well as poetic mastery. Two and a half millennia ago, the Pythagorean doctrine gave shape to the mystical- ineffable nature of music as a paradigm to the Cosmos. With its mimesis linked to numbers, music was seen as arising from the ideal parts of the Logos. Thus, for Pythagoras, Parmenides of Elea, or Plato, music touched the land of fundamental miracle, and was part of mathematical philosophy. This is what they thought explained the entire philosophy. So did their followers Leibnitz, Russell, Einstein, and Edington. Everything has order through numbers, had said Pythagoras in Hieros Logos. Even in The Worlds Soul (Anima Mundi), he expressed himself in the idea-number, the pure number, which preexisted in the spirit of the Creator Demiurge. Things are numbers, argues Aristotle (Metaphysics). Everything has been created in accordance with the number, including time, the movement of skies, stars, and all cycles of all things (Nicomachus from Gerasa). In the ancients vision, the correlations between arithmetic relations born out of the trinity (Tetractys, pentad, decade) condensed and reflected the symbols of universal life, of the Cosmos, of harmony, beauty and love, of humanity in general, in direct consonance with The Worlds Soul. For Plato, the notion of harmony was not exclusive to the musical sphere, but it related in equal proportion to the notion of number. Platos
Dan Botta, 1968, Frumosul romnesc, in Unduire i moarte Scrieri, pp. 70, Publisher: Editura pentru Literatur, Bucharest. 2 Cf. P. Boyance, 1936, Le Culte des Muses chez les Philosophes grecs, tudes dHistoire et de Psychologie religieuses, No. 2, pp. 35, Publisher: Boccard, Paris.
1

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conception of music contained mathematical notions, but also called upon musical analogies regarding the numerical interpretation of the Universe, thus bringing music into cosmology. Evidently, when speaking of music, harmony, and rhythm, the ancient Greeks did not only refer to a perception, but more importantly to the direct and irreversible experience of number, the word-number (in Greek, rythmos) meaning running. What is interesting is that the accords and chainlinking were both understood as numerical and geometric relations; just like the succession of harmonious proportions in an architectural ensemble were expressed by means of a subtle musical analogy using the word consonance (symphoniai) or eurhythmics. Like music, architecture was regarded as a product of the numberin fact, architecture was seen by the Greeks as solidified music! Music and architecture were seen through the lens of a relation among time (as duration), the becoming, and movement. The rapport was born either from substantial configurations such asin the case of architecture lines, surfaces, volumes, spaces, and shadowsor from imponderable configurations (essentially also architectural constructions) such as melodic drawings, dense or airy harmonic masses, somber or light-filled colors, or fluid sound canvases coagulated into centers of subtle gravitation. This is strange perhaps, but the subtle co-naturalness of music and architecture, pointedly expressed by the thinkers of ancient Greece, was re-invigorated in the 20th Century through the masterpieces of one of the most prominent personalities of that time. The pressure of positivism had caused a great appetite for rationality, including in the arts. The Vienna Circle had declared that metaphysics was devoid of sense, and claimed that the body of knowledge be structured according to the paradigms of hard sciences. These efforts towards a reconstruction of logic (Frege, Peano, Schrder, Whithead, and especially Russellin Principia Mathematica), exacerbated the cognitive dimensions, including for art ontology. The transfer of certain ways of thinking from the sciences to the aesthetics underpinned a different framework for understanding and conceiving. Thus, a series of principles, including that formulated by Heisenberg (the principle of indeterminacy), as well as the theories of probability, also became key to the new structures of the world of sound. Just like in the field of philosophy where, starting with Betrand Russell, the return to Pythagoreanism was considered legitimate and even normal, similarly in

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music, mathematical order became, as Michel Seuphor put it, le carrefour o tous les arts se rencontrent (English translation: the intersection where all the arts meet). Although this spiritual happening did not alarm architects, it was far from clear that musicians would take the same stance. Surprisingly, musicians themselves were among the quickest to take to the new direction. Exploring the original embrace between music and architecture established itself in European thinking through the writings of neither an architect, nor a musician nor a poet. Preoccupied by the artisticconstructive capacity of the Spirit as a projection of reality towards the interior, Paul Valry approached the form of ancient dialogue in Eupalinos. When speaking of the pure form of the architectural approach, of the virtue of this art that is fundamentally mathematical, Valry almost hears the edifices sing. A delicate temple is no other than the mathematical image of a Corinthian girl; it reproduces her inexplicable grace, the harmony of a charming being. The relation between temple and musicthe two characters in the dialogueis considered as a divine analogy. This is because such a meditation touches upon the edge of the being, the extreme reality. If we follow the authors meditation, we may hear the voice of ancients themselves: the arts of which we are speaking [], with the help of numbers and relations amongst numbers, must seed not a story, but the hidden strength that creates all stories.1 The one who will illuminate once againin the heraldic spirit but in his own way, the original co-naturalness between architecture and music (through reversibility!), will be, coincidentally, yet another Levantine: Iannis Xenakis.2 His creation belongs to both music and architecture. Convinced that the return to the Pythagoreanism of numbers and Parmenides dialectics (making up the PythagoParmenidean field)3 were essential to the present and future of the art of sound,4 Xenakis published in the magazine La Nef, 5 under the title
Paul Valry, 1989, Eupalinos sau arhitectul, in Poezii. Dialoguri. Poetic i estetic, pp. 244, 245, 247, etc., Publisher: Editura Univers, Bucharest. 2 French architect and composer of Greek origin, born in Brila (Romania) in 1922. 3 Idem, in Muzica Arhitectur, pp. 75, Publisher: Editura Muzical a Uniunii Compozitorilor i Muzicologilor din Romnia, Bucharest. 4 Ibidem. On pp. 64 he speaks the orphism which reflected that the human soul is a fallen God to whom only ecstasy (ek-stasis) could reveal its true nature. 5 The journal La Nef, No. 29, 1967, Paris.
1

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Vers une metamusique (English translation: Towards meta-music) an analysis of the structure of homophonic music. The analysis was cast from the perspective of texts by Aristoxenus of Tarentum and Byzantine music textbooks. He declared trenchantly that music had to be freed from the atrophied hothouses of tradition and placed once again in nature. According to the theory of probability, music was capable once again to recover its plasticity. Xenakis was convinced that this could reenact the ancients favorite ideathat music is the harmony of the world.1 Preoccupied to re-discover means of communication (the common essence!) in the subtle nature of architecture and music, in 1955 Xenakis presented his piece Metastasis for 61 instruments in first audition at the Festival of Donaueschingen. A brilliant demonstration of the co-naturalness of music and architecture, the piece was structured on calculations and configurations previously used in an architectural project! The composer Xenakis borrowed from the architect Xenakis an ensemble of curves which he then projected into the world of sound, while utilizing probabilistic interpretations from wave theory as well as principles of indeterminacy formulated by Heisenberg. What was being confirmed with this piece was that the technique did not have to strip the musical discourse of its beauty. By bringing mathematics into musical composition, the artistic product did not become more cerebral than that of classical or dodecaphonic music. Several high-profile commentators like Roland de Cand observed in relation to Xenakis music that Rien dans la musique de Xenakis ne trahit les calculs auxquels il se livre avec autorit. Elle est au contraire extrmement loquente et mme envotante ; son fourmillement sonore, son intense posie, ou sa violence barbare donnent une impression de naturel que favorise encore le choix trs sr des solutions instrumentales.//Mais, une fois loeuvre acheve, les mathmatiques napparaissent pas plus dans la composition musicale quen architecture.2 (English translation: Nothing in Xenakis music betrays the calculations he has authoritatively employed. On the contrary, the music is extremely eloquent and even possessed. His pins and needles
Idem, pp. 14. Roland de Cand, 1978, Histoire universelle de la musique, sub-title Tome 2, pp. 378, Publisher: Seuil, Paris.
2 1

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of sound, his intense poetry, or his barbaric violence create an impression of a naturalness which benefits his skilled choice of instruments. [] But, once the masterpiece is finalized, mathematics do not appear in the musical composition any more than they do in architecture.)
(Translation: Camelia Minoiu)

MIHAELA COJOCARU (ROMANIA) Scrisul feminin aristocratic

Pe parcursul a peste o sut de ani, scriitoarele aristocrate au ntreinut n lumea occidental iluzia apartenenei la un popor strvechi i la o ar patriarhal, fixate pn la nceputul celui de-al Doilea Rzboi Mondial, ntr-o belle poque romantic i superficial. Dora DIstria (pseudonimul literar al Elenei Ghica: 1828-1888), fiica banului Mihalache Ghica i a Catinci Faca a cunoscut o larg recunoatere internaional.

ntre scriitoarele cu o genealogie i o cultur impresionante, ale cror opere reflect tradiiile unui neam strvechi i cosmopolitismul unei aristocraii balcanice se numr: Dora DIstria, Elena Vcrescu i Martha Bibescu. Destinele lor aventuroase par a fi oarecum asemntoare, datorit prieteniei cu personaliti1 culturale i politice ale timpului. Din punctul de vedere estetic, operele lor reflect ideologiile contemporane: romantismul avntat n cazul Dorei dIstria, parnasianismul i simbolismul muzical pentru Elena Vcrescu, existenialismul i autenticitatea gidian la Martha Bibescu.
1 Frumuseea lor spiritual a fost acompaniat i de o graie feminin tulburtoare care le-a apropiat de marii scriitori ai secolului XX. Marcel Proust a fost cunoscut i preuit de Elena Vcrescu i Martha Bibescu. De asemenea, Antoine de Saint Exupry, Paul Claudel, Jean Cocteau, Paul Valry, Rainer Maria Rilke sunt civa dintre autorii secolului XX care au lsat mrturii despre scriitoarele noastre aristocrate. Dac Elena Vcrescu a avut relaii de prietenie cu Nicolae Titulescu, susinndu-l n activitatea de consolidare a Ligii Naiunilor, Martha Bibescu a avut prietenii, uneori zgomotoase, cu Nae Ionescu, Pamfil eicaru sau ali reprezentani ai ideologiei de dreapta, care dominau scena politic a Romniei interbelice.

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Scrisul lor nu este numai rezultatul unei vocaii artistice, ci i al unei misiuni culturale, patriotice, ce descoper lumii spiritualitatea romneasc. Textele lor aparin att literaturii ficionale (poezie, proz narativ i dramaturgie), ct i celei nonficionale (biografii literare, memorii politice sau nsemnrile de cltorie). Stilul este subiectiv, de un lirism de substan, ncifrat de metafore i simboluri inspirate din folclorul, mitologia i istoria romneasc. El are forma unor confesiuni melancolice despre o ar strveche, tinuit ntr-o Europ ncremenit n tipare orientale, despre obiceiuri pgne i cretine, despre oameni ce i duc existena ntr-o patriarhalitate netulburat de frmntrile existenialiste i individualiste ale lumii occidentale. Pe parcursul a peste o sut de ani, scriitoarele aristocrate au ntreinut n lumea occidental iluzia apartenenei la un popor strvechi i la o ar patriarhal, fixate pn la nceputul celui de-al Doilea Rzboi Mondial, ntr-o belle poque romantic i superficial. Dora dIstria Pseudonimul literar al Elenei Ghica1 (1828-1888), fiica banului Mihalache Ghica i a Catinci Faca a cunoscut o larg recunoatere internaional. Ea primete o educaie temeinic, acumulnd cunotine de greac, latin, francez, italian, englez i german. A urmat lecii de muzic, a practicat sporturi nobile precum, not, echitaie, scrim. n anul 1841, cnd familia Elenei prsete ara, rtcind prin oraele Europei Centrale, ea uimea saloanele cosmopolite ale vremii prin cunotinele sale literare. Elena Ghica a manifestat simpatii pentru intelectualitatea paoptist, care i-a omagiat harul poetic i frumuseea, precum I. E. Rdulescu i Cezar Bolliac. Dup cstoria cu prinul Alex. Koltzoff Massalski, Elena se stabilete n Rusia (anii 1848-1855). Atitudinea ei voluntar i libertatea de a-i formula opiniile au determinat autoritile rii adoptive s-i interzic ederea n aceast ar, oblignd-o s se stabileasc n Elveia, i ulterior n Italia, la Florena, n villa dIstria2.
Tatl aparinea unei familii princiare, de origine albanez (aromn?), stabilit n rile Romne nc de prin anii 1650. Mama Elenei tradusese din limba francez i tiprise, n 1839, la Tipografia Colegiului Sfntul Sava din Bucureti, cartea institutoarei J. L. Campan, Pentru educaia copiilor. 2 Pe piatra funerar se poate citi: La principessa Elena Koltzof Massalski, 1828-1888, Albanese dorigine, Rumena di nascita, Fiorentine di elezione, nobilita e glorifica se stessa. Per excelse virtu danimae dingegno nel nume europeo de Dora dIstria.
1

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Elena Ghica, cunoscut sub pseudonimul literar de Dora dIstria1, i-a fcut cunoscut opera literar prin intermediul revistei Revue de deux mondes, unde din anul 1859 public studii despre tradiiile i credinele naionalitilor din orientul Europei. Lucrrile sale principale sunt inspirate de istoria literar i de religia popoarelor balcanice, condiia femeii, cltoriile n spaii exotice. Dora dIstria a elaborat studii despre poezia popular a popoarelor balcanice (albanez, srb, macedonean, romn) i a lsat portrete literare2 despre scriitorii romni ai tinereii sale, precum I. E. Rdulescu i Vasile Alecsandri. n opinia sa, poezia popular, icoan a tradiiilor i a legendelor vechi, a trecutului i fizionomia unui popor evideniaz trsturile morale caracteristice i originea fiecrei naii. Ea glosa pe marginea sentimentului patriotic, astfel: Dumnezeu s ne fereasc de patriotismul orbit. Ideea de patrie trebuie s se mpace cu ideea de omenire. Nu vieuim n timpurile strvechi, cnd strin era sinonim cu duman. Azi nu mai exist popor ales al lui Dumnezeu i toate au slbiciunile, defectele i viciile lor. Observaii pertinente despre religia3 popoarelor balcanice, raporturile romnilor cu papalitatea, situaia Bisericii Ortodoxe n Romnia, starea material a mnstirilor Cldruani, Cernica, Vratec, Neam sunt inserate n lucrrile sale despre starea diverselor credine din Europa sudic. De asemenea, ea a descris i comentat problemele religiei n Occident, intuindu-i criza de fond. Cu privire la condiia femeii4, Dora dIstria a pledat pentru respectarea demnitii ei n familie i societate. Jurnalele5 de cltorie descriu itinerarii i tradiii pitoreti, cu deosebire malurile Dunrii i populaiile ce i-au mpletit destinele cu cele ale marelui fluviu. ncredinat de originea noastr latin, ea preciza c romnii sunt fiii uitai i necunoscui ai veteranilor romani statornicii pe malurile Dunrii, ilustrnd poate pentru prima dat n literatura noastr modern, contradicia dintre apartenena geografic la un popor situat n spaiul oriental i dorina lui de a modela prezentul dup tipare
1 Pseudonimul Elenei Ghica este echivalent cu dorul de la Istru, denumirea veche, greceasc, a Dunrii. 2 Dora dIstria, Littrature Roumaine, 1857. 3 Idem, La vie monastre dans lglise orientale, 1855; Les Roumains et la papaut, 1856. 4 Idem, Les Femmes en Orient, 2 volume, 1859. 5 Idem, Un t au bord du Danube, 1861.

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occidentale: Munca pentru mine nu e o necesitate fatal, un blestem ca n Evul Mediu, ci o lege salutar i binefctoare, un principiu de sntate intelectual, moral i fizic. Funestei trndvii orientale i opun activitatea sntoas a Occidentului, activitate care transform universul. Opera Dorei dIstria aparine, prin problematic i form, literaturii romne de la mijlocul secolului al XIX-lea, ea fiind considerat n Europa occidendal una dintre cele mai respectate voci ale timpului.

Aristocratic Feminine Writing

For over a century, the Romanian aristocratic female writers (Dora dIstria, Elena Vcrescu and Martha Bibescu) had preserved in the Occidental world the illusion of their belonging to an ancient people and to a patriarchal country frozen in a romantic, but shallow belle poque preceding the World War II. The daughter of Mihalache Ghica and Catinca Faca, Elena Ghica (1828-1888) was better known under the pseudonym of Dora dIstria. She got a solid education and amazed her contemporaries with her outstanding literary knowledge.

Among the female writers who displayed an impressive genealogy and culture and whose literary works reflect the traditions of an ancient people and the cosmopolitanism of Balkan aristocracy, one may recall the names of Dora dIstria, Elena Vcrescu and Martha Bibescu. Their adventurous destinies seem somehow alike, if we take into consideration their friendship with contemporary cultural and political personalities. From an aesthetic point of view, too, their works reflect the ideologies of that time: the energetic romanticism of Dora dIstria, the Parnasianism and musical symbolism of Elena Vcrescu, the existentialism and Gide-like authenticity of Martha Bibescu. Their writing is not only the result of an artistic vocation, but also of a cultural patriotic mission meant to reveal the Romanian spirituality to the world. Their texts are both fictional (poetry, narrative prose or theatre) and non-fictional (literary biographies, political memoirs and travel notes). Their style is subjective, substantially lyrical,

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enciphering metaphors and symbols of the Romanian folklore, mythology and history. It takes the shape of a melancholic confession about a country as old as the hills and tucked in Eastern Europe, a region then ossified in Oriental patterns. It is about heathen or Christian customs, about people living their lives in a patriarchal world, untainted by the existentialist or individualistic turmoil of Western civilization. For over a century, the aristocratic female writers had preserved in the Occidental world the illusion of their belonging to an ancient people and to a patriarchal country frozen in a romantic, but shallow belle poque preceding the World War II. Dora dIstria The daughter of Mihalache Ghica and Catinca Faca, Elena Ghica (1828-1888) was better known under the pseudonym of Dora dIstria. She got a solid education: good knowledge of Greek, Latin, French, Italian, English and German, music and good skills in swimming, horsemanship and fencing. In 1841, when her family left Wallachia wandering throughout Central Europe, Elena amazed her contemporaries with outstanding literary knowledge. She was also sympathetic with the Romanian intellectuals of the mid 19th century, such as I.E. Rdulescu and Cezar Bolliac that, in their turn, appreciated and praised her poetic gift and beauty. After getting married to Prince Alex. Koltzoff Massalski, Elena moved to Russia where she lived between 1848 and 1855. Because of her voluntary attitude and direct way of expressing opinions the Russian authorities banished her from Russia, and forced her to move to Switzerland and, later on, to Italy, to Florence, in what was to be known as villa d Istria. Elena Ghica, better known under the penname of Dora dIstria, published her literary work in Revue de deux mondes, where, starting with 1859 there appeared her studies on the traditions and beliefs of the Eastern European nations. Her most representative works are inspired from the Balkan peoples literary history and religion, womens status or travels into exotic places. Dora dIstria wrote several studies on the folkloric poetry in the Balkans (be it Albanian, Serbian, Macedonian or Romanian) and drew up literary portrayals of some Romanian writers from her youth, such as I.E. Rdulescu and Vasile Alecsandri. She considered that folklore, an icon of old traditions and legends, of

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history itself and the physiognomy of people are the ones to highlight distinctive features and the origin of each nation. She commented on the patriotic feeling, as follows: God forbid us from blind patriotism! The idea of a country should blend with that of mankind. We do not live in those ancient times when being a foreigner meant being an enemy. There is no chosen people any more, as all have their weaknesses and flaws, their vices. Pertinent observations on the religions of the Balkan peoples, on the relations of the Romanians with the Pope, on the contemporary situation of the Romanian Orthodox Church or that of several Romanian monasteries (Cldruani, Cernica, Vratec and Neam) are inserted in her works which speak about the different faiths in Southern Europe. As a matter of fact, she also tackled and commented on the problems that Western civilization was facing, thus inferring its religious crisis. As far as womens status was concerned, Dora dIstria pleaded for respecting their dignity, both in society and family life. Her travel journals describe picturesque routes and traditions, especially those on the Danubes banks where populations have blended their destiny with that of the river itself. Being aware of the Romanians Latin origin, she mentioned the fact that they are the long-forgotten and unknown sons of the Roman veterans who settled on the banks of the Danube, illustrating, perhaps for the first time in our modern literature, the paradox between Romanias geographical belonging to the Orient and the peoples desire to mould its present on Western patterns: For me work is not a fatal necessity, a curse, as in the Middle Ages, but a beneficial law, a principle of intellectual, moral and physical health. I strongly oppose the healthy Western activity, that transforms the universe, the ill-fated Oriental laziness. The work of Dora dIstria belongs, through form and topics tackled, to the Romanian literature of the mid-19th-century, but at the same time to the Western culture, that fully appraised her work.
(Translation: Mihaela Cojocaru)

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IOLANDA MNESCU (ROMNIA)

Aglaja Veterenayi sau despre destinul tragic al unei artiste dezrdcinate

Destinul special al Aglajei Veterenayi poate fi considerat un simbol pentru ideea de emigrare. Toat viaa ei este o adevrat etalare de faete pe care le poate avea o fiin dezrdcinat. Talentul su scriitoricesc se datoreaz poate tocmai incapacitii sale de a se raporta la un loc fix pe care s l perceap drept acas. Toat viaa a fost contient de faptul c exist undeva o ar care a fost cndva cminul prinilor ei. Poate c mitul trmului interzis, care ar fi trebuit s fie locul unde se putea ntoarce de cte ori avea nevoie s se regseasc, a reprezentat cauza ntregului chin psihologic i, n acelai timp, a scrierilor ei ciudate i minunate. Rdcinile ei se afl de fapt n arealul balcanic, trmul unde sentimentele de dor, auto-sacrificiu i integrare n natur sunt extrem de profunde. De fapt, zona balcanic este zona unde au aprut legende despre sacrificiu, auto-sacrificiu i nstrinare (Meterul Manole, Mioria etc.). Aglajei Veterenayi i-a fost dor de acas toat viaa, fr s aib cu adevrat o cas i fr s i cunoasc patria natal.

Aglaja Veterenayi s-a nscut la Bucureti n 1962 i a murit la Zurich n 2002. Ea a cltorit, de mic, prin toat Europa cu prinii i sa stabilit, n cele din urm, n Elveia, unde a studiat arta dramatic, la Zurich. i-a nceput cariera de actri n 1982. n 1993 a iniiat, mpreun cu Rene Oberholz, trupa de teatru experimental Die Wortpumpe (Pompa de cuvinte), iar n 1996, mpreun cu Jens Nielsen, partenerul ei de via, grupul teatral Die Engelmaschine (Maina de ngeri). n paralel, Aglaja Veterenayi a publicat poezii n diferite reviste literare. n 1999 i apare volumul de poezii Daruri un dans al morilor i romanul De ce fierbe copilul n mmlig, iar n 2001, romanul Raftul cu ultimele suflri. La nceputul lui 2002, ca urmare a unei depresii severe, a ales s se sinucid, avntndu-se n apele ngheate ale lacului Zurich. Cele dou romane pe care ni le-a lsat sunt mai degrab pagini de autobiografie poetic. Ambele sunt scrise la persoana nti. Autoarea exprim n metafore frmntrile i ntrebrile fundamentale ale fiinei umane, cu sinceritatea, inocena i cruzimea pe care numai copilria le are. Paradoxal, ntrebrile sunt extrem de profunde i de mature, ea neavnd ns mijloacele maturitii pentru a putea gsi i eventuale rspunsuri. Aglaja Veteranyi a trit dureros drama dezrdcinrii. A

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plecat din ar cu prinii ei, care erau artiti de circ, la o vrst fraged, neavnd ansa s lase n urm nite amintiri de care s se poat aga, care s reprezinte punctul fix la care se pare c avem toi nevoie s ne raportm n momente de dezorientare, nesiguran sau nencredere. (Circul e tot timpul n strintate. Dar n vagonul n care locuim e mereu acas. Deschid ua vagonului ct se poate de puin ca acel acas s nu se evapore.1). Statutul de emigrant este resimit din plin, cu toate umilinele inerente, pe care copilul le recepteaz fr a le putea judeca i pe care, astfel, le va nregistra distorsionat, cu consecine grave n viitor (Avem un paaport de emigrant./ La fiecare grani suntem tratai altfel dect oamenii adevrai./ Poliia ne cere s coborm i dispare cu hrtiile noastre./ Mama le d mereu cadouri. Ciocolat, igri, coniac./ i le face ochi dulci./ Cu toate astea, nu suntem niciodat siguri c nu vor suna la SECURTITATE.2). Fiind mereu pe drum, dintr-o ar ntralta, fetia nu a avut o educaie, nu a mers la o coal unde s interacioneze cu copii de vrsta ei, a crescut ntre aduli care au tratat-o ca pe un adult, nedndu-i ansa la copilrie, la evoluie fireasc, la adaptarea social necesar: Nu am voie s plec singur din vagonul de locuit./ Nu am voie s m joc cu ceilali copii./ Mama nu are ncredere n nimeni./ i eu trebuie s nv asta.3 Povestea copilului fiert n mmlig era povestea pe care obinuia s i-o spun sora ei i pe care o mbogeau mpreun cu amnunte din ce n ce mai groaznice. Constatrile autoarei capt pentru ea valoare de axiome: Cnd mama plnge, n burt se produce o inundaie, pentru c i copilul plnge.4 Superstiiile auzite devin adevruri imuabile: Rudele nu se cstoresc ntre ele pentru c atunci copiii vin pe lume cu picioarele lipite. Dup asta observ oamenii c prinii sunt nrudii ntre ei i nu-s cstorii5. Concluziile la care ajunge au ns uneori i o doz de umor: ESTE INTERZIS S FACI COPII FR BRBAT I NAINTE DE TE FI NSCUT6. Durerea interior e att de profund nct nici nu poate fi definit i rbufnete uneori n cuvinte care reveleaz alienarea i care alctuiesc n final o poezie cutremurtoare: n timp ce ateptam i guream ochii lui Micky Maus, pe cel drept i pe
1 2

Veteranyi, Aglaja, De ce fierbe copilul n mmlig, Bucureti, Polirom, 2003, p. 10. Veteranyi, Aglaja, op. cit., p. 62. 3 Idem, p. 27. 4 Idem, p. 28 5 Ibidem 6 Ibidem

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cel stng./ Cnd am terminat am nceput s m plimb prin camer n sus i n jos./ Am mncat toate dulciurile./ Inima mi btea n cap./ Afar se ntunecase./ n camer prinse s ning./ Sofaua a ngheat./ Pereii au ngheat./ Minile i picioarele mele au ngheat./ Ochii mei./ Zpada ma acoperit.1 Fr s fi avut o educaie moral sau religioas, autoarea se raporteaz la Dumnezeu cu o naturalee i familiaritate nduiotoare: Oare Dumenezeu vorbete limbi strine?/ Poate s se neleag cu strinii?/ Sau ngerii stau n cabine mici de sticl i fac traduceri? sau Oamenii se tem de Dumnezeu, de aceea merg n cer. Acolo exist o secie special pentru artitii care tiu s zboare./ I IISUS HRISTOS E UN ARTIST2. Cele mai complexe dileme filosofice ale omenirii sunt exprimate prin i pentru nelegerea unui copil: S fii mort e ca i cum ai dormi./ Dar nu-i aezi corpul n pat, ci n pmnt./ Apoi trebuie s-i explici lui Dumnezeu de ce vrei mai bine s fii mort dect viu./ Dac nu-l convingi, i stinge creierul i trebuie s iei viaa de la capt./ .a.m.d./ .a.m.d./ .a.m.d./ .a.m.d./ etc.3 n acelai mod inocent i dezarmant de sincer, naratoarea transmite i informaii despre ara natal, despre teroarea instaurat de dictator i despre rudele rmase dincolo de cortina de fier, care i-au fcut o adevrat meserie din a sta la coad i pentru care cei din strintate pstreaz cu grij haine i obiecte vechi de la mori. Moartea este un motiv care se regsete n ntreaga oper a Aglajei Veteranyi. Raftul cu ultimele suflri este povestea frust a morii mtuii de care autoarea se simea mai apropiat dect de propria mam. Moartea i pregtirile de nmormntare sunt observate n cele mai mici i groteti detalii. Nu sunt ns ocolite nici gndurile obsedante legate de moarte: Suntem mult mai mult timp mori dect vii, spune mtua./ Morii au nevoie de mult mai mult noroc.4 Tristeea apare din cnd n cnd printre aceste descrieri, fiind cu att mai profund: Fiecare mort i aduce lui Dumnezeu ultima suflare, spune Costel. n aceast suflare Dumnezeu poate s citeasc viaa acelui om ca ntr-o carte./ Biblioteca lui Dumnezeu e un raft plin cu suflri.5 Propoziiile sunt scurte i seci, fiecare n parte poate prea lipsit de orice ncrctur emoional, sunt propoziii ce pot fi alctuite de un copil, dar niruirea acestora transmite gnduri neateptat de
1 2

Idem, p. 162. Idem, p. 75. 3 Idem, p. 60. 4 Veteranyi, Aglaja, Raftul cu ultimele suflri, Bucureti, Polirom, 2003, p. 13. 5 Idem, p. 122.

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profunde sau imagini de o sensibilitate care-i taie respiraia, dup cum spunea Peter Bischel n Tages Anzeiger. Rodica Binder scriitoare, jurnalist, eseist i redactor la postul de radio Deutsche Welle din Koln, emigrat n Germania n 1985 consemneaz, la rndul su, n postfaa scris la De ce fierbe copilul n mmlig: n pofida desemnrii explicite, nc de pe copert, a scrierii drept roman cartea Aglajei Veterenyi este un poem n proz, n patru seciuni, un pseudoBildungsroman sau, dac vrem, chiar procesul verbal al deconstruciei unor iluzii.1 Autoarea nsei mrturisete, n interviul acordat Rodici Binder: E normal s povestesc lucruri pe care le cunosc, dar cred c i fantezia unei persoane este autobiografic. Pot s vd lucrurile cu inima, cu ochii i de aceea cred c ceea ce scriu este autobiografie Existena marcat de absurd a Aglajei Veterenyi (de fapt ea nsi admite acest fapt n interviu, relatnd c vizitele fcute la rudele din ar dup 1989 au fost pentru ea asemntoare unor scene din piesele lui Eugen Ionescu) nu a putut dect s i alimenteze nclinaia de a tri la fel de autentic, de a percepe cu aceeai msur, att realitatea ct i irealitatea i de a pune, pe acelai taler, att viaa ct i moartea: Moartea ns, sau cel puin ameninarea morii, a fost dintotdeauna unul dintre laitmotivele ei, niciodat sumbru i apstor, ci mai degrab plin de umanitate i purtnd amprenta unui umor negru.2 Destinul special al Aglajei Veterenayi poate fi considerat un simbol pentru ideea de emigrare. Toat viaa ei este o adevrat etalare de faete pe care le poate avea o fiin dezrdcinat. Talentul su scriitoricesc se datoreaz poate tocmai incapacitii sale de a se raporta la un loc fix pe care s l perceap drept acas. Toat viaa a fost contient de faptul c exist undeva o ar care a fost cndva cminul prinilor ei. Poate c mitul trmului interzis, care ar fi trebuit s fie locul unde se putea ntoarce de cte ori avea nevoie s se regseasc, a reprezentat cauza ntregului chin psihologic i, n acelai timp, a scrierilor ei ciudate i minunate. Rdcinile ei se afl de fapt n arealul balcanic, trmul unde sentimentele de dor, auto-sacrificiu i integrare n natur sunt extrem de profunde. De fapt, zona balcanic este zona unde au aprut legende despre sacrificiu, auto-sacrificiu i nstrinare
1 Binder, Rodica, Postfa Aglaja Veteranyi: salt mortal de la circ la literatur, n Aglaja Veteranyi, De ce fierbe copilul n mmlig, p. 191. 2 Werner Locher-Lawrence i Jens Nielsen, Cuvnt lmuritor, n Aglaja Veteranyi, Raftul cu ultimele suflri, p. 130.

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(Meterul Manole, Mioria etc.). Aglajei Veterenayi i-a fost dor de acas toat viaa, fr s aib cu adevrat o cas i fr s i cunoasc patria natal. Rodica Binder afirma n postfaa romanului Raftul cu ultimele suflri c acesta este un testament literar, procesul verbal anticipat al unei mori premeditate, un strigt de durere n faa vidului despmntenirii i al pierderii identitii.1

Aglaja Veteranyi or the Destiny of an Uprooted Artist

Aglaja Veterenayi is a very special writer whose destiny could be a symbol of the concept of emigration. Her whole life is a display of the different situations that an uprooted person can ever experience. Her gift as a writer was maybe caused by her incapacity to relate to a fixed place which to call home. She knew all along her life that, somewhere, there was a country which was her parents home country once. Maybe the myth of the forbidden land, that should have been the place to return whenever she needed to find her identity, was the cause of all her psychological torment and, at the same time, of her strange and wonderful writings. Her roots were in fact in the Balkan area, the land where feelings of longing, self-sacrifice and integration into nature, are frequently expressed. In fact, the Balkan area is the land where the legends about sacrifice, self-sacrifice, and estrangement were born (Master Manole, Miorita, etc.). All her life Aglaja Veterenayi was home sick, not having a proper home, and not knowing her home country.

Aglaja Veterenayi was born in Bucharest in 1962, and died in Zurich in 2002. Since a child, she travelled all over the world together with her parents, and eventually settled in Switzerland, where she studied theatre in Zurich. She began her acting career in 1982. In 1993 she established, together with Rene Oberholz, the experimental theatre company Die Wortpumpe (The Words Pump), and, in 1996, together with Jens Nielsen, her partner, the theatre group Die Engelmaschine (The Angels Machine). At the same time, Aglaja Veterenayi published poems in different literary magazines. Her book of poems, Gifts A Dance of the Dead, and the novel Why the Child Is Boiled in the Polenta were published in 1999, and, in 2001, her novel The Shelf of Last Breaths. At the beginning of 2002 she committed suicide by diving into the freezing waters of the lake Zurich.

Binder, Rodica, op. cit., p. 133.

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The two novels that Aglaja Veterenayi left us are rather pages of a poetical autobiography. They are both written in the first person singular. The author expresses the ultimate questions of the human being metaphorically, in a sincere, innocent and cruel way that only a child could have. Paradoxically, her questions are extremely profound and mature, in spite of the fact that she did not have the means of the mature age to find also the answers. Aglaja Veterenayi lived the tragedy of uprooting to the full. She left Romania together with her parents who were circus artists at an early age, and did not have the chance to leave behind some memories to which she could cling, and which could represent the fixed point in universe for her when disoriented or unsure (Circus is abroad all the time. Yet, the carriage we live in is always home. I open the carriage door as little as possible so that home not to disappear.)1 She experiences the state of an emigrant to the full, with all the inherent humiliation that the child stands, without being able to judge it, and that will be recorded, accordingly, in a distorted manner, with serious consequences in the future. (We have emigrant passports./ At each border we are treated differently from the real people./ Police ask us to get off, and they disappear with our papers./ Mother always gives them presents. Chocolate, cigarettes, cognac.)2. The little girl was on the road all her life and could not go to school where to interact with other children of her age. She grew up among adults who treated her as an adult, and so she had no chance to live her childhood, to develop normally, to adapt to a social life. (I am not allowed to leave the carriage alone. I am not allowed to play with other children. Mother does not trust anybody. I have to learn that.)3 The story of the child who is boiled in the polenta is the story that the authors elder sister used to tell her and they both would enrich with more and more terrible details. The little girls observations became axioms for her (When a mother cries, a flood is taking place inside her belly, because her baby cries too.)4 Superstitions became immutable truths. (Relatives do not marry to each other because if they do, babies will be born with their feet stuck. This is the proof that the parents are relatives and they are not married.)5 Her conclusions are
1 2

Veteranyi, Aglaja, Why the Child Is Boiled in the Polenta, Iai, Polirom, 2003, p. 10. Veteranyi, Aglaja, op. cit., p. 62. 3 Idem, p. 27. 4 Idem, p. 28. 5 Ibid

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also humorous at times (IT IS FORBIDDEN TO HAVE BABIES WITHOUT A MAN, AND BEFORE BEING BORN.)1 The girls inner suffering, which is so profound that it cannot even be defined, sometimes breaks out in words that reveal alienation, and that finally turn into moving poetry. (While I was waiting I was punching Micky Maus eyes, the right one and the left one/ When I finished, I started to walk round the room./ I ate all the sweets./ My heart was throbbing in my head./ It was dark outside./ It started to snow in the room./ The sofa had frozen./ The walls had frozen./ My arms and feet had frozen./ My eyes./ Snow covered me.)2 Without having any religious or moral education, the author relates to God with a touching purity and intimacy. (Does God speak foreign languages?/ Can He understand foreigners?/ Or do angels stay in little glass booths and make translations? or People fear God, that is why they go in the sky. There is a special department there for artists who can fly./ JESUS CHRIST IS AN ARTIST AS WELL)3 The most complex philosophical dilemmas of the world are expressed through and for the understanding of a child (Being dead is as if you are asleep./ But you dont put your body in a bed, but in the ground./ Then you have to explain to God why you prefer to be dead and not alive./ If you do not convince Him, He turns your brain off and you have to start living again./A.s.o./ A.s.o./ A.s.o./ A.s.o./ Etc.)4 In the same innocent and extremely sincere manner the narrator brings information about her native country, about the terror imposed by the dictator and about her relatives who remained beyond the Iron Curtain, whose fate was to queue for everything they wanted to buy, and for whom their relatives abroad carefully kept old clothes from the dead. Death is another motif in Aglaja Veterenayis whole work. The Shelf of Last Breaths is the crude story of the death of her aunt to whom the author felt closer than to her own mother. Death and the preparations for the funeral are seen in the smallest and most grotesque details. Obsessive thoughts about death are also present (We are dead for a longer time than we are alive, says my aunt. The dead need much more luck.)5 A deep sadness is also present from time to time (Every dead person brings his/her last breath to God, says Costel. God can read
1 2

Ibid Idem, p.162. 3 Idem, p.75. 4 Idem, p. 60. 5 Veteranyi, Aglaja, The Shelf of Last Breaths, Iai, Polirom, 2003, p. 13.

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that mans life in this breath, like in a book. Gods library is a shelf full of breaths.)1 The sentences are short and concise, they may seem emotionless or uttered by a child but, in their sequence, they convey extremely profound thoughts and images appreciated as breathtaking by Peter Bischel in Tages Anzeiger. Rodica Binder a writer, journalist, essayist and editor at Deutsche Welle in Koln, who emigrated to Germany in 1985 states (in the afterword to Why the Child Is Boiled in the Polenta): Even if it is explicitly named a novel, Aglaja Veterenayis book is a poem written in prose, in four sections, a pseudo-Bildungsroman or even the report of the deconstruction of illusions.2 The author herself says, in the interview with Rodica Binder: It is normal for me to retell things I know, but I think that a persons imagination is also autobiographical. I can see things with my eyes, with my heart and that is why I believe that what I write is an autobiography Aglaja Veterenayis existence was marked by the absurd (in fact she admits it in the interview, and tells that her visits, after 1989, to her relatives in Romania, were similar to some scenes in Eugen Ionescus plays). This made her live the real and the unreal in the same authentic way. Life and death are judged as being similar: Death, or at least the threat of death, was always one of her leitmotifs never gloomy and overwhelming, but rather full of humanity and black humour.3 Aglaja Veterenayi is a very special writer whose destiny could be a symbol of the concept of emigration. Her whole life is a display of the different situations that an uprooted person can ever experience. Her gift as a writer was maybe caused by her incapacity to relate to a fixed place which to call home. She knew all along her life that, somewhere, there was a country which was her parents home country once. Maybe the myth of the forbidden land, that should have been the place to return whenever she needed to find her identity, was the cause of all her psychological torment and, at the same time, of her strange and wonderful writings. Her roots were in fact in the Balkan area, the land where feelings of longing, self-sacrifice and integration into nature, are
Idem, p. 122. Binder, Rodica, Afterword, in Aglaja Veteranyi, Why the Child Is Boiled in the Polenta, p. 191. 3 Werner Locher-Lawrence and Jens Nielsen, in Aglaja Veteranyi, The Shelf of Last Breaths, , p. 130.
2 1

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frequently expressed. In fact, the Balkan area is the land where the legends about sacrifice, self-sacrifice, and estrangement were born (Master Manole, Miorita, etc.). All her life Aglaja Veterenayi was home sick, not having a proper home, and not knowing her home country. In the Afterword of the novel The Shelf of Last Breaths, Rodica Binder stated that this novel is a literary will, the record in advance of a premeditated death, a cry of pain at the void of uprooting and of losing ones identity.1
(Translation: Iolanda Manescu)

DIANA-SILVIA SOLKOTOVI (SERBIA) Ion Milo Portretul unui poet romn, cetean al lumii
Nscut n 1930 ntr-un sat romnesc din Banatul iugoslav, poetul i traductorul Ion Milo a emigrat dintr-un regim totalitar la Paris. Respins din mediul slav, apoi din cel latin, zidurile din jurul sufletului au cptat dimensiuni de netrecut. Puternic legat de glie, el i va ncepe cutarea locului unde s-i lase rdcinile. ntlnind Iubirea, a sperat c a ajuns Acas. S-a mutat n Suedia, de unde era soia, ncepnd un nou drum i a nvat limba, ncercnd s se adapteze. Perioada studiilor la Paris i apoi a cstoriei au fost cele de acumulri culturale. Utopia exprimat n poezia de tineree dispare la creatorul matur, pesimismul fiind nota predominant, contestarea, refuzul acceptrii realitii i sarcasmul oglindind meditaia grav, convertit n comentariu liric privind contemporaneitatea.

Poet i traductor, Ion Milo s-a nscut n 1930 ntr-un sat romnesc din Banatul iugoslav, ntr-o familie tradiional. Spiritul conservator al climatului rural n care i-a petrecut copilria a rmas adnc nrdcinat n sufletul creatorului, regsindu-se, de-a lungul timpului, n opera sa. Tocmai cnd Milo i fcea ieirea din copilrie a izbucnit rzboiul care a adus cu sine rsturnarea tuturor valorilor; linitea s-a transformat n durere i ur, urmat de nesigurana schimbrii. Ideologia comunist obsedant care a urmat l-a influenat pe tnrul ce se avnta spre via, materializnd-o n stihuri. Dar alegerea
1

Binder, Rodica, Afterword, in Aglaja Veteranyi, The Shelf of Last Breaths, p. 133.

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nzestratului adolescent nu va fi una eliberatoare: regimul totalitar care, n urma ruperii legturilor cu Stalin, ntrezrea n persoana fiecrui romn un suspect l va face s devin un exilat n propria ar, s-i construiasc ziduri n jurul sufletului, acestea fiind primele dintr-o serie de fortree de autoaprare. Invidia strnit la nivelul mediilor literare, la nivelul celor ce se simeau ameninai de suflul proaspt, dei cam naiv, a dus la urmtorul exil, iar cnd acesta s-a realizat i fizic, durerea a fost complet. Parisul, Mecca artitilor, s-a dovedit a fi pentru Milo un nou supliciu. Comunitatea exilailor nu a vrut s accepte romnul care nu provenea din Romnia, suspectndu-l n mod identic cu securitatea iugoslav. Respins din mediul slav, apoi din cel latin, zidurile din jurul sufletului au cptat dimensiuni de netrecut. Puternic legat de glie, el i va ncepe cutarea locului unde s-i lase rdcinile. ntlnind Iubirea a sperat c a ajuns Acas. S-a mutat n Suedia, de unde era soia, ncepnd un nou drum; a nvat limba, ncercnd s se adapteze. Perioada studiilor la Paris i apoi a cstoriei au fost cele de acumulri culturale, dar sterpe pentru poet. Tradiionalismul, spiritul profund cretin i sorgintea latin nu i-au permis ns trdarea principiilor sale. Investiia fcut n iubire a euat, dar cale de ntoarcere nu exista. Ion Milo a rmas n Suedia, energia acumulat de-a lungul anilor gsindu-i expresia n poezie. Tcerii autoimpuse i-a urmat o perioad de autoanaliz care a dus la drmarea treptat a zidurilor ce se nlaser permanent, prezentnd simirile nchise, dezgust i refulri, traducnd n versuri experiena multiplelor exilri i nencetata cutare a linitii. Poezia adolescentului fusese strns legat de societatea aflat, la fel ca i poetul, la nceput de drum: entuziast i plin de neliniti, naiv i deschis spre toate orizonturile. Utopia exprimat atunci dispare la creatorul acum matur, pesimismul fiind nota predominant, contestarea, refuzul acceptrii realitii i sarcasmul oglindind meditaia grav, convertit n comentariu liric privind contemporaneitatea. Decderea continu a condiiei umane este izvorul permanent de inspiraie, ntoarcerea la origini fiind laitmotivul creaiei, leacul sugerat pentru recptarea demnitii nnscute a omului. Poezia are existena ei proprie, ilustrnd elemente din viaa de zi cu zi, depind graniele, putnd fi situat geografic oriunde. Experiena l face pe poet s-i exprime dezgustul fa de ritmul vieii: Mamele nu mai au timp s fie mame/ Moie triste n birouri/ i bat viaa la main / Copiii beau lapte din biberoane/ i vd lumea prin sticl/ La coal nu se mai nva etica/

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Ci tehnica sexual i marketingul/ Pedagogia minunii industriale/ Toropeal ontologic/ Somnolen muzical/ Cea i polei. Vindecarea e oferit n mai multe poeme, pe diferite variaiuni ale aceleiai teme: ntoarcerea la sine, descoperirea eului uitat fiind soluia prin care, fr chestionri interioare inutile, se poate depi mediocritatea nconjurtoare: Urc la izvoarele sufletului/Acolo se coc spicele/ Urc fr a te ntreba/ Unde te va duce/ Nesfritul acestui drum/ Dincolo de ntrebare toate sunt altfel. Poezia lui Milo, spunea Ulf Eriksson, amintete ct de impersonal i de puin privat poate fi cuvntul eu n minile adevratului poet. Ea este clar i direct, apropiindu-ne de pmnt, dndu-ne greutatea necesar pentru a nu pluti, a nu ne ndeprta de realitate. Simplitatea aparent a enunurilor zugrvete o lume n care vremea nu e de pierdut. Progresul este zugrvit a fi n dezavantajul spiritului uman: Omorndui fratele/ Cain/ i-a ridicat standardul de via, circuitul vieii fiind ilustrat tot cu trimiteri biblice: Pe drumul Golgotei/ Se plimb bra la bra/ Istoria i Soarta/ Discut despre nedreptate/ Dac Isus/ Ar fi stat la mas cu fariseii/ Nu cu apostolii/ Ar fi ajuns pe Tron/ Nu pe cruce/ Zice Soarta ctre Istorie/ Istoria se face c nu aude/ i se repet: / Odat cu snge/ Odat cu minciun. O iremediabil tristee rzbate din spatele cuvintelor care sunt nfiate fr niciun ornament: La pia se aude:/ Dumnezeu e aur/ Viaa surd strig:/ Dumnezeu e mort/ n biseric-mi optesc: Dumnezeu e lumnare/ Dumnezeu adevrat plnge la fereastr. Cutarea permanent a elementului lips, imposibilitatea adaptrii sunt pline de vibraii sarcastice att la adresa omului modern ca individ: Omul se trage din lup/ Nu din maimu, ct i la adresa societii: Totul trece i se repet/ Rana timpului sngereaz i doare/ Istoria amputeaz/ n numele libertii de expresie. Dup 1989, ameninrilor apocaliptice legate de Occident le este gsit un teren nou de aplicare: Romnia, Milo regsind aici lumea pierzaniei pe care o zugrvete n culori sumbre: Stau la Masa Tcerii/ i m gndesc la Iuda. ndeprtarea romnului de Adevr, falsul patriotism,vorbria lipsit de esen sau scop sunt biciuite ironic n poezia sugestiv intitualat Forme fr fond i continund n ara lui Mitic: E frig n cuvinte. Exist momente cnd sufletul i gsete lcaul prin ntoarcerea oniric Acas, Edenul aprnd zugrvit printr-o simplitate japonez: Exist zile/ Cnd e de ajuns o singur raz/ i lumea capt o alt culoare/ Flori de cire cad din cer/ Viaa curge cntnd prin tine.

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Iubirea, parfumul infinitului n pdurea cerului, reprezint o surs constant de dezamgire E frig n pat/ Iubita mea st culcat/ i numr banii/ E pustiu/ Cnd oamenii nu mai au timp s se iubeasc/ Iar viaa d napoi. Iluzia fericirii dat de iubire Cnd vii/ Se deschide cerul/ i se coace grul/ Cnd eti cu mine/ Vine Dumnezeu s ne pzeasc/ Nici un vis nu zboar-n gol e scurt, cititorul fiind readus la rceala cotidian: Nu te mai gndi la orele ce trec/ Timpul nu e bani/ Timpul e sufletul/ ns sufletul e la spital. Poezia lui Milo e de fapt o cronic a Exilului. Exilatul, neadaptabilul, care privete cu ironie concepiile celor din jur, are soarta geniului venic neneles: Deci dnsul e poet/ Se mir soacra/ i filozof/ adug socrul/ Strin-optir vecinii/ Poezia e bolboroseal goal/ Din asta nu se triete/ Trebuie s reueti n via/ Zmbi soia. Destinul su este pecetluit: Soia i-a aprins o igar/ i mi-a spus: divorm/ Dac e cstoria sfnt / De ce sfinii nu se cstoresc?/ ntr-o zi/ Femeile n-o s mai aib nevoie de brbai/ Copiii se vor nate din/ Spiritus Sanctus/ n eprubeta/ Fr fioruri metafizice i probleme/ Ca ngerii/ Vor crete la cre dup statistic/ i vor tri tiinific/ O via cu garanie. Cutarea nencetat a Adevrului este tradus liric: adolescentul a crezut c-l afl n comunism, dar dictatura i-a demonstrat existena diferenei ntre teorie i practic; tnrul l-a ntrezrit n democraie, dar aceasta doar i recunotea existena, neavnd curajul s-l aplice, deoarece Adevrul este fructul ce se coace n abis, abisul fiind metafora tririi celor ce susin, n ciuda oricrui pericol, neacceptarea Minciunii, trirea activ, responsabil. La un moment dat, Iubirea prea ansa deschiderii spre Absolut, dar destinul geniului era s rmn precum Dumnezeu n singurtatea cerului. Adevrul e foarte subiectiv. Soluia de identificare a acestuia este oferit cu o simplitate uimitoare prin sarcasmul indirect Pcat c adevrul nu e floare/ L-am cunoate dup miros/ i nimeni n-ar mai mini/ n lumea de flori. Minciuna este prezentat ca atotstpnitoare: Buzele ce m srut/ mint/ Cuvintele ce m laud/ mint. ntr-o lume deczut, poezia merge n ton, netrasmind nimic citititorului, prezentndu-se n hainele lor la mod, ducnd la o reacie de ignorare sau respingere, concepia despre lumea spiritual fiind minimalizat n comparaie cu cea material: Astzi exist n lume sute de mii de tone/ De material explozibil pe cap de om./ Cte miligrame de poezie exist?/ M-a ntrebat un general/ Viaa se apr cu armele,/ Nu cu fleacuri./ Astzi un fotbalist cost milioane de euro./ Ct cost un

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poet?/ M-a ntrebat un director de banc/ Nu dm credit la poezie!/ Dumnezeu ajut doar pe cei care au./ M-am sftuit cu un psihiatru/ Ia medicamente linitit,/ Tempus dolores tue delebit/ Poezia nu moare. Credina n triumful binelui i al frumosului lumineaz, rar ce-i drept, dar cu att mai valoros, lirica miloscian, redescoperind mirabilul vieii. Beau lumina zorilor/ i privesc o libelul/ Ea se nate numai pentru o zi/ Dar ajunge/ S nvee frunzele s cnte/ i s-ntinereasc Venicia. Din aceast stare se nasc sfaturile necesare ndreptrii lumii servite pe un ton printesc: Citete o poezie n fiecare diminea/ Ascult muzica/ nva de la rdcini i izvoare/ Cum simte i gndete Dumnezeu, poezia fiind cea care lupt pentru continuitatea sensibilitii: Numai Pegas/ Mai poate opri caii Apocalipsului/ S-l lsm s zboare. Ion Milo, artist profund i original, n care, aa cum spunea Ion Holban, cititorul descoper un autor care i-a lipsit, ne ndeamn s reflectm la statutul propriu, oferindu-ne modelul de urmat Nu mai risipi gnduri n vzduh/ Drumul n-are nici un sens/ Cnd te dezbraci de tine/ n negrul ru al trecerii/ Numai cel ce sare abisul/ Va gsi izvorul cuvntului dinti.

Ion Milos The Portrait of a Romanian Poet, a Citizen of the World

Born in 1930 in a Romanian village of the Yugoslavian Banat, the poet and translator Ion Milo emmigrated from under a totalitarian regime to Paris. Rejected by the Slav community, then by the Latin one, his souls barriers became impossible to cross. His strong bond with the land made him search for a place to thrust roots into. He met Love, moved to Sweden, his wifes home country, and hoped to have reached Home at last. He learned the language and tried to adapt. He acquired a lot of knowledge during his studies in Paris and during his marriage. The Utopian dimension of his early poems disappeared when he grew mature, and pessimism, contestation, refusal to accept reality and sarcasm have replaced it. The grave meditation was turned into poetical comment on contemporaneity.

The poet and translator Ion Milos was born in 1930 in a Romanian village of the Yugoslavian Banat, in a traditional family. The conservative spirit of the rural climate of his childhood pervades his work. Milos was still a child when war started and destroyed all values, and turned peace into suffering and hatred, followed by the incertitude of change. The obsessive communist ideology that followed influenced

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the young mans poetry. After breaking the links with Stalin, the totalitarian regime considered every Romanian to be a suspect, and the gifted adolescent became an exiled person in his own country. He built walls around his soul to protect himself. The literary circles envy exiled him as well, and his suffering was complete. Paris, the Mecca of artists, was a new torment for Milos. The exiled Romanians community rejected the Romanian who had not come from Romania. They suspected him to be a Yugoslavian spy. Rejected by the Slav community, as well as by the Latin one, his soul barriers became impossible to cross. His strong bond with the land made him search for a land to thrust roots into. He met Love and hoped to have reached Home. He moved to Sweden, his wifes home country, and started on a new way. He learned the language and tried to adapt. He acquired a lot of knowledge during his studies in Paris and during his marriage, but his poetry suffered. Yet, thanks to his traditionalism, profound Christian spirituality and Latin roots, he did not give up his principles. He failed in his sentimental life, but Ion Milos continued to live in Sweden, and his energy turned into poetry. His self-imposed silence was followed by a self-analysis that led him to destroying the walls he had built permanently, and expressing in his verses the repressed feelings and disgust caused by the experience of his several exiles and permanent quest for peace. The teenagers poems had been linked to the new society which, like the poet, was enthusiastic and restless, naive and open to every horizon. The Utopian dimension of his early poems disappeared when he grew mature, and pessimism, contestation, refusal to accept reality and sarcasm replaced it. The grave meditation was turned into poetical comment on contemporaneity. The continual decay of the human condition is his permanent source of inspiration, and the return to the origins is the leitmotif of his creation as the suggested remedy for the recovery of mans natural dignity. Poetry has its own life-illustrating elements of the day-by-day life, crossing the borders, and being capable to geographically situate anywhere. His experiences makes the poet to express disgust with the rhythm of life: Mothers no longer have time to be mothers/ Sad, they doze at their offices/ And type life/ Babies drink milk from their feeding bottles/ And see the world through the glass/ They dont teach ethics any more in schools/ But the sex technique and marketing/ Pedagogies of the industrial wonder/ Ontological torpor/ Musical drowsiness/ Fog and glazed frost.

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The remedy is expressed in several poems whose theme is the return to the self. The rediscovery of ones forgotten self is the solution to surpass, without futile inner questions, the surrounding mediocrity: Go up to the source of the soul/ there the ears are ripening/ Go up without asking yourself/ where the infinite of this way/ Will take you/ Beyond questions everything is the same. Miloss poems, said Ulf Eriksson, remind us how impersonal and non-private the word I can be, as expressed by the real poet. They are clear and direct, they bring us close to the ground, and give us the necessary weight for us not to float and estrange from the reality. The apparent simplicity of his sentences presents a world where time is not to waste. The progress is seen as a disadvantage for the human spirit (By killing his brother/ Cain/ Improved his life standard), and the span of life is illustrated with Biblical references (On the way of Golgotha History and Fate/ Walk arm in arm/ and talk about injustice/ If Jesus/ Had had supper with the Pharisees/ And not with the Apostles/ He would have ascended the throne/ Not the cross/ says Fate to History/ History pretends not to hear/ And repeats itself:/ One time with blood/ One time with lies.). Beyond the totally un-ornate words one finds an irremediable sadness: In the market place they say:/ God is gold/ The deaf life cries:/ God is dead/ In church they whisper to me:/ God is the candle/ The real God is weeping at the window. The permanent quest for the missing element, the impossibility to adapt represent sarcastic vibrations addressed both to modern man (Man descends from the wolves/ not from the apes) and to society (Everything passes and repeats itself/ The wound of time bleeds and hurts/ History amputates/ In the name of the freedom of expression.). After 1989, Milos finds the apocalyptic threats of the West in a new territory, Romania, the world of perdition which he depicts in gloomy colours: I am sitting at the Table of Silence / And I am thinking of Judah. The poet mocks at the Romanians estrangement from Truth, at false patriotism, and senseless speech: It feels cold in the words. There are moments when the soul finds through dreaming its way Home; Eden is depicted with a Japanese simplicity: There are days/ When one sunbeam is enough/ For the world to get a new colour/ Cherry blossoms are falling down from the sky/ Life passes through you singing. Love, the scent of the infinite in the forest of the sky, represents a constant source of disappointment: It is cold in bed/ My beloved is lying/ And counting the money/ It is empty/ When people have no longer time to love each other/ And life

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steps back. The illusion of happiness through love (When you come/ The skies open and the wheat is ripening/ When you are with me/ God comes to guard us/ No dream flies into nothingness) is short, and the reader is brought back to everyday coldness: Dont think of the passing hours/ Time is not money/ Time is the soul/ But the soul is in hospital. Miloss poetry is in fact a review of the Exile. The exiled person cannot adapt and he considers with irony the ideas of the people around him. He has the fate of the genius that is never understood: So, he is a poet/ The mother-in-law wonders/ And a philosopher/ adds the fatherin-law/ A foreigner whisper the neighbours/ Poetry is useless mumbling/ You cannot earn a living by this/ You have to succeed in life/ smiles the wife. His destiny is doomed: The wife lit a cigarette/ And told me/ Were divorcing/ If marriage is saint/ Why do saints not marry?/ One day/ Women will no longer need men/ Children will be born/ to the Spiritus Sanctus/ In a test tube/ With no metaphysical shivers and thoughts/ Like angels/ They will grow in kindergardens according to statistics/ And will live scientifically/ A guaranteed life. The permanent quest for Truth is translated into poetry: the adolescent believed he would find it in communism, but the dictatorship showed him the difference between theory and practice; the youth thought he would find it in the democracy which in fact only admitted it existed, and did not have the courage to put it into practice because the Truth is the fruit that ripens in the abyss. The abyss is a metaphor for those who, in spite of any danger, reject the Lie, and stand up for a responsible way of living. Love seemed, at a certain point, to be the chance to approach the Absolute, but the fate of the genius was to remain like God in the solitude of the sky. Truth is very subjective. Its identification is amazingly simply offered through indirect sarcasm: It is a pity truth is not a flower/ We could smell it/ And no one would lie again/ In the flowers world. Lying is presented as the absolute ruler: The lips that kiss me/ Lie/ The words that praise me/ Lie. In a degrading world poetry conveys nothing to the readers portrayed in their fashionable clothes causing thus a reaction of rejection, and disparaging the spiritual world as compared to the material world: There are today in the world hundreds of thousands of tons/ Of explosives per person/ How many milligrams of poetry do exist?/ A general asked me/ Life is defended with weapons/ Not with babble./ A footballer costs millions of euros nowadays./ How much is a poet?/ A bank manager asked me/ We do not credit poetry!/ God helps

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only the rich./ I have asked a psychiatrist for advice/ Take the medicine confidently,/ Tempus dolores tue delebit/ Poetry does not die. Miloss confidence in the Good and the Beautiful sometimes lightens his poetry, rediscovering the miracle of life: I am drinking the light of the dawn/ And I am watching a dragon fly/ It is born for only one day/ But it is enough/ For it to teach the leaves to sing/ and Eternity to get younger. This state of mind generates the necessary advice for improving the world: Read a poem every morning/ Listen to music/ Learn from roots and from springs/ How God feels and thinks. Poetry is the vehicle which allows a more sensitive world to survive: Only Pegasus/ Can stop the Apocalypse horses/ Let him fly. Ion Holban says that the reader will discover in this profound and original poet an author whom the reader was missing. The poet offers us a model to follow Do not waste thoughts in the air/ The way is senseless/ When you take off your self/ In the black river of the passage/ Only the one who leaps over the abyss/ Will find the source of the first word.
(Translation: Iolanda Mnescu)

Vasile Andru (ROMNIA) La Sarajevo Balcanii se citesc prin foc Ca s ajung de la Bucureti la Sarajevo, am schimbat dou avioane. Cu nfiorarea cu care te urci ntr-un avion n acest septembrie 2001. Se ajungea mai repede cu trenul sau cu cruaDar mi s-a spus c, dac eti romn, s nu te urci n trenuri balcanice pe vremea asta, la 2001 deci, c te otrvesc i te umilesc toi vameii i feroviarii din heptagonul Isarlcului. i dup ce te umilesc, te in trei nopi pentru cercetri, i aplic penalizri n dolari, apoi te arunc napoi n patrie, cum a pit confratele Florea. Aadar am luat dou avioane, ocolind Viena i Istambulul. Dar au pltit organizatorii, pui pe fapte mari.

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Suntem invitai la Sarajevo, 150 de profesioniti ai speranei, adic scriitori, editori, artiti plastici, cineati, din toat Europa i civa din Americi. 150 de invitai: o mic oaste de boicotat sfritul lumii. n program, scrie genericul adunrii noastre: Rencontres Europennes du Livre. Adic: ntlnirile Europene ale Crii. n limba bosniac (limb slav): Evropski Kniijevni susreti. i mai scrie n program: c vom ntri scena cultural a Balcanilor; s crem condiia stabilizrii politice; s pansm rni adnci ct craterele bombelor. C dac muzele vorbesc teurgic, armele pot s tac. Oricum noi am ajuns la Sarajevo dup tcerea armelor. Am gsit ns ruine, drmturi i gropi, acel peisaj de dup btlie, spimos. Eu chiar cred n utopii din acestea cu ntrirea scenei balcanice i pansarea rnilor. tiu c omul este un ghem de emoii i nervi, un ghem de emoii i zdrnicie, o alctuire fragil i paranoic astfel c un autor, mnuind prghii afective specifice, ar putea s-l aline sau s-l aeze n matc. Chiar dac oamenii se mai ucid, Valmiki, Tiru-Valluvar sau Erutaan (poei!) pre muli au ajutat s ias din barbarie i s fie invulnerabili la stihie. Suntem urmaii lui Erutaan despre care se spune c tia s-i purifice, n 2000 de feluri pe cei ce-l ascultau. i aici, printre invitaii de la Sarajevo, chiar am zrit civa de seama acelui taumaturg. apte zile, noi am avut un program bogat, de diminea pn noaptea. Dezbateri, ateliere, demonstraii, experiene. Pe temele: Literatura i rzboiul; Cultura - limbajul comun al Europei; No Manss Land; Rzboaiele iugoslave mplinesc 10 anii public mult, fraciuni din acest ora-epitom de Balcani. (Organizator principal: Centrul Andr Malraux din Sarajevo; plus asociaii culturale locale i Colegiul internaional al traductorilor). Peisaj dup btlie Vedeam oraul.Toate casele erau ciuruite de gloane. Prima mirare: Cum s-a petrecut? Trgeau cu mitralierele, de la geamuri, unii n alii? Cci toate cldirile i din dreapta i din stnga strzii, au pereii gurii i scormonii de gloane. Alt mirare: De unde au avut atta muniie? Vd case drmate, cldiri tirbe, blocuri defenestrate. O expoziie de grafic este plasat ntre ruinele Bibliotecii Naionale. n acelai timp, vd semnele refacerii rapide: reconstrucie, curire, gospodreal. Multe case restaurate. Multe terase aranjate cu

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gust. Oameni aferai, dar relaxai la ora serii. Un puls vital admirabil. Incomparabil mai ridicat dect la Bucureti. Cum? E vorba de un specific al etniei? Sau, dup rzboi, oamenii sunt mai doritori de via, mai ingenioi, mai morali? Aceti srbi i bosniaci, mcinai de 10 ani de rzboi, o duc mai bine dect noi romnii la ceas de somnolen istoric. Se vede la ei o nhmare la via, spirit practic, eficien. Au maini elegante aduse din Germania; i fac la vitez case artoase cu bani adui din Germania, unde lucreaz cinci luni pe an. Au salarii de vreo trei ori mai mari dect salariile romneti pentru aceleai servicii. (Mirarea asta am avut-o i-n Indiatot de vreo trei ori) Suntem aadar n situaia lui Dinicu Golescu, s-i ndemnm pe compatrioi la propire lund exemple de la vecinii notri bosniaci sau indieni! O replic la bogomilii n floare Una dintre comunicrile mele expuse la Sarajevo s-a numit Infernul i paradisul: mitologie i realitate contemporan. M refeream, ntre altele, la Balcanii deceniului sngeros. Ddeam o replic la o idee de sorginte bogomil, reactualizat astzi n Balcanii zguduii de rzboi. Unii balcanici susin c Diavolul, i nu Dumnezeu, conduce lumea. C Diavolul este eful orchestrrii simfoniei cosmoteandrice a Demiurgului. Ideea acesta bogomil a fost surprins i nu relansat, de un roman actual de succes al lui Anton Doncev, Cavalerul crii de tain. n replic, eu aduceam o informaie cultural antropologic: la polinezieni, ideea de diavol i infern nici nu exist i n-a fost acceptat de ei nici azi, dup cretinarea lor. Am mai supus ateniei o imagine, povestind un episod din rzboaiele tribale, i anume: dac rzboinicul vedea chipul inamicului, nu-l mai putea ucide. Extindeam aceast imagine, n chip sapienial, la lumea contemporan: sporind cunoaterea interuman, va scdea violena. Cu alte cuvinte, dac rzboinicul contemporan ar vedea chipul sau mai ales sufletul dumanului, nu l-ar putea ucide. Ecoul acestei aseriuni a fost neateptat de viu. Adic diveri participani mi spuneau invariabil: Ideea ta este perfect utopic. Uite, aici, n zone iugoslave, inamicii se vedeau la fa i se mpucau cu ferocitate ntre ei. Mi se povesteau cazuri concrete, cnd un agresor a spintecat cu baioneta o femeie nsrcinat, cu satisfacia c ucide dou fiine

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deodat: o femeie i un ft. Evident, bestia vzuse faa femeii. (Asta mi amintea de un alt caz: uciderea Taniei, femeia lui Che Guevara, nsrcinat, njunghiat n vintre) . Scriitorul bulgar Nikolai Stoianov mi-a dat exemplu de rzboinici care se ucideau, dei i vedeau feele (el a luptat pe front).Mi s-au povestit multe cazuri. Astfel c ideea mea, dei utopic, a fost productiv, a polarizat reacii emoionale cu privire la comportamentul paradoxal al omului dezlnuit. Confratele Tacu, cu care m aflam la Sarajevo, mi-a povestit un caz din familie: tatl su, n primul rzboi mondial, a ucis un soldat inamic care se plimba pe un parapet, ntr-un moment de acalmie, deci nu n lupt. Dar, a mai spus Valentin Tacu, dup aceea, tatl su a fost toat viaa lui nonagenar chinuit de imaginea victimei, muncit c l-a ucis pe acel om. Faa acelui om a avuto sub ochi, obsedant, pn-n ceasul morii. I-am rspuns: Aceast tortur psihic, penitent la urma urmei, arat c ipoteza despre incapacitatea de a ucide cnd vezi faa aproapelui i gsete o stranie confirmare. Analiza nefericirii balcanice Am vizitat apoi un cimitir musulman. Monumente funerare specifice, cu turbanul pe stlp sau cu alt simbol etnic. Pe unele monumente se poate citi (mi traducea un nsoitor): Aici zace Asan care a trit 2 ani. Yursef a trit 3 ani. Ismail a trit 2 ore. Omar a trit 20 de minute. Atunci am ntrebat: Aici este un cimitir pentru copii? nsoitorul, Pedrag Matveievici mi-a rspuns: Aici sunt ngropai aduli i chiar longevivi. Dar pe mormnt e notat numai numrul anilor sau orelor de fericire din toat viaa. Aici scrie cte minute de fericire a trit fiecare n lume. Cci ei socot c doar atunci este via adevrat, cnd ai fost fericit. n rest, chinul nu este via. Fiinele nefericite sunt suflete moarte. Tacu mi zice c un savant a calculat (pe un lot de persoane) c omul are, ntr-o existen, doar 15 minute de fericire.

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Diavolul ca ap ispitor Din cauza nenorocirilor, balcanicii dau vina pe diavol. Aa se explic resurecia unui maniheism sau a concepiilor bogomile n Balcani. Realist vorbind, sau medical vorbind, diavolul este proiectarea unei nevroze. Infernul, aa cum apare n scenariile populare, este o elaborare care reflect teroarea destinului i a istoriei. Valentin Tacu, admirator al neo-bogumililor, mi zice: Se vdete c diavolul conduce lumea, cci numai nemernicii au avut parte de avere i putere. i rspund c i nemernicii cu avere i putere au parte de schizoidii teribile, care-i fac egali psihic cu sracii. Nu doar n faa morii oamenii sunt egali, ci i-n faa nevrozei. Un savant constat c fericirea este genetic, la fel ca i nefericirea. Un iniiat spune c fericirea este iniiatic. Dar esenialul pe aceast tem este enunat n Predica de pe Muntele Fericirilor. Vindecarea este n schimbarea minii. Cum citim Balcanii ? Elisabeta Jevelea din Veles (Macedonia) mi zice: - Strinii n-au observat schimbrile la noi. Vechii balcanici i iubeau prea mult casa. Casa neleas i fizic, ca acoperi, i psihic, ca simbol al trupului. Dar a survenit o schimbare: azi, balcanicii nu simt la fel, deci nu iubesc prea mult casa lor, Balcanii. Ceea ce rmne ns neschimbat aici este accentuarea masculinitii valorilor. - i atunci cum decriptm Balcanii ? Cum i citim? - Citim Balcanii aa cum scriem: trecnd prin foc. mblnzirea focului este o disciplin foarte practicat n Balcani. Lydia Dimkovska (poet, universitar, revenit n Skopije dup 6 ani de edere n Romnia) zice: - S-a ntmplat ceva cu fiina mea n Romnia. M simeam liber i luminoas n Romnia. Aici, parc vor s-mi ia linitea. Simt c nu mai strlucesc. Mi-au luat lumina. Simt c devin rea. Eu i zic c nsi teama ei c-i pierde strlucirea este semn c are lumin interioar, strlucire. Rspunde: - Evident, n preajma celui ce vine de pe Athos simt c am strlucire.

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Un aromn din Veles, scriitorul Dina Cuvata (sau Dimo Dimcev), mut discuia de la istorie la persoana sa, atom de istorie i de latinitate iugoslav: - Romnii mi-au fcut mult ru prin nepsarea strivitoare i prin indiferena trufa cu privire la aromni. Dar, dei romnii mi-au fcut mult ru, limba romn mi-a fcut mult bine. Sunt ct sunt datorit limbii romne. Scriitorul Nedim Grsel, nscut la Istambul i acum profesor la Paris, este impresionat europenete de motenirea turceasc n Balcani. Cartea sa, Cuceritorul, degaj o mare tristee. Urma al nlrii otomane, Nedim Grsel atac lucid miturile fondatoare. Mitul ntemeietor (de ar, de imperiu, de misiune) poate fi strnitor de energie pentru unii, dar umilitor pentru alii. i noi, aici, salariai ai gndirii, mrturisitori, doctori fr argini, voluntari ai utopiei, facem elaborarea traumei, adic reciclarea eecului n sugestie de supravieuire. Pelerinaj la ruine i la 300.000 de mori Duminic, n zi de rgaz ntre dezbateri, am vizitat oraul Mostar, la 150 de km de Sarajevo. De la Sarajevo am mers cu trenul (garnitur de pelerinaj, sponsorizat de cile ferate franceze). Am cltorit printr-un peisaj muntos splendid, care ne amintea totui c pe planeta Pmnt a fost un proiect de rai: proiect realizat n form, dar ratat n coninut. Eram pe firul fluviului Neredva, cu ape verzi, un verde care te hipnotizeaz. Culoarea e dat de nite roci solubile smaragdine; pe lume sunt doar dou fluvii cu aceast culoare: Neredva din Bosnia i Alaknanda din India. Mostar este un oras bosniac tocat i fcut pulbere de recentul rzboi iugoslav. Centrul este distrus cu totul. Artera principal, rscolit de obuze, e numit Bulevardul morii. Vezi blocuri i vile ruinate, incendiate, peste tot urma de bombe i explozii. Am urcat pe o colin care domin oraul i am vzut un complex mnstiresc drmat. S-a tras nti cu tunul, apoi au pus dinamit. Acum vedeam mormanele de zidrie distrus i mortarul pictat cu sfini. De pe acest mortar pictat, sfinii par s se scuze c s-au mntuit doar pe ei i n-au reuit s scoat omenirea din barbarie.

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Srbii bombardau moschei, bosniacii dinamitau biserici. Nu tiu bilanul final, cine a drmat mai abitir templele aproapelui credincios. i unele, i altele, evident, sunt casele lui Dumnezeu. Secolul 21 va fi totui religios?, l ntreb pe Nikolai Stoianov, E discutabil, mi rspunde el. Aici, pe colin, lng sfnta biseric drmat de nesfnta ur inerconfesional, scriitorul bosniac Predrag Matveievici (nscut chiar la Mostar!) ne zice cu o neleapt tristee, ca-n faa Judecii de Apoi: - Iat, v spun cu mhnire i cin c tribul meu a fcut aceste ruinuri! Tribul din care m trag a fcut acest prpd! Eu cred c prin expresia tribul meu el nelegea spea uman din care m trag, familia uman de care aparinem de la creaiune i pn azi. Cci simeam c el vorbete i pentru noi, i pentru mine. Misterul Balcanilor deborda n unul mai amplu: misterul omenirii care ne conine. i aceasta-i omenirea pentru care noi mrturisim. S-au mpucat ntre ei, aici, ortodoci, catolici, muslimi. Predrag Matveievici continu: Ce-ar zice tatl meu, catolicul, i mama mea, ortodox, dac ar vedea crucea acesta uria rsturnat n rn i mnstirea prbuit sub dinamit? El vorbea cu un sentiment de participare la tragedia omului, dincolo de ruinele vzute. Mi se prea c-i ultimul rzboi Dup vizita la Mostar am revenit la Sarajevo i a urmat nc o zi de dezbateri culturale i de ateliere artistice: scopul declarat era ntrirea scenei culturale n Balcani, cu 150 de scriitori i artiti din toate genurile, rostind, transformnd trauma n lecie de via. Apoi am auzit la radio c n Bosnia a fost nimicit, ieri, o grupare terorist care avea legturi cu reeaua Al Qaeda. i au fost dezmembrate un numr de reele teroriste. Aadar, n timp ce noi dezbteam teme generoase i pacifiste ca Literatura i rzboiul, n timp ce regizorul Jean Luc Godard ne prezenta ultimul su film concurent la Oscar (zgomotos, scindat, antimarial), acolo, n cazanul Sarajevo, lucrau fore tenebroase. Aadar convieuiam n acelai spaiu, cei vzui i cei ascuni. Muzele i armele. De la fereastra hotelului n care eram cazai, vedeam dou imagini ce-mi rezumau situaia: n stnga, un bloc drmat de bombardamente, fostul sediu al unui mare cotidian; n dreapta, un campament de vehicule pe care scrie UN, adic United Nation, ale

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forelor de meninere a pcii. Pregtindu-m de plecarea n patrie, mi aminteam de spusele lu Nenad Popovici (un nsemnat scriitor croat): ntlnirea noastr se ine n ajunul unui nou conflict mondial. Un nou rzboi plutete n aer. Dac vrem s adresm un mesaj nainte ca bombele s ne ia din nou glasul, atunci locul cel mai potrivit este aici, pe buza craterelor vechilor bombe. Aceasta am i fcut.

In Sarajevo the Balkans Are Read Through Fire I had to change planes twice to reach Sarajevo from Bucharest and this with all the fear you jump on a plane during this September of 2001. One could have reached Sarajevo faster by train. Or by cart... But I was told that if youre Romanian you better not travel on Balkan trains these days, for all the border officers and railway workers in the Isarlac heptagon will not only humiliate you, but also hold you up for three nights for investigations, fine you in dollars, and then throw you back to your homeland, like they did with brother Florea. So I took two planes and avoided Vienna and Instanbul. Luckily, the organizers paid for the trip, in an effort to exhibit their big plans. We were invited to Sarajevo 150 professionals of hope, a.k.a. writers, editors, plastic artists, and cinematographers from all over Europe and some from the Americas. 150 invitees: a small army to boycott the end of the world. The title of our gathering was Rencontres Europennes du Livre, Books European Meetings. In Bosnian language (a Slavic language): Evropski Kniijevni susreti. The event program also said that we will strengthen the cultural scene of the Balkans; create the condition for political stabilization; bandage wounds as deep as bombs craters. It also said that if muses speak theurgically, weapons can be quiet. In any case, we reached Sarajevo when weapons had already become quiet. We did find ruins, debris and holes in the ground, composing that scary, post-battle picture.

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I really believe in these utopias of strengthening the Balkan scene and bandaging wounds. I know that human beings are a ball of emotions and nerves, a ball of emotions and vanity, a fragile and paranoid structure such that an author, mastering specific affective levers, could mollify them or settle them back in the comfort of the womb. Even if some people still commit suicide (Valmiki, Tiru-Valluhar or Erutasan all poets, mind you!), to many the writer has been the one source of aid out of barbarism and source of invulnerability to chimeras. We are Erutasans descendants, who was said to be able to purify in 2,000 different ways those who listened to him. And here, in Sarajevo, I can say I spotted some who were at the level of that thaumaturge. We had seven days of full program, dawn to dusk. Debates, workshops, demonstrations, and experiences on the following themes: Literatura i rzboiul (Literature and War); Cultura - limbajul comun al Europei (Culture Europes Common Tongue); No Manss Land; Rzboaiele iugoslave mplinesc 10 ani (Yugoslav Wars Turn 10) There was a large audience, too fractions of this epitome-city in the Balkans. (Main organizer: Andre Malraux Center from Sarajevo, local cultural associations, and the international translators College). After-the-War Painting I could see the city. All the houses had bullet scars. My first question was how did it happen? Had they used shotguns, shooting each other from their windows? I couldnt see any other explanation, since all the buildings on each side had their walls penetrated by bullets. Second question: Where had they gotten all that ammunition? I saw torn houses, wounded buildings, windowless apartment buildings. A graphics exhibit sat between the ruins of the National Library. At the same time, I saw the signs of rapid rehabilitation: reconstruction, cleaning, many redone houses, and terraces arranged tastefully. People were fussing about, but also relaxed in the evenings. I could feel an admirable life pulse, incomparably more intense than in Bucharest. How could that be? Is it a specifically ethnic trait? Or is it that after war, people are thirstier for life, more ingenious and moral? These Serbs and Bosnians, having gone through 10 years of war, have a better life than us Romanians at a time of historical somnolence. One can notice in them a certain grip on life, a practical spirit and

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efficiency. They own elegant cars brought from Germany; they quickly build gorgeous houses with money brought from Germany, where they work five months a year. Their salaries are about three times higher than Romanian ones for the same services. (I had the same awe in India... also about three times...) We are therefore in the same situation as Dinicu Golescu, to encourage our compatriots to advance, learning from our Bosnian or Indian neighbours! A Reply to the Flowering Bogomiles One of my presentations in Sarajevo was called Hell and Paradise: Contemporary Mythology and Reality. I was referring among other things to the Balkans of the bloody century. It was a reply to an originally bogomile idea, reactualized today in the war-torn Balkans. Some Balkan people suggest that it is the Devil rather than God who rules the world. They believe that the Devil is the conductor of the cosmotheandric symphony of the Demiurge. This bogomile idea was captured, not relaunched, by a successful contemporary novel of Anton Doncev, The Knight of the Mystery Book. My reply was an anthropological, cultural information: for Polynesians, the ideas of Devil and Hell do not even exist and they have not even accepted it today, after their Christianization. I also commented on an episode from the tribal wars: if the warrior saw the enemys face, he could not kill him. I extrapolated this image to the contemporary world: if we manage to increase interhuman knowledge, violence will decrease. In other words, if the contemporary warrior would see his enemys face and especially his soul, he could not kill him. The echo of this assertion was unexpectedly vivacious. Other participants were invariably telling me: Your idea is perfectly utopic. Here, in the Yugoslavian region, enemies saw each others face plainly and killed each other ferociously. I was told concrete cases, when an aggressor killed a pregnant woman with a machete and got the great satisfaction of killing two in one: a woman and a fetus. Evidently, that beast had seen the womans face. (This reminded me about another case: the assassination of Che Guevaras pregnant wife). Bulgarian writer Nikolai Stoianov, who had been in the war, gave me an example about the warriors who killed each other even though they could see each others face. I was told about many such cases, such that my idea, albeit utopic, was nonetheless

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productive and polarized emotional reactions regarding the paradoxal behaviour of unrestrained humans. Brother Tascu, who was also in Sarajevo, told me about a family case: in First World War, his father killed an enemy soldier that was walking on top of a wall, in a quiet moment, so not even during a fight. His father was haunted by his victims image his whole life. He had that mans face in front of his eyes until the moment of his death. I answered him: this psychological torture, or penitence rather, shows that the hypothesis about not being able to kill when you see your fellows face finds a strange confirmation. Analysis of Balkan Unhappiness I then visited a Muslim cemetery. There were funeral monuments with a turban on a pole or a different ethnical symbol. On some monuments one could read (I had a translator): Here lies Asan who lived 2 years. Yursef lived 3 years. Ismail lived 2 hours. Omar lived 20 minutes. Then I asked: Is this a childrens cemetery? My guide, Pedrag Matveievici answered: Here are buried adults and even long-lived ones. But on their monuments is written only the number of years or hours of happiness in their life. They believe that true life is only when you are happy. Suffering is not life. Unhappy people are dead souls. Tascu tells me that an intellectual has calculated (out of a human pool) that on average, people live only 15 minutes of happiness in their existence. The Devil as Scapegoat Misfortune has made Balkan people blame the Devil. Its the reason for resurrection of Manichaeism or for the bogomile conceptions in the Balkans. Realistically speaking, or rather medically, the Devil is the projection of a certain kind of neurosis. Hell, as it appears in popular scenarios, reflects the terror of history and destiny. Valentin Tascu, an admirer of neo-bogumils, tells me: Its true that the Devil leads the world, since only the evil got wealth and power. I answered that even the wealthy and powerful wretched are predisposed to terrible schizophrenias, which brings them on an equal

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footing with the poor from a psychic point of view. Men are equal in front of neurosis as much as in front of death. An intellectual has noticed that happiness is genetic, just like unhappiness. An initiated says that happiness is initiatic. But the essential on this theme is described in Sermon from the Mountain of Happiness. Healing Rests in Ones Change of Mind. How Do We Read the Balkans? Elisabeta Jevelea from Veles (Macedonia) tells me: Foreigners havent noticed any changes in us. Old Balkan people loved their houses too much. They thought of a house both in the physical sense of a roof and in the psychic sense as symbol of ones body. But a change has happened: today, Balkan people dont love their home so much anymore, the Balkans. What remains unchanged is the strong masculinity of values. So how do we then decrypt the Balkans? How do we read them? We read the Balkans as we write them: going through fire. The taming of fire is a very popular practice in the Balkans. Lydia Dimkovska (poet, university professor, returned to Skopije after 6 years of living in Romania) says: Something happened to my being while in Romania. I felt free and bright in Romania. I feel like theyre trying to take away my peace here. I dont shine anymore. Theyve taken away my light. I feel Im becoming evil. I tell her that exactly this fear of losing her brightness is a sign of her inner light and brightness. She answers: Obviously, near one who has just come back from Mount Athos I feel like Im shining. An Aromanian from Veles, writer Dina Cuvata (or Dimo Dimcev) changes the topic from history to himself, an atom of Yugoslav history and Latinity: Romanians have done me much harm through their pressing carelessness and proud indifference regarding Aromanians. But even if Romanians have done me much harm, Romanian language has done me good. I am as much as I am thanks to the Romanian language. Writer Nedim Gursel, born in Istanbul and now professor in Paris, is impressed in an European way by the Turkish inheritance in the

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Balkans. His book, The Conqueror, emanates a great sadness. Nedim Gursel, descendant of the Ottoman rise, attacks the founding myths very lucidly. The myth of founding (a country, empire, mission) can bring energy for some, but humiliate others. Us too here, workers of the thought, confessors, doctors without money, volunteers of utopia, make trauma elaboration, meaning reciting failure as a suggestion to survive. Pilgrimage to Ruins and to 300,000 Dead On Sunday, the day of rest in between debates, I visited Mostar, a city 150 km away from Sarajevo. From Sarajevo I took the train, a piece of pilgrimage sponsored by the French railroads. I travelled through a beautiful mountain landscape, which reminded me that on Planet Earth there was a project of heaven: a project that was realized in form, but failed in its content. I was on the hypnotizing green waters of the Neredva river. It gets its colour from some soluble emerald coloured rocks. There are just two rivers of this colour in the world: the Neredva in Bosnia and the Alaknanda in India. Mostar is a city greatly damaged by the recent Yugoslav war. The centre is completely destroyed and the main boulevard, rummaged by shells, is now called the Boulevard of Death. You see everywhere buildings and villas that have been ruined and burnt, everything carrying the imprint of bombs and explosions. I climbed a hill that dominates the city and saw a demolished monastery. They must have first cannoned it and then blown it up. Now I could see piles of destroyed concrete and the mortar, painted with saints, which seem to apologize for having only saved themselves and having failed to save the world from barbarity. The Serbs bombed mosques and the Bosnians bombed churches. I dont know the final count as to who demolished more of the others temple. Both are evidently the house of God. Will the 21st century be religious? I asked Nikolai Stoianov. Its debateable, he answers. Here on the hill, near the holy church demolished by the unholy interconfessional hate, Bosnian writer Predrag Matveievici (born in Mostar!) tells us with a wise sadness, as if facing the Last Judgement: This I tell you with grief and penitence that my tribe has done these ruins! The tribe I come from has committed this calamity!

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I think that through my tribe he understood the human race I come from, the human family we belong to from creation until today. For I felt that he spoke for us too, and for me. The mystery of the Balkans overflew into a more ample one: the mystery of humanity that contains us. This is the humanity we confess for. Theyve shot each other here Orthodox, Catholics, Muslims. Predrag Matveievici continued: What would my father, the Catholic, say and my mother, Orthodox, if they saw this giant cross bent over in the dust and the monastery collapsed under dynamite? He spoke with a feeling of participating to the human tragedy, beyond the visible ruins. It Seemed to Me That Its the Last War After the visit to Mostar I returned to Sarajevo for another day of cultural debates and artistic workshops: the declared goal was strengthening the cultural scene in the Balkans, with 150 writers and artists of different kinds, speaking, transforming trauma into a lesson of life. Then I heard on the radio that yesterday, a terrorist group that had ties with the Al Qaeda network was destroyed in Bosnia. So, while we were debating generous and pacifist themes like Literature and War, while director Jean Luc Godard was presenting his last film nominated for the Oscar (noisy, fragmented, anti-martial), there, in the Sarajevo boiler, tenebrous forces were at work. Thus, we lived in the same space, the visible and the hidden. The muses and the weapons. From the window of our hotel I could see two images that summarized the situation: on the left, a demolished building, the former headquarters of a large newspaper; on the right, a vehicle encampment on which it was written UN, United Nations, the peacekeeping forces. As I was getting ready to go back home, I remembered what Nenad Popovici, a great Croatian writer, had said: Our meeting is held on the eve of a new world conflict. A new war floats in the air. If we want to send a message before bombs silence us again, then the best place to do that is here, on the cusp of old bomb craters. That is exactly what we did.
(Translation: Maria-Denisa Albu)

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GABRIELA RUSU-PSRIN (ROMNIA) Calendar popular romnesc: Srbtorile verii

Calendarul ordoneaz viaa spiritual i material a ranului. Calendarul popular este sinteza anului cu submultiplii si: anotimpul, luna, sptmna, ziua. Sunt repere temporare, care ordoneaz viaa i ocupaiile n comunitatea steasc. Submultiplul anului, anotimpul, rmne reperul esenial n segmentarea timpului. Asocierea lui cu cele patru secvene cunoscute i n mediul urban, i n cel rural este cea mai cunoscut. ntr-o prezentare sintetic a verii din perspectiva calendarului romnesc sunt de nominalizat i de explicitat la nivelul funcionrii obiceiurilor, datinilor i credinelor cteva mari srbtori.

Calendarul este i o ,,punere n tem", o reactualizare a unui fond ancestral de credine i datini, un codice sau o pravil avnd ca idei centrale ntrebri eseniale pentru comportamentul comunitar: ce se face, ce nu se face ntr-o anume zi, perioad, srbtoare fix sau mobil. Calendarul ordoneaz viaa spiritual i material a ranului. Calendarul popular e sinteza anului cu submultiplii si: anotimpul, luna, sptmna, ziua. Funciona n comunitatea tradiional i imaginea unui calendar cu dou anotimpuri, vara i iarna, ca si credina c Sngeorzul (23 aprilie) ncuie iarna i nfrunzete codrul, iar Snmedrul ncuie vara i desfrunzete codrul. Sunt repere temporare, care ordoneaz viaa i ocupaiile n comunitatea steasc. Submultiplul anului, anotimpul, rmne reperul esenial n segmentarea timpului. Asocierea lui cu cele patru secvene cunoscute i n mediul urban, i n cel rural este cea mai cunoscut. ntr-o prezentare sintetic a verii din perspectiva calendarului romnesc sunt de nominalizat i de explicitat la nivelul funcionrii obiceiurilor, datinilor i credinelor cteva mari srbtori. Prima lun a verii se mimete Cirear, o lun simbol pentru frunzar", verdele plin al cmpului i imagine a sevei tinereii. Calendarul popular romnesc stabilete cea mai lung zi a verii: 10 iunie. ntre 10 iunie i 10 septembrie se cuprinde vara, ntr-o descretere a intensitii cldurii, strlucirii soarelui i anunarea apusului. Ziua cea mai lung a anului este ns 24 iunie, solstiiul de var, i este marcat, alturi de simbolurile specifice srbtorii Snzienelor, soarele i dragostea, i de prezena cucului, care, de la aceast dat se metamorfozeaz n uliu i i neac clonu-n orz". Srbtoarea Snzienelor, sau Drgaica, sau Sfntul Ioan de Var celebreaz spiritul feminin al pmntului. Aceast srbtoare

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este ateptat de tinere pentru a-i afla ursitul i de femeile btrne, iertate" pentru culegerea plantelor de leac. Cu flori de Snziene (simbol al Snzienelor, al divinitii atmosferice) i cu spice de gru se fac cununie ce au rol de substitut sacru: sunt purtate pe cap de tinere fecioare, invocnd nuntirea, mplinirea dragostei i a rodului; sunt agate la stlpii casei sau n cas i au rol de aprare mpotriva forelor malefice. Ziua de 24 iunie este ziua culegerii nvalnicului, plant a dragostei; cnd fata rupe nvalnicul, trebuie s opteasc doar pentru ea: Nvalnic mare,/ Cum mpupeti,/ Cum nfloreti,/ i cum nvleti,/ Aa s nvleasc toat lumea dup cuvntul meu". La 24 iunie se celebreaz i Drgaica, numit Doamna Florilor. Jocul Drgaicei se face doar de ctre fete, mbrcate n haine brbteti i cea mai aleas", n mireas. Se dansa exclusiv de ctre fete, ele mplinind ceremonialul nupial al zeiei agrare. Ziua era respectat pentru seceri", textele au rezonan ludic: Mi-au venit drgaicele,/ S reteze spicele,/ Mi-a venit vara bogat". (Culegere din judeul Teleorman, comuna Izvoarele). Luna cea mai clduroas este luna lui Cuptor sau luna fierbinelilor i a coacerilor" (iulie). Sunt cunoscui Circovii de var (din 7 iulie ), ziua cnd se face ap de pelin i se culege mrarul. E bun de leac i de strigtur: Foaie verde de mrar/ Neica vine tot mai rar... de cldur'' (culegere din zona Segarcea). ntre 13 si 27 iulie calendarul popular consemneaz Panteliile, surorile Sfntului Ilie. Zilele sunt marcate de credine: 13 iulie - ncep Panteliile, 14 este ziua lui Chiric chiopul, zi aductoare de foc, n numele divinitii populare, 15 este Ciurica, zi n care oamenii nu trebuie s se certe ca s nu fie glceav-n cas tot anul". 19 - Moii de Sntilie, 20 - Sntilie, cel ce restabilete ordinea, trznind i fulgernd pe locul unde rutile nu mai au loc de cte sunt. Alte 3 zile dup Sntilie ( 21, 22, 23 iulie ) sunt Panteliile (incluznd Prliile), cele ce reunesc familia lui Sntilie. Alaiul divinitilor feminine, surori cu zeul soarelui din Panteonul popular romnesc sunt urmate de alte zile de srbtoare, care au ca punct final ziua de 27 iulie, Pintilie Cltorul. De Sntilie se fac nedei la munte. Ciobanii din Polovragi, jud. Gorj tiu de nedeia de Sntilie de peste 200 de ani. Luna august este luna belugului ce trebuie protejat prin acte de propiiere i apotropaice. n august este treieriul/i la gru aliveliul. Srbtorile lui gustar amintesc de gestul de a celebra grul nou. ranii din Teleorman fceau, dup treieri, un colac, l legau cu a roie la custura fntnii, lsau s treac un rsrit de soare peste el i apoi l

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scufundau n apa fntnii de trei ori, nchinndu-l n gnd (Gh. Tocilescu, Materiale folclorice, vol. I, Bucureti, 1900, p. 845). n final, l mpreau copiilor pentru a fi mncat, copiii reprezentnd vrsta puritii, a energiilor plenare, aa cum colacul de gru nou, nchinat n gnd i udat cu ap bun de fntn, va pstra norocul locului i va atrage fertilitatea lui i a oamenilor. Altfel, loc srat i om sterp nu trebuie nimnui. Gustar (august) ncepe cu Macoveiul, zi n care grdinile i livezile sunt stropite cu aghiazm. Este i Ziua Crucii (sunt trei ntr-un an: duminica a treia din Postul Mare, 1 august i 14 septembrie). Este i srbtoarea ursului (mpuiatul urilor). i tot de 1 gustar ncepe postul Sfintei Mrii. La nceput Postul Patelui avea 9 sptmni. A fost considerat prea lung i s-au desprins dou i au fost aezate n calendar nainte de Adormirea Maicii Domnului, 15 august. Schimbarea la fa (6 august ) este o mare srbtoare n calendarul popular i n cel ortodox. Este Probejenia, hotar ntre var i toamn. Este precedat de moii Schimbrii la fa, cnd se d poman coliv din struguri i faguri de miere. Este dezlegare la pete. n Oltenia este credina c n aceast zi e bine s pui deoparte o crengu cu apte prune i cteva alune. Sunt bune de leac peste an. Culegerea alunelor se fcea pe vremuri ntr-un anume mod, doar de ctre femei, acestea fceau trei mtnii. Numai aa, alunele cptau virtui vindectoare. De Obrejenie se culeg avrmeasa, mprteasa. E bine ca fetele i femeile s nu-i spele prul n aceast zi, altfel cosia lor nu va mai crete, cum nici iarba nu va mai crete n aceast zi. Mai este credina c dac oamenii se feresc de durere de cap n ziua de Schimbare la Fa, nu o s-i mai doar capul tot anul. Sfnta Mria Mare este srbtoarea cretin Adormirea Maicii Domnului i mare srbtoare popular. Se crede c aa de mare a fost jalea i durerea, nct poamele cele alese s-au strns ntr-un loc i au format un pom mare, care s-a pus n fruntea procesiei, cu care a fost petrecut Maica Domnului la mormnt. De atunci este bocetul la romni i datina prin unele zone de a se duce pe ultimul drum al omului un pom ncrcat cu poame. De Sfnt Mrie e bine s se mnnce struguri i s se descnte de sntate: Cutare s rmn curat,/ Luminat,/ Ca steaua din cer,/Ca roua din cmp,/Ca strugurii din vie,/n ziua de Snt-Mrie. Via de vie, simbol pentru aceast zi, e un motiv sacru. Ipostazele plastice sunt cele mai expresive. n pictura bisericeasc, motivul este prezent: coarda de vi-de-vie cu struguri, care ies dintr-o coast din stnga corpului lui Iisus. Iisus stoarce un strugure atrnat deasupra

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corzii ntr-o cup, simboliznd butura episamic. O alt imagine mural este cea a unui strugure mare dus pe umeri de doi oameni. Iar legendele despre credinele n Sfinirea viei sunt nc de auzit, iar prin Moldova se spune: Dac vei lucra apte ani un pogon de vie, fr s sudui niciodat n ea, cum e via, c te zgrie, te tai, dar nu zici nimic, atunci Dumnezeu i iart pcatele, te duci dirept n ceriu. Sntion de Toamn (29 august) este mare srbtoare, cnd nu se mnnc fructe rotunde sau asemntoare cu un cap: mere, pere, pepeni verzi. Nu se mnnc din strachin, pentru c e rotund, nu se folosete cuitul (cu el s-a tiat capul Sf. Ioan Boteztorul). n Oltenia este funcional i azi o semnificaie a srbtorii: se crede c n aceast zi, i numai n aceast zi, femeia este egal cu brbatul. Doar o zi, care, de obicei trece repede! Dup Gustar este ateptat rpciune, septembrie, luna de nceput a toamnei.

On Summer Feasts in the Romanian Folk Calendar

The calendar sets order in the peasants spiritual and material life. The folk calendar is a synthesis of the year and its seasons, months, weeks, and days. The traditional community would also note a calendar of two seasons: summer and winter, as well as the belief that the Sangeorz (April 23) locks winter away and makes the forest come into leaf, while the Sanmedru locks summer away and makes the forest shed its leaves. These are time marks that give fluency and constancy to the life and works of the rural community. Nevertheless, the essential mark in dividing time is the season. It is associated with important feasts both in rural and in urban areas. We will present synthetically, and explain a few summer important feasts, from the perspective of the Romanian folk calendar.

The calendar is reminder, a renewal of an ancestral content of beliefs and customs. It is an old set of rules, an old code of laws whose main ideas represent the essential questions regarding the community behavior: what is customary and what is not on a certain day, in a certain period of time, on the occasion of a certain fixed or movable feast? The calendar sets order in the peasants spiritual and material life. The folk calendar is a synthesis of the year and its seasons, months, weeks, and days. The traditional community would also note a calendar of two seasons: summer and winter, as well as the belief that the Sangeorz (April 23) locks winter away and makes the forest come into

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leaf, while the Sanmedru locks summer away and makes the forest shed its leaves. These are time marks that give fluency and constancy to the life and works of the rural community. Nevertheless, the essential mark in dividing time is the season. It is associated with important feasts both in rural and in urban areas. We will present synthetically, and explain a few summer important feasts, from the perspective of the Romanian folk calendar. The first summer month is also called the cherry-bearer. It is a symbol of the green in the fields and of the juvenile vigor image. The longest summer dayas established by the Romanian folk calendaris June 10. Summer extends between June 10 and September 10 and is characterized by a decrease in heat intensity, in the suns brightness, and in the premonition of decline. Nevertheless, the longest day of the year is June 24the summer solstice. It is marked by the specific symbols of the Sanziene feast: the sun and love, the presence of the cuckoo that turns into a hawk from this date, and dives its beak into the barley. The feast called Sanziene or Dragaica or Summer Saint John celebrates the feminine spirit. Young girls find out who their future husband is, and old women pick curative plants. They make wreaths out of Our Ladys Bedstraws (the symbol of the Sanziene and atmospheric divinity) and wheat straw, which are sacred substitutes. The wreaths are worn by young virgins who call upon the wedding, love fulfillment, and its fruit. They are hung inside homes and their role is to protect against malefic forces. On June 24, young girls pick the harts tongue, which is a plant of love; while picking it, the young girl must whisper to herself, Great harts tongue,/ The same as you bud/ The same as you flower/ the same as you overflow/ May everybody rush for my word. Dragaica (The Flowers Lady) is also celebrated on June 24. Dragaica-s dance is performed only by girls dressed as men, while one of them, the chosen one, is dressed like a bride. Only girls perform this dance, in a bridal ceremony, devoted to the agrarian goddess. This day is dedicated to harvesting; the texts are playful: Dragaica-s have come to me/ To harvest the ears/ The rich summer has come to me. (Collected in Izvoarele village, Teleorman County.) The hottest month is July, the month of heat and of ripe fruit. On July 7 (Circovii de vara), wormwood water is prepared and the dill is picked. It is curative, and also mentioned in folk songs: Green dill leaf, / My lover comes rarer and rarer because of the heat. (Collected in Segarcea area.)

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Between July 13 and 27, the folk calendar mentions the Pantelii sisters to Saint Jeliah. All these days are marked by different beliefs: the Pantelii begin on July 13. The 14th is the day of Chiric the Lamea day that brings fire in the name of the folkloric divinity. The 15th is the day of Ciuricaa day when people should not quarrel, in order to avoid quarreling during the whole year. The 19th is the day of the Old Ones of Saint Jeliah, July 20Saint Jeliah, the one who reestablishes order and brings lightning and thunder to the places where evil prevails. The three days after Saint Jeliahs dayJuly 21 to 23are the days called the Pantelii (including the Parlii) and they reunite Saint Jeliahs family. The feminine divinities cortegesisters of the god of the sun in the Romanian folk Pantheonare followed by other holidays that end with July 27, Pintilie the Traveler. Celebrations are organized in the mountains on Saint Jeliahs day. Shepherds in Polovragi (Gorj County) have known about this feast for more than 200 years. August is the month of the abundance that has to be protected through propitious and apotropaic actions. This months celebrations pertain to the new wheat harvesting. After threshing, the villagers in Teleorman used to prepare a ring-shaped loaf of bread, tied it with a red thread to a fountain and, after the sun rose, they used to sink it thrice in the fountain and cross it1. At the end, they used to give it to children to eat, as children symbolize purity and full energies, the same as the ringshaped loaf of bread made of new wheat, crossed in the mind and watered with fresh fountain water, can keep the place prosperous and attract fertility to that place and to the people there, because nobody needs salted places and barren persons. August starts with the Macovei, a day when gardens and orchards used to be watered with holy water. It is also the day of the cross. (There are three such days during the year: the third Sunday of the Great Easter Fast, August 1, and September 14). It is also the day of celebrating bears. The Saint Mary fast also begins on August 1. In the beginning, Easter fasting period took nine weeks. Later, two weeks of the fasting were moved in the calendar before the Assumption of the Virgin (August 15), because Easter fasting period was too long. The Transfiguration (August 6) is a great celebratory day in the folk and Orthodox calendars. It marks the Probejenia, the borderline between summer and autumn. It is preceded by the Old Ones of the
1

Gh. Tocilescu, 1900, Materiale folclorice, Vol. I, pp. 845, Bucharest.

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Transfiguration, and people give alms. Also, they may eat fish. People in Oltenia believe it is good to keep, on that day, seven plums and some hazelnuts because they have healing powers over the year. Only women would pick hazelnuts, in a special manner: they would genuflect three times. This way, the hazelnuts became curative. On the Obrejenie day, the hedge hyssop and bryony are also picked. Young girls and women should not wash their hair on that day because, otherwise, their hair would not grow any longer, nor would the grass in their fields. People also believed that, if they avoided headaches on the Transfiguration day, they would no longer suffer from headaches all year round. The Great Saint Marys Day is the Assumption of the Virgins Day, and a great feast. People believed that, because of the great suffering and deep sorrow, all fruit gathered and formed a big tree which was placed in front of the procession that accompanied Virgin Mary to the tomb. It has been customary with the Romanians to lament at funerals ever since, and, in some areas, a tree full of fruit accompanies the dead person to the grave. It is good for people to eat grapes on Saint Marys Day, and to cast a good health spell: May this person stay clean/ and purified/ Like the stars in the sky/ Like the dew in the fields/ Like the grapes in the vineyard/ On Saint Marys Day. The vine is a symbol of that day, it is a sacred motif. Religious paintings are most expressive. A vine branch with grapes emerges from Jesus rib. Jesus squeezes a grape into a chalice, a symbol of the sacred drink. Another mural image presents two men carrying a big grape on their shoulders. Legends about the vines sanctification can still be heard. In Moldavia they say, If you work an acre of vine for seven years, and you never curse the vine for the scratches or cuts it causes to you, God will forgive your sins, and you will go directly to heaven. The Autumn Saint John (August 29) is a great feast. People do not eat round fruit or fruit resembling a head: apples, pears, or melons. They do not use round bowls either, and they do not use knives because Saint John the Baptist was beheaded with a knife. Nowadays, in Oltenia, it is still customary to believe that, on that dayonly on that daywomen are equal to men. It is only one day, and it passes so quickly! After August, people await September, the first month of autumn.
(Translation: Iolanda Manescu)

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CAMELIA ZBAV (ROMNIA) O srbtoare bulgaro-romn: Zrezeanu

n sudul rii, n unele localiti unde, alturi de populaia majoritar, triesc etnici bulgari, srbtoarea Sfntului Trifon mai poart denumirea de Tri Zarezan sau Arezan, Zrezean (Zerezean) ori Triforezan, nume ce are la baz bg. - a tia. Exist n bulgar i o form arhaic pentru participiul tiat , care are i semnificaia de vie care va fi tiat. Cu acest prilej se desfoar un ceremonial bahic, de origine tracic. Conform credinei populare, Sf. Trifon este patronul viilor, ceremonia de srbtorire avnd loc la plantaiile de vi de vie, numai cu participarea brbailor. La finalul ritualului, cnd se las nserarea, brbaii se ntorc la casele lor purtnd fclii aprinse i continu srbtoarea n familie.

n tradiiile carpato-balcanice credinele precretine se mpletesc cu cele cretine. n spiritul strvechilor rituri nchinate divinitii tracice care simbolizeaz vegetaia i regenerarea forei vitale a naturii, la 1 februarie, cu o zi nainte de ntmpinarea Domnului, este srbtorit Sfntul Mucenic Trifon. n aceast zi se obinuia s se aprind focuri mari n vii i n livezi, iar altele mai mici le nconjurau ca o adevrata barier de foc, purificatoare, ntre fertil i nefertil, ntre zona sacralizat prin paza focului i cea profan, a satului. Probabil aceste credine poart amprenta cultului greco-roman al lui Dyonisos, zeul viilor i al bucuriilor recoltei. n sudul rii, n unele localiti unde, alturi de populaia majoritar, triesc etnici bulgari, srbtoarea Sfntului Trifon mai poart denumirea de Tri Zarezan sau Arezan, Zrezean (Zerezean) ori Triforezan, nume ce are la baz bg. - a tia. Exist n bulgar i o form arhaic pentru participiul tiat , care are i semnificaia de vie care va fi tiat. O veche legend balcanic vorbete despre Trif Zarezan, prezentndu-l ca fiind att de nebun, nct i-a tiat nasul. n realitate, acest eufemism nsemna stimularea rodului viei, prin tierea coardelor i curirea butucilor. Un alt nume sub care este cunoscut srbtoarea Sfntului Trifon este acela de Gurbanul viilor.

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Cu acest prilej se desfoar un ceremonial bahic, de origine tracic. Conform credinei populare, Sf. Trifon este patronul viilor, ceremonia de srbtorire avnd loc la plantaiile de vi de vie, numai cu participarea brbailor. Potrivit tradiiei, n dimineaa acestei zile, brbaii, nsoii de preot, pornesc n snii trase de cai mpodobii cu joarde de vi de vie i cu zurgli spre plantaiile cu vi de vie. Odat ajuni la vii, proprietarii asist la slujba religioas de sfinire a plantaiilor, mpotriva duntorilor i a bolilor. Apoi, fiecare dezgroap sticlele cu vin ngropate la butucul unei vie. Vinul este produs din prima recolt de anul trecut. n tot acest timp, sticla a stat ngropat n pmnt pentru a-i pstra prospeimea. Dac vinul i-a pstrat calitile i este la fel de bun ca atunci cnd a fost fcut, nseamn c i recolta de anul acesta va fi una bun, iar vinul pe msur. Dup ce au desfcut sticlele, oamenii stropesc simbolic cu vin viile i se taie cteva corzi pe care le vor rsuci n jurul cciulilor i al taliei. Brbaii taie corzile uscate ale vielor, ns nu oricum, ci innd cont de anumite msurtori, astfel nct via s nu aib de suferit. Dup ce fiecare proprietar a oficiat aceste acte sacre, menite s aduc belugul recoltei viitoare, dar i sntate i putere, se aprinde un foc n jurul cruia se adun toi participanii. Se frige carne, se bea vin, se spun glume i se istorisesc diverse ntmplri petrecute n viaa fiecruia. Probabil c uneori se sacrifica un berbec, de unde i numele obiceiului - tr. gurban =berbec. La finalul ritualului, mai precis cnd se las nserarea, brbaii se ntorc la casele lor purtnd fclii aprinse i continu srbtoarea n familie. i n nordul Olteniei apare acest ritual cunoscut sub numele de trifnitul viilor, care vizeaz n principal abundena rodului. Astfel, n Plaiul Cloanilor, la Pade, Vieni i la Negoieti, dimineaa ncepea cu slujbe pe dealuri, la vii i livezi, cu ocolitul i stropitul cu ap sfinit, dup care urma ospul comun, desfurat cu cntec i joc pe plaiul cu vii. Foarte interesant este c ofrandele mncare i butur erau oferite cu precdere strinilor de sat, care se ndreptau n numr mare spre locurile ndtinate1.

Marcela Bratiloveanu Popilian, Obiceiuri de primvara din Oltenia Calendarul ortodox i practica popular, Editura C. Matas, Piatra Neam, 2001, p. 34;v. i Sim. Fl. Marian, Srbtorile la romni, vol. II, Buc, Ed. Fundaiei Culturale Romne, 1994, p. 176-180.

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n Dobrogea, la Constana, ritualul este cunoscut sub numele de Gurbanul Viilor i se srbtorete dup acelai tipar, viznd bogia rodului viei de vie. Acest ritual are loc n fiecare an la nceputul lunii februarie, moment cunoscut n popor i drept nceputul anului agricol. Considerat pe alocuri i ziua n care se ntmpin iarna cu vara1, aceasta va fi propice efecturii unor practici menite s protejeze mai ales viile i livezile. n rspunsurile la chestionarele lansate de B. P. Hasdeu i N. Densusianu2 se relev c n aceast zi se stropesc viile, livezile, animalele, dar i seminele. Ziua Sf. Trifon este consacrat viilor, zarzavaturilor i n general pometurilor. n credina popular, Trifon apare frecvent nebun, abtnd atenia, prin faptele sale necugetate, de la evenimentul ce va urma a doua zi, i anume intrarea pruncului Iisus Hristos n templu3. Potrivit atributelor sale mitice, Trifon apare mai mare peste cmp, semnturi, cmpuri, livezi, vii i fnee, peste lcuste, gndaci i psri slbatice, dar cu puteri i asupra gadinilor, spre a nu face ru la turme, existnd n contiina colectiv i cu atributul de patron al lupilor4. Sfntul Mucenic Trifon s-a nscut n Frigia, unul din districtele Asiei Mici, n satul Lampsacus i nc din tineree a fost nzestrat de Dumnezeu cu puterea izgonirii demonilor i a vindecrii diferitelor boli. Odat, mucenicul a salvat ntreaga sa comunitate de la nfometare, oprind cu puterea rugciunii, invazia lcustelor care devorau culturile i grnele oamenilor. Sf. Trifon a devenit patronul viermilor i al lcustelor, fiind mucenicul la care se roag toi cei care vor s-i apere semnturile, mai cu seam grdinarii i zarzavagii, cum au fost i continu s fie din vechime bulgarii. De sute de ani acest sfnt a intrat i n tradiia bulgreasc, fiind prilej de mare srbtoare, cnd oamenii merg la biseric, ascult predica, ca apoi s mearg i s-i binecuvnteze grdinile i viile. Mncarea, mprit pentru pomenirea morilor, i vinul adus de fiecare gospodar, dup dezlegarea primit de la preoi i
Elena Sevastos, Srbtorile poporului, n Gazeta steanului, an VII, p. 149. vezi Ion Mulea, Ovidiu Brlea, Tipologia folclorului din rspunsurile la chestionarele B. P. Hasdeu, Bucureti, Editura Minerva, 1970, p. 351; Adrian Fochi, Datini i eresuri populare de la sfritul. sec al XIX-lea, Bucureti, Editura Minerva, 1976, p. 334 335; Marcela Bratiloveanu Popilian, op. cit. 3 Marcela Bratiloveanu Popilian, Op. cit., p. 34. 4 Idem, op. cit., p. 34-35.; v. i Adrian Fochi, op. cit.
2 1

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rostirea blestemului mpotriva fiarelor cele de multe feluri: viermi, omizi, gndaci, lcuste, oareci, crtie i pureci de tot felul i ali dumani ai cmpului, livezilor i grdinilor, transform totul ntr-o petrecere la care particip i romni i bulgari. De asemenea, n aceast zi se d din mn poman o strachin de mlai, ca s nu fie lcuste i se face vraj de folos ie i pagub dumanului. Ziua de 1 Februarie mai este cunoscut i sub numele de Viermritul sau Trifon Nebunul. Al. Doru erban i Valentina erban consemneaz n Calendarul credinei, datinilor, obiceiurilor i tradiiilor din Gorj c, n zona Pade, n dimineaa Sfntului Trifon, femeile mergeau la vie i, sub ameninarea cosorului ori a foarfecei, rosteau de trei ori formula magic de obligare la belug:Faci struguri ori te tai?, apoi turnau vin la rdcina butucului rostind:i-am dat vin, s-mi dai vin/ Eu o pictur, tu o umplutur. Apoi era adus preotul, care sfinea apa, s fie stropite viile cu ap sfinit ca s aib tot anul parte numai de ap curat. Dup aceste ritualuri, la pivniele de pe deal se fceau petreceri care durau uneori pn a doua zi. La Godineti preotul citea pe deal rugciuneablestem a Sfntului Trifon, apoi ddea dezlegarea petrecerii-praznic. i n sudul Dunrii, tot ziua de 1 februarie este consacrat acestui ritual. Comparativ cu aria romneasc, aici partitura este mai ampl: se alege i un rege al viei de vie, a crui domnie dureaz de la unu la trei ani1. Dintre localitile din judeul Teleorman unde se srbtorete Zerezeanul pe 1 februarie amintim Izvoarele, Clineti, Calomfireti, Cervenia, Alexandria, Nsturelu, Bragadiru, Zimnicea, Poroschia. La Alexandria, Zimnicea i Izvoarele sunt ateptai i oaspei din localiti de pe cellalt mal, bulgresc, al Dunrii, unde, de asemenea, este marcat aceast srbtoare ortodox. Mai mult dect att, n municipiul Alexandria activeaz Asociaia de Prietenie Romno-Bulgar Zerezeanu. Dup 1989 Sfntul Trifon a devenit i protectorul prieteniei i colaborrii dintre romni i bulgari.

Ibidem, p. 36.

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A Bulgarian and Romanian Feast: Zrezeanu

In the south of Romania, in some villages where, together with the dominant population, there live Bulgarians, on February 1st people celebrate St. Trifon, a feast known also as Tri Zrezean or Arezan, Zrezean (Zerezean) or Triforezan, a name originating in Bg to cut or meaning vineyard that will be cut. On this occasion, people organize a Bacchic ceremony, of Thracian origin. According to the popular tradition, St. Trifon is the master of the vineyards, the feast taking place only in the vineyards, only men being allowed to participate. At the end of the ceremony, when the night falls, men go back to their houses carrying lit torches and continue the feast in the family.

If we judge by the traditions in the Carpathians and the Balkan area, pre-Christian customs go hand in hand with Christian ones. In the spirit of the ancient rites dedicated to the Thracian divinity symbolizing vegetation and the regeneration of the vital forces of nature, on February 1st, one day before Gods welcome, people celebrate St. Trifon. On that day, people used to light up great fires in the vineyards and orchards, while smaller ones surrounded them like a real, purifying barrier of fire between the fertile and the infertile, between the sacred zone of the fire guard and the profane one, of the village. These beliefs probably bear the mark of the Greek and Roman cults of Dionysos, the god of the vineyards and of the joys of crops. In the south of Romania, in some villages where, together with the dominant population, there live Bulgarians, on February 1st people celebrate St. Trifon, a feast known also as Tri Zrezean or Arezan, Zrezean (Zerezean) or Triforezan, a name originating in Bg. to cut. In Bulgarian there is an archaic form for the participle cut , meaning vineyard to be cut. An ancient Bulgarian legend tells about Trif Zarezan, presenting him so fool that he cut his own nose. In fact, this euphemism stands for the stimulation of the vineyard by cutting down the chords and cleaning the vines. Another name for the feast of St. Trifon is the Gurban of the vineyards. On this occasion, they organize a Bacchic ceremony of Thracian origin. According to popular beliefs, St. Trifon is the master of vineyards, and his veneration takes place at the vineyard

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plantations, only men being allowed to participate. According to tradition, in that particular morning, men, accompanied by the priest, leave in sledges pulled by horses, adorned with vineyard chords and bells, to the vineyard plantations. When they arrive at the vineyard, the owners participate in the religious ceremony for the blessing of the plantations, against pest and diseases. Then, everyone digs up the wine bottles buried at the vine. The wines come from the previous years first crop. All this time, the bottle was buried in the ground, in order to keep its freshness. If the wine has kept its qualities and is as good as at the time when it was made, it means that this years crop will be a good one, and so will the new wine. After having opened the bottles, people symbolically sprinkle the vineyards with wine and cut some chords they will tie around their hats and wrists. Men cut dry chords of the vineyards, not anyhow, but by taking into account some measures, so that the vineyard may not be harmed. After every owner made theses sacred acts, meant to bring richness to the future harvest, and health and strength to the owner, they light up a fire around which all participants gather. They grill meat, drink wine, tell jokes and speak about the different events in their lives. Probably they sometimes used to sacrifice a ram, hence the name of this tradition (Turk. Gurban = ram). At the end of the ritual, at dawn, men go back to their houses carrying lit torches and continue their party with the family. In northern Oltenia there is a similar tradition known as the trifnit of the vineyards, that pertains to the abundance of the crop. Thus, in the Plai of Cloans, in Pade, Vieni and Negoieti, they used to celebrate religious messes on the hills, in vineyards and orchards, walking around and throwing sacred water onto the plants; the regular feast, with songs and dances, was held in the vineyards. It is interesting that the offers of food and drinks were especially given to the strangers who were heading for the dedicated places1. In Dobrogea region, in the town of Constanta, the ritual is known as the Gurban of the Vineyards, being celebrated according to the same pattern that pertains to the richness of the harvest of the
Marcela Bratiloveanu Popilian, Obiceiuri de primvara din Oltenia Calendarul ortodox i practica popular(Spring Customs in Oltenia The Orthodox Calendar and Folk Practice), Editura C. Matas, Piatra Neam, 2001, p. 34; see also Simion Fl. Marian, Srbatorile la romni, (Feasts of the Romanians)vol. II, Buc, Ed. Fundaiei Culturale Romne, 1994, p. 176-180.
1

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vineyard. This ritual takes place at the beginning of February every year, which counts as the beginning of the agricultural year. Sometimes known as the day when winter and summer meet1, this will be perfect for some practices meant to protect vineyards and orchards mainly. In the answers to the questionnaires launched by B.P. Hadeu and N. Densusianu2, they say this is the day when vineyards, orchards, animals and seeds are watered. St. Trifons Day is consecrated to vineyards, vegetables and fruits. According to folk tradition, Trifon is frequently seen crazy, drawing peoples attention from the event to follow the next day, child Jesus entrance to the temple3. According to his mythical qualities, Trifon is seen <<the master of the fields>>, <<crops>>, plains, vineyards, hays, over grass-hoppers, beetles and savage birds, having powers over gadins (wild animals), in order not to disturb the cattle, being collectively considered as the master of wolves4. St. Trifon was born in Frigia, one of Turkeys districts, in the village of Lampsacus; since his youth he was endowed by God with the power of chasing demons and healing different diseases. Once, the saint saved the entire collectivity from starving, stopping, by the power of his prayer, the invasion of locusts that were devouring peoples crops. St. Trifon became the master of worms and locusts so he is the martyr everyone prays to in order to save the crops, especially gardeners and greengrocers, what Bulgarians have always been. For centuries, this saint entered the Bulgarian tradition, offering people an opportunity of great feasts, when people go to church, listen to the gospel, then go and bless the gardens and vineyards. Food is shared for the remembrance of the dead, wine is brought by each householder, after the priests blessing and after having uttered the curse against the beasts of all types: worms, caterpillars, beetles, locusts, mice, moles and fleas of all types, as well as other enemies of the fields. Orchards and gardens turn
1 Elena Sevastos, Srbtorile poporului, (Feasts of the People) in Gazeta steanului, an VII, p. 149. 2 See Ion Mulea, Ovidiu Brlea, Tipologia folclorului din rspunsurile la chestionarele B. P. Hasdeu, (Folklore Typology from the Answers Given to B.P.Hasdeus Questionnaire) Bucureti, Editura Minerva, 1970, p. 351; Adrian Fochi, Datini i eresuri populare de la sfritul. sec al XIX-lea,(Folk Customs and Legends at the End of the 19th Century) Bucureti, Editura Minerva, 1976, p. 334 335; Marcela Bratiloveanu Popilian, op. cit. 3 Marcela Bratiloveanu Popilian, op. cit., p. 34. 4 Idem, op. cit., p. 34-35.; see also Adrian Fochi, op. cit.

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everything into a party in which Romanians and Bulgarians participate. On this day, people share a pot of corn flour, in order to attract locusts and they throw spells to help themselves and harm the enemies. The 1st of February is also known as Viermritul or Trifon the Crazy. In The Calendar of Faiths, Traditions, Customs and Habits in Gorj County, Al. Doru and Valentina erban describe that, in the region of Pade, on the morning of Saint Trifons Day, women would go to the vineyard and utter the treat of the pruning knife or scissors three times, in order to oblige richness: Produce wine or else Ill cut you!. Afterwards they would pour wine at the vine, saying: I gave you wine, give me wine, I gave you one drop, youll give me a barrel. Then the priest would be brought to bless the water for the vineyards, so that the peasants may have clean water the entire year. After these rituals, in the caves on the hills, they would hold parties that last until the next day. In Godineti, the priest would read St. Trifons prayer-curse on the hill, then inaugurate the feast-party. In the south of the Danube, the 1st of February was dedicated to this ritual, too. Comparing it to the Romanian area, the ritual is more comprehensive here: they elect a king of the vineyard, whose reign lasts from 1 to 6 years1. In the Teleorman county, the villages where Zerezeanu is celebrated on the 1st of February are as follows: Izvoarele, Clineti, Calomfireti, Cervenia, Alexandria, Nsturele, Bragadiru, Zimnicea, Poroschia. In Alexandria, Zimnicea and Izvoarele, people are waiting for guests from the other Bulgarian bank of the Danube, where this orthodox feast is also celebrated. Moreover, in the town of Alexandria, there is a RomanianBulgarian Association of Friendship Zerezeanu. After 1989, St. Trifon became the protector of the friendship and collaboration between Romanians and Bulgarians.
(Translation: Ioana Rucsandra Dascalu)

Ibidem, p. 36.

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POEZIE POETRY
HAKIJA KARI (BOSNIA and HERTZEGOVINA)
Svitac Pretvori me U suzu Da poteem Niz lice Pretvori me U osmijeh Da poletim Poput ptice Pretvori me U elju Beskunika Sa ulice Pretvori me U mrak Da probudim Svice Pamti sve Zapamti kuda prolazi. Moda je zadnji put da sve ovo vidi ovdje. Moda slijedei put kada se ovuda uputi vie nieg biti nee. Pamti dobro. Moda slijedei put ovdje nee biti ni lica, ni ulica, ve samo sjeanje. Zapamti i nosi sve u sne. Poslije moda nee imati ta sanjati. Putevi Mi ne plaemo Nama suze Grizu oi I duu Iznutra Za osvete Ne znamo Ako se svetimo Onda sami Sebi Najtee Puteve Biramo Uvijek nas odvedu Do mjesta Na koje nismo Htjeli Doi

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HAKIJA KARI ( BOSNIA AND HERTZEGOVINA) Firefly Change me To the tear That I flow Throw the face Change me To the smile That I fly As a bird Change me In desire of Homeless From a street Change me To the dark That I wake Fireflies Maybe next time here will be no faces, no streets, only memories. Remember and take all to the dreams. Maybe next time you will not dream. Ways We don't cry Tears Grizu our eyes And our soul Inside For revenges We dont know If we revenge Than we choose To ourselves The heaviest Ways They take us To the place On which We dont want Come

Remember all Remember where you pass. Maybe its last time that all this you see here. Maybe next time when you come nothing will be here. Remember.

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PERO PAVLOVI (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA) JEDNA DUA A DVA SVIJETA nevjerica nevjericu pomol raa protiv tebe sve se roti tajna hude zamke plete i hir srca bolom kroti u javku se stisle dvojbe udan obrat noca sprema novi ivot propjevat e iz okova i pepela vjea boli hip nevidan slijedi kob iskru nade trne zlicom vjeom boli skriva log dob protjee nevjericom otkucava ura stara zrik tajnovit tanko cvili zipka zebnje izipkala noca crna krila iri plam jesi bljesak i brzutak zrnce enje sian trag krilatica tihan kutak sjetan prizor plam i pah

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PERO PAVLOVI (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA) ONE SOUL, TWO WORLDS Disbelief the sight births disbelief all is plot against you a secret interferes traps and tames whim of heart by pain doubt are shrank in a message the night will make strange change the new life will sing from chains and ashes The Eyelid Of Pain an unseen moment follows a fate it put out the spark of hope by evil and hides its home with eyelid of pain the age flows by disbelief the old watch ticks mystery cricket silently whines the cradle of fear is over dark night spread dark wings A Fire are you shining or rapid a granule of desire or little trace silently corner of catchwords or melancholy sight or fire or smell

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vrutak struak sinje blago jesi trepet jesi tren davna slika bie drago uspomena samo sjen rijeca pelice nujna zato cvili tako kad te rijeca bolom takne il zavara malko vie ima tvoga milja u oku mome nego tmice i jeda to se raa njome kri nosim ga u srcu i rijei on mi svijetli kad oslijepim zid izmeu mene i tebe sav se svemir rijei sapeo u zid strijelom ljubavi razruit ga

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are you spring or spray or blue treasure are you twinkle, are you moment ancient picture, dear being or only shade of memories A Little Word you, gloomy bee why you whine when a little word touches you with pain or it deceives you a little it is more your grace in my eye than dark and fury which birth by it The Cross i take it in my heart and in my word it bright me when i am blind A Wall between me and you all space of words binds to a wall with arrow of the love it will be rushed
(Translated by arko Mileni)

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 / BOIKO BOGDANOV (BULGARIA) , ! . . . . : , : , !.. , . . , . . .

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BOYKO BOGDANOV (BULGARIA) INSTEAD OF GOODBYE AND LIKE A CAT THE NIGHT bristled up in the sparkling trees revealing your face, the face! It was snowy. On the pavements island wavered rain evil and doomed. The lights' axe washed you way. Brief sharp glance. All was lightened: HairLipsHair Sharp, turned over moment and: as if its you again, but strange!... The music also got confused, the buildings coldly rang. The car rattled in a paddle of blood stopped on red. And then, thenJust nothing And a primary uncertainty. Cars in the night. The faceless rain dropped the grey curtain.

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 , . , , , , , : , .

146

AUTUMN THE OLD MEN ARE SEATING ON THE BRIDGE, turning back to the seatheir pupils drinking the autumn day. The wind is shining coldly, the railings clank and the quiet sunset bleeds round the golden basin And the settled past, and echo of journeys spins in a silver thread a flash of joy, a flash of sorrow, waiting for the winter great balance at the edge of the waves to the infinity of the shore Salty, the algae are freezing on the pier their beards wobbling ghostly above the quiet waters The old men are seating on the bridgethey are in no hurry: a sea is burning in their eyes, at the bottom a star.

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 / BOIKO LAMBOVSKI (BULGARIA) , . . . , , . , , . - . . . .

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BOIKO LAMBOVSKI (BULGARIA) AS THE PENSIL DANCES OVER THE PAPER Thus a child pulls off a doll's head and from curiosity rips off a tank's turret, cuts an unread magazine into strips and builds castles in the sand. Thus an uncouth savage angrilly re-examinates the gnawed bones after a finished meal. Thus he looks askance at his sleeping brothers and with droppings of bats he defiles the limestone. Thus does a pensive Caesar frown and scowl before making an imperious hypnotic gesture. And cities are born and tribes perish, and someone curls his lips with scepticism. Thus a young man in love walks down a lonely path while emotion with terrible force grows in his breast. Thus grows the grass. Thus grows the universe. Thus life with measured tread dances on death.
(Translated by Ewald Osers)

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 , . . , : , , , , , .

150

BULGARIA STATION Nearby the kiosk with pumped up tits a dog, a donkey and a man are grazing The dusty forehead of the Earth is darkened by a Balkan cloud A mouse amalgamated in the scenery has lived a century beside the rails Up on a machbox little mousie gives a squeaky and intoxicating laugh the progress leans down on a stick knock-knocking on the black-oiled platform then sitting on the bench to rest forgets about his paper Schoolboys inside the cafe knit the sublimation game, that is, rock, self-consciousness, agression against anything vulnerable the yearning coils down like a snake silently cuddling in the sesame rings Where did you get lost, white engine Where headed, black world a young guy in a seraph's coat pulling his cart across the sky ransacks its piss-soaked corner and dies to kick its golden ball with such a poignant, thorny love someone has smeared the tranquil picture that there's no way to pass through it but healing inside it like a scar motherland pretends to be stoichkov and sells us nuts beside the gents.
(Translated by Kristin Dimitrova)

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 / ANTOANETA NIKOLOVA (BULGARIA) , , , .

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Translating poetry A fly is reading graceful Chinese hieroglyphs on the notebook while I am translating verses by Li Bai and as soon as the meaning becomes elusive I cast a look at the little fly the essence being painted by its flight over the shining sheet But the sense once perceived, touches me for just an instant, and then soars up into Infinity To Love Somebody To love somebody you have never met Only light contours of a man shining face just emerged from a dream but still so unreal that you must hold him with all the power of the thought to help him mould himself the matter of the dream to acquire density and this light grain to wrap itself in flesh and blood to give you hand and draw you out from your own deep-deep dream

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 , ( , ) , . , :. , , , , - , -, ,

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Reading on mussels Valves of mussels With the fingers of wind to turn over their double pages and decipher there poems of waves and coasts and songs of rising suns and songs of clouded moons (on the upper side of a mussel there is a fine drawing sun rays, from the other side a violet sky with a moon emerging from the clouds) O, here are so many days and nights and stories in continues repeat again and still again: sunrise sunset, sunset sunrise, but nonetheless they are so different because in between the sunrise and sunset there was pulsating a fragile creature drawing them with its being Here The snow is turning in drops and is running so fast from the roof that the thought cant follow it and lesser can the sense The sun is shining through the drops Fast lights Something climbs down from above harries up and down fast even faster between sky and earth it is going away You have to stay exactly here and look a little bit aside to see

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 / IGLIKA PEEVA (BULGARIA)

*** , . , , - . ! , . . ? . : - . . *** , , , . , . . , . , . - . .

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IGLIKA PEEVA (BULGARIA) *** You old gypsy, drop that jackolantern, Leave my coin concealed for strangers eyes. Scores of crickets I will ask to charm you, I will let you keep the horse I love; You can have the nine girls of my father, Just dont touch my precious coin of gold! There a devil tramps curved roads of blackness, Roams the devil, lovely light he holds... Scattered is my bunch of gypsy simples, Where shall I hide my precious coin? In a crown of sunset a devil lingers, Sightless, reads a blind man on my hand: There has your father nine young daughters, Eight strings of adorable fine beads And a gold coin on a cord: at sunrise A devilll rip it; thats what comes to it. *** The robe of darkness was on you Yet dawn was streaming from your eyes And I can swear I heard subdued The subtle tune of touching hands. I was so willing to forget Since I was willing to remember The thunder raised by untamed horses Far in the night so deep and tender. You held a palette bright with paints I could perceive the colour of colours Stretched on a bridge of unskilled make The gap from soul to heart to cover. I was so willing to forget since I was willing to remember. In enigmatic magic rhythms A sax was luring a guitar. The sky then started wearing out, And, poured from its broken glass, The dust of life simply devoured The crystal pieces of bright stars.

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*** , , . , , . , , - -. . , , , , , , . . !

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*** Probably In some future life, Like in some former one, Our moment of twice-made first steps Will have a real start. I believe It will be then, Not just right now, Either at noon Or at midnight: My mystical, queer, irrational woe Will end on your shoulder its flight. You will be different, Not the same, More confident And more beaming. In my bliss Ill be close to heaven And will think youre a gift, very pleasing. We will have neither if.. nor Why is that...., We will give no food to critics, Only our destiny will be around, And your hands, and passion, and whispers. Some day, no doubt, yet not today, Although we seem to have met. Weve passed each other in a brilliant way; And thanks for the feeling, Its great!

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 / NELIE PIGULEVA (BULGARIA)

, . ( ). . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , . . , , . . (. . .) . . . .

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AFTERNOON (fragment) The river like a road stretched away along the dike. The woman heading somewhere (or maybe nowhere). The oriole - crossing the sky. The man sitting down under the shadow of the oak. Life went quietly half-away. The day is slowly turning into past. Lost in thought, the river curves lazily.The afternoon world is napping. No one is expecting a thing nothing staggering. All the moves have been foreseen calculated. The woman. And the river. And the man under the shadow. They are satisfied and now they feel like napping. Suddenly the birds cry tears up the sky. The woman turns. The man is startled. She heads for the oak. The man walks towards her. The oriole flays round above them and sings, sings, sings. The day is curving slowly down The woman and the man are happy in the dusk, Eyes closed they follow the bird in the sky. Yet, no orioles fly in this corner of the land. () By my sight, I crossed streets and continents. By my mind, I sailed across the Atlantic and Indian ocean. I went down the Marian. And I roared in tsunami along Hokkaido. I looked for your taste in avocado. And in passion fruit I looked for you. In the salty-hot tequila. In the vodka frozen by the cold. I heard that you passed by near here. End just few minutes ago. I followed the trace of the rumor. My fingers touched the air just where you had touched it.

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 . . - . , . , . , . . , . . . . . , . . . . . . , . . , , . ?

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I exhausted all my senses looking for you. I looked for you till my hear started turning grey. And till my feet went exhausted. And my strength is all gone. I traveled bravely I knew you existed. I only hade to find you. And while I was exploring everywhere, you were there two rivers across. We walked past each other on the traffic lights. You hade bought newspapers before me. We hade bought cheese one after another. The local cobbler knows every stitch of my and your shoes. Like an overloaded galley time sailed away together with my senses. They say you have said you found me. How to recognize you?

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MARINA KLJAJO-RADI (CROATIA) IZMEU TADA E ME MOI ZAZVATI DRAGOM Ako ikada uje glas mora Posluaj to govori grebenu Ako ikada Zastane uvi Pjev slavuja Uhvati ga I pokloni Meni Ako ikada uje pla rijeke Upitaj je Za bol raanja! Tada e me moi Zazvati dragom I dragost e se razliti Daljinama U rijei draga ut u iskon Zvuk frule i pla Tek roenog djeteta. Izmeu onog to jesam I onoga to moram biti More je iroko Na njemu papirnate barke I krik osamljenih rijei Izmeu onog to jesam I onoga to moram biti Crna je maslina S mjesecom zapaljenim u srcu Nezaustavljiv plov u nebo Izmeu onog to jesam I onoga to moram biti Uareno eljezo kipi Sigurna ruka Oblikuje kovinu u krini usud Izmeu onog to jesam I onoga to moram biti eljela bih se skriti A ipak biti Svitac kameniti
(Korula, 30. kolovoza 2005)

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MARINA KLJAJO-RADI (CROATIA) Then You Will Be Able Call Me Darling If you ever Hear the voice of a sea Listen What it talks to a reef If you ever Halt After hearing Singing nightingale Catch him And give it To me If you ever Hear the cry of a river Ask her For the pain of a birth! Then you will be able Call me darling And the lovability will spread To distances In the word Darling You will hear the primeval world Sound of a flute and the cry of A Newborn child. Between Between that which I am And that which I must be A sea is wide On it paper boat sail And the scream of lonely words Between that which I am And that which I must be An olive is black With turn moon at the heart The unstoppable sailing to the sky Between that which I am And that which I must be A heated iron boils The safe hand Forms the metal in the cross destiny Between that which I am And that whichI must be I want hide my self But nevertheless be Petrify firefly
(Korula, 30th August 2005)

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ANASTASIA MOULA-HATZI (GREECE)

, . ' . , . , . , , , , . , . . "" . , .

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ANASTASIA MOULA-HATZI (GREECE)

Attraction and Repulsion together Now that you are gone, I only have the harbours. That trip which remained meteor Frozen within time. And the boats motionless in the harbour Away from the rough sea of Hope, Will not pull out into the sea. They have arrived close to their dreams Coming back and forth so many times. Maybe the starting point of the thought The tracking down of a fleeting hope And the corrosion of necessity. And there is that expectation, the worship The death, the time, the life Which mock them with kindness. And that endless echo And the questioning look. Attraction and repulsion together. And my punishment a Weakness Without limits, unbearable.... The echo of a shadow The course of my bitterness takes the same path You, a creature of a habit Of an undisturbed habit. I, vainly waited for your, to bring your steps. The thousands moments which marked your presence Are leaving along with the memory and the hope As fast as they can.

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, . . . .

. . . . ... . .

168

I provoked the thought of the departure. But it is still so painful That the usual pain doesnt seem to appear Only the Echo of a shadow The Epilogue in a song I, myself, created. Perhaps this is my last desperate letter.

Picture of the past Torturing memory The beautiful woman Who remained a stranger in his heart. But still he travelled In the sea of her eyes He tasted the bitterness of her body. The travel Of the body and consciousness A parallel travel. A picture of the past Love... a retrospective love A September And any September Always presupposes August. And each one of us In his own grief....

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KATICA KULAKOVA (MACEDONIA) . . . . . : . - , , , . , : . !

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KATICA KULAKOVA (MACEDONIA) Premature Awakening You do not wake in the same room any more. And what used to be invisible is not the same. There are changes even in our habit of awakening. The objects you identify with are not equally strange to you. Each shape seeks a special mould of consciousness. The hunger for recognition is an open process: Finnegans wake. The fruit on a cheap poster unsettles the sediments below the larynx makes them slippery and unstoppable and transports you to the childhood as if it were on the side and you on the other as if you were without the order you who shouldnt have you re-experience the excitement of the eye and the pencil when drawing grapes, pears, apples overhearing the conversation between the desire and the hand where all future eroticism is gathered. Childhood returns through a secret door and reveals excess of life, excess of past: Something you cannot give up. And you stop wondering why reality is not enough for dreaming and what is it witch is not wakefulness but exists !
(translated by Zoran Anchevski)

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 , , , , , , , , , , - , , , , - , , , .

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BLACK MOON I've got used to existing exclusively, at Black Moon while the time was measured at night as a woman is while they compared me to the snake the phallus and the dragon I perfected the technique of eclipsing, the adultery I have no reason to compete with people, I don't worship ideas and objects as they do, but I too am scared Djinn, Erot, by the dog side of thirst, insatiability, craving I too am tormented by rage, lunacy Satan, I keep on wishing for something young - New, Half, Full my mouth spumes from lifting lean meat my tongue from nibbling, probing from spirituality and superstition I too am scared by the sunrise at sunset gambling with light for only three days deceitful three days lunatic three threesided, three shortlived days I too am distressed that for a long time a very long time there is no reversal a moon phase, a white night of my moon belt, of your animal belt you space merry-go-round, you male anathema my Sun.
(translation by Elizabeta Bakovska; ed. by Dijana Mitra)

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PAVEL GTIANU (SERBIA) RICHARD GERE I DESTRMAREA IUGOSLAVIEI In anii 80 ai secolului trecut Fiind student la Belgrad am vizionat American gigolo n care Richard Gere Regula tot ce i aducea bani Avea probleme cu o mtuica Care de dou decenii nu reuea S aib orgasm. Tipul pur i simplu nu putea s-o satisfac i a omort-o rezolvndu-i problema Credea el. Gere arta bine dar m-a inspimntat Soluia lui genial. Ulterior la Skopje n armata iugoslav Am fost ofier de rezerv n forele terestre. La cinema rula Officer and gentlemen. In sal m-am identificat cu el fiind istovit n exerciii militare la Bileca Ca i cei de la West point-USA. Mai trziu auzeam c filmul a fost finanat De Departamentul de stat americn Oricum asta nu schimba nimic n traiectoria mea i a lui Gere. El a mai jucat i n alte filme i pe ali eroi pe care nu doresc s le Pomenesc numele ns mi-a tiat respiraia n Night in Rodanthe La Novi Sad n 2008 spre iarn Cu prul alb, mbtrnit i bine fardat Alerga iari o tanti ntr-un loc pustiu. Cu toate c eu l credeam Fiul unui rus ce s-a refugiat n vest i sa rentors acas Pe vechile meleaguri

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PAVEL GTIANU (SERBIA) RICHARD GERE AND THE BREAKUP OF YUGOSLAVIA In the 80es of the last century, As a Belgrade student, I saw American gigolo where Richard Gere Banged everything that could earn him money. He had problems with an auntie Who hadnt had an orgasm In two decades. The guy simply couldnt satisfy her So he killed her thinking that He solved her problem. Gere looked good But his genius solution shocked me. Later, in Skopje, in the Yugoslav army, I was a reserve officer in the ground troops. An Officer and a Gentlemen was shown in cinemas. I identified myself with him Since I was exhausted by the military training in Bileca Like he was by the training in West point-USA. Later, I heard that the film was financed by The American State Department But this doesnt change anything On my and Geres path. He acted in many other films And played other heroes whose names I dont want to mention. Yet, he took my breath away in Night in Rodanthe In Novi Sad in the winter of 2008. Gray-haired, old, with make up on He was chasing an auntie in a deserted place again. Even though he had me convinced that he was A son of a Russian refugee in the West Who came back home To the old native country,

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Fiind ntre timp violat de o colhoznic Ce l-a terminat, ca pe mine Aplicaiile militare din fosta Iugoslavie.

DO YOU SPEAK TZIGANSKY Doi ini stau la intrare de metrou Difuzeaz foi volante Nici nu arat aa de brunei. Do you speak tzigansky? ntreab unul pe cellalt Care-i rspunde cu un zmbet Caica gii! i nici nu-i dau seama C eu am auzit de Ion Budai Deleanu. PARTIZANC GOAL PUC Ea a cobort din muni, ncolonat spre mare. Clima blnd i-a stimulat ciclul precum pornirea unui luceafr. Ea avea pr negru crlionat, snii dou grenade privire de ascet. Sexul acoperit cu chiloii decupai din vest antiglon. Seara cpitanul a tras spre ea rafale. Gurile rele ziceau c mic, prea mic era calibrul. n acea btlie de blitz-krieg i-o masturba dezinteresat cu pistolul nmuiat n singurtate. 176

And was violated, in the mean time, by a woman kolkhoznik Who finished him off, like the military training In ex Yugoslavia finished me off. DO YOU SPEAK TZIGANSKY Two men are standing at the entrance to the metro Handing out fliers They didnt even look so brunet. Do you speak tzigansky? Asked one The other replied with a smile Caica gii! They didnt have a clue That I had heard of Ion Budai Deleanu. WOMAN PARTISAN NAKED GUN She came down from the mountains Heading towards the sea. Mild climate stimulated her cycle Like the twinkling of the evening star. She had curly black hair, Her breasts were like two grenades She had ascetic look in her eyes. She covered her pussy with panties Made of a bullet-proof vest. Last night the captain shot a storm of gunfire towards her. Wicked tongues said that The caliber was too small In that battle of blitz-krieg And he satisfied her uninterestedly With a pistol soaked with confidence. (Translated by Mihela Jorga Lazovi )

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HAIKU
(- cu sprijinul domnului Vasile Moldovan, preedintele Societii Romne de Haiku, Bucureti - with the support of Mr. Vasile Moldovan, President of Romanian Haiku Society, Bucharest)

VERICA IVKOVI (SERBIA) Haiku indijski mesec on i ona ekajui voz jedu istu jabuku pononi mesec iskri sledjena jabuka na goloj grani ledna stanica samo ar cigarete tamo-amo pononi mesec provirujui iz trupa broda ledeni breg svetluca the Indian moon he and she waiting for the train eat the same apple midnight moon iced apple sparkles on the bare branch icy station only cigarette's glow back and forth midnight moon protruding from the ship's hull an iceberg glistens

proleni mesec naputena stanica sa nonim senkama

spring moon the abandoned station filled with night shadows

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Haiga VALENTIN NICOLITOV (ROMANIA) Desen: ALEXANDRA IVOYLOVA (BULGARIA) Concert de pian. Prin fereastra deschis tic-tacul ploii Piano concerto. Out through the open window the rain tick-tocking

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VALENTIN NICOLIOV (ROMANIA) Picture: ALEXANDRA IVOYLOVA (BULGARIA)

Sear de toamn. Lng-un album cu poze i-un pahar cu vin Autumn evening. Close to the photo album And a glass of wine

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Darko Plazanin (CROATIA) Haiku nakon oluje djecak brise nebo sa stolova drvored uz put u svankoj krosnji sja pun mjesec planinski put is neba silazi u more u uglu sobe nepokretna sjedi stolica bez nogu djevojcica rasiri ruke i zagrli livadu zracna usbuna bjeze ljudi od ljudi zaboravio sam papir i olovku s puskom u ruci after the storm a boy wipes the sky from the tables path by the woods in every treetop the shining full Moon the mountain road descending from the sky to the sea in the rooms corner sitting immotional the legless chair a girl spreading her arms embraces the meadow air alarm the people running away from the people I forgot the paper and pencil with a riffle in my hand

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Zoe SAVINA (Grecia) Haiku. , , ! ... On the entry door is written full stop of sleep I wont use a full stop - you see it is a small death within the poem Never a full stop I only place exclamation marks within me Grass of earth grows by winds and whispers Miracles falling from the wide sleeve of spring

(translated by Arianna Petrou & Matina Spetsiotis)

(poems received from Mr. Constantin Mihail Popescu, Zoe Savina's translator in Romanian)

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VASILE SMRNDESCU (ROMANIA)

HAIKU n balconul meu greierele nu tie c ninge de ieri Ct linite Doamne dup ninsoare! i aud paii Pe cmp doar att zdrenuit de criv gluga de coceni In my balconythe cricket doesnt know that its been snowing since yesterday How much silence after snowfall my Lord! I hear your steps Thats all on the fieldthe hood of maize stalks torn by the northern wind

TANKA Geamul ferestrei se gtete de Crciun cu flori de ghea btrna din cocioab cu-aceeai hain rupt ignci cu ghioc vnd iluzii vechi i noi la colul strzii un invalid de rzboi cereste de-o pine The windowpane dons new Christmas decorations ice-laced all overin the house the old woman in the same torn garment Gypsy soothsayers sell old and new illusions at the street corneran old veteran of war begs money for bread

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BOOK REVIEWS
Haemus, balcanic o antologie de poezie

Volumul Haemus, o antologie de poezie balcanic a fost tiprit la sfritul lui 2007, la Atena, de ctre asociaia nonprofit Prietenii revistei ANTI. Aceast mega-antologie (520 p.) cuprinde versuri ale unor scriitori din Romnia, Albania, Bosnia-Heregovina, Bulgaria, Grecia, FYROM, Serbia i Muntenegru. Pn acum au fost publicate volumele n albanez, bulgar, greac i romn. Urmeaz cele n limba srb, bosniac i slavo-macedonean. Cartea, tiprit n condiii grafice deosebite, cuprinde poeme reprezentative din creaia unor poei clasici recunoscui n Peninsula Balcanic. Acest proiect ndrzne are n spate o munc uria, de ani ntregi, a peste o sut de specialiti din toate colurile Balcanilor. Colegiul tiinific al ediiei n limba romn (Dinu Adam, George Crciun, Mircea Dinescu, Ioan Flora, Victor Ivanovici i Andrei Pleu) rspunde de selecia, deloc uoar, a poeilor antologai i de cadrul istorico-literar al prezentrii lor. Victor Ivanovici, care a avut un cuvnt mai greu de spus n definitivarea setului corespunztor Romniei, mrturisete c a prezentat acea imagine a poeziei romneti care socotete c trebuie artat strintii. Cadrul temporal este aproximativ 1878-1948 i sunt prezentai 9 poei: Mihai Eminescu, Tudor Arghezi, George Bacovia, Ion Barbu, Lucian Blaga, Ion Vinea, Tristan Tzara, Ilarie Voronca, Gellu Naum. Antologia ncepe cu un fragment din Thurios, poemul lui Rigas Velestinlis, tradus admirabil de poetul Ion Brad. Fiecare capitol consacrat rilor reprezentate ncepe cu un cntec popular (Cntecul fratelui mort), ntr-o transpunere proprie fiecrei limbi. Urmeaz o scurt istorie cronologic a rii i o introducere sinoptic referitoare la literatura fiecrei ri. Poeii sunt prezentai ntr-o succint not biobibliografic, cu o fotografie. Aparatul critic e simplu, lsnd loc mai mult poeziei. La ngrijirea literar a ediiei n limba romn au lucrat Monica Chihaia, Monica Svulescu-Voudouri, Gheorghe Istrati i Dinu Adam. Pentru munca laborioas de traducere n limba romn au lucrat: Valeriu Mardare, Victor Ivanovici, Apostolos Patelakis i Antonia Vancea (din greac), Topciu Luan (din albanez), Ioan Flora (din bosniac i srb), Elena Siupur i Daniel Cain (din slavo-macedonean), acest volum fiind i un mare succes al traductorilor. Proiectul Prietenilor revistei Anti din Atena de a edita aceast impuntoare antologie n fiecare dintre limbile balcanice merit s fie ct mai larg rspndit i cunoscut. Apostol Patelakis (GRECIA)

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Haemus, an Anthology of Balkan Poetry Haemus, an Anthology of Balkan Poetry was published by the non-profit association The Friends of Anti Magazine in Athens at the end of 2007. This comprehensive volume (520 pp) contains poetry written by poets from Romania, Albania, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, FYROM, Serbia and Montenegro. So far there have been published the volumes in Albanian, Bulgarian, Greek and Romanian. They will be followed by those in Serbian, Bosnian and Slavic-Macedonian. The anthology gathers representative poems by classic poets in the Balkan Peninsula and its graphic quality is worth mentioning. This daring project implied hundreds of specialists in the whole Balkan area who did a huge amount of hard work over several years. The team that made the selection of the Romanian anthologized poets and wrote the presentation of their respective literary achievements comprised distinguished Romanian writers and critics: Dinu Adam, George Crciun, Mircea Dinescu, Ioan Flora, Victor Ivanovici and Andrei Pleu. Victor Ivanovici, who was decisive in the completion of the Romanian section of the anthology, confessed he tried to present the reader with that image of Romanian poetry that he considered characteristic and therefore suitable to be known by foreign readers. The anthology covers the period between 1878 and 1948 and includes 9 major poets in the following order: Mihai Eminescu, Tudor Arghezi, George Bacovia, Ion Barbu, Lucian Blaga, Ion Vinea, Tristan Tzara, Ilarie Voronca, Gelu Naum. Haemus starts with a fragment from Thurios, Rigas Velestinlis poem, beautifully translated into Romanian by the poet Ion Brad. Each chapter dedicated to the countries illustrated in the anthology starts with a folk song known as Song of the Dead Brother, translated into the respective language. Then follows a short account of the history of that country and a synoptic introduction to its literature. The poets are introduced by a brief bibliographical note and a photo. The critical opinions are kept to a minimum to let as much room as possible for poetry. The Romanian version of the anthology benefited from the literary expertise of Monica Chihaia, Monica Svulescu Voudouri, Gheorghe Istrati and Dinu Adam. The translations into Romanian were done by Valeriu Mardare, Victor Ivanovici, Apostolos Patelakis and Antonia Vancea (from Greek), Topciu Luan (from Albanian), Ioan Flora (from Bosnian and Serbian), Elena Siupur and Daniel Cain (from Slavic -Macedonian). I have good reason to believe that this anthology is also a great success for the translators who succeeded in preserving intact the quality of the literary gems they translated into a foreign language.

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The project of The Friends of Anti Magazine of editing this outstanding anthology in each of the languages spoken in the Balkan area is worth praising and promoting world wide.
(Translation: Aloisia orop)

Andr Scrima Antropologia apofatic Editura Humanitas inaugura acum civa ani editarea scrierilor printelui Andr Scrima al crui nume a devenit tot mai des citat n lucrrile de publicistic teologic. Potrivit informaiilor furnizate de Andrei Pleu (n prefaa la Timpul Rugului aprins, Humanitas, 2000), datele privind parcursul formaiei intelectuale a autorului Andr Scrima sunt edificatoare: astfel, ntre 1943-1948 era student al Facultii de Filozofie i Litere a Universitii din Bucureti, n ultimii doi ani fiind i asistent la Catedra de Logic i Istoria Filozofiei a profesorului Anton Dimitriu, care l va ndruma ctre studiul filosofiei lui Martin Heidegger. O influen deosebit asupra formaiei sale o va fi avut i Printele Stniloae, cel de la catedra cruia erau citai Kierkegaard, Binswanger i Carl Jung. Andr Scrima, devenit ulterior monah, membru al gruprii Rugul aprins, constituit din intelectuali i clerici la Mnstirea Antim (i amintim pe Sandu Tudor, clugrit sub numele de Agathon, pe poetul Vasile Voiculescu, preotul i teologul prof. Dumitru Stniloae, Virgil Cndea .a.), va susine un doctorat la Benares (India) i va mai fi: profesor de filozofie i tiine religioase la Universitatea Catolic Saint-Joseph (Beirut), membru al Academiei Internaionale de tiine Religioase i Filozofie a tiinei de la Bruxelles, arhimandrit al Patriarhatului ecumenic de la Constantinopol, reprezentant personal al Patriarhului Ecumenic Athenagoras la Conciliul Vatican II, membru i organizator (din 1959) al comunitii monastice de la Deir-el-Harf (Beirut). Antropologia Apofatic (lucrare neterminat, datnd din anii 1951-1952) ilustreaz o ndelungat preocupare a printelui Scrima privind elaborarea unui studiu de antropologie din perspectiv ortodox. ntre 1940-1950, autorul aduna o ampl colecie de cugetri ce gravitau n sfera problematicii amintite, pe care editorul, inspirat, le altur n volum sub titulatura unor Notaiuni antropologice. Din planul lucrrii propriu-zise spicuim: Semnificaia filozofic i teologic a antropologiei, Apofatism teologic i antropologic, Fundamentele apofatismului antropologic, Centralitatea dogmei de la Calcedon, distincia dintre substan i energie aplicat la om (Bulgakov n Sf. Grigore Palamas) .a. n subcapitolul intitulat Revelaii imanente, plecnd de la realitile

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semnificative care sunt tot attea chemri spre o nelegere a semnelor vremii (problema omului - problema central a timpului nostru), Andr Scrima conchide c Antropologia trebuie s ntlneasc cu necesitate teologia pe itinerarul desfurrii ei, dup cum omul trebuie s-l ntlneasc pe Dumnezeu sau s sucombe n neant. Inspirat de teologia negativ (al crei teoretician incontestabil, Dionisie Areopagitul, descria urcuul mistic, itinerarium mentis in Deum, ca succesiune de negaii pentru a ajunge dincolo de orice atingere sensibil sau inteligibil la Cel Necunoscut), Andr Scrima traseaz o gndire a ndumnezeirii omului prin experiena pneumatic suprem a luminii necreate, n care vede o transformare actual a omului dup Duhul Sfnt, fiina noastr mbrcnd forma i chipul lui Dumnezeu (Vlad Alexandrescu, Introducere la Antropologia apofatic, p. 11). Urmrind o completare a lucrrii propriu-zise, editorii au adugat n volum i un capitol intitulat Notaii antropologice. n cele aproape 200 de pagini sunt adunate laolalt o serie de meditaii gravitnd n jurul problematicii apofatismului. Se pare c acestea dateaz din perioade diferite (sfritul anilor 40, nceputul anilor 50) i ilustreaz preocuparea de a redacta o lucrare ampl de antropologie ntr-o perspectiv ortodox. Iat una dintre ele care, evident, pare chiar emblematic pentru Andr Scrima: Cunoaterea adevrat e laud: trebuie s iubeti obiectul cunoaterii tale i s-l exali n Dumnezeu. Dan Anghelescu (ROMNIA)

Andr Scrima Apophatic Anthropology Some years ago Humanitas Printing House started to publish the works of father Andr Scrima whose name began since then to be quoted increasingly in theological publications, dissertations and essays. Here are some defining details regarding the author Andr Scrimas intellectual formation: according to Andrei Pleu in the Foreword to The Inflamed Bush Time, Humanitas, 2000): between 1943-1948 he was a student at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Bucharest, and, during the last two years of the above mentioned period, he was Prof. Anton Dimitrius assistant at the Department of Logics and History of Philosophy, and was guided into the study of Martin Heideggers philosophy. A special influence must have been represented also by father Dumitru Stniloae who would quote Kierkegaard, Binswanger and Carl Jung. Eventually Andr Scrima became a monk and member of the Bucharest Antim Monasterys exceptional group The Inflamed Bush, that included intellectuals and theologians, such as Sandu Tudor (his monk name was

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Agathon), the poet Vasile Voiculescu, the eminent priest and theologian, Prof. Dumitru Stniloae, Virgil Cndea and so on. He held his Ph. D. thesis in Benares (India). He also was a Professor of Philosophy and Religions at the Saint-Joseph Catholic University in Beyruth, a member of the International Academy of Religious Sciences and Philosophy of Science in Brussels, a prior of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, a personal representative of the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras at the Vatican Council II, a member and organizer (from 1959) of the monastic communnity in Deir-el-Harf (Beyruth). The Apophatic Anthropology an unfinished work dating back in 19511952 illustrates a long term interest of father Andr Scrima in ellaborating, from the Orthodox point of view, an ample study in anthropology. Between 1940-1950 the author collected several cogitations in this respect, and the publisher inspiredly included them in the volume under the title Anthropological Notes. The plan of the actual work include: The Philosophical and theological Significance of Anthropology, Theological and Anthropological Apopfatism, The Foundations of the Anthropological Apophatism, The Central Dimension of the Dogma in Chalcedon, the Distinction between Substance and Energy Applied to the Human Being (Bulgakov in St. Gregory Palamas) a.s.o. In the sub-chapter Immanent Revelations, starting from the significant realities representing appeals to understanding the signs of time (in which the question of the human being is the central question of our time), Andr Scrima concludes that Anthropology does need to meet theology, the same as man needs to meet God or to dissapear in nothingness. Inspired by the negative theology (whose incontestable theoretician, Denys the Areopagyte, described the mystical ascension, itinerarium mentis in Deum, as a sequence of negations meant to reach beyond any sensitive or sensible touch The Unknown One), Andr Scrima refers to a thinking of turning man into God, by the ultimate soul experience of the non created light, in which he sees a present change of the human being after the Holy Spirit, taking thus after Gods own image, after Gods likeness.1 Thinking of a completion - otherwise eloquent and normal - the publishers also added in the actual work a chapter with the title Anthropological Notes. The almost 200 pages include several cogitations on the concept of apophatism. They seem to be from different time periods (the late 40s and early 50s) and they illustrate the authors intention to write an ample work on anthropology from the Orthdox point of view. Here is one of them which obviously seems to be definitory for Andr Scrima: True knowledge is praise: one has to love the object of his knowledge and to glorify it in God.
(Translation: Iolanda Mnescu)
1

Vlad Alexandrescu Foreword The Apophatic Antropology, pp. 9, 10, 11.

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Haibun n spirit de haiku n literatura romn se scrie haibun de aproape dou decenii. Revistele Haiku i Albatros l-au promovat cu consecven, chiar dac nu cu suficient vigoare. Se simea o anume nesiguran, dat, n principal, de lipsa de tradiie. Acumulrile cantitative au dus treptat la creaii de o evident calitate. Iar acestea au determinat apariia primei antologii naionale de haibun Umbre n lumin / Shades in light (Editura Bolda, Constana, 2008), antologie care a avut ecouri favorabile n ar i strintate (Poezia, AHA Poetry, Moonset etc.). Doi dintre autorii antologiei amintite, Marius Chelaru i Cristina Rusu, ntreprind pe cont propriu o interesant aventur liric. Ei scriu mpreun o carte de haibun, Culoarea tcerii (Editura Fundaiei Culturale Poezia, Iai, 2008). Nu e o simpl culegere de haibun, ci o lucrare cu o arhitectur aparte, unic n literatura romn i singular n cea universal. Dup ce au nvat de la coala japonez i cea american de haiku, Marius Chelaru i Cristina Rusu au deprins arta poetic de la poemul n proz, specie literar cultivat odinioar de mari poei i prozatori romni, ndeosebi moldoveni Mihai Eminescu, Calistat Hoga, George Bacovia. Fiecare autor a scris 12 haibunuri, cte luni are anul, avnd ca tem o culoare a tcerii. E un mod ct se poate de original de a gndi i crea poezia, n spe haibunul, specie literar aflat la grania dintre proz i poem. Lectura acestui volum att de original construit ne duce cu gndul la un pom altoit, entitate alctuit n mod armonios din dou pri cu caliti diferite, altoi i portaltoi. n cazul crii de fa, cele dou pri complementare sunt proza i poemul haiku, al crui rol este s segmenteze ntregul i s-l lumineze pe buci. Contieni de faptul c modul n care se mbin proza i poemul haiku dau caratele haibunului, autorii fac o adevrat demonstraie de virtuozitate. Proza lor poetic curge n chip firesc, aidoma a dou torente care se caut, se ntlnesc, se despart, se cheam iari. E o proz preponderent liric, n care firul epic se subiaz pn la dispariie. O proz, care este, ca i haiku-ul, a clipei, a celei prezente. Chiar dac ntmplarea a avut loc n copilrie, ea este redat la timpul prezent, retrit de scriitorul matur. Cu alte cuvinte, autorii au scris haibun n spirit de haiku. nsei elementele care alctuiesc culoarea tcerii sunt luate din recuzita poeticii haiku-ului: un lac albastru n mijlocul pdurii, un cer fr nori i vnt, ochii iubitei sau cteva boabe de rou E o calitate care face din cartea lor o reuit a genului. Cum era i firesc, ceea ce se ntmpl n aceste haibunuri, apropiate pn la un punct de poemele n proz occidentale, poart amprenta locului. Auzim, citindu-le, btnd aievea clopotele la mnstirile moldave sau la cele de la Muntele Athos, asistm la slujba de Sfntul Maslu. Ori poftim la o porie de

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alvi, sau privim cu mna streain la ochi spre turnul Moscheii Mari din oraul lui Medgid. De ce nu? Doar suntem n Balcani. Interesant ar fi de tiut ce cred autorii despre carte. Fapt pentru care, n final i ofer lui Marius Chelaru posibilitatea s se destinuiasc i pe aceast cale cititorilor: Culoarea tcerii este un tablou haibun desenat din cuvinte cu dou peneluri diferite, aezat n pagin n oglind, fiecare curgnd pe hrtie muiat n cerneala din inima fiecruia dintre noi. Vasile Moldovan (ROMNIA) Haibun Written in the Spirit of Haiku The haibun style of writing has been an integral part of the Romanian literary space for almost two decades. The magazines Haiku and Albatros have constantly promoted it, though perhaps rather timidly because of a lack of tradition. Continuous work on haibun has gradually led to writings of ever higher quality. These have culminated with the publication of the first national haibun anthology titled Shades in light (Bolda publishing house, Constana, 2008)one that has been received favorably both at home and abroad (Poezia, AHA Poetry, Moonset, etc.). Two of the authors of the said anthology, Marius Chelaru and Cristina Rusu, have embarked on an interesting lyrical adventure. They are co-authoring a haibun book titled The color of silence (The publishing house of the Poetry Cultural Foundation, Iassy, 2008). This is not a simple collection of haibun writings, but a work of special architecture in the Romanian literary space, and of unique character in the world literature. Having studied the Japanese and American school of haiku, the authors mastered the art of poetry starting with the prose poema composition once cultivated by great Romanian poets and prose writers, especially Moldavians such as Mihai Eminescu, Calistat Hoga, and George Bacovia. Each of the two authors has written 12 haibunas many as there are months in a yearand each focuses on a color of silence. This is as original as possible a way of thinking and writing poetry, especially when it comes to haibuna literary composition at the frontier between prose and poem. Reading this volume so originally construed, transposes the reader to thoughts of a grafted tree, an entity so harmoniously comprised of two elements with distinctive features: the graft and its parent. Here, the two complementary elements are prose and haiku, whose role is to divide the whole, and illuminate each of its parts. Aware that the way in which prose and haiku are combined, is what brings value to the haibun, the authors vigorously demonstrate their virtuosity. Their poetic prose is naturally fluid, akin to two torrents that search one other, then cross, then separate, only to later call for each other once again. This is prose that is predominantly lyrical, with an epic component that thins

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itself out until it vanishes. This is prose that belongs, like haiku, to this instant, to the very present. Even if the story recalls childhood, it is brought into the present and re-lived by the adult writer. To put it differently, the authors are writing haibun in the spirit of haiku. The elements that make up the color of silence are themselves borrowed from the portfolio of haiku poetry: a blue lake amidst the forest, a cloudless sky and wind, the lovers eyes or morning dew. This feature ensures that the volume is a success for this genre. Naturally, what happens in these haibun, which come close to some Western prose poems, is strongly anchored into space. We hear the ringing bells of Moldavian monasteries and those of Mount Athos monasteries, and we attend the mass of Saint Maslu. Or we feel like tasting some nougat and lift our hand as eaves to the eyes to look towards the tower of the Great Mosque from the city of sultan Abdul Medgid. Why not? After all, we are in the Balkans. I thought it was interesting to know what the authors themselves thought of their book. To this end, I offered to Marius Chelaru the possibility to confess to the readers that, The color of silence is a haibun painting drawn in words cu two different paintbrushes placed onto the page mirror-wise, each of which flows on the paper softened into the ink of our hearts.
(Translation: Camelia Minoiu)

Viszar Zhiti Funeralii nesfrite Varianta romneasc (Editura Leda, 2009) a volumului (a spune de prozo-poeme!) intitulat Funeralii nesfrite, semnat de Viszar Zhiti, a fost lansat recent la sediul Uniunii Scriitorilor din Romnia. Ministru consilier la Ambasada Albaniei din Roma, Viszar Zhiti este cunoscut i apreciat de iubitorii de poezie din Romnia de la apariia n 1997 a volumului Psalm (ediie bilingv, traducere Renata i Luan Topciu, ngrijit de Dumitru M. Ion - Editura Orient-Occident). Rentlnim o creaie literar apreciat de public i de critic, fapt atestat att de premiile cucerite (Premiul Republicii Albania 1994, premiile italiene de poezie Leopardi doro -1991, Ada Negri - 1997, premiul Mario Luzi 2007), ct i de numrul traducerilor n englez, francez, polon, macedonean, italian, srb, romn. n creaia scriitorului albanez mai sunt de menionat volumele: Aez la picioarele voastre un craniu, Semnatul de fulgere, Timpul ucis n ochi, Comorile spaimei, romanele: Drumurile Iadului, Dumnezeul ndrtnic i iubita, Alt veac, Iadul spart i altele. Fie i numai din enunarea lapidar a celor cteva titluri se profileaz sunetul tragic al unui discurs a crui micare interioar pare impregnat de pulsaia tenebroas i grav a unui venic rtcitor cortegiu funerar. Amprenta aceasta persist dominnd i volumul

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lansat, trecerea prin lume gndit ca lunecare tragic prin i spre nefiin. Nuanele ei sunt amintitoare nu att ale acelui antic Soma sema, ct mai degrab a heideggerianului Sein zum Tode: vnt la funeraliile vnturilor, nor la funeraliile de nori, frica i tristeea lor// Fiecare dintre noi este un sicriu viu al morii care nu moare, pe umerii altuia i ai lumii. i stelele sunt funeraliile trzii ale soarelui mort. n groapa lui ne nvrtim. Nu va fi vorba ns de o viziune morbid, dezabuzat asupra existenei, ct despre una din care rzbat ecouri ale ororilor recent ncheiatului veac. Experiena cea mai funest cu care a avut de-a face umanitatea secolului XX este aceea c raiunea nsi este coruptibil, spunea Gadamer n La philosophie hermneutique (PUF, Paris, p. 70). Pe marginea acelei experiene, Bernanos vorbea despre reapariia Satanei n lume. Prin poemele sale, i Viszar Zhiti are o percepie similar, legat de experienele personale. ntemniat i torturat timp de opt ani n nchisorile comuniste, ca poet decadent, duman al poporului, textele sale vor gravita n sfera universului concentraionar, violena, moartea, absurdul, gropile, gloanele, noroiul, ctuele, btile cu bastoanele de cauciuc, lanurile i ghiulelele de la picioarele celor nctuai, mtile morii, gemetele i sngele, lipsa speranei, electroocurile, izolarea, temnia, moartea, tortura cu cadavrul purtat n spate, constituie inventarul din textele lui Viszar Zhiti: trebuie s duci tu singur cadavrul.// i transmite anxietatea lui, rece ca gheaa, tulburrile i gndurile ntunecate. i transmite putreziciunea lui. Dou brae, din cele patru pe care le ai acum, se blngnesc degeaba// Ochii ti i ai mortului ard ca lmpiele din iad. Traducerea (Luan Topciu), care asigur transmigraia textelor, reuete s conserve i n limba romn o sincer i nalt vibraie a mrturiei: Astfel, volumul Funeralii nesfrite aduce discursul amplu al unei contiine capabile s rosteasc tot adevrul despre utopiile, erorile i semnificaiile unui timp cu tot cu destinul i cutremurtoarele lui experiene. Dan Anghelescu (ROMNIA) Viszar Zhiti Endless Funerals The Romanian version (Leda Printing House, 2009) of Viszar Zhitis volume of what I could call prose-poemstitled Endless Funerals, has recently been launched at the Romanian Writers Association. A current Minister Counselor of the Embassy of Albania in Rome, Viszar Zhiti has been well known and appreciated by Romanian poetry readers since the publication of his volume Psalm in 1997. The book is bilingual, it was translated by Renata and Luan Topciu, and was published by Dumitru M. Ion (Orient-Occident Printing House). Both readers and critics appreciation of Viszar Zhitis work has been reflected over time in the prizes awarded to the author (including the Prize of the Republic of Albania in 1994, the Italian prizes for poetry Leopardi

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doro in 1991, Ada Negri in 1997, and Mario Luzi in 2007), and by the numerous translations of his works into English, French, Polish, Macedonian, Italian, Serbian, and Romanian. Other notable writings of Viszar Zhiti include I Lay a Skull at Your Feet, Lightning Sowing, The Time Slain in the Eyes, The Treasures of the Terror, and the novels such as The Ways of Hell, The Stubborn God and the Girl Friend, Another Century, and The Broken Hell. This brisk enumeration of titles is sufficient to reflect the tragical feature of the authors speech whose inner movement seems impregnated with the grave and gloomy pulsation of a permanently wandering burial procession. This feature is also present in his newly launched volume, and the passage through the world is seen as a tragical slip through, and towards, non-existence. Its nuances remind us not only of the ancient Soma sema, but also, and prominently, of Heideggers Sein zum Tode: windy at the winds funeral, cloudy at the clouds funeral, their fear and sadness/.../ Each of us is a living coffin of the immortal death, on someone elses and on the worlds shoulders. Also the stars are a tardy funeral of the dead sun. We are walking in circles in its hole. Nevertheless, his view on the world is not morbid and disappointed, but is one that reveals the horrors of the recently closed century. The most disastrous experience of the 20th century is that reason itself is corruptible, said Gadamer in La philosophie hermneutique, PUF, Paris, p. 70). Bernanos thought that that experience represented Satans reappearance in the world. This perception is similar in Viszar Zhitis poems about his personal experiences. He was imprisoned and tortured for eight years in communist prisons as a decadent poet, an enemy of the people. His texts talk about the totalitarian universe, violence, death, the absurd, the holes, the bullets, the mud, the handcuffs, the beatings with rubber cudgels, the chains of those in cuffs, the masks of death, the moans and the blood, the lack of hope, the electroshocks, the isolation, the prisons, the death, the torture of carrying a dead body on the back. All these represent the inventory of Viszar Zhitis texts: You have to carry yourself the dead body./.../ It transfers its anxiety to you, as cold as ice, its worries and dark thoughts. It transfers its putrefaction to you. Two arms of the four you have now are uselessly balancing./.../ Your eyes and the deads eyes burn like little lamps in hell. Luan Topcius translation ensures the transmigration of the authors texts, and succeeds to preserve, in Romanian, a sincere and high vibration of the confession. The volume Endless Funerals brings the ample discourse of a conscience capable of telling all the truth about the utopian ideas, the errors and significances of a time, together with the destiny and terrible experiences of that time.
(Translation: Iolanda Mnescu)

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Baki Ymeri iubete n limba romn Poetul Baki Ymeri tie zece limbi strine, dintre care numai trei sunt limbi materne. Poetul este un romn mai exotic, nscut n Macedonia, la ipkovia (n 1954), pe meleaguri aromno-albaneze, dintr-o mam romnc i un tat albanez. A studiat Filozofie la Universitatea din Pritina, apoi romna la Universiti din Viena i Bucureti unde i face i un doctorat. A publicat 5 volume de versuri i a tradus: 50 de autori romni n albanez, dar i albanezi n romn, fcnd astfel o lucrare de ntregire spiritual a Estului European. Un volum de referin a lui Baki Ymeri este Lumina Dardaniei (2004) n care i-a povestit fiina ca o biografie a Balkaniei. Subcontientul Balkaniei este Iliria, este Tracia, este latinitatea timpurie. Baki Ymeri n-are nostalgia originilor, ci numai zgrcenia originilor. Adic tie s fie un trezorier al originilor, i nu ar risipi nici un fir/bob de origine. Dardania este numele antic al zonei Kosovo, vecin mereu cu Timocul romnilor, zice poetul bucuros de rdcini. Un poem al su se numete Albano-Vlahia. Exist aadar o Albano-Vlahie, ne zice un om care vine chiar din inima acesteia, un familiar al Pindului i al Carpailor. El zice: Auzi cum cnt turmele din Pindca o amintire din pre-copilrie. Parantez conex. Ne amintim din istorie sau biografii personale c exist i o Valahia Mare cum era numit Tessalia locuit de aromni. Exist mai ales o Euro-Vlahie, neocultat nc. Biografia liric a lui Baki Ymeri se ntinde dinspre un trecut latino-ilir spre un prezent al iubirii. Iubirea, se tie, este dincolo de etnie, este topire n universal. Poetul are iubire pentru Mnstirea nelepciunii (vezi poemul cu acest titlu), sau pentru o aromnc alptat cu ambrozia zeilor i avnd buzele nmiresmate de fulgere (imagine de o for deosebit). Poetul are contiina c-i parte dintr-un miracol al fiinei n care istoria i destinul personal se ntlnesc sub semnul dragostei i al emoiei religioase: Trectorule, /Afl i tu/ cum optea: /F cu mine ce vrei-/ Dumnezeu ne-o ierta! Un poem evocare al lui Baki Ymeri se numete Te iubesc n limba romn. Poetul i amintete un fapt din pruncie. ntr-o zi, tatl albanez i spune mamei romnce: AuziTe iubesc n limba romn. i atunci Baki Ymeri i-a elucidat c modul de a iubi are i o nuan etnic i c propriul su fel de a iubi este pe romnete. Baki Ymeri iubete romnete, aa cum Eliade, venic printre strini, continua s viseze romnetei prin asta ne confirm c limba este un aspect profund al fiinei. Orice om pus la ncercare de exil sau de pribegie, de globalizare sau de asimilri, de transplantare sau de transhuman i verific identitatea prin grai i prin viscare este i el un grai ncifrat adnc.
(Vasile Andru: ROMNIA)

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Baki Ymeri loves in Romanian The poet Baki Ymeri speaks ten languages, of which only three are maternal. The poet is a diferent kind of Romanian, born in ipkovia, Macedonia (n 1954), a Aromanian-Albanian territory, from a Romanian mother and an Albanian farther. He studied Philosophy at University of Pritina, and then Romanian at University of Vienna and University of Bucureti where he also completes his PhD. He published five volumes of poetry and he translated fifty authors, mostly from Romanian into Albanian but also Albanian authors in Romanian, working therefore toward a spiritual unification in Eastern Europe. The Light of Dardania (2004) is a reference point for the work of Baky Ymeri, work in which he interweaves his own story with the biography of the Lady Balkans. The subconscience of the Lady Balkans is the Iliad, the ancient Trakia, the early latinity. Baki Ymeri might not necessarily be nostalgic with respect to the origins, but he definetly does not like to let them go to waste. He knows to be a true treasurer of the origins! Dardania is the old name of Kosovo area, always a neighbour of Romanianss Timoc underlines the poet, happy for the common roots. In fact, one of his poems is entitled Albanian-Valachia. There is such a land, Albanian-Valachia, the man familiar with the Pinds and the Carpathians proclaims! Listen to the sounds of shepherds flocks from the Pind sounds of pre-childhood memories! (We must make a paranthesis here. We remember from history and we learn from personal biographies that there is a Great Valachia the territories populated with Aromanians from Tessalia. And perhaps there is even a EuroValachia, not mythicized yet!) This lirical biography of Baki Ymeri stretches from a past of the Iliad to a present of Love. It is well known, Love is something beyond ethnical roots, Love is melting into universality. The poet will profess his love for the Monastery of Wisdom (see the poem with the same title) as well as he will profess his love for a Aromanian woman reared with Gods ambrosia, a woman with a lips perfumed with strokes of lightning. The poet has the deep understanding that he is part of the miracle of being, a miracle in which the history and the personal destiny meet in love and in religious emotions: You, passerby,/ Let you know/ How it was wispered: / Do what you want with me-/ God will forgive us! An invocation poem of Baki Ymeri is called I love you in Romanian (language). The poet is remembering how one day, early in childhood, his Albanian father told to the poets Romanian mother: ListenI love you in Romanian. Baki Ymeri understands that the way we love has an ethnical component as well, and he realizes that his way of loving is the Romanian way. He loves in Romanian the same way as Eliade, always among strangers, continued to dream in Romanian confirming us that the language is a profound component of the being. Any human being under the trial of

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exile, globalization or asimilation, under the stress of displacement or transhumance will check and reafirm his or her identity through spoken thoughts and through dreams, where dreams are just spoken or unspoken thoughts deeply encoded in our conscience.
(Translation: Ctlin Florea)

Evanghelos Moutsopoulos Muzica n opera lui Platon Editura Omonia, cu sprijinul Ambasadei Republicii Elene la Bucureti, a publicat relativ recent (2009), sub semntura lui Evanghelos Moutsopoulos, volumul Muzica n opera lui Platon. Membru al Academiei din Atena, membru onorific sau corespondent al mai multor academii internaionale, membru al Institutului Franei, profesor invitat al mai multor universiti din Europa i America i al unor prestigioase centre de cercetare, fondator al revistei internaionale Diotima, i din 1984 conductor al anuarului Philosophia al Centrului de Cercetare a Filosofiei Greceti, autorul a creat Corpus Philosophorum Graecorum Recentiorum n cadrul Fundaiei de Cercetare i Editare a Filosofiei Neoelenice (1975) pe care o prezideaz. Beneficiind de o informaie de-a dreptul luxuriant, lucrarea academicianului grec se adreseaz deopotriv muzicologilor, istoricilor artei sunetelor, esteticienilor, pedagogilor sau sociologilor artei. Impresionant este i diversitatea temelor abordate n paginile acestui veritabil tratat aparinnd filozofiei i esteticii, imaginea muzicii reflectat n Dialogurile lui Platon fiind de o mare complexitate. Pentru Platon, muzica este un domeniu vast, considerat dintr-o perspectiv social i filosofic care se deschide ctre Logos i ctre Sufletul Lumii. Sunt aduse n discuie problematicile (i o definiie a Educaiei) pe care filosoful le ntemeiaz pe moralitate (n Protagoras se sublinia valoarea moral a oricrui tip de educaie ca de altfel i n Legile), ale Virtuii (ntrevzut ca un acord ntre facultatea sensibil i facultatea raional a omului), ale Frumosului, ctre care tot raiunea trebuie s fie aceea care s ne conduc. n ceea ce privete educaia muzical (ntemeiat pe jaloanele principale ale Frumosului i Binelui), aceasta are ca scop final iubirea universal a virtuii n frumusee (p. 232). Iat de ce, pentru Platon, operele Frumosului muzical trebuie s fie nscrise n spirit iar muzica are o inciden care mrturisete o apropiere de ceea ce se nelege prin Numinos. Ceea ce noi numim cntece, spune el (Legile, II, 659), nu mai sunt, n realitate, dect incantaii ale sufletului. Acestea reunesc cele trei principii ale educaiei muzicale platonice: scopul care este virtutea, metodele care vizeaz obinuina, deschiderea care este total i universal.

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Din sumarul acestei lucrri este evident c temele tratate rspund celor interesai de cultur, de spiritualitate, de filozofie, de arta sunetelor. Iat cteva: evoluia instrumentelor muzicale nainte i dup Platon, tradiia artei dansului, educaia muzical la Sparta i Lesbos, ideea pitagoreic de tetraktys, axiologia frumosului muzical, mimesis n muzic, contiina muzical i teatrocraia, Sufletul Lumii i Armonia universal, muzica la Homer. Interesante sunt consideraiile privitoare la specificul Mimesis-ului muzical, aflat mereu pe urmele Ideii de Frumos, pe care se ntemeiaz superioritatea i deschiderea metafizic a acestei arte. n Phaidon, Platon afirmase c filosofia este muzica suprem i astfel nu va fi greu (ne sugereaz autorul) s nelegem aceast superioritate pe care viziunea platonic o afirm cu privire la arta sunetelor, n muzic descifrndu-se vizibile afiniti cu dialectica. i n Phaidros muzicianul era considerat ntr-o similitudine cu filosoful (Phaidros, 248 d.) datorit asemnrii dintre sufletele lor, ceea ce, argumenteaz Evanghelos Moutsopoulos, ntrete ipoteza a priori dup care Platon concepe legturile profunde care subzist, ntre cele dou discipline. De altfel, un asemenea mod de a gndi muzica dateaz din timpuri imemoriale (se pare sec. VI .e.n.) cci pentru autorul anonim al Imnurilor ctre Hermes din culegerea homeric, muzica era tot una cu Sophia alturi de termenul de tehne prin care muzicianul (instrumentist la iter) era considerat deintor al unei tiine superioare. Cartea academicianului Evanghelos Moutsopoulos rspunde fr ndoial preocuprilor dintre cele mai diferite.
Dan Anghelescu (ROMANIA)

Evanghelos Moutsopoulos Music in Platos Works Music in Platos Works by Evanghelos Moutsopoulos has been recently published by Omonia Publishing House, with the help of the Greek Embassy in Bucharest. A member of the Greek Academy in Athens, an honorary or corresponding member of several foreign academies, a member of the French Institute, a visiting professor in several European and American universities and renowned centres of research, the founder of the international review Diorama and since 1984 the director of the Philosophia directory issued by the Centre of Research of Greek Philosophy, Evanghelos Moutsopoulos also created Corpus Philosophorum Graecorum Recentiorum within the Foundation for Research and Editions of Neohellenic Philosophy (1975) that he has been presiding. Based on a rich amount of information, Music in Platos Works addresses musicologists, historians of the art of sound, aestheticians, art teachers or sociologists. Equally impressive, the diversity of themes of this

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genuine philosophic and aesthetic treaty renders a complex polyphonic image of music as reflected in Platos Dialogues. To Plato music was a vast domain and he considered it from a social and philosophic perspective with direct bearing on The Logos and The Worlds Soul. In the volume there are discussed the issues (a definition of education included) that Plato considered to be based on morality (in Protagoras and The Laws he underlined the moral value of every type of education), the issues of Virtue (seen as an accord between mans sensitive and rational faculties), of Beauty that can be reached by rational means, as well. As to musical education (founded on the main concepts of Beauty and the Good) it must have as a final aim the universal love of virtue in beauty (232).That is why to Plato the works of musical Beauty must be inscribed in the spirit and music has a quality that betrays its approach to what he understands by the Numinous. What we call songs he writes (The Laws, II, 659), are in reality no more than incantations of the soul. They reunite the three principles of Platonic musical education: the end which is virtue, the methods that refer to habit, the opening that is total and universal. Perusing the contents of the book it becomes obvious that the themes the author deals with address those readers interested in culture, spirituality and the art of sound. Here are a few: the evolution of musical instruments before and after Plato, the tradition of the art of dancing, the musical education in Sparta and Lesbos, the Pitagoreic ideea of tetraktys, the axiology of musical beauty, mimesis in music, musical consciousness and theatrocracy, the Soul of the World and Universal Harmony, music with Homer. The authors views on the specificity of musical mimesis are of great interest as he sees it constantly following the idea of beauty on which both the superiority and the metaphysical scope of this art are built. In Phaedo Plato stated that philosophy is music supreme. We will not find it difficult, the author suggests, to understand the superiority that the Platonic vision attributes to the art of sound, music being obviously kindred to dialectics. In Phaedrus, too, the musician was seen related to the philosopher (Phaedrus, 248 d.), because of their souls resemblance which, Evanghelos Moutsopoulos claims, reinforces the a priori hypothesis that Plato used in conceiving the underlying ties between the two disciplines. Actually this way of conceiving music can be traced back to even older times (6th century BC). The anonymous author of Hymns to Hermes in the Homeric collection found that music is identical to Sophia plus the term tehne owing to which the musician (zither player) was considered having superior abilities. Academician Evanghelos Moutsopoulos wonderful book continues the research done in the domain of the philosophy of music and combines a large array of approaches that make it accessible and enjoyable at the same time.
(Translation: Aloisia Sorop)

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NOTES ABOUT CONTRIBUTORS

Hakija Kari (BOSNIA AND HERTZEGOVINA) was born in Palanka,near Brko, in 1966. His first literary works were published in several magazines. He published the following collections of poetry: To You, My Bosnia, Verlag Schmitz, Germany, 1993. Silent yards, Das bosnische Wort, Wuppertal-Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina Germany, 1994. Scares, Literary Club Midhat Begi, Brko, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1998. The Print of Crumpled Dreams, Das bosnische Wort, WuppertalTuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Germany, 1994. The Scirt Without Dreams, Literary Club Brko Distrikt, Brko, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2008. He lives in his native town and works as a writer and journalist. He attends The Faculty of Politics - Journalism in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Pero Pavlovi (BOSNIA AND HERTZEGOVINA) was born in Grac, near Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 22, 1952. He graduated from The Faculty of Medical Biochemistry in Zagrebu and he post graduated there. He lives and works in Neum. He published the following collections of poetry: Blue piper (1979), Brightnesses (1983), The Land of Sacrament (1983), Vibrations and signs (1987), Bonfire/ Thousand years of Bishopric in Trebinje (1988), Closes (1994), Neum - Defending of Bench and Name (1995) Irradiations (1996), In Rosary of Candles (1997), Bath of Light (1998), Between Dream and Eternity (1998), Swing and Shadows (1999), Feast (2000), Song of Pray, (2000), Owl of Opened Sky (2000), Sky Swallows (2001), Spinner of the Sun (2001), The Music of Gentle Names (2002), The Spring of Soul (2003), Smelling Grasses (2004), Grain of Mustard (2004), What the Poet Takes in His Bag (2005), Forests (2006), Laudes mensibus (2007), Love Land Word Dawn (2008). His poems are included in more anthologies and poetry collections. He is the recipient of several literary prizes. He also writes literary and art critique and articles for many papers and magazines. Boyko Bogdanov (BULGARIA) was born in Varna, Bulgaria in 1959. He graduated from a French language school. He continued his education at the National Theatre Academy in Sofia, major Directing. He specialized in Poland, Russia and France. He worked as a theatre director and from 1998 to 2006 was Manager of New Drama Theatre Salza i Smiah - Sofia. He won prizes for best play, best theatre music, best director and the national theatre prize ASKEER. He is author of three poetry books. Boiko Lambovski (BULGARIA) was born in Sofia in 1960. He is a poet and essay writer. His poetry has been translated into many languages - English, German, Portugal, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Italian, Arabian, French, etc. He is the recipient of over 20 awards for poetry, including Vladimir Bashev (1987), Geo Milev (1997), etc. He participated in many international writing competitions in Serbia, France, Norway,

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Portugal, Russia, Romania, Slovenia, Greece, Macedonia, etc. He is the creator of "Friday the 13th" - a group promoting new forms in art. He himself is a translator into Russian and French, mainly poetry. Nowadays he works in "Sega - daily", Sofia, as editor of Culture Department. Books published: Messenger, 1986, Scarlet Decadence, 1991, Edwarda, 1992, Critique of Poetry, 1996, God Is Commander of the Guard, 1999, Heavy machine-gun before the dream, 2004, Pick up words, selected poems, 2004, Fool in the Underpass of the World, essays, 2008. Antoaneta Nikolova (BULGARIA) was born in Sofia on June 26, 1961. She read Philosophy at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. She has taken her Ph.D. in Philosophy with the dissertation on Ecology and Religion. Now she is associate professor in Eastern philosophy at South-West University, Blagoevgrad. Antoaneta Nikolova is a poet and translator. She is author of several books of poetry: Liquefied Light (1994), Tales for Unnamed Beings (1998), Green Mirror (2003), Breathing (2008); as well as of the philosophical study on poetry, The Language of Void (2003). She translates poems from Old Chinese and is a translator of the first anthology of Old Chinese poetry in Bulgarian, Poetry of Mountains and River (2003). Her poems have been translated in English, German, French, Japanese, Hungarian, Greek and Russian languages. Neli Piguleva (BULGARIA) was born in Ruse, Bulgaria in 1957. She graduated from The Literature Institute in Moscow. She works as a journalist and she is editor of the literature and culture magazine Brod. She is the author of three published poetry books, she writes articles, poetry and has translated numerous texts from Russian, Latvian and French, which have been published in periodicals and specialized literature magazines. Iglica Peeva (BULGARIA) was born in Rousse. She is a prizewinner of the National Anonymous Contest for Contemporary Bulgarian Dramaturgy (Varna, 1983), National Contest for Poetry of Intellect Club 2000 (1997) and National Contest for Contemporary Bulgarian Drama Conception for Theatre (Sofia, 2000). She is the author of seven prize-winning plays that have been put on stage in Rousse, Varna, Pernik and Sofia. She is also author of the books Genetic Code, 1990, H. G. Danov Publishing House; A Candlelight in the Eyes, 1993, Di Gue Lo Publishing House; In the Heart of Summer, 1998, Z.Stoyanov; Dreaming, 2000, Primax. Marina Kljajo-Radic (CROATIA) was born in Mostar on January 25, 1962. She lives in Bijelo Polje. She graduated from The Faculty of Philosophy in Mostar, Department of Croatian language and the literature. Currently she is on MA degree Languages and cultures in the contact. Now she works as a teacher of Croatian and is a professional mentor of Croatian. She is an established writer and President of The Croatian Writers Association of Herceg Bosnia, whose longtime member she has been. Her poems are present in several anthologies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Croatia. Also she is chief editor of the "Osvit", the magazine for literature, culture and social subjects and an editor of books in the CWA of HB. She writes from her earliest youth and published four collections of poetry: Tragovi (Traces), Mostar, 1997; Narancasti cvijet (The Orange Flower), Mostar, 1998; The Shine of letters (Sjaj slova), Mostar, 2004; Svitac kameniti (Petrify Firefly), 2007, Mostar. Also she writes literary critique and essays.

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Darko PLAZANIN (CROATIA)(30.8.1957 19.1.2009). One of the most important haijin in Croatia, Darko Plazanin wrote haiku longer than a quarter of a century and had been published in many domestic and foreign reviews, journals, anthologies and on the Internet. His haiku verses had been, among others, translated into Japanese, English, German, French, Magyar, Romanian, Flemish and Irish language. He had published four independent haiku collections and is among the authors in common bilingual, Croatian/ English haiku collections Sedam putova/ Seven ways, Zagreb, 2000 and Novim sedam putova/ Seven New Ways, Zagreb, 2003. Anastasia Moula-Hatzi (GREECE) was born at Pogoni a village close to Ioannina in the north of Greece, but now she lives in Thessaloniki and works at the medical school of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She is a member of The Literature Union of Nothern Greece, The European Society of Authors and Poets, and Musical Society of Northern Greece. She is an active member of The Greek Amphictyony and The Organisation of the Internationalism of the Greek Language. Anastasia first approached the Literary community when she participated in the First Pan-Hellenic Poetry Competition where she was awarded the 1st Prize for her poem Epilogue. She published her poetry collection which included Testimony 98-99, Testimony II and The Topography of Devastation. Her latest work is Fragments of Memory. In March 2000 she was awarded a prize for her poem Kisses of the Air in the 1st PanHellenic poetry Festival. Several of her poems have been published in poetry anthologies. She is also part of the Crossroad theatre stage group of the Municipality of Thessaloniki. Apostolos Patelakis (GREECE) was born in Craiova, Romania, in 1951, to a family of Greek political immigrants. After graduating from high school he attended the courses of the Institute of History Geography in Craiova (1973). He was then a history teacher in the village of Botiza Maramures and attended, at the same time, the courses of the Faculty of History Philosophy in Cluj Napoca (1976). Thanks to his bilingual fluency, he was able to use a vast bibliography in Greek for his graduation paper The Greek Independence War and the European Public Opinion (1821-1829). In 1979 he officially returned to Greece, together with his family. Since 1980 he has been teaching a course of Romanian language, culture and civilisation at the Balkan Languages School within the Institute of Balkan Studies in Thessaloniki. Between 2000 and 2006 he was a lecturer at the Faculty of Balkan Studies within the Macedonia University of Thessaloniki where he taught a course in the Romanian language, culture and civilisation. He translated several works from Greek into Romanian, including Manolis Andronicos, Royal Tombs in Vergina, An Anthology of Balkan Poetry, Foreign Investments in Romania. In 1992 he published the brochure Thessaloniki, the Capital of Modern Macedonia and the Cultural Capital of Europe in 1997, he was co-author of The Bibliography of the City of Thessaloniki (1987), Supplimentary Texts in Acquiring the Romanian Language (2002). He worked also as a correspondent in Greece for the Romanian newspapers Adevrul (1994-1995), Vocea Romniei (1995-1996), Actualitatea romneasc (2002-2006), Curierul Atenei (2007-2008).

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Zoe Savina (GREECE) was born in Athens, studied at the Professional School, and later studied Design and Decorative Arts at the Scuola Delle Belli Arti - Firenze (Italy). She has published 8 poetry collections, 3 of which are bilingual. In 2002 she published an international haiku anthology, The Leaves are Back on the Tree, featuring 186 poets from 50 countries. She is a member of the National Association of Greek Writers, a founding member of the Coordinating Center of Hellenism, and an Honorary Member of the Yugoslav Haiku Association. She writes essays, translations, fairy tales, and critical presentations. Her Greek publications include Nuances (1979), Without Archangels (1980), Townships (1981), Acrobats (1983), Contact Lenses (1990), Know What I've Got For You? (1992), Limitation (1993), Mature Mirror as a Fruit (1994), The Chickpea (1994), The Vehicle Hydonism (1995), The Vehicle I Want (1995), The Vehicle LoveToken (1995). Bilingual publications include Enchantresses (1985), 20/20 Vision (1989), The Archon of the Crypt (1994), International Haiku Anthology: The Leaves Are Back on the Tree. (Katica) Kata Kulavkova (MACEDONIA) was born in 1951. She is a member of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, a poet, a theoretician of literature, a literary essayist, and Professor of the Theory of Literature and Literary Hermeneutics at the Department of General and Comparative Literature of The Faculty of Philology, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje. Her poetry has been translated into many languages and represented in books, anthologies and selections of contemporary Macedonian poetry. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the international P.E.N. e-Collection Diversity (www.diversity.org.mk). Her areas of interest include: theory of intertextuality, poetics and hermeneutics, cultural theory, Balkan identities. Publications include: Poetry: Annunciation, 1975; The Act, 1978; Our Consonant, 1981; New Sweat, 1984; Neuralgic Spots (bilingual edition, Serbian/Macedonian) 1986; Thirst, 1989; 1989; Wild Thought (selection), 1989; Domino, 1993; Exorcising Evil, 1997; Via Lasciva (into French), 1998; Time Difference (into English), 1998; Preludium, 1998, World-In-Between, 2000, Expulsion du mal (into French, Ecrits des Forges), 2002, Dead Angle, 2004, Dorinte (into Romanian, 2004), Thin Ice (2008); Short stories/Poetic fiction: Another Time, and several books of literary theory and hermeneutics: Figurative Speech and Macedonian Poetry, Pact and Impact, Stone of Temptation, Cahiers, Small Literary Theory, Theory of Literature, introduction (2004, in English), Hermeneutics of Identities. She has also been the editor of several anthologies of Macedonian short stories and essays, and several readers (Dialogue of Interpretations, Theory of Intertextuality, Poetics and Hermeneutics, Balkan Image of the World, Interpretations Vol. 1 on Violence & Art, Notions of Literary Theory). She has prepared two anthologies of world short stories (1996, 2008). Personal website: www.kulavkova.org.mk Baki Ymeri (MACEDONIA & ROMANIA) is a poet, a translator, an essayist and a publicist, too. He was born in Sipkovita (Macedonia) to an Albanian father and a Romanian mother. Baki Ymeri graduated from The Faculty of Philosophy (Albanian Language and Literature) at the University of Kosovo, Prishtina, and then he specialized in Romanian language at the Universities in Bucharest and Vienna. He is a member of the Romanian Union of Writers, editor in chief of the Albanezul/Shqiptari magazine, an author of many articles about the Romanians in Valea Timocului (Serbia) and the Albanians in Kosovo. He also published poetry: Kaltrina (a Romania-Albanian edition,

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Bucharest, 1994); Dardania (a Romania-Albanian edition, Bucharest, 1999); Zjarr i Shenjt/ Foc Sacru (Tetova, R. Macedonia, 2001); Lumina Dardaniei (Bucharest, 2004); Drumul iadului spre Rai (Bucharest, 2005).For his rich cultural activity, Baki Ymeri was nominated as the Man of 2001 by the ABI (American Biographic Institute). He also translated thousands verses from books by over 50 Romanian writers and historians into Albanian, Macedonian and Slovenian, as well as volumes by Nichita Stanescu, Ekspozit e t palindurve/ Expoziia celor nenscui (Prishtina, 1986); Anghel Dumbrveanu: Knga e mullibardhs/Cntecul sturzului (Scopje, 1986); Slavco Almjan: Xhuxhmaxhuxht harruan t rriten/Piticii au uitat s creasc (Prishtina, 1989); Marin Sorescu: Eja t ta them nj fjal/Vino s-i spun un cuvnt (Prishtina, 1990), etc. Mihaela Albu (ROMANIA, email address: malbu_10@yahoo.com) is a Professor teaching Romanian literature - at the University of Craiova, Romania. Between 1999 and 2004 she taught as a visiting professor at Columbia University, New York. She is a member of the Union of Romanian Writers, of the Union of Professional Journalists in Romania, of the Romanian-American Academy, and also the editor-in chief of the literary magazine Gracious Light (USA), of the newspaper Lumea Romneasc (USA) and also a member in the editorial board of several newspapers and magazines. She published essays (literary criticism) and poems both in Romanian and foreign magazines (from the United States, Germany, Italy, Israel, Moldova, Canada) and is the author of some books such as: Memoria exilului romnesc: ziarul Lumea liber din New York (Memory of the Romanian Exile: the newspaper Lumea libera in New York), Bucharest, 2008, Cultur i identitate (Culture and Identity), Craiova, 2008; Literatura pentru copii. Discursul epic (Literature for Children. The epic discourse), Craiova, 2007; Catharsis. Poems, Bucharest & Montreal, 2006; Ca o dragoste trzie Poezii, (As a Late Love Poems), Craiova 2005; Ion Biberi Suferin i cunoatere (Ion Biberi Suffering and Knowledge). Studiu monografic/ a monography, (second edition), Craiova, 2005 (edited with the help of the Romanian Ministry of Culture, awarded the Prize of International Society LitterArt, USA); Iscusit zbav, New York, 2004 essays about classic and contemporary Romanian writers; Citind la New York scriitori romni (Reading Romanian Writers in New York), Botosani, 2002 (edited with the help of the Ministry of Culture, awarded the Prize of International Society LitterArt, USA); ntre dou pori (Between Two Gates), Poems, New York, 2002; Relatare/ Reprezentare (Narration/Representation), Craiova, 1997; Ion Biberi (first edition), 1994. Dan Anghelescu (ROMANIA), email address:dan45_anghelescu@yahoo.com, a poet and an essayist, was born in Romania on May 1945. He is a member of the Union of Romanian Writers, of the Union of Professional Journalists from Romania, an editor of the literary magazine Lumina lina. Gracious Light, New York and also a correspondent for the newspaper Lumea Romaneasca. Romanian World, USA. He graduated from The Academy of Music George Enescu in Iasi, Musicology and Composition Department. Since his debut in 1969 in the magazine Iaul literar, Dan Anghelescu has had a rich and diverse activity, signing musical chronicles (Podium in some magazines such as Cronica - Iai, Flacra Bucharest), interviews, book-reviews, poems and essays in other Romanian magazines such as Cronica, Tomis, Convorbiri Literare, Luceafrul, Contemporanul, Literatorul, Sudt, Vatra, Oglinda literar, Excelsior, Porto Franco,

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Lumina lina (Gracious Light). His debut was in 1970 with a book of poetry - Cerul n ap. This and other volumes: Lumea ca adiere, 198o; Mainarii de traversare a sufletului toamna, 1983; Poeme, 1989; Pietrificarea memoriei, 1998 had very good chronicles signed by important Romanian literary critics. Besides this activity, Dan Anghelescu has activated also in different cultural domains. Thus, in 1990, together with a playwright, Dinu Grigorescu, and a director, Tudor Marascu, he founded the first private theater in Romania and printed the magazine Scorpion. In 1999 he edited (together with other two poets) - being the editor in chief the magazine Axa. In 2007, in Braila, he was co-initiator of International Poetry Festival Balcanica, and also president of the first edition. Other activities:- A founder and vice-president of Romanian National Employers; Vicepresident in the Commission Education-CultureResearch from Economic and Social Council of Romania; Member of the Governing Board European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions Dublin, Ireland. Marius Chelaru (ROMANIA) (name: Marius Chelariu, Pen Name: Marius Chelaru), email: marius.1961.@yahoo.com, was born in Negreti, Vaslui county, Romania, on August 30, 1961; Present day lives in Jassy, where he graduated from The Faculty of Economics, University Alexandru Ioan Cuza; He is a contributor with articles/ poems/ critical articles. He worked as the editor of some cultural magazines: Timpul/ Time, Cronica/ Chronicle, Convorbiri Literare/ Literary Conversations, Poezia/ Poetry etc., or Publishing Houses such as: Junimea (1994-1998, editor, 1998-1999: editor in chief, 1999-2000: Director), Sakura (1999-2002, Director), Parnas (2000- 2002), Timpul/ Time (2001-2003, Executive Director). He is also a member in the editorial board of several newspapers and magazines. He contributedr with articles, poems, essays, literary criticism, prose, translations, interviews, book-reviews in various international anthologies, and in magazines/ journals from Romania, Republic of Moldavia, USA, England, Belgium, Canada, Sweden, Paraguay, Japan, Irak, Egypt, Jordan, Vietnam, Lebanon, Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Holland etc. He is a member of The Romanian Writers Society, member of the famous club Junimea in Jassy, a member of the Haiku Romanian Society, a member of World Haiku Association, Japan, an honorary member of Maison Naaman pour la Culture, Beirut, Liban. He published over 20 books (novels, poems haiku and tanka, also , literary critique, essays); he was awarded some national prizes (including the Romanian Union Writers Prize, for essay in 2005 for the book The Book between East and West (edited with the help of the Romanian Ministry of Culture), He got the Award of Critics of the prestigious Romanian Literary Magazine Literary Conversations in 2008 etc.) and other international literary awards. Vasile Datcu (ROMANIA) was born in Balta Alb, Buzu, Romania in 1949 and graduated from the Polytechnic Institute in Galai, the Ship Building Department in 1972. He is a poet and a fiction writer, a member of the Union of Romanian Writers. As a prose writer he started by publishing a short story, called Caseta, in the volume Debut86 (Cartea Romaneasca Publishing House). After his debut, Vasile Datcu published: Singurtate n tranzit, Galai, Porto-Franco Publishing House, 1991; Timpul i cultura european. Eseu. Bucharest, Eminescu Publishing House, 2000; Paznic la ua nopilor, Bucharest, Eminescu Publishing House, 2002; Venicia cu patent. Roman ultramodern romnesc, Bucharest, Vremea Publishing House, 2005.

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Iolanda Manescu (ROMANIA, email address: iomanescu@yahoo.co.uk) was born in Craiova, Romania, and studied at the Universities of Bucharest and of Craiova. She teaches at the University of Craiovas Department of Applied Foreign Languages, and is a literary consultant at the National Theatre of Craiova, being also involved in the Romanian International Shakespeare Festival. She is a member of the Romanian theatre association, UNITER. She has published articles and translations in different Romanian and foreign journals, annals and magazines such as: Lo Straniero, Ultimate Reality and Meaning (Interdisciplinary Studies in the Philosophy of Understanding), Teatrul azi, Scrisul Romanesc, Proceedings of the Romanian Academy etc., and books: The Ancient Greek-Latin Theatre in Romanian Performances of the Last Decades of the 20th Century (her PhD thesis held at the National University of Theatre and Film in Bucharest), and translated into Romanian, Is It True What They Say about Shakespeare?, by Stanley Wells. Vasile Moldovan (ROMANIA) was born in Bistrita-Nasaud county in 1949. He Graduated from Law school ((1967-1971) and Journalism (1975-1979), having also a master in psychology and the science of communication. He published poems and essays in different Romanian literary magazines such as Luceafrul, Tribuna, Viaa Armatei. Vasile Moldovan has been involved in the Romanian school of haiku and now he is president of the Romanian Society of Haiku. He attended many international meetings of haiku in Frankfurt on Main (2005), Sofia (2005) and Tokyo (2007). So far he has published over 1000 haiku poems in 12 languages in different international anthologies or online. Starting with 2001, Moldovan has been awarded many prizes at the international competitions in Japan, U.S.A., Australia, Canada,India i Croaia. His most representative books are: Via dolorosa (1998), Faa nevzut a lunii/ The moons unseen face (2001), Arca lui Noe/ Noaha Ark(2003), Ikebana (2005). Mircea Muthu (ROMANIA) was born in Iernut, Mures in 1944 and graduated from Babe-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca where he has been teaching as full professor now. He has been Doctor in philological sciences since 1976, title awarded in Romania for a doctoral thesis on Romanian literature in the south-east European context. Professor Mircea Muthus fields of specialization are studies of Balkanology and of south-eastern Europe (field in which he has published the greater part of his books and studies; General and literary esthetics, Theory of literature). He published 20 volumes as a single author and 17 books written in collaboration, in Romania and in other countries (France, Spain, Germany, Italy). M. Muthu is also co-author of Scriitori romni. Mic dicionar (Romanian Writers - a Small Dictionary), 1978; Dicionarul scriitorilor romni (The Dictionary of Romanian Writers) : tome I (A-C), 1995 ; tome I (D-L), 1998; tome III (M-Q), 2000 ; Dicionar analitic de opere literare romneti (Analytical Dictionary of Romanian Literary Works ), tome I (A-D), 1998 ; tome H (E-L), 1999; tome m (M-P) 2000; Dicionar Esenial al Scriitorilor Romni (Essential Dictionary of Romanian Writers), 2001. He published about 800 studies and articles in the main Romanian cultural magazines as well as in magazines in France, Southern Africa, Greece and Austria. Professor M. Muthu is a member of the following Scientific and Cultural Societies: The Romanian Writers Union (since 1980); Les amis de Jules Romains Association, France (since 1978), The International Comparative Literature

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Association (AILC). He is a Knight of the National Order Pentru Merit (2000); Knight of the Ordre des Palmes Academiques for services rendered to French culture (2001). Valentin Nicoliov (ROMANIA) was born in Bucharest on February 12, 1945. He attended the Polytechnical Institute in Cluj-Napoca and graduated with an engineer diploma in 1972. He began his literary career in 1965. He continued to write under the auspices of the Romanian Writers Society, Military Writers Society and the Romanian Haiku Society in Bucharest. He is a member of the Romanian Writers Society, Military Writers Society and of the Romanian Haiku Society in Bucharest and secretary general for the editing of the Romanian-Japanese cultural magazine HAIKU. He published lyrics, short stories, an international haiku anthology and a novel. In 2001 he published his first prose book Iubiri risipite (Spread loves), Vasile Crlova publishing house, in 2003 the poetry volume titled Anotimpul iubirii (Love season), in 2005 the poetry book titled Doar clipa(Only the moment) and the novel titled O singur iubire (One single love) at the ORION publishing house. In 2007 he published the international haiku anthology titled Greieri i crizanteme(Crickets and Chrysanthemums). In 2008 he published the poetry volume titled De la un poem la altu (From One Poem to Another) and in 2009 the novel titled Exerciii de respiraie (Breath exercises). In 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 he published haiku poems in the anthologies of the World Haiku Association in Tokyo. In 2006 he published in O istorie a literaturii romne de la origini pn n prezent (A history of the Romanian literature since its origins to present time) at the DACOROMANA publishing house. Gabriela Rusu-Psrin (ROMANIA) was born in Slatina, Olt county, in 1958. She is Reader at the University of Craiova, Faculty of Letters, Department of Public Relations and also a journalist (coordinator) at the radio station Oltenia Craiova, a regional public station of the Romanian Society of Radio. Gabriela Rusu has won scholarships and attended different programs in Spain, France and Italy. She is the author of 10 volumes of literary criticism, ethnology and folklore, as well as of text books for the students such as Comunicare audio-vizual, Universitaria Publishing House, Craiova, ed. I 2005, ed. II 2008, Prolegomene la o istorie a mass-media, Universitaria Publishing House, Craiova, 2006, Calendar popular romnesc, Fundaia Editura Scrisul Romnesc, Craiova, 2006, Marin Sorescu. Imagini. Ethos. Evocri, Editura Academiei Romne, Bucureti, 2007. As a journalist, Gabriela Rusu-Psrin is a vice president of the Union of Profesional Journalists in Romania and was awarded Ordinul ziaritilor (the Journalists Order, 1st class (Gold). Elena-Camelia Zbav (ROMANIA) was born in Rosiorii de Vede, a small town in the South of Romania, in 1964. She graduated from University of Craiova where she is a lecturer now teaching Linguistics. She obtained her PH.D. in 2004 at the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Letters, with a dissertation on anthroponomy. Camelia Zbav published many scientific articles and is co-author of important dictionaries such as Dicionarul istoric al localitilor din judeul Olt, vol. I (Oraele), Craiova, Alma Publishing House, 2006; Dicionarul istoric al localitilor din judeul Olt, vol. II (A-F), Craiova, Alma Publishing House, 2006; Dicionarul istoric al localitilor din judeul Olt, vol. III (G-N), Craiova, Alma Publishing House, 2006. Camelia Zabava is a member of the Union of Slavists from Romania; between 1996 and 2007 she was a

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member of the editorial board of Arhivele Olteniei (an important magazine published under the auspicies of Romanian Academy). Heinz Uwe-Haus (USA, GERMANY), educated and trained in Germany at the Film Academy Potsdam-Babelsberg, as well as at the Humboldt University in Berlin (Cultural Studies, German Literature and Theatre Science), is a theatre director, Cultural Studies expert and Theatre scholar. Since 1997, Uwe Haus has been a Professor at the Professional Theatre Training Program and the Theatre Department of the University of Delaware, Newark (USA). His productions include plays of the Ancient Greeks, Shakespeare, German classics, Brecht and the Expresionists, performed both in Germany and such countries as Canada, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Italy, Turkey and the USA. Dr. Haus has been a guest professor at more than a dozen North American universities and has given more than 500 lectures and workshops worldwide. Besides publishing in his field, he writes about intercultural and political topics in German, English and Greek media. He is a Honorary Member of the Cyprus Centre of the International Theatre Institute and Honorary Citizen of the Greek community Katohi. Dr. Haus co-founded with Nikos Shiafkalis in 1986 the International Work-shop and Study Center for Ancient Greek Drama in Oinides (Greece). Since 2004 he has served as Academic Chair of the Institute for Ancient Greek Drama and Thetre in DroushiaPaphos (Cyprus). Pavel Gtianu (SERBIA) was born in Lokve St. Mihailo, in Voivodina, Serbia on December 15, 1957. He graduated from the University of Political Sciences at the University of Belgrade. After graduation he worked as a teacher at secondary schools in Alibunar and Vrac, then in Novi Sad as a public information analyst from 1986 until 1990, when he started working at the Radio Novi Sad as an editor in chief of the cultural programme in Romanian language. He is not a member of any political party and he declares himself an independent intellectual. Pavel Gtianu also established magazines in Romanian and German languages and he was one of the founders of the organization The Community of Romanians in Yugoslavia being its first president from 1990 to 1994. Books of poetry: Absent Time (1976), Shaven Snake (1984), The Birth of Prose (1986), Poems (1987), A Caliber of a Gun (1991), Training of the Greyhound (1997), The Terror of Glory (1997), Europe (1998), On the National Heroes Boulevard (1998), Nights from Cairo (1999), The End of a Millennium (1999) The Undreamt Dreams (1999), Sisyphus Shoulder (2001), Made in Banat (2002), The Shabanland (2006). His poems were published in anthologies in Romania and Serbia and have been translated into Serbian, Hungarian, Slovak, Ruthenian, Slovenian, French, German, and English. Books of prose: An Assault on the Public Order, 1995 (a collection of short stories which was translated into English by Mihaela Jorga Lazovi and published in 2004); Ballastology, 2005. He published also the play Mister Manius Jacket in 1998. Diana-Silvia Solkotovic (SERBIA) was born in Craiova, Romania. She graduated from the Economics Department at the University of Craiova. As a student she met her future husband, Boris Solkotovic, a student at the Politechnical Department in Craiova, and in 1992 she moved in Kladovo, Serbia. Diana is working as an economist in Serbia, but also as an editor and speaker for Radio Djerdap Kladovo, the Romanian section. She is very active in promoting Romanian culture in Valea Timocului, being also a founder

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and a member of the Society of Romanian-Vlachs Traian. She is working as a translator of Romanian literature into Serbian, thus contributing to a better promotion of Romanian culture in her new country. Verica Zivkovic (SERBIA). was born in Serbia. She completed grammar school in Pancevo and graduated fom the Faculty of Law in Belgrade. Besides poetry, she also writes literary reviews. She has been awarded several times for her poetry. Until now she has won 41 international awards for haiku poetry. Her poems have been translated into many languages: English, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Romanian, German. She has published six books of poetry: Someone's standing behind you, A Sickle in Shirt, A undressed sky, The Passer-by, Sfift of the Moon, The Ripe Blackberry.

Edited in: Brila,

Bucureti, Craiova, Iai

- Carmina Balcanica is published two times a year (May and November) and is distributed in the Balkan countries as well as in Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, USA.

Printed by: BLUE SIM & CO SRL IAI Issued in 500 copies

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