OBSERVATOR CULTURAL - Spiritul critic in actiune

Lead article

 

Carmen Musat writes that while this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair showed again that investing in culture pays off, the government’s 40 per cent reduction in the budget of the Romanian Cultural Institute will destroy Romania’s credibility and close doors to Romania’s cultural representatives.

 

Politics

 

Ciprian Ciucu compares election campaigns in the U.S. and Romania.
Bedros Horasanagian writes about last month’s “Japanese” strikes in this corner of the Balkans.
 

Latest

 

Bogdan Ghiu protests reducing the Romanian Cultural Institute’s budget in an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Calin Popescu-Tariceanu.
Dorin-Liviu Bitfoi and Daniela Luca introduce Challenges for Psychoanalysis in the 21st Century: Understanding Hate and Violence, an international colloquium. Vera Sandor interviews Didier Lauru and Cleopatre Athanassiou-Popesco. The Observer publishes an excerpt from Elena Vladareanu’s discussion with Nadia Bujo on Radio Romania Culturala. The discussion took place on October 29. The colloquium took place in Bucharest between October 30 and November 1. For more information, go to www.colocviu-de-psihanaliza.ro.
Silvia Dumitrache, Delia Ungureanu and Alin Croitoru tell us about the conference on “National Literatures in the Age of Globalization: The Issue of the Canon” that took place at the Faculty of Letters in Bucharest on October 31 and November 1.
 Cezar Gheorghe writes about the 1st Bucharest International Literature Festival “Re-writing the Map of Europe: Our Private Wars.” Iulia Popovici interviews German writer Juli Zeh. Ovidiu Simonca interviews Polish writer Wojciech Kuczok. The festival ran from October 29 through October 31.

 

Supplement

 

The Observer invites us to Poets in Dialogue / Poetas en dialogo, an event organized by the Cervantes Institute. Octavia Sandu translates Berna Wang’s poetry and Alexandra Galan translates Fulgencio Martinez Lopez’. Joaquin Garrigos translates from Denisa Comanescu and Nicolae Prelipceanu. Victor Alexandrescu interviews Anca Rotaru, author of En una cama bajo la sabana blanca (Bassarai Ediciones, 2008). The event ran in Timisoara (November 3-4), Brasov (November 5) and Bucharest (November 6).

Book review

Paul Cernat reads Florina Ilis’ Chemarea lui Matei (The Calling of Matthew, Bucharest: Cartea Romaneasca, 2008).

 

Fragments from a Forthcoming Publication

 

The Observer publishes an excerpt from Mo Yan’s Sorgul rosu (Red Sorghum: A Novel of China), soon to be published by Humanitas in Dinu Luca’s translation from Chinese.

 

International

 

Dan Petrila reports on this year’s Viennale Film Festival, which ran from October 17 through October 29.

 

Film
Valerian Sava writes about seeing The Best Romanian Movies Ever, an event organized at Cinema Studio, from October 30 through November 2.

 

Theatre
Luminita Voinea-Raut goes to the 17th Festival of the Union of European Theatres, which opened with Sophocles’ Antigone, directed by Anna Badora of the Graz Theatre. The performances took place at the Bulandra Theatre in Bucharest on October 11 and 12. The festival ends December 21.
Iulia Popovici and Doru Mares go to the 23rd “Pleading for You(th)” Festival in Piatra Neamt, from October 19 through October 29.

Visual arts
Mihai Plamadeala interviews Ioana Popescu on Horia Bernea’s “Adequate Gestures” exhibit at the Romanian Peasant’s Museum. The show opened on October 30.
Cosmin Ungureanu visits “Napoleon the 3rd and the Romanian Principalities” at the Romanian National Art Museum, running from October 23 through February 1, 2009.