OBSERVATOR CULTURAL - Spiritul critic in actiune

Lead article

 

Carmen Musat writes: Romanian society faces a full crisis: of ideas, legitimacy, and identity.

Politics

Ciprian Ciucu says that the uninominal vote makes it easier for local barons to bribe voters.
Bedros Horasangian notes:  Romania has reached a dead end. Making politicians responsible is the only way out.
Ioana Paverman looks disappointedly at the parliamentary campaign.

 Latest

Cezar Gheorghe reports on the most recent meeting of the Romanian Cultural Institute’s Board of Directors, which took place on November 13.
Doina Ioanid interviews Eric Fottorino, director of Le Monde, at Carturesti Bookshop, where he launched his novel Cinema Kisses (Sarutari de cinema, Bucharest: Trei Publishing, 2008) on November 14.

 

Chatting with Romanian Writers

 

The Observer continues the series of interactive interviews in which a free wheeling on-line dialogue with a noted writer transforms itself into a structured interview with multiple questioners. Writer Stelian Tanase takes to the net as the fifth “victim”. “un cristian” conducts the proceedings in part 1.

Book reviews

Corina Anghel-Crisu reads Dinu & Nelli Pillat’s The Victory of Love: Correspondence Pages (Biruinta unei iubiri: pagini de corespondenta, Bucharest: Humanitas, 2008).
Oana Catalina Ninu and Silvia Dumitrache comment on Horia Garbea’s Past Lives of Philanderers and Comedians. The Life, and Sometime Work of the Characters (Trecute vieti de fanti si de birlici. Viata si, uneori, opera personajelor, Bucharest: Cartea Romaneasca, 2008).
Dana Pirvan-Jenaru presents Razvan Petrescu’s Foxtrot XX (Bucharest: Cartea Romaneasca, 2008).
Lucia Popa comments on Bret Easton Ellis’ Glamorama (translated by Adrian Buz. Iasi: Polirom, 2008).
 Antoaneta Tanasescu and Cezar Gheorghe read Rubik. Collective Novel (Rubik. Roman colectiv, Iasi: Polirom, 2008).

 

In memoriam

 

Writer of the ’80s, Ioan Lacusta died on November 17, 2008. Paul Cernat and Bogdan-Alexandru Stanescu sign the contributions.

Radu Pavel Gheo discusses the problem of Romanian translations from English.
 

Interviews

 

Ovidiu Simonca interviews Jan Willem Boss, Dutch translator from Romanian.
un cristian interviews writer T. S. Khasis.

 

International

 

Adina Dinitoiu presents Donald Morrison and Antoine Compagnon’s Que reste-t-il de la culture francaise ? (What’s Left of French Literature?, Editions Denoel, 2008).
Madalina Diaconu looks at Michael Schindegger’s film, Dacia Express, which premiered during this year’s Viennale, on October 25.
Ana-Maria Ginsac goes to Anca Vasiliu’s discussion of the “Late Byzantine Celebrations of Man and Image” at the Aula Magna of the Fine Arts Academy in Venice, on November 15.

 

Supplement

 

The Observer presents the program of the major events at this year’s Gaudeamus International Book Fair, which ran at Romexpo, from November 19 thorough November 23.

 

Fragments from a Forthcoming Publication

 

The Observer publishes an excerpt from Daniel Arasse’s Nu vedeti nimic (On n’y voit rien: Descriptions), soon to be published by Art Publishing, translated from French.

 

Theatre
Oana Cristea Grigorescu discusses Tompa Gabor’s Three Sisters by Chekov at the Magyar State Theatre in Cluj, which opened on September 24.

 

Dance
Gina Serbanescu presents the 3rd eXplore Dance Festival and interviews choreographer Marcel Leeman, who offered Meat Market on the opening night. The festival ran in Bucharest from October 14 through October 19.

Film
Mihai Fulger interviews director Andrei Dascalescu, whose documentary, Constantin si Elena, was selected for the 21st International Documentary Film Festival, which runs in Amsterdam from November 20 through November 30.