OBSERVATOR CULTURAL - Spiritul critic in actiune

Carmen Musat wishes that the Observer had been able to offer awards to all nominees for the Observer Prizes for literature and hopes that in future being nominated for an Observer Award will constitute a distinction in itself.

Politics

Bedros Horasangian believes Turkish acknowledgement of the Armenian genocide of 1915.should be a prerequisite for Turkey’s admission into the EU.
Marius Ghilezan regrets the lack of public debate surrounding .Minister of Justice Catalin Predoiu’s initiative for changing the Civil Penal Code
Stefan Stoica reports on President Traian Basescu’s opinion that there are two  Secret Service groups in Romania, the good ones, controlled by himself, and the bad ones, controlled by his opponents.

Event

The Observer presents this year’s winners of the 3rd Observator Cultural Awards. Norman Manea wins the 2009 Gheorghe Crăciun Lifetime Achievement. By category, the other winners are:
Fiction: Ion Iovan, Ultimele însemnări ale lui Mateiu Caragiale / The Last Notes of Mateiu     Caragiale (Bucharest: Curtea Veche, 2008).
Literary Criticism / History / Theory: Eugen Negrici, Iluziile literaturii române / The Illusions     of Romanian Literature (Bucharest: Cartea Romaneasca, 2008).
Poetry: Liviu Ioan Soiciu, Craterul Platon / The Plato Crater (Bucharest: Vinea. 2008).
Essayistic Prose and Memoirs: Livius Ciocirlie, Cu dinţii de lână / Long in the Tooth     (Bucharest: Humanitas, 2008).
Best Debut Appearance: 1. Iulian Costache, Eminescu. Negocierea unei imagini / Eminescu :     Negotiating an Image (Bucharest: Cartea Românească, 2008) and 2. Simona Sora,     Regăsirea intimităţii / Recovering Intimacy (Bucharest: Cartea Românească, 2008). The awards ceremony took place at the Odeon Theatre in Bucharest, on March 30.

Latest

Luminita Marcu  writes about “Jornadas de lengua y literature rumana” which took place in Granada, Spain, from March 18 through March 21.

Book reviews

Bianca Burta-Cernat comments on Dumitru Crudu’s Macel in Georgia (Massacre in Georgia, Iasi: Polirom, 2008).
Mihai Ene reads Nicolae Coande’s Vint, tutun, alcool (Wind, Tobacco, Alcohol, Timisoara: Brumar Publishing, 2008).
Dana Pirvan-Jenaru looks at Bernhard Schlink’s The Reader (translated from German by Ana Muresanu. Iasi: Polirom, 2009).
Alexandru Matei and Adina Dinitoiu present Roland Barthes’ Le Neutre. Cours au College de France (1977-1978) (Paris: Seuil, 2002), Journal de deuil (26 octobre 1977 – 15 septembre 1979) (Paris: Seuil, 2009) and Carnets du voyage en Chine (Paris: IMEC).

Four Lenses

Second under the lens is Bruce Benderson’s Romanul. O autobiografie erotica (The Romanian: Story of an Obsession, Bucharest: Trei Publishing, 2009) with readings by Dan Cirjan, Octav-Eugen Popa, Marius Ghilezan and Silviu Man.

Literary history

Florian Roatis discusses the correspondence of Nicolae Steinhardt and Alexandru Baciu. Essay
Slavenka Drakulic publishes an excerpt from her book, Two Underdogs and a Cat: Three Reflections on Communism, to be published by Seagull Press. Catrinel Plesu translates.

Arts

Theatre
Silvia Dumitrache reports on the 1st Sfintu Gheorghe International Theatre Biennial, which ran from March 17 through March 29.

Film
Florian Barbu goes to B-est International Film Festival, which ran at Sala Studio in Bucharest from March 23 through March 30.

 

Visual arts   
Maria-Magdalena Crisan discusses Alma Stefanescu Schneider’s paintings at the Sala Etaj ¾ of the Contemporary Art Museum in Bucharest, on view from March 24.
Mihai Plamadeala looks at Stefan Ciltia’s paintings at Galeria Posibila in Bucharest, on view from March 27.

Museums
Cosmin Ungureanu continues his reportorial museum tour with a visit to the Alte Pinakothek in Munchen.

Music
Mihai Cojocaru interviews guitarist Marcin Dylla, who participated at the International Guitar Festival, which ran in Bucharest from March 18 through March 25.

 

Focus

 

Bata Marianov addresses an open letter to Andrei Plesu.