Adrian Paunescu
Encyclopedia
Adrian Păunescu was a Romania
n poet, journalist, and politician. Though criticised for praising dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu
, Păunescu was called "Romania's most famous poet" in a Associated Press
story, quoted by the New York Times.
, Bălţi County
, in what is now the Republic of Moldova, Păunescu spent his childhood in Bârca
, Dolj County
. He did his secondary studies at Carol I High School
in Craiova
.
Păunescu studied philology
at the University of Bucharest
and became a writer and journalist. He was an influential public figure for Romanian youth throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. Though he was criticised for writing flattering poems about dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu
, Păunescu remained popular in Romania, where he appeared on television several times a week.
As posthumously summarized by newspaper România Liberă
, Păunescu "is still viewed as a hero by the man in the street" although "intellectuals continue to question his integrity and the literary value of his work".
between 1966 and 1968, and, between 1968–1989, of the Romanian Communist Party
, Păunescu gained control over a major weekly publication, Flacăra
and became the producer and host of the only itinerant folk
and pop
show in the country, Cenaclul Flacăra, founded in 1973. He was a member of the Romanian Communist Party Central Committee and "court poet" of the dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu
.
and then social-democratic
political parties.
In 1996, he ran in the Romanian presidential election
but received only 87,163 votes (0.69%). He was a senator
from 1992 to 2008, representing Dolj County
(1992–2004) and then Hunedoara County
(2004–2008), first of the Socialist Labour Party
, and later of the Social Democratic Party of Romania. He received the most votes in his district at the 2008 election
, but failed to win a seat after the votes were redistributed pursuant to the MMP
system used.
, with problems of more vital organs caused by pulmonary edema. Păunescu had subsequent renal, liver and heart failure. He was declared dead at 7.15 AM, on 5 November 2010. Survived by his wife and three children, Păunescu was posthumously thanked by Romania's president Traian Băsescu
who in saluting him mentioned only his contributions to art.
Writings
Music
Other
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n poet, journalist, and politician. Though criticised for praising dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu
Nicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
, Păunescu was called "Romania's most famous poet" in a Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
story, quoted by the New York Times.
Life
Born in CopăceniCopăceni, Sîngerei
Copăceni is a commune in Sîngerei district, Moldova. It is composed of six villages: Copăceni, Antonovca, Evghenievca, Gavrilovca, Petrovca and Vladimireuca....
, Bălţi County
Bălţi County
Bălți was a county of Moldova from 1998 to 2003. Its population in 2003 was 500,900. Its capital was Bălți.-External links:* , Statoids.com...
, in what is now the Republic of Moldova, Păunescu spent his childhood in Bârca
Barca
Barce was an ancient Greek colony and later Roman, Byzantine, city in North Africa. It occupied the coastal area of what is modern day Libya...
, Dolj County
Dolj County
Dolj -Jiu, "lower Jiu", toward Gorj ) is a county of Romania, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova .- Demographics :In 2002, it had a population of 734,231 and a population density of 99/km²....
. He did his secondary studies at Carol I High School
Carol I High School
The Carol I National College is a high school located in central Craiova, Romania, on Titu Maiorescu street. It is one of the most prestigious secondary education institutions in Romania.-History:...
in Craiova
Craiova
Craiova , Romania's 6th largest city and capital of Dolj County, is situated near the east bank of the river Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximately equal distances from the Southern Carpathians and the River Danube . Craiova is the chief...
.
Păunescu studied philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
at the University of Bucharest
University of Bucharest
The University of Bucharest , in Romania, is a university founded in 1864 by decree of Prince Alexander John Cuza to convert the former Saint Sava Academy into the current University of Bucharest.-Presentation:...
and became a writer and journalist. He was an influential public figure for Romanian youth throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. Though he was criticised for writing flattering poems about dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu
Nicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
, Păunescu remained popular in Romania, where he appeared on television several times a week.
As posthumously summarized by newspaper România Liberă
România Libera
România Liberă is one of the leading newspapers in Romania. Based in Bucharest, the Romanian-language daily has a paid daily circulation of 40,000....
, Păunescu "is still viewed as a hero by the man in the street" although "intellectuals continue to question his integrity and the literary value of his work".
Flacăra
A member of the Union of Communist YouthUnion of Communist Youth
The Union of Communist Youth was the Romanian Communist Party's youth organisation, modelled after the Soviet Komsomol. It aimed to cultivate young cadres into the party, as well as to help create the "new man" envisioned by communist ideologues.-History:Founded in 1922, the UTC went underground...
between 1966 and 1968, and, between 1968–1989, of the Romanian Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
, Păunescu gained control over a major weekly publication, Flacăra
Flacăra
Flacăra is a weekly magazine published in Bucharest, Romania, originally as a literary periodical....
and became the producer and host of the only itinerant folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
show in the country, Cenaclul Flacăra, founded in 1973. He was a member of the Romanian Communist Party Central Committee and "court poet" of the dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu
Nicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
.
Political career
After 1989 Păunescu pursued a political career, aligning himself with socialismSocialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and then social-democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
political parties.
In 1996, he ran in the Romanian presidential election
Romanian presidential election, 1996
These are the results of the Romanian presidential elections of November 3, run-off held on November 17, 1996:-First round:-Run-off:...
but received only 87,163 votes (0.69%). He was a senator
Senate of Romania
The Senate of Romania is the upper house in the bicameral Parliament of Romania. It has 137 seats , to which members are elected by direct popular vote, using Mixed member proportional representation in 42 electoral districts , to serve four-year terms.-Former location:After the Romanian...
from 1992 to 2008, representing Dolj County
Dolj County
Dolj -Jiu, "lower Jiu", toward Gorj ) is a county of Romania, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova .- Demographics :In 2002, it had a population of 734,231 and a population density of 99/km²....
(1992–2004) and then Hunedoara County
Hunedoara County
Hunedoara is a county of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Deva.-Demographics:In 2002, it had a population of 485,712 and the population density was 69/km².*Romanians - 92%*Hungarians - 5%*Romas - 2%*Germans under 1%....
(2004–2008), first of the Socialist Labour Party
Socialist Party of Labour
The Socialist Party of Labour was a socialist-nationalist political party in Romania. The party has also been labelled as neo-communist. It was founded on 16 November, 1990. The chairman of the party was Ilie Verdeţ, former premier under Nicolae Ceauşescu...
, and later of the Social Democratic Party of Romania. He received the most votes in his district at the 2008 election
Romanian legislative election, 2008
Legislative elections were held in Romania on November 30, 2008. The Democratic Liberal Party won most seats in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, although the alliance headed by the Social Democratic Party won a fractionally higher vote share.-Electoral System:President Traian Băsescu...
, but failed to win a seat after the votes were redistributed pursuant to the MMP
Mixed member proportional representation
Mixed-member proportional representation, also termed mixed-member proportional voting and commonly abbreviated to MMP, is a voting system originally used to elect representatives to the German Bundestag, and nowadays adopted by numerous legislatures around the world...
system used.
Death
Aged 67, Păunescu was hospitalized on 26 October 2010 in the intensive care unit of the Floreasca Emergency Hospital in BucharestBucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, with problems of more vital organs caused by pulmonary edema. Păunescu had subsequent renal, liver and heart failure. He was declared dead at 7.15 AM, on 5 November 2010. Survived by his wife and three children, Păunescu was posthumously thanked by Romania's president Traian Băsescu
Traian Basescu
Traian Băsescu is the current President of Romania. After serving as the mayor of Bucharest from June 2000 until December 2004, he was elected president in the Romanian Presidential Elections of 2004 and inaugurated on December 20, 2004...
who in saluting him mentioned only his contributions to art.
Books
- Ultrasentimente (1965)
- Mieii primi (1966)
- Fântâna somnambulă (1968)
- Cărțile poștale ale morții (1970)
- Aventurile extraordinare ale lui Hap și Pap (1970)
- Viata de exceptii (1971)
- Sub semnul întrebării (1971)
- Istoria unei secunde (1971)
- Lumea ca lume (1973)
- Repetabila povară (1974)
- Pământul deocamdată (1976)
- Poezii de până azi (1978)
- Sub semnul întrebării (1979)
- Manifest pentru sănătatea pământului (1980)
- Iubiți-vă pe tunuri (1981)
- De la Bârca la Viena și înapoi (1981)
- Rezervația de zimbri (1982)
- Totuși iubirea (1983)
- Manifest pentru mileniul trei (1984)
- Manifest pentru mileniul trei (1986)
- Locuri comune (1986)
- Viața mea e un roman(1987)
- Într-adevăr (1988)
- Sunt un om liber (1989)
- Poezii cenzurate (1990)
- Romaniada (1993–1994)
- Bieți lampagii (1993–1994)
- Noaptea marii beții (1993–1994)
- Front fără învingători (1995)
- Infracțiunea de a fi (1996)
- Tragedia națională (1997)
- Deromânizarea României (1998)
- Cartea Cărților de Poezie (1999)
- Meserie mizarabilă, sufletul (2000)
- Măștile însîngerate (2001)
- Nemuritor la zidul morții (2001)
- Până la capăt (2002)
- Liber să sufăr (2003)
- Din doi în doi (2003)
- Eminamente (2003)
- Cartea Cărților de Poezie (2003)
- Logica avalanșei (2005)
- Antiprimăvara (2005)
- Ninsoarea de adio (2005)
- Un om pe niște scări (2006)
- De mamă și de foaie verde (2006)
- Copaci fără pădure (2006)
- Vagabonzi pe plaiul mioritic (2007)
- Rugă pentru părinți (2007)
- Încă viu (2008)
- Libertatea de unică folosință (2009)
External links
Official linksWritings
- Adrian Păunescu – Poetry
- Two of Păunescu's Communist-era poems
- A 1982 letter to Nicolae Ceauşescu at CotidianulCotidianulthumb|right|Old logo of Cotidianul newspaper, used in the [[inter-war period]], and in the early 1990sthumb|right|The logo used between 2003 and 2007...
(via Archive.org)
Music
Other
- Păunescu evoked by Constantin PîrvulescuConstantin PîrvulescuConstantin Pîrvulescu was a Romanian communist politician, one of the founders of the Romanian Communist Party , and, eventually, an active opponent of Communist Romania's leader Nicolae Ceauşescu...