Mariana Marin
Encyclopedia
Mariana Marin was a Romania
n poet.
One of the most gifted and uncompromising poets of the 1980s generation, Adam J. Sorkin described her as "a distinctive voice revealed from the dark night of humanity's soul."
Educated in Bucharest
during the time of the Romanian relative cultural freesom of the 1960s, she went on to receive a degree in philology from the University of Bucharest
in 1980, starting a grade school teacher career that lasted almost ten years, first in a village along the Danube
, then in Bucharest. Her first poetry book, Un război de o sută de ani (A Hundred Year War) was published next year and won the Romanian Writers' Union Prize for a debut in poetry. In 1982 Marin appeared alongside four other '80s writers in a collective volume, Cinci (Five), under the patronage of Nicolae Manolescu
, who's so-called "Monday Poetry Circle" all of them used to attend.
More and more overtly opposed to the Nicolae Ceauşescu
's dictatorship, her next volume, Aripa secretă (The Secret Annex) employed a not uncommon strategy to circumvent censorship by creating a fantastic diary of, and dialogue with Anne Frank
, a thinly disguised metaphor for life in the open-air camp that Romania had become into during the last years of communist rule. She was banned to publish and joined the ranks of silenced intellectual voices until the collapse of the regime in 1989.
For a number of years after 1990, Marin divided her time between Paris and Bucharest. She worked at "Contrapunct", an independent spirited Romanian literary-cultural magazine, involving herself in various journalistic projects. During the decade she travelled a lot, invited to various European literary festivals. Her next book, Mutilarea artistului la tinereţe (The Mutilation of the Artist in his Youth) was unanimously acclaimed and won a number of major literary prizes. In the fall of 2000 she spent six months in Berlin on a writing fellowship and a year later she won the "Virgil Mazilescu" special literary prize.
Navigating between enthusiasm and disappointment during those troubled years following the fall of the communism, barely making ends meet, she survived with the help of friends and aid from the Writers' Union, before descending into chronic alcoholism and developing TB. Despite her misery and ills, she kept writing.
In 2002 she published a career retrospective, Zestrea de aur (The Dowry of Gold), her final book.
She was married and divorced twice, she had no children.
Elegy (The Dowry of Gold)
translated by Adam J. Sorkin
Romanian poets
Words Without Borders
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.
One of the most gifted and uncompromising poets of the 1980s generation, Adam J. Sorkin described her as "a distinctive voice revealed from the dark night of humanity's soul."
Life and poetry
She was brought up by her mother and her grandmother after her parents' separation, when she was three.Educated in Bucharest
Bucharest
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....
during the time of the Romanian relative cultural freesom of the 1960s, she went on to receive a degree in philology from 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:...
in 1980, starting a grade school teacher career that lasted almost ten years, first in a village along the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
, then in Bucharest. Her first poetry book, Un război de o sută de ani (A Hundred Year War) was published next year and won the Romanian Writers' Union Prize for a debut in poetry. In 1982 Marin appeared alongside four other '80s writers in a collective volume, Cinci (Five), under the patronage of Nicolae Manolescu
Nicolae Manolescu
Nicolae Manolescu is a Romanian literary critic. As an editor of România Literară literary magazine, he has reached a record in reviewing books for almost 30 years...
, who's so-called "Monday Poetry Circle" all of them used to attend.
More and more overtly opposed to the 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...
's dictatorship, her next volume, Aripa secretă (The Secret Annex) employed a not uncommon strategy to circumvent censorship by creating a fantastic diary of, and dialogue with Anne Frank
Anne Frank
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
, a thinly disguised metaphor for life in the open-air camp that Romania had become into during the last years of communist rule. She was banned to publish and joined the ranks of silenced intellectual voices until the collapse of the regime in 1989.
For a number of years after 1990, Marin divided her time between Paris and Bucharest. She worked at "Contrapunct", an independent spirited Romanian literary-cultural magazine, involving herself in various journalistic projects. During the decade she travelled a lot, invited to various European literary festivals. Her next book, Mutilarea artistului la tinereţe (The Mutilation of the Artist in his Youth) was unanimously acclaimed and won a number of major literary prizes. In the fall of 2000 she spent six months in Berlin on a writing fellowship and a year later she won the "Virgil Mazilescu" special literary prize.
Navigating between enthusiasm and disappointment during those troubled years following the fall of the communism, barely making ends meet, she survived with the help of friends and aid from the Writers' Union, before descending into chronic alcoholism and developing TB. Despite her misery and ills, she kept writing.
In 2002 she published a career retrospective, Zestrea de aur (The Dowry of Gold), her final book.
She was married and divorced twice, she had no children.
Translated
- Au carrefour des grandes routes commerciales, (translated by Sébastien Reichmann), Ed. Samuel Tastet, 1990.
- Comme dans un dessin d'Escher, (with Mircea CartarescuMircea CartarescuMircea Cărtărescu is a Romanian poet, novelist and essayist.Born in Bucharest, he graduated from the University of Bucharest's Faculty of Letters, Department of Romanian Language And Literature, in 1980. Between 1980 and 1989 he worked as a Romanian language teacher, then he worked at the Writers'...
, Daniel Banulescu, Ileana Malancioiu), Ed. PHI, 2002. - Paper Children, (translated by Adam J. Sorkin), Zephyr Press, 2006.
Awards
- Romanian Writers' Union Prize (1981, 1999)
- ASPRO (Association of Professional Romanian Writers), 1999
- Virgil Mazilescu Prize (2001)
Quotes
I hurry toward death
without a purpose,
without a wedding gown,
without a dowry of gold.
Without myself.
Serene
and bitter,
I hurry across my native land
As if tomorrow had already been.
Elegy (The Dowry of Gold)
translated by Adam J. Sorkin
External links
In memoriam Mariana Martin in Romania literaraIn memoriam Mariana Marin in Ovbservatorul culturalRomanian poets
Words Without Borders