Valery Oisteanu
Encyclopedia
Valery Oişteanu is a Soviet
-born Romania
n and American
poet, art critic, essayist, photographer and performance art
ist, whose style reflects the influence of Dada
and Surrealism
. Oişteanu is the author of more than a dozen published books of poetry, a book of short fiction, and a book of essays. He is the brother of Romanian historian of religion, cultural anthropologist and writer Andrei Oişteanu
.
, Kazakh SSR, raised and educated in Romania. He graduated from the Department of Chemical Industry of the Politechnical Institute
in Bucharest
.
In 1970, Oişteanu made his literary debut in Romania with a collection of poems called Proteze. Due to his Jewish
ancestry, the communist regime
allowed him to emigrate to New York City
in 1972 or 1973, and he has been writing in the English language ever since.
Oişteanu adopted Dada
and Surrealism
as a philosophy of art and life. He appears regularly at poetry readings in various New York venues, where he presents original performances of Zen
and Dada-inspired "jazzoetry". He is a freelance art critic and on the permanent staff of several arts magazines, including The Brooklyn Rail
, NYArts
, Rain Taxi, the Spanish
publication art.es, and the Canadian
magazine D'Art International. Oişteanu is a member of Poets and Writers Inc. in New York and the founder and president of PASS: Poets and Artists Surrealist Society.
Poetry written or translated to Romanian:
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
-born Romania
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 and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet, art critic, essayist, photographer and performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
ist, whose style reflects the influence of Dada
Dada
Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a...
and Surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
. Oişteanu is the author of more than a dozen published books of poetry, a book of short fiction, and a book of essays. He is the brother of Romanian historian of religion, cultural anthropologist and writer Andrei Oişteanu
Andrei Oisteanu
Andrei Oişteanu is a Romanian historian of religions and mentalities, ethnologist, cultural anthropologist, literary critic and novelist. Specialized in the history of religions and mentalities, he is also noted for his investigation of rituals and magic and his work in Jewish studies and the...
.
Biography
Oişteanu was born in KaragandaKaraganda
Karagandy , more commonly known by its Russian name Karaganda, , is the capital of Karagandy Province in Kazakhstan. It is the fourth most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty , Astana and Shymkent, with a population of 471,800 . In the 1940s up to 70% of the city's inhabitants were ethnic...
, Kazakh SSR, raised and educated in Romania. He graduated from the Department of Chemical Industry of the Politechnical Institute
Polytechnic University of Bucharest
Universitatea Politehnica din Bucureşti is a technical university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in 1864 based on the older technical school of Gheorghe Lazăr and it was renamed "Politehnica" in 1920.-History:...
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....
.
In 1970, Oişteanu made his literary debut in Romania with a collection of poems called Proteze. Due to his Jewish
History of the Jews in Romania
The history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory....
ancestry, the communist regime
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
allowed him to emigrate to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1972 or 1973, and he has been writing in the English language ever since.
Oişteanu adopted Dada
Dada
Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature—poetry, art manifestoes, art theory—theatre, and graphic design, and concentrated its anti-war politics through a...
and Surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
as a philosophy of art and life. He appears regularly at poetry readings in various New York venues, where he presents original performances of Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
and Dada-inspired "jazzoetry". He is a freelance art critic and on the permanent staff of several arts magazines, including The Brooklyn Rail
The Brooklyn Rail
The Brooklyn Rail is a political, artistic and literary magazine based in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Coverage includes political andliterary essays, art criticism, interviews, original fiction and poetry, and reviews....
, NYArts
NYArts
NY Arts Magazine or NY Arts, was founded by Abraham Lubelski in 1995. NY Arts Magazine is published quarterly, as well as online, and is edited by Jason Stopa, a graduate of Pratt Institute. Jason Stopa replaced Suzie Walshe as executive editor in 2011.NYArts has a readership of over 65,000. The...
, Rain Taxi, the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
publication art.es, and the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
magazine D'Art International. Oişteanu is a member of Poets and Writers Inc. in New York and the founder and president of PASS: Poets and Artists Surrealist Society.
Poetry written in English
- Underground Shadows (Pass Press, New York, 1977)
- Underwater Temples (Pass Press, New York, 1979)
- Do Not Defuse (Pass Press, New York, 1980)
- Vis-a-vis Bali (poems and photographic collage; New Observation Press, New York 1985)
- Passport to Eternal Life (Pass Press, New York, 1990)
- Moons of Venus (Pass Press, New York, 1992)
- Temporary Immortality (Pass Press, New York, 1995)
- ZEN DADA (Linear Art Press, New York, 1999)
- Perks in Purgatory (Fly by Night Press,New York,2009)
Poetry written or translated to Romanian:
- Proteze(Prosthesis) Editura Litera, Bucharest, 1970
- Poeme din Exil (Poems from Exile) Editura Paralela 45, Pitesti, 2000
External links
- "The Drum Circle for Janine Pommy Vega" – this tribute to Janine Pommy VegaJanine Pommy VegaJanine Pommy Vega was an American poet associated with the Beats.Vega grew up in Union City, New Jersey. At the age of sixteen, inspired by Jack Kerouac's On the Road, she travelled to Manhattan to become involved in the Beat scene there.In 1962, Vega moved to Europe with her husband, painter...
(1942–2010) on Pierre JorisPierre JorisPierre Joris, born in Strasbourg, France in 1946 and raised in Ettelbruck, Luxembourg, is a poet and translator. He left Luxembourg at nineteen and since then has lived in the US, Great Britain, North Africa and France...
's blog includes this homage-poem written by Oişteanu in honor of Pommy-Vega - "The Life and Death of John Badum" & "Lorenzo Perrone — The Righteous Gentile" – these 2 "stories" by Oisteanu are about two true life figures: fashion designer John Badum, who was murdered in May 1999; and Lorenzo Perrone, friend and "guardian angel" to the world famous writer and Holocaust survivor Primo LeviPrimo LeviPrimo Michele Levi was an Italian Jewish chemist and writer. He was the author of two novels and several collections of short stories, essays, and poems, but is best known for If This Is a Man, his account of the year he spent as a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland...
- Meditation/Mediation: Valery Oisteanu – A video posted on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, Meditation/Mediation is described as "an ongoing project conceived by Daniel Rothbart in collaboration with Valery Oisteanu. Curated by Lisa Paul Streitfeld, The Lab Gallery, New York, NY, April 24, 2005" - At The Caves of the Wind: Cretan Meditations – an "essay-meditation" about CreteCreteCrete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
which Oisteanu first visited in July, 1977 - Vispo Collage from Valery Oişteanu – some poetry-collages (or visual poetryVisual poetryVisual poetry is poetry or art in which the visual arrangement of text, images and symbols is important in conveying the intended effect of the work. It is sometimes referred to as concrete poetry, a term that predates visual poetry, and at one time was synonymous with it.Visual poetry was heavily...
) by Oisteanu - MARCEL BROODTHAERS, The Living Mirror – Oisteanu writes about Marcel BroodthaersMarcel BroodthaersMarcel Broodthaers was a Belgian poet, filmmaker and artist with a highly literate and often witty approach to creating art works....
for The Brooklyn RailThe Brooklyn RailThe Brooklyn Rail is a political, artistic and literary magazine based in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Coverage includes political andliterary essays, art criticism, interviews, original fiction and poetry, and reviews....
, published in October 2010 - Where have the Real Famous gone? to Andy Warhol – a poem by Oisteanu