by Maria Magdalena Biela
Romanian poetry represents an integral part of European literature. However, it is vastly unexplored. Linguistic researchers, translators, readers, and historians have not truly discovered and adequately documented the history of Romanian Literature. Such an amputation of an important part of world literature defeats the universal culture.
In the space between the Carpathians, the Danube, and the Black Sea, there are thoughts and testimonies of humanity in mint condition, preserved in their very creation.
I don’t know how many people are familiar with the names of artists and writers such as Dosoftei, Vasile Alecsandri, Mihai Eminescu, Tudor Arghezi, Nicolae Labis, George Bacovia, Ion Minulescu, Lucian Blaga, Nichita Stanescu, Ion Barba, Marin Sorescu. Here I have named only a few extraordinary poets with a purely Romanian specificity. There are no translations because there is no interest in knowing the Romanian language. There are only prejudices. To label the culture of a nation only by judging its contemporaries is a historical injustice.
Like music and mathematics, poetry is the identity of a nation. It crosses borders and speaks to people, regardless of the country they are born in, irrespective of historical vicissitudes. Poetry speaks to the soul. Whoever wants to listen to the poetic voice does not listen to the politicians first.
Romanian poets had the misfortune of being born under the sign of historical anonymity. This does not mean that the value of their poetic creation cannot stand the comparison with the classics of the world.
Yes, there are writers like Mircea Eliade, Emil Cioran, Tristan Tzara who thought, wrote, and lived outside Romania. Don’t they guarantee the value of the works of those who were left at home, in the Romanian villages and cities to suffer, to think, and write more or less for free?
With fear and clumsiness, I offer a crumb from that copious spiritual feast, a piece of a historical puzzle, a wee bit of an unadulterated, undefiled, almost holy soul of Romanian poetry.
Maria Magdalena Biela is the guest editor of the eleventh edition of Life and Legends, focused on Romanian poetry. She has published two books of Finnish poetry translated into Romanian and two books of short stories and poetry in English. She has done MA in French and Romanian languages and literature and BA in the Educational guidance field. She lives in Finland.
Translating a literary text is a lost art. In this era defined by google translator, translating a literary text is, unfortunately, within the reach of any untrained person, who believes that translating a poem no longer requires knowledge of languages other than the mother tongue.
A poem can be translated not only by words, but also by music or images. A valuable writer, Maria Magdalena Biela translates poems from and into many languages, carefully searching for the most appropriate words, but also using audio visual to provide a complete image of the translated poem.
This anthology of Romanian poetry translated into English is an authentic lyrical value. Biela worked on this book and gave the world an image of the Romanian lyrical creation, still unknown to many.
It seems unfair to me that a valuable artist is confronted with a fractured ethic, with the nepotism of non-value promoted in many countries, especially in Romania. The ego of the artists swells and overshadows the genuine talent.
Biela expects neither reward nor recognition. She translates the true poetry, the one “not rejected by the idea”. And she seems happy.
I am grateful that I can work with her in collaboration and that we were lucky enough to meet each other in this life. Vivat! Crescat! Floreat!