Nichita Stănescu

Nichita Stănescu (Romanian pronunciation: [niˈkita stəˈnesku]; born Nichita Hristea Stănescu; 31 March 1933 – 13 December 1983) was a Romanian poet and essayist.

Nichita Stănescu
Nichita Stănescu, by Paul Mecet
Born(1933-03-31)31 March 1933
Ploiești, Prahova, Romania
Died13 December 1983(1983-12-13) (aged 50)
Emergency Hospital (Spitalul de urgență), Bucharest, Romania
Resting placeBellu Cemetery, Bucharest, Romania
EducationSt. Peter and Paul–high school
University of Letters–college
Years active1960–1982
(1960–1998; posthumous)
Known forPoet
Notable work
O viziune a sentimentelor
Spouse(s)Magdalena Petrescu (1952–1953)
Doina Ciurea (1962–1972)
Todorița "Dora" Tărâță (1982–1983)
Partner(s)Gabriela Melinescu (?–before 1982)
AwardsHerder Prize
Signature
Stănescu on a 2018 stamp sheet of Romania
Statue of Stănescu in the Alley of Classics, Chişinău

Biography

Stănescu's father was Nicolae Hristea Stănescu (1908–1982). His mother, Tatiana Cereaciuchin, was Russian (originally from Voronezh, she had fled Russia and married in 1931). Nichita Stănescu finished high school in Ploieşti, then went on to study Romanian language and literature in Bucharest, graduating in 1957. He made his literary debut in the Tribuna literary magazine.

Stănescu married Magdalena Petrescu in 1952, but the couple separated a year later. In 1962 he married Doina Ciurea. In 1982 he married Todoriţa "Dora" Tărâță.

For much of his career, Stănescu was a contributor to and editor of Gazeta Literară, România Literară and Luceafărul.

His editorial debut was the poetry book Sensul iubirii ("The Aim of Love"), which appeared under the Luceafărul selection, in 1960. He also was the recipient of numerous awards for his verse, the most important being the Herder Prize in 1975 and a nomination for the Nobel Prize in 1980.[1] The last volume of poetry published in his lifetime was Noduri şi semne ("Knots and Signs"), published in 1982. A heavy drinker, he died of cardiopulmonary arrest.[2]

He left behind poems such as:

  • O viziune a sentimentelor – "A Vision of Feelings"
  • Dreptul la timp – "The Right to Time"
  • 11 Elegii – "11 Elegies"
  • Necuvintele – "The Unwords"
  • Un pământ numit România – "A Land Called Romania"
  • Epica Magna
  • Opere imperfecte – "Imperfect Works"
  • Noduri şi semne – "Knots and Marks"

Awards

Legacy

There is a national poetry festival and an award named in his honor.[3]

In Ploieşti, there is a high school named in his honor.

In Pipera (Voluntari) a new road has been named in his honor.

Volumes
  • 1960 – Sensul iubirii ("The Meaning of Love")
  • 1964 – O viziune a sentimentelor ("A Vision of Feelings")
  • 1965 – Dreptul la timp ("The Right to Time")
  • 1966 – 11 elegii ("11 Elegies")
  • 1967 –
    • Roşu vertical ("Vertical Red"),
    • Alfa,
    • Oul şi sfera ("The Egg and the Sphere")
  • 1968 – Laus Ptolemaei
  • 1969 –
    • Necuvintele ("The Unwords"),
    • Un pământ numit România ("A Land Called Romania")
  • 1970 – În dulcele stil classic ("In Sweet Classical Style")
  • 1972 –
    • Cartea de recitire ("The Re-reading Book")
    • Belgradul în cinci prieteni ("Five Friends in Belgrade")
    • Măreţia frigului ("The Greatness of Cold")
  • 1978 – Epica Magna
  • 1979 – Opere imperfecte ("Imperfect Works")
  • 1980 – Carte de citire, carte de iubire ("Book for Reading, Book for Loving")
  • 1982 – Oase plângând ("Crying Bones")
  • 1982 – Noduri şi semne ("Knots and Marks")
  • 1982 – Respirări ("Breaths")

Posthumous volumes
  • 1984 – Album memorial ("Memorial Album")
  • 1985 – Antimetafizica – Nichita Stănescu însoţit de Aurelian Titu Dumitrescu ("Antimetaphysics – Nichita Stănescu accompanied by Aurelian Titu Dumitrescu")
  • 1985 – Nichita Stănescu – Frumos ca umbra unei idei ("Nichita Stănescu – Beautiful as the Shadow of an Idea")
  • 1993 – Cântece la drumul mare, 1955–1960 ("Songs on the Open Road, 1955–1960")
  • 1993 – Tânjiri spre firesc ("Longings toward the Usual")
  • 1995 – Cărţile sibiline ("The Sibylline Books")
  • 1998 – Fel de scriere ("A Kind of Writing")
  • Noua frontieră a sufletului uman ("The New Frontier of the Human Spirit")
  • Scrisori ("Letters")

Presence in English language anthologies
  • Testament – Anthology of Modern Romanian Verse / Testament - Antologie de Poezie Română Modernă – Bilingual Edition English & Romanian – Daniel Ioniță (editor and translator) with Eva Foster and Daniel Reynaud – Minerva Publishing 2012 and 2015 (second edition) - ISBN 978-973-21-1006-5
  • Testament - Anthology of Romanian Verse - American Edition - monolingual English language edition - Daniel Ioniță (editor and principal translator) with Eva Foster, Daniel Reynaud and Rochelle Bews - Australian-Romanian Academy for Culture - 2017 - ISBN 978-0-9953502-0-5
  • Testament - 400 Years of Romanian Poetry - 400 de ani de poezie românească - bilingual edition - Daniel Ioniță (editor and principal translator) with Daniel Reynaud, Adriana Paul & Eva Foster - Editura Minerva, 2019 - ISBN 978-973-21-1070-6
  • Something is still present and isn't, of what's gone. A bilingual anthology of avant-garde and avant-garde inspired Rumanian poetry, (translated by Victor Pambuccian), Aracne editrice, Rome, 2018.

Further reading
  • Eugen Simion, Scriitori români de azi, vol. I, Bucharest, Editura Cartea Românească, 1978
  • Ion Pop, Nichita Stănescu – spaţiul şi măştile poeziei, Bucharest, Editura Albatros, 1980
  • Alex. Ştefănescu, Introducere în opera lui Nichita Stănescu, Bucharest, Editura Minerva, 1986
  • Daniel Dimitriu, Nichita Stănescu – geneza poemului, Iaşi, Editura Universităţii „Al. Ioan Cuza”, 1997
  • Doina Uricariu, Nichita Stănescu – lirismul paradoxal, Bucharest, Editura Du Style, 1998
  • Corin Braga, Nichita Stănescu – orizontul imaginar, Cluj, Editura Dacia, 2002
  • Mircea Bârsilă, Introducere în poetica lui Nichita Stănescu, Piteşti, Editura Paralela 45, 2006

References
  1. Parrish Lantern Nichita Stanescu to Parrish Lantern
  2. "SCRIITORII ȘI ALCOOLUL Nichita Stănescu bea două sticle de vodcă pe zi, Marin Preda a murit după o beție cruntă" (in Romanian). Adevărul. 19 June 2011.
  3. "Marele premiu "Nichita Stănescu" a fost câştigat de un poet maramureşean" (in Romanian). realitatea.net. 31 March 2008. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
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