The present volume includes the majority of Lucian Blaga's poetry written before the Communist era. Missing are only the posthumous poems. The genius of any poetry is fragile because it does not reside in any of its analytically identifiable components. Blaga's postwar poetry appears to have all the "Blagian" elements, but the animating breath is largely missing. The great silence took it back. In leaving out a large body of work by so neatly severing the earlier poet from his later self, I may be committing a sin Blaga did not. But I could not translate what failed to inspire passion in me, after living so intimately and for so long with what I love. For that, I beg to be forgiven. “An original edition of these translations was published by Ohio University Press in 1989. A few months before the momentous end of the year that saw the collapse of the Soviet empire and the end of the dictatorship in Romania. I returned to my native country to report for NPR and ABC news on the bloody finale. Following the return of "normalcy," Blaga's poetry was openly read and received new attention. This book, long out of print, received a new reading by me, as well. I made changes to the translation, having to do mainly with my better knowledge of English. Blaga's poetry has grown more urgent and more profound in the decades following its first appearance. This phenomenon is the result of increasing attention to the art itself, but also to Blaga's pioneering engagement with the nonhuman. Romanian poetry, once a terra incognita, has become better known in the major languages of the world thanks to the explosion of translation's and fascination with the last century's roots of the avant garde.” -- Andrei Codrescu from his introduction

In Praise of Sleep: Selected Poems of Lucian Blaga

Literature & Fiction

Blaga, Lucian

Poetry

Commonwealth Books, Black Widow

Zalmoxis: Obscure Pagan

Lucian Blaga (1895-1961) is judged by many to be Romania’s most original philosopher and greatest poet of the twentieth century. While scholars with access to his works in Romanian are well-aware of their importance, his writings have remained, until now, little known in the English-speaking world.\nZalmoxis is Blaga’s first play and one of his most important literary works. It underlines much of his philosophy. Blaga’s attachment to Expressionist ideals is discernible in his treatment of the characters primarily as vehicles of ideas and his preference for primitive nature over the cultured metropolis.\nThe book includes an introduction by Keith Hitchins of the University of Illinois, a leading historian of Romania in the United States, and a scholar intimately acquainted with Blaga’s philosophy. In it, he discusses the importance of Blaga’s life and work. The translation is by Doris Platnus-Runey from Wayne State University.

Platnus-Runey, Doris

Dramas & Plays

Histria Books

'Poems of Light' ('Poemele Luminii') was published in 1919 by the Romanian poet Lucian Blaga (1895-1961). Blaga is considered to be one of the most important modernist poets in Romania, greatly admired by internationally renowned writers such as Mircea Eliade, yet he is still relatively unknown outside his country. It is generally considered that this is due to the Communist government’s censorship of his work, as he, a poet and essayist who refused any connections to the Party, was deemed to be too ‘philosophical’ and subversive for his time. This particular collection, consisting of 38 poems, is his earliest published work, written just after his marriage and dedicated to his wife. Blaga’s style sits somewhere between a Romantic sensibility and an ironic modernist distrust - his poems explore love, spirituality and nature with sensitivity and wonder, yet the poetic persona constantly questions them. Poems such as ‘The oak tree’ and ‘The earth’ follow the Romantic convention of portraying a persona who wants to connect with nature, yet instead of it providing a sense of comfort and stability, nature is transformed into a reminder of our mortality and isolation. When faced with a natural world in which he feels alienated, the persona looks for meaning and intensity in romantic relationships, reminiscent of Matthew Arnold’s ‘Dover Beach’ where the poet (like Blaga, also newly wed), demanded that he and his love ‘be true to one another’ in order to find some stability amongst ‘the naked shingles of the world’. Poems such as ‘The earth’, ‘Your hair’, ‘Beautiful hands’ and ‘Us, and the earth’, presumably addressed to his new wife, communicate this romantic desire for a perfect union, yet they too contain the shadow of mortality, alluding to love’s transience. However, in poems such as ‘I do not crush the aura of wonder of the world’, ‘I await my sunset’ and ‘Silence’, there still lingers the Romantic hope that the spirit can connect to a greater universal power, however distant and uncertain. This is a new translation of 'Poemele Luminii' by Gabi Reigh. Reigh (nee Jianu) moved to England from Romania in her teens, studied English and History of Art at University College London and currently teaches English Language and Literature at a sixth form college in Hampshire. In 2017, she won the Stephen Spender Trust award for her translation from Romanian of Marin Sorescu's poem 'The Traveller'. Her work has also been published in the literary magazine 'Modern Poetry in Translation'.

Poems of Light (Interbellum Series)

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Antología poética general (Cajon De Sastre) (Spanish Edition)

Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza

Complete Poetical Works of Lucian Blaga

History & Criticism

UNESCO

Lucian Blaga (1895-1961) is judged by many to be Romania's most original philosopher and greatest poet of the twentieth century. While scholars with access to his works in Romanian are well-aware of their importance, his work has remained, up to now, little known in the English-speaking world. The book represents one of the first efforts to make Blaga's work accessible to an international audience.Zalmoxis is Blaga's first play and one of his most important literary works. It underlines much of his philosophy and also reflects his poetry. Blaga's attachment to Expressionist ideals is discernible in his treatment of the characters primarily as vehicles of ideas and his preference for primitive nature over the cultured metropolis.This book includes an introduction by Keith Hitchins of the University of Illinois, one of the leading historians of Romania in the United States and a scholar intimately acquainted with Blaga's life and work. In it, he discusses the life of Lucian Blaga, and the importance of his literary and philosophical work. The translation is by Doris Plantus-Runey from Wayne State University in the United States.

Center for Romanian Studies

Lucian Blaga (1895-1961) is judged by many to be Romania's most original philosopher and greatest poet of the twentieth century. While scholars with access to his works in Romanian are well-aware of their importance, his work has remained, up to now, little known in the English-speaking world.This book represents the one of the first efforts to make Blaga's work accessible to a wider audience. This book is a complete collection of Blaga's poetry, translated into English by Brenda Walker and Stelian Apostolescu.A joint publishing project with UNESCO, this book includes an introduction by Keith Hitchins of the University of Illinois, one of the leading historians of Romania in the United States and a scholar intimately acquainted with Blaga's life and work. In it, he discusses the importance of Blaga's life and work.

Complete Poetical Works of Lucian Blaga (UNESCO Collection of Representative Works: European)

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