Mircea Eliade Literary Circle

Article written by Ion Lazu

A Literary Circle Without Equal in the Romanian World

This is about the Mircea Eliade Literary Circle of Denver, Colorado, USA. A simple, plainly visible observation, after I followed from beginning to end the proceedings—over four full hours, without a single second of respite!—of this long-established circle whose prestige continues to grow; proceedings easily accessible on Zoom, a circle brilliantly organized, without the slightest hesitation and with the highest professionalism, by Mr. Sebastian Doreanu, a well-known figure of the cultural diaspora who is rising rapidly in my estimation of our literary life. With an extraordinarily engaging theme—this time Lucian Blaga, the poet and philosopher—and with elite participation from every region of the Romanian world, but principally from our beloved homeland itself, this cultural feast succeeded in inspiring me and, in practice, restoring my fundamental confidence in the value of our writers and cultural historians. Put more simply: we have people of the highest value; why do we not manage to keep our eyes on them, and why have distrust, discouragement, and longing overcome us?!? The surprises followed one another: from the outstanding speakers to the excellent way Mr. Doreanu managed to support both his own statements about the excellence of studies concerning the great poet and philosopher and those of the speakers who followed one another for four hours, through the prompt presentation of numerous books published specifically on the subjects under discussion—and I do not believe I exaggerate in saying that nearly one hundred volumes were presented to us, with precise, pertinent explanations of their content. It must be emphasized: these were books read word for word, not elements of cultural decoration…

A highly learned presentation by Mrs. Anca Sârghie about Blaga, an eminent personality of our twentieth-century culture. Comparable to Eminescu, whose lineage he acknowledged, Blaga himself wished to be considered the “younger brother.” Many similarities deserve attention: both were educated in the German tradition, both cultivated the national myth, and both edited folklore collections, etc. Even the fact that Blaga, who began writing poetry at fifteen and whose poems were long ignored, was first published nowhere other than Cernăuți, in historic Bukovina, may belong to this suggestion of similarities. Blaga later edited Eminescu’s poetry and accompanied it with learned prefaces. He worked on the German translation of Eminescu in 1928, for which he would receive the Hamangiu Prize in 1935. Blaga referred to Eminescu throughout his life, including in his acceptance speech at the Romanian Academy. He was unforgiving toward those who attacked Eminescu—Grama, Stăniloae, Rădulescu-Motru—and contributed essentially to Eminescu’s rehabilitation. See Liviu Rusu’s study From Mihai Eminescu to Lucian Blaga, as well as Ovidiu Drîmba’s The Philosophy of Blaga. Then comes the episode involving the minor poet Mihai Beniuc, who attacked Blaga ignobly, including in the 1959 novel On the Knife’s Edge. During the conference, Mr. Sebastian Doreanu showed us various books about Blaga that had been sent abroad, naturally without their covers, in order to evade the Securitate. I have described the first presentation in greater detail to give you a general idea of the level of the contributions within the Circle. You can access the Denver Orthodox church’s website, where you will find recordings of all the literary-circle meetings; the church supports this circle by every means so that each of you may delight in them, enrich yourselves, and form your own understanding.

The following speakers came next: Ioan Biriș—Lucian Blaga and Dogmatic Concepts: From the Philosophy of the Absolute to the Philosophy of Science. His clear assertion: Lucian Blaga is the greatest Romanian philosopher—as C. Noica also stated, placing D. D. Roșca alongside Blaga. In greater detail: Blaga was both a poet and a philosopher, but he did not confuse the two domains. He had been interested in science since high school and astonished his examiners at the baccalaureate. He made mathematics and physics fields of profound interest and studied them deeply. The twentieth century witnessed a widening of the boundaries of knowledge, but also an oscillation from the rational to the irrational: Bergson, Frobenius, Spengler, Freud. He associated with Einstein and Poincaré. The rigorous dimension of Blaga’s work cannot be overlooked. Etc.

Florea Lucaci. The Principle of Negation in Blaga’s Thought.

Adrian Săhlean. On Blaga’s The Mioritic Space and the numerous errors in approaches to the ballad Miorița.

Ileana Costea. The American artist Jerry McDaniel and Blaga’s light.

Cristian Stamatoiu. The anthropological roots of Master Manole and the presence of this myth, through Lucian Blaga, in Romanian drama.

Maria-Daniela Pănăzan. Biblical motifs in Lucian Blaga’s poetry.

Dorin Stoika. The human condition in the universe according to Lucian Blaga’s metaphysics.

Horia I. Groza. Blaga and the Romanian village.

Ion Dur. Lucian Blaga and Vasile Băncilă—a metaphysical friendship.

Francisc Lorinczi. The Sounds of the Tear (a recital from the poems of Lucian Blaga).

Lidia Lazu: Lucian Blaga recital—Yesterday’s Light!

At the end, five or six people offered their points of view during the Discussions, hosted with the same distinction by Mr. Sebastian Doreanu.

Explore the work of the Mircea Eliade Literary Circle of Denver, Colorado, on the local church’s website.

Excelsior!

Article written by Ion Dur for the Mircea Eliade Literary Circle

Bessarabia—A Corner of Romania

As it has accustomed its target audience, the Mircea Eliade Literary Circle of Denver, Colorado, held another “collector’s edition” yesterday. It is true that the subject was passionate, serious, generous, and of the greatest interest: BESSARABIA—A CORNER OF ROMANIA.

Leading specialists exchanged syllogisms for the benefit of more than forty followers, coming from folklore, history, literary criticism, and prose: Sanda Golopenția, Nicolas Dima, Maria Daniela Pănăzan, Constantin Eretescu, Ada Stuparu, Anca Sârghie, Stoica Lascu, Alex Cetățeanu, Horia Ion Groza.

The cultivation of aesthetic emotions was sustained by Ileana Barbu’s delicate painting and graphic art—she also ventures into sculpture—and by the varied poetic forms explored by Lilia Manole, Diana Marcenco, and Ștefan Mircea Bîrtan.

During the four hours of the Circle, truly fiery discussions also found their place at the end—Professor Corbu set the tone—with judgments that were, for the time being, more or less utopian regarding the reunification of today’s Romania, while Bessarabia continues to cry beneath the Soviet-Russian boot.

But the entire direction and architecture of the Mircea Eliade Literary Circle rests on two caryatids whose strength sustains its well-deserved achievement: the philologist Simona Sîrghie and the historian Sebastian / Cayus Dorean.

Fully deserved congratulations, and good health so that they may continue to move forward this Noah’s Ark, which month after month welcomes all those who feel and think in Romanian.

BEING ROMANIAN, WE ARE ALSO UNIVERSAL, Arghezi would say.