Liviu Stoiciu’s Born in Romania/Născut în România (2014) is a collection of his poetry compiled by
the Contemporary Literature Press, the online publishing house of the
University of Bucharest. The poems are
presented both in Romanian and an English translation by Leah Fritz and Ioana
Buşe, and are accompanied by a selection of photographs with rural subjects. The
book’s title was chosen by the translators, not Stoiciu. Editor Lidia Vianu’s introduction provides
biographical details outlining Stoicu’s varied working life, background essential
for an understanding of his writing.
He was born in Moldova in
1950. In 1968 he joined the army for two
years and after that moved from job to job.
Refusing to become a member of the Communist Party, he remained an
outsider and was considered a dissident.
This proved to be an advantage after 1989, and he was in the first
post-Ceaușescu government, though not being a party man by temperament he quit
after three months. Despite his lack of
a focused work life, he has always been a writer, having had his first poem
published (in a communist paper) in 1967.
The poems collected here tersely,
and often cryptically, address such themes as aging, the elusiveness of memory,
difficulties with relationships, the shallowness of modern life, the
inevitability of change, the past as simultaneously sweetly nostalgic and an
encumbrance that needs to be escaped, and foreboding for the future. He touches on nature but also politics,
apparently hopeful for improvements but pessimistic about the alienation of the
human condition and the failures of institutions both religious and secular.
If that all sounds on the dour side,
he is not didactic about it and there is some humour, albeit wry. His poetry interweaves lived experience with
fantasy, but always foregrounds the independent spirit he has displayed
throughout his career. He said in an
interview that his name is etymologically linked to stoic, and stoicism has
been a touchstone. It could be he
doesn’t see much to laugh about: if for Brecht the bitch was in heat again, for
Stoiciu it has had its puppies (‘Pierdut’/’Lost’), and we have to deal with the
consequences.
Following the poems are further
biographical details (including the startling fact that his mother was killed
by lightning a few months after his birth), and a list of his publications. He has been a prolific author, having written
novels, a play and journalism as well as poetry, though in recent years he
seems to have slowed down. Considering
his emphasis on personal independence, it is surprising to read that he joined
the Romanian Writers’ Union, though only after 1989. Născut
în România concludes with brief information about the translators and
illustrator.
It would have been useful to know
the approximate dates of the poems’ composition in order to track the evolution
of Stoiciu’s style and subject-matter, particularly to see what changes
occurred after 1989. The rationale for this
selection, and a more extensive discussion of its themes, would have assisted
enormously in orienting readers new to his work. However, the volume is still a welcome
introduction, even though it only skates the surface of his output.
The e-book is available free on the
Contemporary Literature Press website:
https://editura.mttlc.ro/liviu-stoiciu-poems.html
