My relationship to Romania began with travels (sponsored by "Teachers for Tomorrow") to Deva where, during three summers, I taught conversational English, Internet skills,  and poetry to students at Scoala Andrei Muresanu. 

 

The generous people of Deva helped me to understand and love Romania--and this has led to friendships, to poems and to collaborative translation.

 

Doru Radu, an English teacher in Deva, introduced me to the poetry of Bacovia and urged me to help translate his favorite poet into English.

Travel with Romanian friends led to "The Bear Cave" (one of my "square" poems).

Translations from Romanian

Nichita Stanescu  (1933 - 1983)

       My most recent current translation project involved working with Romanian physicist, Stelian Apostolescu, to translate some of Stanescu's poems with math-science themes.  Apostolescu and translation partner Brenda Walker have made substantial contriubtions to translation of Romanian poetry into English--inlcuding work by George Bacovia, Lucian Blaga, and Nichita Stanescu.

       Working with Gabriel Prajitura (mathematics professor at SUNY Brockport), he and I have translations of these poems by Stanescu which were first published in CIRCUMFERENCE in the Summer/Autumn 2004 issue.  

          Lecţia despre cub / A lecture on the cube

            Lecţia despre cerc / A lecture on the circle


Ileana Malancioiu  (1940 -  )

Cântai fals / You Sang Out of Tune

Îamintesc adeseori / Often I Remember

Sora mea de dincolo /  My Sister Beyond

Privesc cum plouaă / I Watch It Rain

These translations appear in SORA MEA DE DINCOLO / MY SISTER BEYOND, a bilingual collection by Bucharest poet Ileana Malancioiu, co-translated by Doru Radu and JoAnne Growney, published in Romania (2003) by PARALELA 45.

 

George Bacovia  (1881-1957)

 

Monosilab de toamnaă / Monosyllables of Autumn

Strigoii / The Ghosts

Marş funebru / Funeral March

Pantofii / Shoes

      These translations appear in LEAD OF WINTER (PLUMB DE IARNA) a Romanian-English bilingual collection of work by Romanian symbolist poet George Bacovia, translated into English by Doru Radu and JoAnne Growney, published by Criterion Publishing (2002), Norcross GA.  LEAD OF WINTER is now available online here.

 

Also I have written poetry about Romania.