PLURAL MAGAZINE

Nationally-Specific Art In Interwar Romania

Art history is usually at ease when imposing its own concepts and technical terminology upon an apparently unconscious body of visual accomplishments called works of art. For art historians and art critics, art seemingly exists in order for theorists to put words on it and

I Look At Things As A Romanian Does

Excerpts from a discussion with Raluca Barac, published in Acum (Now) magazine, No. 13, April 1990 Going back to the fate of the cultured generation, let me make so bold as to ask your opinion of the so-called age of Noica, a phrase that seems to get bandied about quite

Rich And Poor, 1945

excerpts I For a century, the psychology of the Romanian people has found itself in continual transformation. This has corresponded (since 1829, that is, since the treaty of Adrianopolis whereby the Romanian Principalities joined the Western capitalist complex) to a gradual,

The Significance Of Transylvania, 1944

excerpts  The significance of Transylvania during the childhood and teens of those who in 1916, at the time of the Old Kingdom, went to place our youth in the melting pot where the spirit of a whole nation was to broil in order to win its political unity is not only of

On The Generation In Shambles, 1936

The generation preceding us gave several peaks: Ion Barbu, in poetry, Tudor Vianu, creator of aesthetic systems, none of the most refined, but solid nonetheless, Lucian Blaga, in metaphysics and the philosophy of culture, Nae Ionescu, Cezar Petrescu, novelist of failures,

On National Specificity, 1935

If I had had the courage to speak freely, directly, without resorting to these pages in front of me, and without caring about the serious language mistakes I may make in French – and which I will definitely make –, if I had the courage to start my free conversation with

File: Mihail Sebastian

In March 1935 (on Thursday, March 21st, more precisely), Sebastian was invited to hold a conference at the French Institute in Bucharest; the relationship between the writer and the president of the Institute, Alphonse Dupront, was one of mutual regard, as we find out from

How I Became A Hooligan, 1935

excerpts On the art of being a reactionary and a Bolshevik at the same time He gobs democracy and the human rights… The Romanian Life  He insults national security and patriotic feelings. The Commandment of the Times  Not solely is Two Thousand Years Past – as previously

The New Spirituality (Investigation), 1928

Do you notice, within the framework of your interests, or of culture in its entirety, differences that would justify the confidence in a new spirituality, with a deeper, overall significance? Nicolae Iorga I am an old incurable traditionalist who has completely lost the

A Spiritual Itinerary, 1928

excerpts Mr. Mircea Eliade starts from the premises of the break between today's generation and the former one. Today's generation, restless, effervescent, vibrant, exulting, has a life of its own, with numerous experiences; it doesn't artificially follow

Spiritual Itinerary, 1927

excerpt 1. Guidelines I begin, with these pages, the publication of some notes, or observations, or reflections, or monologues regarding our generation. The decision is not presumptuous, or unrealizable. It will be said that as long as a generation exists, it's a

The Agrarian Revolution And The Evolution Of The Peasantry, 1923

excerpts Agriculture, qua exploitation, can never completely be geared into the capitalist system. K. Bücher, Enstehung der Volkswirtschaft, vol. 2 (1920), p. 84.  In history, one never encounters peasants destroyed by the exploitative superiority of major competitors.