Daniel Ionita – författare

This is a comprehensive single-author anthological collection of the significant Australian contemporary poet Chirstopher (Kit) Kelen. It is also a bilingual anthology, presenting his work in both the original English, as well as in Romanian.

Translated by the experienced prize-winning translators Daniel Ionita and Adriana Paul

Testament-Anthology of Romanian Verse is the first comprehensive, and coherent collection Romanian poems in English, representing 160 years of poetry (from 1850 to the present day), covering over 120 poets and 150 poems. The anthology presents the poets in chronological order starting with Vasile Alecsandri, followed by Mihai Eminescu – Romania’s national poet – and the group of poets considered “the classics”: Alexadru Macedonski, Ion Minulescu, George Cosbuc, Octavian Goga, Tudor Arghezi, Vasile Voiculescu, Lucian Blaga, Magda Isanos, George Bacovia, Zorica Latcu, Ion Barbu, Nicolae Labis, Ion Vinea, Ion Pillat. The 1960ies generation is represented through Nichita Stanescu, Ana Blandiana, Adrian Paunescu, Radu Gyr, Marin Sorescu, Ion Caraion, Gellu Naum. This is followed by poets consectrated in the decades of 1970-1980, for example Nora Iuga Leonid Dimov, Romulus Vulpescu, Virgil Mazilescu, Cezar Ivanescu, Mircea Dinescu, Ileana Malancioiu, Irina Mavrodin, George Tarnea, Petre Stoica, Dan Verona, Constanta Buzea, Daniela Crasnaru. In covering contemporary poets, Testament include poets such as Adrian Popescu, Ioan Es Pop, Mircea Cartarescu, Daniel Banulescu, Lucian Vasilescu, Angela Marinescu, Marta Petreu, Horia Badescu, Florin Iaru, Cristian Popescu, Ion Stratan, Aurel Rau, Emil Brumaru, Mihaela Malea Stroe. Romanian language poets from the Republic of Moldova have not been forgotten, and the anthology includes most of the important ones: Grigore Vieru, Leonida Lari, Arcadie Suceveanu, Renata Verejanu, Arhip Cibotaru, Leo Butnaru, Nicolae Dabija, Dumitru Baluta, among others. The editor did not shy away from also selecting some younger emerging poets – for example Monica Manolachi, Andrei Paunescu, Mircea Dan Cipariu Erika Kantor or Laurentiu-Ciprian Tudor. This American edition also pays tribute to representative important Romanian poets who have, over the years, settled on the North American continent: Nina Cassian, Liliana Sarbu, Dumitru Ichim, Adrian Sangeorzan, Carmen Firan and Nuta Istrate-Gangan. Author and editor Daniel Ionita, who is also the principal translator, is himself an established poet having published works in both English and Romanian - Hanging Between the Stars (Minerva),ContraDiction (Pimm), The Island of Words from Home (Minerva). For this present volume he has been assisted by linguists and literary specialists Eva Foster (Oxford Falls College – Australia), Associate Professor Daniel Reynaud (Avondale College or Tertiary Studies – Australia) and Rochelle Bews (Deakin University – Australia). Daniel has been living in Australia and New Zealand since 1980, and teaches Organisational Improvement through the Business Practice Unit of the University of Technology Sydney. While based on Daniel Ionita’s earlier work, Testament – Anthology of Modern Romanian Verse (bilingual version English/Romanian), now at its second edition, published by Minerva Publishing House in Bucharest, Romanian in 2015 – this volume is a greatly expanded version. The earlier editions of Testament published in Romania, have enjoyed great critical acclaim, being highlighted by important literary critics in Romania, such as Alex.Stefanescu and Radu Voinescu – in the most important critical literature magazines such as Literary Romania (Romania Literara) and The Morning Star (Luceafarul de Dimineata). Commercial success, usually unexpected for poetry these days, also followed, with the first edition beying sold out – and hence the need for a second edition. The book launches (in Sydney, Bucharest, Brasov, Cluj) for these eariler editions have morphed into true literary-musical events, with artists such as Ion Caramitru, Manuela Harabor, Clara Voda, Ada Condeescu, Nicu Alifantis, Andrei Paunescu, Catalin Condurache, Sandy Deac and Adrian Ivanitchi performing works from the volume.

Romanian Poetry from its Origins to the Present is the most comprehensive bilingual representation of Romanian poetry (English translation side by side with the Romanian original), starting with the earliest discovered poems, to contemporary poets - some of them born only a couple of decades ago. Different to previous editions, this is a critical-reference volume, containing critical notes about each one of the 442 poets included!

The volume begins with "the poetry before there were poets", a couple "timeless" anonymous ballads, and after them with the first poet who published in Romanian, The Metropolitan Dosoftei (his work, Psaltirea/The Pslalter, is from somewhere after 1650).

Such a broad anthology, will necessarily include the best known Romanian poets, such as Mihai Eminescu, Vasile Alecsandri, Alexadru Macedonski, Ion Minulescu, George Coșbuc, Octavian Goga, Tudor Arghezi, Vasile Voiculescu, Lucian Blaga, Magda Isanos, George Bacovia, Ion Barbu, Nicolae Labiș. However, the poets from before this "classical" period of Romanian literature are represented, perhaps for the first time, to an English reading audience - such as Ion Budai Deleanu, Ion Heliade Rădulescu, Elena Văcărescu, Grigore Alexandrescu, Dimitrie Bolintineanu, among others.

To sample just a few poets from each of the other significant historical/stylistic periods - the 1960 generation is represented through Nichita Stanescu, Ana Blandiana, Adrian Paunescu, Radu Gyr, Marin Sorescu, Ion Caraion, Nina Cassian, for example. This is followed by poets consectrated in the decades of 1970-1980, such as Nora Iuga Leonid Dimov, Romulus Vulpescu, Cezar Ivănescu, Mircea Dinescu, Ileana Mălăncioiu, Irina Mavrodin, George Țărnea, Petre Stoica, Dan Verona, Constanța Buzea. From contemporary poets, included are Adrian Popescu, Ioan Es Pop, Mircea Cărtărescu, Lucian Vasilescu, Angela Marinescu, Marta Petreu, Horia Bădescu, Florin Iaru, Cristian Popescu, Ion Stratan, Aurel Rău, Emil Brumaru, Ioana Crăciunescu Octavian Soviany. While from the really young poets - the editors have really made an effort to find the most significant voices: Adela Greceanu, Miruna Vlada, V.Leac, Marius Ianuș, Ciprian Măceșaru, Ania Vilal, Teodor Dună, Claudiu Komartin, Diana Geacăr.

A significant space is reserved for Romanian poets from outside Romania. The most obvious group is the that from The Republic of Moldova (Bessarabia) - Alexei Mateevici, Alecu Russo, Arcadie Suceveanu, Renata Verejanu, Leo Butnaru, Nicolae Dabija, Leonida Lari, Grigore Vieru; while from the younger generation we have Irina Nechit, Vasile Gârneț, Mihai Vakulovski, Nichita Danilov, Aura Maru, Maria Paula Erizanu, Ana Donțu, Iulian Fruntașu, Ion Buzu.

The other group are poets who emigrated, some of whom (though not all) have been out of scope, due do both physical and psychological distance, for Romanian literary critics and ordinary readers alike. They may live in France, Spain, Italy or Germany, or in far flung places (from a Romanian standpoint) such as Canada, The United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. To name just a few: Dinu Flămând, Gabriela Schuster, Carmen Firan, Andrei Codrescu, George Roca, Dumitru Ichim, Lucia Cherciu, Cristian Bădiliță, Gelu Vlașin; Valentina Teclici, Matein Vișniec, Alina Celia Cumpan. The Table of Contents will provide the rest...

This sweeping work ("it feels like an encyclopedia, but it is like 1001 Nights" - Alex Ștefănescu) is put together by the team which offered us the previous fore-taste gems such as Testament - Anthology of Romanian Verse, and The Bessarabia of My Soul - Daniel Ionita (editor and principal translator), Professor Daniel Reynaud, Dr. Adriana Paul, and Eva Foster.

The volume is a bilingual English/Romanian collection of poetry uniting the "Judith Beveridge Poetry Class" in Sydney, Australia, and the Palace of Culture Poetry Group, Literary Connections from Bistrita, Romania.

Artists will not always agree in what they express through their art. That would be devastatingly tedious. We have two cities, one - a large metropolis on the shores of the Pacific, the other - a smallish capital of a district in Transylvania. The distance between them is almost 17000 kilometers and they have never influenced each-other. Until now. What chance that the work of artists from such distant realms should find itself within the pages of the same volume? Poetry - breathing a universal ethos - carries to the surface, like a miner, the diamond of our collective artistic subconscious. And as Judith Beveridge writes in her Foreword, this volume reflects the light of truth from the multiple facets of this diamond - in so many different, though splendidly complementary, hues. Congratulations to the Australian-Romanian Academy, to the Palace of Culture in Bistrița, and to the "Judith Beveridge Poetry Class"! This is a brilliant initiative! Alex Ștefănescu Literary Critic and Historian