Mircea Cartarescu – Romanian author with chances of winning the Nobel Prize

Mircea Cartarescu is a controversial figure in Romanian literature. Some consider him a genius and, secretly or openly, hope that he will eventually win the Nobel Prize for literature, while others say that when you eliminate the many literary influences in his writing, you are not left with much. Perhaps it is best if we all make up our own mind about him.

Cartarescu was born on June 1st 1956 in Bucharest, where he would also do his studies: he attended the “Dimitrie Cantemir” high school and The Faculty of Romanian Language and Literature, which today is known as The Faculty of Letters. He frequented the literary circle known as “Cenaclul de Luni”, which was led and organized by literary critic Nicolae Manolescu and another one called “Cenaclul de proza Junimea”, which was led by literary critic and historian Ovidiu S. Crohmalniceanu. Immediately, he caught the eye of Nicolae Manolescu and started being promoted by him.

He made his debut in the anthology “Aer cu diamante”, while his first poetry volume was called “Faruri, vitrine, fotografii”, published in 1980. But, his most important work, according to the author himself, is the novel “Blinding”, which anyone interested in his work must read.

Although some of the most important literary critics of the present say that it will not be long before Cartarescu wins the Nobel Prize for literature, the writer is not very interested in the award. He opines that it is very difficult to predict who will be the lucky laureate, as there are so many deserving candidates and that, even if a different Romanian writer will beat him to the punch, he will continue to write just as he has so far and will remain the same person.

For him, the real reason for writing literature is not the winning of prizes, but the possibility of bringing a ray of hope and joy in a world that is full of pain. At the same time, literature purifies the soul through the actions depicted. And finally, it is an opportunity for the readers to let their minds escape the mundane reality and enter a dream world. In short, literature is a means of survival.   

Sources:

https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mircea_C%C4%83rt%C4%83rescu

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