Adrian Păunescu

Adrian Păunescu (Romanian pronunciation: [adriˈan pə.uˈnesku]; 20 July 1943 – 5 November 2010) was a Romanian poet, journalist, and politician. Though criticised for praising communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu,[1] Păunescu was called "Romania's most famous poet"[1] in an Associated Press story, quoted by The New York Times.

Adrian Păunescu
Păunescu in July 2009
Born(1943-07-20)20 July 1943
Copăceni, Bălți County, Kingdom of Romania
(now Republic of Moldova)
Died5 November 2010(2010-11-05) (aged 67)
Bucharest, Romania
Resting placeBellu Cemetery
Occupationpoet, politician, journalist
LanguageRomanian
Alma materUniversity of Bucharest
Period1960–2010
Notable worksUltrasentimente (1965), Flacăra magazine
Spouse
Constanța Buzea
​
​
(m. 1961⁠–⁠1976)​
Carmen Păunescu (b. Antal)
​
​
(m. 1990)​
Website
www.adrianpaunescu.ro

Life

Born in Copăceni, Bălți County, in what is now the Republic of Moldova, Păunescu spent his childhood in Bârca, Dolj County. He started his secondary studies at the Frații Buzești National College in Craiova and then continued at Saint Sava National College in Bucharest.

Păunescu studied philology at the University of Bucharest and became a writer and journalist. He was an influential public figure for Romanian youth throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.[2] Though he was criticised for writing flattering poems about Nicolae Ceauşescu,[1] Păunescu remained popular in Romania,[1] where he appeared on television several times a week.[1]

As posthumously summarized by newspaper România Liberă, Păunescu "is still viewed as a hero by the man in the street"[2] although "intellectuals continue to question his integrity and the literary value of his work".[2]

Flacăra and Cenaclul Flacăra
Main article: Cenaclul Flacăra

A member of the Union of Communist Youth between 1966 and 1968, and, between 1968 and 1989, of the Romanian Communist Party, Păunescu gained control over a major weekly publication, Flacăra and became the producer and host of the itinerant folk and pop show in the country, Cenaclul Flacăra, founded in 1973.

Political career

After 1989 Păunescu pursued a political career, aligning himself with socialism and then social-democratic political parties.

In 1996, he ran in the Romanian presidential election but received only 87,163 votes (0.69%). He was a senator from 1992 to 2008, representing Dolj County (1992–2004) and then Hunedoara County (2004–2008), first of the Socialist Labour Party, and later of the Social Democratic Party of Romania. He received the most votes in his district at the 2008 election, but failed to win a seat after the votes were redistributed pursuant to the MMP system used.

Death and legacy
Bust of Păunescu at Grădina Icoanei in Bucharest

At aged 67, Păunescu was hospitalized on 26 October 2010 in the intensive care unit of the Floreasca Emergency Hospital in Bucharest, with problems of more vital organs caused by pulmonary edema. Păunescu had subsequent renal, liver and heart failure. He was declared dead at 7:15 AM, on 5 November 2010.[3] Survived by his wife and three children, Păunescu was posthumously thanked by Romania's president Traian Băsescu, who in saluting him mentioned only his contributions to art.[1]

In May 2012 a bronze bust of Păunescu, made by sculptors Ioan Deac-Bistrița and Dragoș Neagoe, was inaugurated at Grădina Icoanei, in central Bucharest.[4]

Books
  • Ultrasentimente (1965)
  • Mieii primi (1966)
  • Fântâna somnambulă (1968)
  • Cărțile poștale ale morții (1970)
  • Aventurile extraordinare ale lui Hap și Pap (1970)
  • Viata de exceptii (1971)
  • Sub semnul întrebării (1971)
  • Istoria unei secunde (1971)
  • Lumea ca lume (1973)
  • Repetabila povară (1974)
  • Pământul deocamdată (1976)
  • Poezii de până azi (1978)
  • Sub semnul întrebării (1979)
  • Manifest pentru sănătatea pământului (1980)
  • Iubiți-vă pe tunuri (1981)
  • De la Bârca la Viena și înapoi (1981)
  • Rezervația de zimbri (1982)
  • Totuși iubirea (1983)
  • Manifest pentru mileniul trei (1984)
  • Manifest pentru mileniul trei (1986)
  • Locuri comune (1986)
  • Viața mea e un roman (1987)
  • Într-adevăr (1988)
  • Sunt un om liber (1989)
  • Poezii cenzurate (1990)
  • Romaniada (1993–1994)
  • Bieți lampagii (1993–1994)
  • Noaptea marii beții (1993–1994)
  • Front fără învingători (1995)
  • Infracțiunea de a fi (1996)
  • Tragedia națională (1997)
  • Deromânizarea României (1998)
  • Cartea Cărților de Poezie (1999)
  • Meserie mizarabilă, sufletul (2000)
  • Măștile însîngerate (2001)
  • Nemuritor la zidul morții (2001)
  • Până la capăt (2002)
  • Liber să sufăr (2003)
  • Din doi în doi (2003)
  • Eminamente (2003)
  • Cartea Cărților de Poezie (2003)
  • Logica avalanșei (2005)
  • Antiprimăvara (2005)
  • Ninsoarea de adio (2005)
  • Un om pe niște scări (2006)
  • De mamă și de foaie verde (2006)
  • Copaci fără pădure (2006)
  • Vagabonzi pe plaiul mioritic (2007)
  • Rugă pentru părinți (2007)
  • Încă viu (2008)
  • Libertatea de unică folosință (2009)

Presence in English Language Anthologies
  • Testament – Anthology of Modern Romanian Verse / Testament – Antologie de Poezie Română Modernă - Bilingual Edition English & Romanian – Daniel Ioniță (editor and translator), with Eva Foster and Daniel Reynaud – Minerva Publishing – 2012, second edition 2015 – ISBN 978-973-21-1006-5
  • Testament – Anthology of Romanian Verse – American Edition - monolingual English edition - Daniel Ioniță (editor and translator), with Eva Foster, Daniel Reynaud and Rochelle Bews – Australian-Romanian Academy for Culture – 2017 – ISBN 978-0-9953502-0-5
  • The Bessarabia of my Soul / Basarabia Sufletului meu – a collection of poetry from the Republic of Moldova - bilingual English & Romanian - Daniel Ioniță and Maria Tonu (editors), with Eva Foster, Daniel Reynaud and Rochelle Bews – MediaTon – Toronto -Canada – 2018 – ISBN 978-1-7751837-9-2
  • Testament - 400 Years of Romanian Poetry - 400 de ani de poezie românească - bilingual edition - Daniel Ioniță (editor and principal translator) with Daniel Reynaud, Adriana Paul & Eva Foster - Editura Minerva, 2019 - ISBN 978-973-21-1070-6

Electoral history

Presidential elections
Election Affiliation First round Second round
Votes Percentage Position Votes Percentage Position
1996 PSM87,163
0.7%
 9th 

References
  1. The New York Times, "Adrian Paunescu, Poet Who Praised a Dictator, Dies at 67" (with Associated Press), 7 November 2010 print edition, page A34 (via www.nytimes.com)
  2. Presseurop, "Death of Ceauşescu's poet laureate" Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine (with România Liberă), 8 November 2010, www.presseurop.eu/en
  3. "Poetul Adrian Păunescu a murit" (The poet Adrian Păunescu has died) Archived 8 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine (in Romanian)
  4. "Bustul lui Adrian Păunescu a fost dezvelit în Grădina Icoanei". Adevărul (in Romanian). 28 May 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
Official links
Writings
Music
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