1989년 체제전환기의 루마니아 문학

Characteristics and Trends of Romanian Literature in the Transition

The aim of this study is to introduce the characteristics and trends of Romanian literature in the Transition. This work presents how some authors manifest their experiences and thoughts in the Romanian socialist epoch through personal works and how others unfold their talents of art and literature after the 1989 Democratic Revolution. The third chapter, where the distinguishing marks of Romanian literature was categorized into three groups: ‘literature in the drawer', ‘the sacred poems' and ‘literature in the 60's and 80's', discusses that the pain of the epoch make a fool of a person. In the communist and totalitarian regime, either the authors were obligated to be propagandists in function of dogma imposed gradually or they were forced to abandon their literary fates. Therefore, some authors which haven't accepted their duties for distorted patriotism have begun to put events on record, especially to write literary works named ‘Literature in the drawer' such as personal journals, being in hiding. Foreknowledge about breakaway from spiritual poverty and socialistic totalitarianism was possible through Ceausescu's disappearance. ‘Literature of frontier', term defined by Silvian Iosifescu in his work Literatura de frontiera (1971), is distinguished in two categories like ‘literature of confession' and ‘literature of journey': journals, memories, remembrances, correspondences, confessions, all belongs to the former and ship's log as journey appertains to the latter. ‘Literature of Confession' published after 1989 included various thematic spectrums from exiles to detention, from politics to literary life and from national history to personal history and tended to conquer book's market in nowadays. Psycho-sociological explanation about phases of times and its phenomenon followed the endurance and long waiting: journals and memories published after 1989 had the preponderant function of compensation which the public was damaged by the communist regime, from the moment they expose personal, political, historical and literary events. ‘Literature of confession' like journals and memories, satisfies public interest not only in documentary aspect but also in literary aspect. Although that didn't guarantee the quality of literary product and polite literature, ‘literature in the drawer' (or ‘literature of confession') has a significant role in Romanian literary history, sometimes more important than pieces of literary work framed in '70 and '80s standard. The reaction and drift of the literary circles after 1989 started to change through the publishing circles. For the first, classical literary works, whose sales were prohibited by political reasons and mistake of analysis, begun to be published again. In the second place, the banned books of some exiled authors like Eliade, Cioran, Ionescu, Monica Lovinescu, Paul Goma etc. were also published. This publishing of exiled literature was conduced by Humanitas publishing house from the beginning of 1990. For the third, except of 'literature of confession, which reflect the phases of times in the communist period, critiques, which present the aspects of times after 1989, and personal works as journal, essay and philosophical record appeared in the publishing world. For the fourth, popular novels, technical books and subject series from USA or the other countries have been translated into Romanian and lastly cheap books which contain amusing reading, interest, commercialization were published by the various publishers after 1989. But unfortunately the publishing measure that was founded by literary honor and culture is changing into the commercial measure with the flowing of times, and in nowadays, in Romania, the literary times become controlled by not ‘the political censorship' but ‘the economic censorship'.