Literature

Nora Iuga (*1931) is considered one of the most innovative Rumanian poets. Her poetry is ageless and fresh, for it is pinned to the corporeality and desires of humanity. The volume of poetry «Dangerous Moods» which appeared in 2007 contains a selection of Iuga's lyrical life works.

Mircea Cărtărescu, born in 1956 in Bucharest, made his debut as a poet at the age of 22 and published a series of poetry volumes which made him one of the leading figures of his generation. Towards the end of the 1980's he turned to prose, without abandoning the poetical quality of his poetry. His latest publication will appear this autumn.

Cătălin Dorian Florescu, was born in 1967 in Timişoara, but has been living in Zurich since 1982. After fi rst working as a psychotherapist for a number of years, Florescu has been working as an independent writer since 2001. In 2002 he received the Adelbert von Chamisso prize. In the eulogy on the occasion of his winning the Anna Seghers Prize in 2003 it is said of him: «That in his books he tells of the search for the right place in the world – be it in Rumania, America or Switzerland – with such impressively powerful imagery, tender melancholy, respectful accuracy and laconic humour, that he has already become an unmistakeable voice of German-speaking literature.»

Ana Blandiana (*1942) was already an established author and publisher when in protest against the regime in the late 1980's she published political poetry and became a pivotal fi gure in the political upheaval. Ana Blandiana is the initiator and president of Memorial Sighet, a memorial for the victims of Communism. She now presides over the Rumanian PEN Club.

Franz Hodjak (*1944) was a proofreader at the Klausenburger Dacia publishing house for many years until he moved to Germany in 1992. His poems, stories and novels, the central theme of which are the traumata of fl ight and homelessness, have been published by the Suhrkamp publishing house. In 1990 he was awarded the Carinthian national prize at the Ingeborg Bachmann contest.