Lidia Vianu (born 7 July 1947 in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

) is a Romanian academic, writer, and translator. She is a professor in the English department of the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...

, a writer of fiction and poetry, and a translator both from English into

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

, and from Romanian into English.

Biography

Her mother, Beatrice Vianu (born Steiner), was an editor, and her father, Theodor Vianu, was a doctor. She attended both high school (1961–1965) and university (1965–1970) in Bucharest. She graduated from the department of English at the University of Bucharest. She defended her doctoral dissertation in 1978, with a thesis titled ''Philosophical Lyricism in the works of T.S. Eliot and Paul Valéry''. After the fall of communism, she was granted two Fulbright Scholarships, and taught in the United States, at

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...

–

Binghamton Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

(1991–1992) and

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

(1997–1998). She became a professor in the University of Department English department in 1998.Lidia Vianu
''Blackbird''. Retrieved 5 July 2020 Vianu learned English from Leon Levițchi, Dan Duțescu, and C. George Sandulescu. She published ''English with a Key'' ( ro, Engleza cu cheie), a handbook that aims to teach English to Romanians through translation. Vianu founded the Centre for the Translation and Interpretation of the Contemporary Text at the University of Bucharest.

Work

As an academic, Vianu is the author of numerous essays, anthologies, interviews, and books of literary criticism. Most of them were written in English, while some were also published in Romanian. Her major subjects in English Studies are

T.S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National B ...

(''T.S. Eliot, An Author for All Seasons''),

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

, and contemporary British poets and novelists. As a writer, she published ''Censorship in Romania'' (selection, interviews, translations) at

Central European University Press Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center (disambiguation), center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa ...

, a novel, and three volumes of poetry. She has published English translations of

Eugen Simion Eugen Simion (25 May 1933 – 18 October 2022) was a Romanian literary critic and historian, editor, essayist and academic. Born in Chiojdeanca, Prahova County, the son of two farmers, Simion completed his secondary education at the Saints P ...

's ''The Return of the Author'',

Marin Sorescu Marin Sorescu (; 29 February 1936 – 8 December 1996) was a Romanian poet, playwright, and novelist. His works were translated into more than 20 countries, and the total number of his books that were published abroad rises up to 60 books. He ha ...

's''The Bridge'',

Mircea Dinescu Mircea Dinescu (; born November 11, 1950) is a Romanian poet, journalist, and editor. Biography Early life and poetry He was born in Slobozia, the son of Ştefan Dinescu, a metalworker, and Aurelia (born Badea). Dinescu studied at the Faculty ...

's ''The Barbarians’ Return'' (with Adam Sorkin), '''s The Book of Winter and Other Poems'',

Mircea Ivănescu Mircea Ivanescu (; March 26, 1931 – July 21, 2011) was a Romanian poet, writer and translator, and a forerunner of Romanian postmodernism, which was characteristic of the 1980s. His translations from global literature into Romanian include James ...

's ''Lines poems poetry'', and '''s No Way Out of Hadesburg and Other Poems''. She also published a large number of translated books in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. Vianu and Sorkin's translation of

's ''The Bridge'' (

Bloodaxe Books Bloodaxe Books is a British publishing house specializing in poetry. History Bloodaxe Books was founded in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne by Neil Astley, who is still editor and managing director. Bloodaxe moved its editorial office to Northumbe ...

, 2004), was awarded the Prize of

Poetry Society The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry". The society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society ...

, London, 2005.

Selected works

Literary criticism

* ''Scenarii lirice moderne (De la T.S. Eliot la Paul Valéry)'', Ed. Universității București, 1983 * ''T. S. Eliot: An Author for All Seasons'', Bucharest: Ed. Paideia, 1997 * ''Censorship in Romania'', Central European University Press, 1998 * ''British Literary Desperadoes at the Turn of the Millennium'', Bucharest: Ed. ALL, 1999 * ''Alan Brownjohn and the Desperado Age'', Ed. Universității București, 2003 * ''The Desperado Age: British Literature at the Start of the Third Millennium'', Ed. Universității București, 2004 * ''Desperado Essay-Interviews'', Ed. Universității București, 2006

Translations

* Joseph Conrad: ''Oglinda mării'', Timișoara: Ed. Amarcord, 1994 * Eugen Simion: ''The Return of the Author'', translated into English for Northwestern University Press, Evanston, IL, 1996 (Nominated for the Scaglione Translation Prize, 1997) * Marin Sorescu: ''The Bridge'', co-translated with Adam J. Sorkin for Bloodaxe Books, 2004 * Mircea Ivănescu, ''Lines Poems Poetry'', University of Plymouth Press, 2009, co-translated with Adam J. Sorkin * Ioan Es Pop, ''No Way Out of Hadesburg and Other Poems'', University of Plymouth Press, 2010, co-translated with Adam J. Sorkin * Ion Mureșan, ''The Book of Winter and Other Poems'', University of Plymouth Press, 2011, co-translated with Adam J. Sorkin * Hilary Elfick: ''A Single Instinct. Unicul instinct.'' Bucharest: Ed. Integral 2017 * Anne Stewart. ''Let It Come to Us All. Să vină pentru noi toți.'' Bucharest: Ed. Integral 2017 * Mircea Dinescu, ''The Barbarians' Return'', Bloodaxe Books, 2018

Handbooks of English

* ''English with a Key'', Timișoara: Ed. de Vest, 1993 * ''Student la engleză'', Bucharest: Ed. Integral, 2016 * ''Admiterea la engleză'', Bucharest: Ed. Integral, 2016 * ''Admiterea la engleză'', Bucharest: Ed. Integral, 2016 * ''Metoda Lidia Vianu. Smile and Learn! Învățați inteligent. Învățați gramatica, în 7 volume'', Bucharest: Contemporary Literature Press, 2021, 7 vols., https://editura.mttlc.ro/metoda-lidia-vianu-7-volume.html

Fiction

* ''Prizonieră în oglindă'', Galați: Ed. Porto Franco, 1993 * ''© Bumble--Bea. A tiny book about a huge heart : n English and Romanian 022', https://editura.mttlc.ro/vianu-bumble-bea.html * ''Prizonieră în oglindă. Roman. Ediție revizuită, 022', https://editura.mttlc.ro/vianu-prizoniera-roman.html * ''ƘΑΛΕΙΔΟΣΚΌΠΙΟ/ KALEIDOSCOPE/ CALEIDOSCOP. Parallel Texts. Ediție bilingvă'', București: Editura EIKON, 2023, 531 p.

Poetry

* ''1, 2, 3'', Bucharest: Ed. Integral, 1997 * ''Moderato 7'', Editura Orient-Occident, 1998 * ''Foarte'', Bucharest: Ed. Cartea Românească, 2001 * ''The Wall'', Bucharest: Ed. Integral, 2016Lidia Vianu, ''The Wall"
mttlc.ro. Retrieved 18 November 2019 * ''1, 2, 3. Poeme. Ediție revizuită'', Bucharest: Contemporary Literature Press, 2022, https://editura.mttlc.ro/vianu-123-poeme.html * ''Foarte. Poeme. Ediție revizuită'', Bucharest: Contemporary Literature Press, 2022, https://editura.mttlc.ro/vianu-foarte-2022.html * ''The Wind and the Seagull. Vântul și Pescărușul. La Mouette et le Vent...'', Bucharest: Contemporary Literature Press, 2022, https://editura.mttlc.ro/vianu-the-wind-and-the-seagull.html * ''Vântul și Pescărușul / The Wind and the Seagull / La Mouette et le Vent'', București: Editura EIKON, 2022, https://www.librariaeikon.ro/poezie/1346-vantul-si-pescarusul.html

Interviews

* ''Sorin Ivan. Între Profesie și Literatură. Between Profession and Literature. Interviu / Interview with cu Lidia Vianu'', Bucharest: Contemporary Literature Press, 2023, https://editura.mttlc.ro/sorin-ivan-interviu-vianu.html * ''Bogdan Stănescu (moderator). SCRIITOAREA LIDIA VIANU, INVITATĂ LA JURNAL CULTURAL #tvrcultural'', TVR Cultural: Jurnal cultural, 14 noiembrie 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZxXL4WEwdU

References

External links

Lidia Vianu
interview in ''The Massachusetts Review'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Vianu, Lidia 1947 births Living people Academic staff of the University of Bucharest University of Bucharest alumni English–Romanian translators 20th-century Romanian poets 20th-century translators 20th-century Romanian women writers Romanian women poets James Joyce scholars