Valery Oisteanu ( ro, Valeriu Oișteanu; ; born September 3, 1943) is a Soviet-born Romanian and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

poet, art critic, essayist, photographer and performance artist, whose style reflects the influence of Dada and

Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

. Oisteanu is the author of more than a dozen books of poetry, a book of short fiction, and a book of essays. More about his creativity & writing at his website:https://www.zen-dada.com He is the brother of Romanian historian of religion, cultural anthropologist and writer Andrei Oișteanu.

Biography

Oisteanu was born in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, raised and educated in Romania, where he was known as Valeriu Oișteanu (). He graduated from the Department of Chemical Industry of the Politechnical Institute in Bucharest. In 1970, Oisteanu made his literary debut in Romania with a collection of poems called ''Proteze''. Due to his Jewish ancestry, the C ommunist regime allowed him to emigrate to New York City in 1972 or 1973, and he has been writing in English ever since. Oisteanu adopted Dada and

as a philosophy of art and life. He appears regularly at poetry readings in various New York venues, where he presents original performances of Zen and Dada-inspired " jazzoetry". He is a freelance art critic and on the permanent staff of several arts magazines, including '' The Brooklyn Rail'', ''NYArts'', ''Rain Taxi'', the Spanish publication ''art.es'', and the Canadian magazine ''D'Art International''. Oișteanu is a member of Poets and Writers Inc. in New York and the founder and president of PASS: Poets and Artists Surrealist Society.

Poetry written in English

*''Underground Shadows'' (Pass Press, New York, 1977) *''Underwater Temples'' (Pass Press, New York, 1979) *''Do Not Defuse'' (Pass Press, New York, 1980) *''Vis-a-vis Bali'' (poems and photographic collage; New Observation Press, New York, 1985) *''Passport to Eternal Life'' (Pass Press, New York, 1990) *''Moons of Venus'' (Pass Press, New York, 1992) *''Temporary Immortality'' (Pass Press, New York, 1995) *''ZEN DADA'' (Linear Art Press, New York, 1999) *''Perks in Purgatory'' (Fly by Night Press,New York, 2009) *Anarchy for a Rainy Day (Spuyten Duyvil, New York, 2015) *Lighter Than Air (Spuyten Duyvil, New York, 2017) *In the Blink of a Third Eye(Spuyten Duyvil, New York, 2020) ''Poetry written or translated to Romanian:'' *''Proteze'' ("Prosthesis"), Editura Litera, Bucharest, 1970 *''Poeme din Exil'' ("Poems from Exile"), Editura Paralela 45, Pitești, 2000 * "Anarhie pentru Zile Negre"(Anarchy for a Rainy Day) CDPL,Bucharest,2019 * Privileges in Purgatory (Translated to Romanian) Itaca,Dublin,2020

Prose written in English

*''The King of Penguins'' (Linear Arts Books, New York, 2000)

References

External links

"The Drum Circle for Janine Pommy Vega"
– this tribute to Janine Pommy Vega (1942–2010) on

Pierre Joris Pierre Joris (born July 14, 1946) is a Luxembourg-American poet, essayist, translator, and anthologist. He has moved between Europe, North Africa & the US for 55 years, publishing over 80 books of poetry, essays, translations & anthologies — mo ...

's blog includes this homage-poem written by Oişteanu in honor of Pommy-Vega
"The Life and Death of John Badum" & "Lorenzo Perrone — The Righteous Gentile"
– these 2 "stories" by Oisteanu are about two true life figures: fashion designer John Badum, who was murdered in May 1999; and Lorenzo Perrone, friend and "guardian angel" to the world famous writer and Holocaust survivor

Primo Levi Primo Michele Levi (; 31 July 1919 – 11 April 1987) was an Italian chemist, partisan, writer, and Jewish Holocaust survivor. He was the author of several books, collections of short stories, essays, poems and one novel. His best-known works ...

*, ''Meditation/Mediation'' is described as "an ongoing project conceived by Daniel Rothbart in collaboration with Valery Oisteanu. Curated by Lisa Paul Streitfeld, The Lab Gallery, New York, NY, April 24, 2005"
At The Caves of the Wind: Cretan Meditations
– an "essay-meditation" about Crete which Oisteanu first visited in July, 1977
Vispo Collage from Valery Oişteanu
– some poetry-collages (or

visual poetry Literary theorists have identified visual poetry as a development of concrete poetry but with the characteristics of intermedia in which non-representational language and visual elements predominate. Differentiation from concrete poetry As the li ...

) by Oisteanu
MARCEL BROODTHAERS, The Living Mirror
– Oisteanu writes about

Marcel Broodthaers Marcel Broodthaers (28 January 1924 – 28 January 1976) was a Belgian poet, filmmaker, and visual artist with a highly literate and often witty approach to creating art works. In 1943-1951 he was a member of a Communist party. Life and career ...

for The Brooklyn Rail, published in October 2010
Where have the Real Famous gone? to Andy Warhol
– a poem by Oisteanu {{DEFAULTSORT:Oisteanu, Valery 1943 births 20th-century Romanian photographers American art critics American essayists American male essayists American male poets American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American performance artists American photographers American spoken word poets Jewish American writers Jewish Romanian writers Living people Neo-Dada People from Karaganda Politehnica University of Bucharest alumni Romanian art critics Romanian collage artists Romanian emigrants to the United States Romanian essayists Romanian male writers Romanian performance artists Romanian poets Romanian photographers Romanian surrealist writers Soviet emigrants to Romania Soviet Jews 21st-century American Jews