Anatol E. Baconsky

Infobox Writer
name = Anatol E. Baconsky


caption =
pseudonym =
birthdate = birth date|1925|6|16|mf=y
birthplace = Cofa
deathdate = death date and age|1977|3|4|1925|6|16|mf=y
deathplace = Bucharest
occupation = poet, translator, journalist, essayist, literary critic, art critic, short story writer, novelist, publisher
nationality = Romanian
period = 1942–1977
genre = lyric poetry, free verse, sonnet, travel writing
movement = Surrealism, Socialist realism, Modernism
notableworks =
influences = George Bacovia, Lucian Blaga
influenced = Petre Stoica
website =

Anatol E. Baconsky (also known as A. E. Bakonsky, Baconschi or Baconski; June 16, 1925–March 4, 1977) was a Romanian modernist poet, essayist, translator, novelist, publisher, literary and art critic. Praised for his late approach to poetry and prose, which transgresses the genres and introduces an aestheticized, original and progressively dark perspective to Romanian literature, he was also criticized for his early commitment to Socialist Realism and communism. Much of his work belongs to the field of travel literature, recording his experiences in the Eastern Bloc, the Far East and Soviet Union, and finally Central Europe. He was also a critically-acclaimed translator of foreign works, including the "Mahābhārata" and poems by Jorge Semprún, Artur Lundkvist and others, the author of world literature anthologies, and the editor of monographs on Romanian and foreign painters.

After a brief affiliation to Surrealism in the 1940s, Baconsky was a prominent supporter of the communist regime who joined its cultural establishment. In the mid 1950s, he grew disillusioned with communist guidelines—this attitude was notably manifested in his activity as editor of the Cluj-based magazine "Steaua" (where he reacted against the prevailing censorship), his 1972 public reaction against the norms imposed by the Nicolae Ceauşescu regime, and his samizdat novel "Biserica neagră" ("The Dark Church"). Having spent much of final years in Austria and West Berlin, where he became a critic of consumerism, Baconsky died in Bucharest, a victim of the 1977 earthquake.

Anatol E. Baconsky was the elder brother of Leon Baconsky, a literary historian and academic, and the father of writer and diplomat Teodor Baconschi.

Biography

Early life

Born in Cofa village, northern Bessarabia (presently Konovka, Ukraine), he was the eldest son of Eftimie Baconsky, a Romanian Orthodox priest; his brother Leon was born in 1928.Braga, p.XXX] The family spent the late 1920s in Cofa and in Drepcăuţi, a locality on the Prut River shore. In 1936-1944, he was in Chişinău, where he attended the Alecu Russo Gymnasium and High School, publishing his first poems in the school magazine "Mugurel" during 1942. [Braga, p.VII-VIII, XXX] During those years, Romania was engaged on the Axis side in the war against the Soviet Union, and Bessarabia soon became part of the Eastern Front, before the King Michael Coup and the start of Soviet occupation brought Nazi German influence to an end ("see Romania during World War II"). The Baconskys left the region, and Anatol attended the Lahovary High School in Râmnicu Vâlcea (1944-1945). Eventually, the family settled in Ciomăgeşti, Argeş County, while Anatol took his baccalaureate (June 1945) and briefly worked at a factory in the Transylvanian town of Cisnădie. [Braga, p.XXX-XXXI]

In November 1945, Baconsky moved to Cluj. He began his studies at the Cluj University Faculty of Law, while attending lectures in Philosophy and Aesthetics given by Lucian Blaga and Eugeniu Speranţia.Braga, p.XXXI] His first essay, which Baconsky considered his actual debut work, was published by the "Tribuna Nouă" newspaper. Beginning 1946, his work was given more exposure, and was published in local Transylvanian journals (such as the Carei-based "Prietenii Artei") before being featured in the collective volume "Antologia primăverii" ("The Anthology of Spring"). He was at the time an adherent to Surrealism, and a volume of his Surrealist poetry was supposed to be edited by Editura Fundaţiilor Regale, but never saw print, owing to the institution's disestablishment by the new communist authorities. [Braga, p.VIII, XXXI] Literary historian Mircea Braga writes that, over the following years, Baconsky showed himself to be a staunch critic of Surrealism, and quotes him defining André Breton's pupils as followers of a "rigid dogma".Braga, p.VIII]

Discarding Surrealism soon after, Baconsky moved to a poetic version of Socialist Realism, partly influenced by the Soviet Proletkult tradition ("see Socialist realism in Romania").Cornel Ungureanu, postface to Babeţi & Ungureanu, p.518] In 1949, the year of his graduation, Baconsky was a regional delegate to the Writers' Congress in Bucharest, a conference which led to the creation of the Romanian Writers' Union (USR). Also in 1949, he joined the writing staff of the "Lupta Ardealului" journal, and married Clara Popa, a student at the Cluj University Faculty of Letters. In October, his poetry was published in a bilingual almanac co-edited by Romanian and Hungarian writers (it was titled "Împreună" in Romanian and "Eggüt" in Hungarian, both words meaning "Together").

1950s

In 1950, Baconsky completed his first volume, "Poezii" ("Poems", published by the USR's Editura de stat pentru literatură şi artă). The following year, he printed another book of poetry, "Copiii din Valea Arieşului" ("The Children of the Arieş Valley").Braga, p.XXXII] It was at that stage that he began collaborating with "Almanahul Literar", a newly-founded magazine edited by communist poet Miron Radu Paraschivescu, which, in 1954, was renamed "Steaua". [Braga, p.XXXI-XXXII; Călinescu & Vianu, p.152] Anatol E. Baconsky's relationship with Paraschivescu was tense: in February 1951, at a USR meeting in Bucharest, he was one of those who criticized Baconsky's new take on lyric poetry, accusing him of "intimism".

However, in 1952, Paraschivescu left for Braşov, and Baconsky took over as editor of "Steaua", progressively changing its profile and shaping it into a literary and art magazine. [Braga, p.XXXII; Călinescu & Vianu, p.152] Fellow poet and essayist Matei Călinescu, who was acquainted with Baconsky and later joined the "Steaua" group, believes his older colleague had been "rewarded" the position by the ruling Romanian Communist Party.Călinescu & Vianu, p.152] The new editor was by then involved in a number of disputes with other young authors, in particular those grouped around the Sibiu Literary Circle (among them Ştefan Augustin Doinaş and Nicolae Balotă).ro icon Paul Cernat, [http://www.observatorcultural.ro/Despre-A.E.-Baconsky-cu-dus-intors*articleID_16740-articles_details.html "Despre A.E. Baconsky, cu dus-întors"] , in "Observator Cultural", Nr. 352-353, December 2006] In parallel, he established contacts with young authors in Bucharest, who became "Steaua" 's circle in the capital: Călinescu, Cezar Baltag, Gabriel Dimisianu, Grigore Hagiu, Mircea Ivănescu, Modest Morariu, Nichita Stănescu and Petre Stoica. [Călinescu & Vianu, p.151, 152]

In January 1953, the 26-year-old poet left Romania on his first trip abroad, visiting the People's Republic of Bulgaria. His volume of reportage from the travel, "Itinerar bulgar" ("Bulgarian Itinerary"), saw print in 1954, together with the poetry collection "Cîntece de zi şi noapte" ("Songs of Day and Night", awarded the State Prize in 1955). Writing for "Steaua" in 1955, Baconsky submitted an essay reviewing and promoting the work of George Bacovia, a Symbolist and pessimist who had been largely ignored by post-1948 critics. Writing in 1998, literary critic Cornel Ungureanu proposed that, by that moment, Baconsky was finding his voice as a "rebellious author". According to Călinescu, the Baconsky of the late 1950s had "completely changed his orientation".

Baconsky was again a USR delegate in June 1956, when he presented the body with the first of his reports, dealing with the state of Romanian poetry. This congress, literary critic Paul Cernat notes, coincided with a period when writers sought a "regeneration", to correspond with the relaxation brought by the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. Also that year, he published his "Două poeme" ("Two Poems") book, comprising "Cîntecul verii acesteia" ("This Summer's Song") and "Lucrări şi anotimpuri sau Mişcarea de revoluţie" ("Labors and Seasons or The Orbital Revolution"). In autumn, he left for the Soviet Union and the Far East, visiting North Korea, the People's Republic of China, and Siberian areas.

Beginning summer 1956, the communist regime clamped down on the cultural environment, its apprehension motivated by events in Communist Poland, the scene of anti-communist workers' protests, and Communist Hungary, where an anti-Soviet revolt eventually broke out. According to historian Vladimir Tismăneanu, Baconsky was one of the writers informed of the decision taken by communist leader Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej not to endorse liberalization and destalinization, particularly after the events in Hungary threatened to disrupt communism throughout the Eastern Bloc, and at a time when the regime condemned advocates of change (Miron Constantinescu, Mihail Davidoglu, Alexandru Jar and Ion Vitner).Vladimir Tismăneanu, "Stalinism pentru eternitate", Polirom, Iaşi, 2005, p.187. ISBN 973-681-899-3]

Anatol E. Baconsky was again present in poetry with the 1957 volume "Dincolo de iarnă" ("Beyond Winter"). According to Braga, it was the moment in which his poetry made decisive gains in originality, and the first stage in his renunciation of "Proletkult versification". [Braga, p.IX, XXXII] It was followed by a collection of critical essays, "Colocviu critic" ("Critical Colloquy").Braga, p.XXXIII] In October-November, Baconsky was again a traveler to the Soviet Union, reaching Moscow, Leningrad and the Baltic, and the northern Black Sea shore. Late in the year, he issued "Fluxul memoriei", seen by Braga as "essential in the development of his poetry."

Move to Bucharest and debut in publishing

By 1958, Baconsky became a target of criticism in the literary community. The reaction, Braga noted, was "vehement", and, in January 1959, got Baconsky dismissed from his position as editor of "Steaua". In October of that year, the poet left Cluj and settled in Bucharest. [Braga, p.XXXIII; Călinescu & Vianu, p.152] According to Ungureanu, the capital was "hostile" to Baconsky, and the move was the equivalent of an "internal exile".

Over the following decade, he focused mainly on reeding his earlier volumes of poetry, on publishing works of criticism and travel writing, and on translating works by various authors. His new home became a gathering spot for young writers who did not approve of communism's cultural guidelines, including Călinescu and other Bucharesters who had previously published their work in "Steaua".

In 1960, Baconsky published his translation of early Korean poetry ("Poeţi clasici coreeni") and the reportage volume "Călătorii în Europa şi Asia" ("Travels in Europe and Asia"), comprising both new works and a reprint of "Itinerar bulgar". The following year, he reprinted some of his poems under the title "Versuri" ("Verses"), and authored a similarly-titled translation from the Italian modernist Salvatore Quasimodo (reprinted 1968). [Braga, p.XXXIII, XXXV] These were followed in 1962 by his translation of "The Long Voyage", a novel by Spanish author Jorge Semprún (published in Romania under the title "Marea călătorie"), and the cycle "Meridiane" ("Meridians"), comprising essays on 20th century literature, and published over three years by the magazine "Contemporanul". Also in 1962, Baconsky published the poetry volume "Imn către zorii de zi" ("A Hymn to Daybreak"), and presented a second Writers' Union report ("Situaţia poeziei universale contemporane", "The State of Contemporary Universal Poetry").Braga, p.XXXIV] He also left on an extended tour of Moldavia and Northern Dobruja, spending much time in the Danube Delta.

A year later, he published a translation of selected poems by Swedish author Artur Lundkvist, an anthology of his own translations from foreign writers (titled "Poeţi şi poezie"—"Poetry and Poets"—and featuring Baconsky's short essays as introductions for each of the authors). His work of the time also comprises the guide book "Cluj şi împrejurimile sale. Mic îndreptar turistic" ("Cluj and Its Surroundings. A Concise Tourist Guide"). In 1964, having published a new collected volume of his poetry, Baconsky also completed a translation of "Mahābhārata", an ancient Indian epic. Illustrated by Marcela Cordescu in its original print, it carried the subtitle "Arderea zmeilor" ("Burning of the "Zmei"). His new poetry volume, "Fiul risipitor" (Romanian for "The Prodigal Son"), saw print in 1965.

Early Ceauşescu years

Baconsky's situation improved during Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej's final years in power, and particularly after Nicolae Ceauşescu's arrival at the head of the Communist Party inaugurated a period of liberalization. The poet was elected to the Writers' Union Leadership Committee in February 1965. The same month, in this official capacity, he was allowed to travel outside the Iron Curtain and into Western Europe: he was in Austria, invited by the "Grazer Autorenversammlung", and also visited France and Italy. Upon his return in April, he passed through Yugoslavia, being welcomed by the Union of Yugoslav Writers. Owing to his new contacts abroad, Baconsky began publishing his work in international reviews, among them France's "Cahiers de L'Herne"; Austria's "Literatur und Kritik" and "Die Presse"; and West Germany's "Die Welt", "Akzente" and "Das Ensemble". Following his return, Baconsky published his essay volume "Meridiane" and a selection of poems translated from the American Carl Sandburg. His own lyrics were published in a Hungarian translation, authored by poet Sándor Kányádi. [Braga, p.XXXIV-XXXV] In 1966, "Die Welt" published the report Baconsky sent to writers participating in the International Congress held in Austria.Braga, p.XXXV]

In 1967, the writer completed work on his collection of old poetry and new pieces "Fluxul memoriei" ("The Flow of Memory"), and published his debut short story volume, "Echinoxul nebunilor şi alte povestiri" ("The Madmen's Equinox and Other Stories"). He revisited Italy and Austria, and, in 1968, traveled to West Germany. In his 1968 two-volume book "Remember" (title in the original), [Braga, p.XXXV; Drace-Francis, p.72-73] he republished his earlier travel writings into the East with modifications, and added an account of his western travels, headlined "Fals jurnal de călătorie" ("False Travel Journal").Drace-Francis, p.72-73] He also hosted a weekly National Radio program, titled "Meridiane lirice" ("Lyrical Meridians")—Baconsky read his introductions to works by various writers, and Romanian theater stars read fragments of their work.

In November, Anatol E. Baconsky was reelected to the Writers' Union Committee, and, in 1969, his "Remember" was awarded "Steaua" 's annual prize. He visited the Hungarian capital Budapest, invited by the local branch of the International PEN. Late in 1969, he published the poetry volume "Cadavre în vid" ("Thermoformed Dead Bodies"), which was granted the 1970 Award by the Writers' Union. Also in 1970, his "Echinoxul nebunilor" was translated into German by Austrian author Max Demeter Peyfuss, being released in Austria, West Germany and Switzerland. [Braga, p.XXXV-XXXVI] The Romanian writer attended the event in Vienna, before leaving for Paris.Braga, p.XXXVI] The following year, he traveled to West Germany and again to Austria. Over the following three years, these visits were depicted by Baconsky in his permanent column at the journal "Magazin". He also published his first volume on the art of Romania—a monograph dedicated to and named after painter Dimitrie Ghiaţă.

Final years

By 1971, Baconsky was outraged by the Ceauşescu regime having curbed ideological relaxation and proclaimed a Romanian "cultural revolution" ("see July Theses"). The following year, invited to a meeting with the new President, he joined sculptor George Apostu in publicly questioning the new guidelines. [Stejărel Olaru, "Introduction. The Communist Regime and Its Legacy in Romania", in Stejărel Olaru, Georg Herbstritt (eds.), " [http://www.stiftung-aufarbeitung.de/downloads/pdf/vadrum.pdf Vademekum Contemporary History Romania. A Guide through Archives, Research Institutions, Libraries, Societies, Museums and Memorial Places] ", Romanian Institute for Recent History, Stiftung für Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur, Berlin & Bucharest, 2004, p.31]

In February 1972, he settled in West Berlin, after the Academy of Sciences and Humanities offered to host him for one year. He traveled outside the city: invited to Scandinavia by the Swedish Institute, he visited Denmark and Sweden (crossing the Arctic Circle during one trip); he also attended the International Writers' Congress in Austria, and made additional visits to Belgium and the Netherlands. His volume on the art of Ion Ţuculescu was published at home during that time.

His 1973 anthology of world poetry, "Panorama poeziei universale" ("The Panorama of Universal Poetry"), was noted by Hungarian literary historian János Kohn among similar Romanian works of the period (including Ion Caraion's collection of American poetry), as an important step in the history of Romanian translations.János Kohn, "Romanian tradition", in Mona Baker, Kirsten Malmkjær (eds.), "Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies", Routledge, London, 2001, p.539. ISBN 0415255171] The book, based on the "Meridiane lirice" program, comprised works by 99 authors, from Endre Ady to William Butler Yeats. Cernat calls the volume "fundamental". All translations were done by Baconsky himself, whose effort was rewarded by the Writers' Union with its 1973 prize.

Together with other poets, he traveled again to Budapest, as part of a cultural exchange between Hungary and Romania, and, in 1974, was again on leave in Italy (invited by academics in the fields of philology and Romanic languages), Austria, and ultimately West Berlin (where the Academy organized a gala in his honor). In 1975, he printed his last anthumous work, an album-monograph dedicated to Quattrocento painter Sandro Botticelli (published by Editura Meridiane).Braga, p.XXXVII] He had completed work on his only novel, "Biserica neagră", whose anti-communist undertones meant that it could not be published at home. Instead, the text circulated in "samizdat" form, and was made into a series by the Munich-based Radio Free Europe, which broadcast clandestinely inside Romania.

In March 1977, Baconsky and his wife Clara fell victims to the 7.2 Richter scale earthquake which devastated Bucharest. At the time, Baconsky was preparing for a new trip abroad: complying with Communist Romania's restrictions on the use of passports, he had just asked authorities to release the document, and was carrying it on his person. His last volumes, "Biserica neagră" and "Corabia lui Sebastian" ("Sebastian's Ship"), remained unpublished.

Work, style and creative periods

Communism and Socialist Realism

After his short affiliation to Surrealism, a style which is almost entirely absent from his published work, Baconsky embraced a style which reflected his communist sympathies, and which is most often seen as the source of some of his poorest work. Cornel Ungureanu describes the early 1950s Baconsky as "an exponent of socialist realism" and a "passionate supporter of the communist utopia"; his stance in respect to the authorities was described by literary historian Alex Drace-Francis as "conformist" [Drace-Francis, p.72] (a word also used by Călinescu), while Paul Cernat circumscribes Baconsky to the "pure and tough Stalinism" of the day.

His early works are seen by literary critic Sorin Tomuţa as "an unfortunate debut with conjectural lyrics".Sorin Tomuţa, biographical note to A. E. Baconsky, "Remember". Viena", in Babeţi & Ungureanu, p.84] Likened by Matei Călinescu to the debut writings of the younger communist author Dan Deşliu, they became the topic of criticism from as early as the Nicolae Ceauşescu years: Mircea Braga called them "platitudes" and "at most, documents for a certain mindset and 'artistic' practice", noting that their own author had come to reject them in later years.Braga, p.IX] He also cites fellow critic Alexandru Piru, who defines Baconsky's early productions as bearing "the strong imprint of journalism".

This series included controversial stanzas about communization, collectivization, class struggle against wealthy peasants known as "chiaburi".ro icon Bogdan Creţu, [http://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/BCRETUoct7.html "A. E. Baconsky: un destin contorsionat, oglindit în propria operă"] , in "Convorbiri Literare", October 2007] One of his best-known poems included the lines:

It was also at this stage that the poet began introducing references to remote or exotic locations in his works. His poems began to speak of mysterious Baltic and Northern European landscapes, of ancient roads, medieval settings and the desolation of history, as well as of Romania's natural sights (the Danube Delta and the Carpathian Mountains) and scenes from Romanian history (involving the Dacians, the Scythes and the Thracians, or the Moldavian Prince Stephen the Great). [Braga, p.XVI-XIX, XXI-XXII, XXVII-XXVIII] The pieces show his enduring fascination with water environments, which, according to Braga, he used to illustrate the "all-encompassing dynamic." [Braga, p.XIX]

"Cadavre în vid" and "Corabia lui Sebastian"

With the somber collection "Cadavre în vid", Baconsky entered what Braga calls a "forth artistic phase" (after Surrealism, Socialist Realism and the first change in orientation). Braga however insists that the change between the final two phases is not radical, and that they are separated by a break rather than a tear. [Braga, p.XI, XXXVIII] Braga also believes that, in his depictions of melancholy and disease, Baconsky again focuses on unease and "the denial of the irreplaceable" (while letting the reader know that such a denial is "useless and inefficient"). [Braga, p.XVI] In a 1985 essay, poet and critic Dinu Flămând discusses "Cadavre în vid" as "a book of suffering, unique in our literature, a tragic perception of the disinherited, a nightmare of teratologic dreams in the new 'electronic season' ". It includes "Sonet negru" ("Black Sonnet"), which Braga calls an "exceptional" sample of "feverish tensions, infinite searches [...] , obscure impulses": [Braga, p.XIII]

Mircea Braga writes that this and other late volumes, showing "a world born out of nightmares", are the product of several influences: alongside George Bacovia's melancholic poems, they host echoes from both Expressionism and Postmodern literature. [Braga, p.XXII-XXIII] Flămând ranks the posthumous "Corabia lui Sebastian" among "the best works written in this second half of the [20th] century", and compares its "cynicism" to the existential philosophy of Emil Cioran. [Braga, p.V]

By that stage, Baconsky also became noted for theorizing the rejection of "consumerism", advocating instead a return to established cultural values. According to Flămând's 1985 essay, Baconsky's rejection of "consumerism" and the West was decisive, and culminated in a virulent decision of what Baconsky is known to have called "the occidental pharaoh". Braga also writes that, in both "Cadavre în vid" and "Corabia lui Sebastian", Baconsky depicts his own version of a "crisis of the West" (the "Abendland" forming a setting of one poem), which he believed may have referenced Oswald Spengler's similar verdict ("see The Decline of the West"). [Braga, p.XXIII-XXVI] According to Mircea Braga, one of his last interviews shows that, while still criticized for "aestheticism", Baconsky merged his lyricism with an interest in social matters.Braga, p.XXII] The statement reads: "The writer is not a politician in the common and consecrated sense of the word. He does however have "the role of a spiritual ferment" [italics in the original] . He must not allow people to acquire cerebral obesity. He is always dissatisfied with something or other, his position is that of a permanent antithesis with the surrounding reality." Braga believes Baconsky's moral "rigor" to bear a "Transylvanian sign", and to have been ultimately inspired by the philosophy of Lucian Blaga.

This anti-capitalist vision is questioned by Cernat. The critic indicates that, although sincere in its patriotism, it was also "compatible" with the mixture of communism and nationalism introduced by the Ceauşescu regime, and thus similar with the philosophical discourse of Constantin Noica.

Prose

With "Remember", Drace-Francis argues, Baconsky advanced a technique first used by avant-garde writers of the 1930s, which transcended the norms imposed by traditional travel accounts in order to express "the inadequate representational possibilities of traditional forms" and to comment on the metaphysics of reality.Drace-Francis, p.73] Baconsky thus depicts his journey as an "interior adventure". This type of discourse, Drace-Francis contends, was a hint to his readers that the regime would not allow him to recount every detail of his journey. In Tomuţa's view, the depiction of Vienna, with a focus on "the glorious vestiges of the past", takes the reader on a "voluptuous time travel." In his definition, Baconsky's Vienna encloses a secondary reality, that is "ideal", "aestheticized", "fictional" and "bookish".

Drace-Francis also notes that the climate of relative liberalization and détente of the 1960s not only made such journeys possible, but actually allowed writers the freedom to go beyond stereotyped depictions of capitalism (while it remained uncertain whether Communist Romania's dialog with the West would "dominate the construction of epistemic value"). Overall, Cornel Ungureanu comments, Baconsky's accounts of his western travels are marked by "dark visions of the world." Ungureanu sees this as a sign of Baconsky's having "descended into Hell". Cernat, who extends his critique of Baconsky's anti-capitalist attitude to "Remember", also argues that the author's "absolute freedom" of travel under a repressive regime indicates that his work was not perceived as a threat by the communist system.

Baconsky's prose fiction is closely linked to the themes and style of his poetry. In Braga's view, the fantasy collection "Echinoxul nebunilor" is a prosaic representative of its author's early commitment to aestheticism; according to Cernat, its tone is "apocalyptic". A characteristic of Baconsky's prose fiction is its resemblance to his poetry works, to the point where they were described by Crina Bud as "hybrid forms". In Bogdan Creţu's view, "Biserica neagră", Baconsky's only novel, is written with "alexandrine-like purity". Likewise, the "Corabia lui Sebastian" poems were noted for moving into the realm of prose. This transgression of limits summoned objections from prominent literary critic Nicolae Manolescu, who reportedly believed Baconsky's work to be largely without merit.

"Biserica neagră" is also read as his most subversive work, described by critics as a "counter-utopia". Ungureanu sees it as a "Kafkaesque" work of absurdist inspiration, and a further sign of the author "descending into Hell". Crina Bud links the anti-utopian quality to contemporary writings by, among others, Matei Călinescu ("Viaţa şi opiniile lui Zacharias Lichter", "The Life and Opinions of Zacharias Lichter") and Baconsky's friend Octavian Paler ("Viaţa pe un peron"—"Life on a Platform"; "Un om norocos"—"A Lucky Man"). Written from the perspective of a sculptor, who is probably a transposition of Baconsky himself, it is a parable of totalitarian command, artistic submission, individual despair and withdrawal. The volume also offers a glimpse into the world of political imprisonment under communism.

Legacy

Anatol E. Baconsky was a noted presence in the literary community of his day, and is believed to have influenced poet, novelist and translator Petre Stoica (who is described by Ungureanu as the writer's "friend and emulator"). Baconsky's poems were parodied by Marin Sorescu in his 1964 volume, "Singur printre poeţi" ("Alone among Poets"). Sorescu's poem, titled "A. E. Baconsky. Imn către necunoscutul din mine" ("Hymn to the Unknown within Me"), makes use of Baconsky's lyrical style and displays of culture, showing the poet meditating about the ancient Scythian and Thracian peoples. It begins with the lines:

Unusual episodes involving Baconsky's death were reported by two of his writer friends, Octavian Paler and Petre Stoica—Paler recalled that the only book to have fallen out of his shelf during the 1977 earthquake was "Remeber"; Stoica told a similar story involving a painting that Baconsky had made, and which he had received as a gift. The writer's death, Cernat writes, was a "troubling coincidence" with that of Alexandru Ivasiuc: a former communist who, like Baconsky, had "radicalized" his vision and authored non-conformist pieces, Ivasiuc was himself a victim of the 1977 earthquake.

In the months following Baconsky's death, his new monograph on Sandro Botticelli, centered on the artist's illustrations for Dante Aligheri's "Divine Comedy", was published in Romanian (re-issued in English during 1982). Cartea Românească reprinted "Remember" (1977), then "Corabia lui Sebastian" (1978). Also in 1978, his profile was included in "9 pentru eternitate" ("9 for Eternity"), a volume dedicated to the literary men who had died during the earthquake, and edited by Mircea Micu and Gheorghe Tomozei. Eleven years later, a selection of his art criticism essays was published under the title "Itinerarii plastice" ("Artistic Itineraries"). "Biserica neagră" was only printed after the 1989 Revolution toppled communism.

Of the several books dedicated to his life and work, Crina Bud's 2006 volume, "Rolurile şi rolul lui A. E. Baconsky în cultura română" ("The Roles and Role of A. E. Baconsky in Romanian Culture"), is described by reviewers as one of the most complete. Bogdan Creţu comments that views of Baconsky are traditionally divided between two "extremist" positions: "he was either castigated for his sins of youth [...] or mythicized and raised to a level that his work could not have honored." Like Crina Bud, he believes Baconsky to have been a "vanquisher from a moral point of view", adding that he earned "absolution" from the victims of communism: "the writer passed the fire ordeal: he confessed." However, Cernat believes, Baconsky, like his fellow disillusioned communist Paler, refused to record his disappointment in writing other than allusively.

Baconsky and his wife Clara were noted art collectors. They owned representative works of Romanian art, particularly modern, including paintings by Dimitrie Ghiaţă, Ştefan Dimitrescu, Iosif Iser and Lucian Grigorescu, as well as drawings by Constantin Jiquidi, Theodor Pallady and Nicolae Tonitza.ro icon [http://www.mnar.arts.ro/ro/muzsatelit/colectie.php?Colectie=Colec%C5%A3ia%20Clara%20%C5%9Fi%20Anatol%20E.%20Baconsky "Colecţia Clara şi Anatol E. Baconsky"] , at the National Museum of Art of Romania; retrieved July 19, 2008] Their collection also included 19th century Romanian Orthodox icons and early prints from William Hogarth's "A Rake's Progress". In 1982, the family donated these works to the National Museum, which set up a "Baconsky Collection". 21 other works were donated to the Museum of Art Collections, where they also form a separate fund. [ro icon Florena Dobrescu, [http://www.adevarul.ro/articole/muzeul-colectiilor-de-arta-a-fost-redeschis-publicului/65363 "Muzeul Colecţiilor de Artă a fost redeschis publicului"] , in "Adevărul", December 27, 2003] Many of the books owned by Baconsky were donated by his brother Leon to the Library in Călimăneşti-Căciulata (which was consequently renamed the "Anatol E. Baconsky Library"). [ro icon [http://www.primariacalimanesti.ro/istorie.htm "File de istorie..."] at the [http://www.primariacalimanesti.ro/istorie.htm Călimăneşti-Căciulata Town Hall] ; retrieved July 19, 2008]

Published volumes

Poetry and prose fiction

* "Poezii", poems, 1950
* "Copiii din Valea Arieşului", poems, 1951
* "Cîntece de zi şi noapte", poems, 1954
* "Două poeme", poems, 1956
* "Dincolo de iarnă", poems, 1957
* "Fluxul memoriei", poems, 1957; retrospective edition, 1967
* "Versuri", poems, 1961
* "Imn către zorii de zi", poems, 1962
* "Versuri", poems, 1964
* "Fiul risipitor", poems, 1964
* "Echinoxul nebunilor şi alte povestiri", short story anthology, 1967
* "Cadavre în vid", poems, 1969
* "Corabia lui Sebastian", poems, posthumous edition, 1978
* "Biserica neagră", novel, in "Scrieri", vol. II, posthumous edition, 1990

Travel writing

* "Itinerar bulgar", 1954
* "Călătorii în Europa şi Asia", 1960
* "Cluj şi împrejurimile sale. Mic îndreptar turistic", 1963
* "Remember", vol. I, 1968; vol. II, 1969

Criticism

* "Colocviu critic", 1957
* "Meridiane. Pagini despre literatura universală contemporană", 1965; second edition, 1969
* "Dimitrie Ghiaţă", 1971
* "Ion Ţuculescu", 1972
* "Botticelli", 1974
* "Botticelli, Divina Comedie", posthumous edition, 1977

Translations

* "Poeţi clasici coreeni", 1960
* Salvatore Quasimodo, "Versuri", 1961; second edition, 1968
* Jorge Semprún, "Marea călătorie", 1962
* Artur Lundkvist, "Versuri", 1963
* "Poeţi şi poezie", 1963
* "Mahabharata - Arderea zmeilor", 1964
* Carl Sandburg, "Versuri", 1965
* "Panorama poeziei universale contemporane", anthology, 1973

Notes

References

*Adriana Babeţi, Cornel Ungureanu, "Europa Centrală. Memorie, paradis, apocalipsă", Polirom, Iaşi, 1998, p.324-336. ISBN 973-683-131-0
*Mircea Braga, preface and chronological table to A. E. Baconsky, "Fluxul memoriei", Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1987. OCLC|25027073
*Matei Călinescu, Ion Vianu, "Amintiri în dialog. Memorii", Polirom, Iaşi, 2005. ISBN 973-681-832-2
*Alex Drace-Francis, "Paradoxes of Occidentalism: On Travel Literature in Ceauşescu's Romania", in Andrew Hammond (ed.), "The Balkans and the West. Constructing the European Other, 1945-2003", Ashgate Publishing, London etc., 2004. ISBN 0754632342