Conferences
Alex. Stefanescu: Who needs literature today?
On Sunday 22nd of March 2015, at 11.00 o'clock, in The Black Box Hall of TNB (The National Theatre of Bucharest), Alex. Ștefănescu will give a conference on the topic Who needs literature today?
About the conference
"I am often asked: who needs literature today? Here is my answer: we all need literature, but we don't know we need it.
Hundreds of years ago, seamen sailing across seas and oceans for a long time got sick with a mysterious disease: they got spots on their face and on their legs, their gums bled, they became hideous. No one knew why. Many years later it was discovered that the disease - called scurvy - was caused by the lack of vitamin C in sailors' food (sailors used to eat, owing to the force of circumstances, biscuits, pastrami, but not fresh fruit and vegetables.
We are in a similar situation. We grow uglier and uglier and we do not see why. People who read are beautiful. Of course, reading doesn't change facial features. The design of our physiognomy doesn't change. But the face of a cultivated man irradiates noble-mindedness, it is surrounded by some sort of a halo which is very easily seen." (Alex. Ștefănescu)
Despre Alex. Ștefănescu
Critic and literary historian, novelist, playwright, journalist, producer of TV shows. Born on 6 November 1947. Editor (since 1990) and chief-editor (during 1995-2010) of the Literary Romania (România Literară) magazine.
Author of thousands of articles and of 24 books, among which The History of The Contemporary Romanian Literature was a great success. 1941-2000, published in 2005 (The Union of Writers Award, The Academy Award). The volumes Secret Diary - 2009and Male asleep in his armchair - 2010 went out of print in bookstores and were reprinted by popular demand.
A cubic meter of culture Show, broadcasted by Reality TV (Realitatea TV) won him the APTR Award for talk-shows in 2004 and another show, made for TVR Cultural, The History of The Contemporary Romanian Literature retold by Alex. ȘtefĂnescu - won him The APTR Award for cultural programs in 2008.
In 2009 he published a book about two hundred and fifty bad books, How you can fail as a writer. Also in 2009 he began to make The Pearly Hood, a TV show on the same topic. Between 2011-2013, this was followed by The Public Lighting Show, dedicated to valuable books published after 1989.
Alex. Ștefănescu's latest books are Texts That Used To Nothing, A Writer, Two Writers and Message To the Youth. Rediscover Literature !, all published in 2014.
At the end of the conference, the writer will give autographs on his latest book, Message To the Youth. Rediscover Literature! Bucharest, Curtea Veche Publishing House, 2014 (second edition - 2015). Volume price - 20 lei .
Photo credit : Eduard Enea
Translated by Aureliana Grama
MTTLC, University of Bucharest
