Nicolae Manolescu (in 2012)

Nicolae Manolescu (Romanian pronunciation: [nikoˈla.e manoˈlesku]; b. 27 November 1939, Râmnicu Vâlcea) is a Romanian literary critic.[1][2] As an editor of România Literară literary magazine, he has reached a record in reviewing books for almost 30 years.[3] Elected a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy in 1997, he was upgraded to titular member in 2013.

During the civil unrest of the 1960s, because of critical opinions voiced against Gheorghe Gheorghiu Dej and the Romanian Communist regime, he was expelled from the University of Bucharest, where he was studying philology.

After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, he was a founding member of the Civic Alliance (AC) in November 1990, and, after July 1991, began a political career as leader of the minor Civic Alliance Party (PAC), a group that had split from the Alliance to pursue a more political activism, being its candidate for presidency in the 1992 elections; Manolescu subsequently represented the party in the Senate.[4] In 1993 Nicolae Manolescu was a leader of a short lived PNL,[5] a Romanian political party which in 1998 had merged with the National Liberal Party (PNL). Prior to its merger, Manolescu was its leader during the 1996 Romanian general election;[6] as the party's presidential candidate, he finished ninth with 0.7% of the vote. Until 2000, he was a member of the PNL National Council, when he resigned from this position and retreated from political life.

Manolescu has published over 40 volumes on Romanian literature, the most acclaimed being A Critical History of Romanian Literature (vol.1) and a history of Romanian novels, entitled Arca lui Noe. His distinction between "doric", "ionic", and "corinthic" novels originated in the traditional orders of the columns of Ancient Greek temples, and covers the distinction between realistic, psychological first person narratives and contemporary, postmodern novels. He has also been the host of the popular Profesiunea mea, cultura ("My Profession Is Culture"), a talk show on cultural matters, aired by Pro TV between 1998 and 2001.[7]

He is a professor at the University of Bucharest,[8] from which he has received a Ph.D. in Letters. He is the President of the Romanian Writers' Union,[9] and was designated the Romanian ambassador to UNESCO in 2006.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Romania Alliance Chooses Leader". The Free Lance-Star. July 8, 1991. p. 4.
  2. ^ Avram Eliza (March 31, 2011). "Criticul Nicolae Manolescu, verificat de ANI" (in Romanian). Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  3. ^ Victor Roncea (January 29, 2010). "Nicolae Manolescu a pus "România literară" în slujba Gold Corporation". International Curentul (in Romanian). Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  4. ^ Petru Popescu (November 21, 1991). "A Romanian Journal: Exile's Return: The Author Fled His Homeland by Hoodwinking Ceausescu. Now He Returns to Find Small Dramas of Hope Amid a Profound Sense of Isolation". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ^ Imogen Bell. Central and South-Eastern Europe 2003 (4th ed.). Europa Publications. p. 498. ISBN 1857431863. ISSN 1470-5699.
  6. ^ Bogdan Lefter (July 9, 1996). "Presidential Campaign in Romania". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  7. ^ "Pro TV renunţă la o emisiune pe care o difuza de 16 ani" [Pro TV quits a show which it has been broadcasting for 16 years]. Gândul. December 7, 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  8. ^ Michael Shafir (April 4, 2001). "East European Perspectives". Vol. 3, no. 7. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  9. ^ "Nicolae Manolescu, elected President of the Romanian Writers' Union". Vaaju. March 5, 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  10. ^ "Ambasadorul României la UNESCO, Nicolae Manolescu, Doctor Honoris Causa al SNSPA" [Romanian Ambassador to UNESCO, Nicolae Manolescu, Doctor Honoris Causa of SNSPA]. SNSPA. November 12, 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
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