Guest of the ilb 2007
The poet Dan Sociu
was born in the Moldavian regional capital Botoşani in the far north
east of Romania in 1978. He studied political science, philosophy,
Romanian and Slavonic studies at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in
Jassy. He then worked there as a publisher’s reader and since 2005 has
been working as an editor for a Bucharest publishing house.
Sociu belongs to the younger
generation of poets, the so-called poets of »2000« who are often called
representatives of »Miserabilism« by Romanian literary critics. This
expression defines both a tendency to take on the pose of anti-hero and
biographical writing which puts an emphasis on the banality of everyday
life, allowing itself to be influenced by American popular literature.
There is a definite rejection of any continuation of domestic
traditions and the precious claim that literature is art is seen as
grotesque or paradoxical: »i had / not yet seen any writers i thought
they were all / dead, or even more than that.« In contrast, Sociu is
committed to a dialogical poetics that is close to life, in which there
are as many poetic subjects as existentially relevant meetings:
»sometimes I feel that someone has died on me / in my head / then I
embrace myself and wake up / and three days later / I spit out a frozen
body / a tiny foetus / with lively blue / eyes / a small human with
head in hands«.
At numerous readings in Romania
and abroad Sociu has emerged as a charismatic poet, appreciated by the
audience. At first he published cycles of poems and translations in
Romanian literary journals. He has made a name for himself as a member
of the Jassy literature group »Club 8«, which sets out to oppose the
cultural establishment. In 2002 he made his literary début with the
volume »borcane bine legate, bani pentru încă o săptămînă« (t: well
sealed preserving jars, money for one more week) for which he was
awarded the national prize to foster talent »Mihai Eminescu« in 2003. A
year later he published his second volume of poems, »fratele păduche«
(t: brother louse), and in 2005 he made a breakthrough with »cântece
eXcesive« (t: eXcessive songs) which was awarded Best Book of the Year by the Romanian writers’ association.
A selection of Sociu’s poems have
been translated for German and English anthologies. Translations of his
poems have also appeared in the Austrian literary magazine »Wienzeile«.
He himself has also translated Charles Bukowski and published an
anthology of poems by the author. Currently, Sociu is working on his
first novel »Urbancolia«, which is to be published in 2008. He lives in
Bucharest.
© international literature festival berlin
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