Dumitru Radu Popescu (; 19 August 1935 – 2 January 2023) was a Romanian novelist, poet, dramatist, essayist and short story writer. He was a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy and was, between 1980 and 1990, Chairman of the

Romanian Writers' Union The Writers' Union of Romania (), founded in March 1949, is a professional association of writers in Romania. It also has a subsidiary in Chișinău, Republic of Moldova. The Writers' Union of Romania was created by the communist regime by taking ...

. His 1973 novel ''Vînatoarea Regală'' ("The Royal Hunt") was translated into English in 1988. His works have been described as " magical realism" and compared with those of Italo Calvino.

Biography

Born in Păușa village, Nojorid ( Bihor County), he attended the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Cluj, but left before completing his studies. Later, he studied at Babeș-Bolyai University (Faculty of Philology). He then worked as a reporter for the literary magazine ', from 1956 to 1969, and served as editor of ' magazine, from 1969 to 1982. From 1982 he was editor-in-chief of '' Contemporanul''. Since 2006, he has been the General Manager of the Romanian Academy's publishing house. Popescu received the Prize of the Romanian Writers' Union on five occasions (in 1964, 1969, 1974, 1977 and 1980), and the Prize of the Romanian Academy in 1970. In addition to his literary activities, beginning in 1968, he was a substitute member of the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

of the

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that woul ...

and was elected to the Great National Assembly in 1975. From 1979 to 1989, he was a full member of the committee. In 1983, one of his books was in the middle of a fight between a Romanian review, '' România Literară'', and a Russian one, ''

Literaturnaya Gazeta ''Literaturnaya Gazeta'' (russian: «Литературная Газета», ''Literary Gazette'') is a weekly cultural and political newspaper published in Russia and the Soviet Union. It was published for two periods in the 19th century, and ...

''. For the Russians, his book about life after the war was too dark.

Death

Popescu died on 2 January 2023, at the age of 87.

Works

Novels *''Zilele Saptămânii'' ("Weekdays", 1959) *''Vara Oltenilor'' ("The Oltenians' Summer", 1964) *''F'' (1969) *''Vînatoarea Regală'' ("The Royal Hunt", 1973) *''O bere pentru calul meu'' ("A Beer for my Horse", 1974) *''Ploile de Dincolo de Vreme'' ("Rains Beyond Time", 1976) *''Împaratul Norilor'' ("Emperor of the Clouds", 1976) *''Iepurele șchiop'' ("The Lame Rabbit", 1980) *''Oraşul îngerilor'' ("The Angels' City", 1985) Short story collections *''Fuga'' ("Flight", 1958) *''Fata de la Miazăzi'' ("A Girl from the South", 1964) *''Somnul Pamîntului'' ("The Earth's Sleep", 1965) *''Dor'' ("Longing", 1966) *''Umbrela de Soare'' ("Parasol", 1967) *''Prea mic pentru un război așa de mare'' ("Too Little for Such a Big War", 1969) *''Duios Anastasia trecea'' ("Tenderly Anastasia Passed", 1967) *''Leul Albastru'' ("The Blue Lion", 1981) Plays *''Vara imposibilei iubiri'' ("The Summer of Impossible Love", 1966) *''Vis'' ("Dream", 1968) *''Acești îngeri triști'' ("Those Sad Angels", 1969) *''Pisica în noaptea Anului Nou'' ("Cat on New Year's Eve", 1970) *''Pasărea Shakespeare'' ("The Shakespeare Bird", 1973) *''Rugaciune pentru un disc-jockey'' ("Pray for a DJ", 1981) *''Rezervația de pelicani'' ("The Pelican Reservation", 1983) Poems *''Câinele de Fosfor'' ("The Phosphorus Dog", 1981) Essays *''Virgule'' ("Commas", 1978)

References

External links

Information at Romania Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Popescu, Dumitru Radu 1935 births 2023 deaths Babeș-Bolyai University alumni People from Bihor County Members of the Great National Assembly Titular members of the Romanian Academy Romanian communists Romanian dramatists and playwrights Romanian essayists Romanian magazine editors Romanian novelists Romanian male novelists Romanian poets Romanian male poets Romanian male short story writers Romanian short story writers Male dramatists and playwrights Male essayists

Biography

Death

Works

Further reading

References

External links