Marin Sorescu was born in the village of Bulzesti, county of Dolj, the fifth child of a family of peasants. He attended secondary schools in Craiova and Predeal, graduating from Iasi University in Philology. He worked as editor-in-chief of the literary review Ramuri.
His first volume of poetry Singur Printre Poeti (Along Amongst Poets) appeared in 1964, followed by numerous volumes of poetry, prose and drama.
His first play, Jonah, was published in 1968, followed by The Verger in 1970, and The Matrix in 1973. In 1974 the three were included as a trilogy in The Thirst of the Salt Mountain [...]
His work has been translated into many languages, and his plays performed throughout the world.
In 1974 he was awarded the drama prize by the Writers' Union of Romania and in 1978 the international prize 'Le Muze' by the Academia delle Muze, Florence. In 1983 he was made a correspondent member of the Mallarmé Academy in Paris and in December of the same year he received the International Poetry Prize 'Fernando Riello' in Madrid.
Singur printre poeti (Along Among Poets)
Satirical poems,
Editura pentru literatura, Bucharest.
Poeme (Poems)
Editura pentru literatura, Bucharest,
awarded with the Romanian Writers' Union Prize
Moartea ceasului (Death of the Clock),
poems, Editura Tineretului, Bucharest.
Unde fugim de acasa? (Where Do We Go When Running Away?)
prose for children,
Editura Tineretului, Bucharest.
Tineretea lui Don Quijote
(Don Quijote's Tender Years),
poems,
Editura Tineretului, Bucharest.
Iona (Jonah),
drama,
Editura pentru literatura, Bucharest.
Există nervi (Nerves do Exist),
comedy,
first performance in the Cassandra Studio, Bucharest.
Kugeln und Reifen,
poems,
translated into German by Dieter Roth,
Bucharest, Editura pentru literatura.
Ikaruszosdi,
poems,
translated into hungarian by Balogh Joszef,
Editura Tineretului, Bucharest.
Jonah,
first performance in Paris,
Theatre Lucernaire.
Zivot u tocke,
poems,
"Bagdala", Yugoslavia.
Teoria sferelor de influentă (Theory Influence Spheres),
essays,
Editura Eminescu, Bucharest.
Was awarded with the Prize for Drama by the Romanian Academy
Paracliserul (The Verger),
drama,
Editura Eminescu, Bucharest.
Punkt wizdenia,
poems,
PIW, Warsow, Poland.
Vibracie (Vibration),
poems,
Slovensky Spisovatel, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia.
Unghi (Angle),
verse anthology,
Editura Cartea Romaneasca, Bucharest.
Iona (Jonah),
drama,
Theatreverlag, Kurt Desch, Munchen.
Tusiti (Cough),
poems,
Editura Tineretului, Bucharest.
O aripă si-un picior (On a Wing, on a Leg),
poems,
Editura Albatros, Bucharest.
Der Kuster,
drama,
Theatreverlag, Kurt Desch, Munchen.
Insomni (Sleepness),
essays, Editura Tineretului, Bucharest.
Ionah,
first performance in Zurich, Switzerland, Theatre an der Winkelwiese.
Ionah,
first performance in Freiburg in Breigsbau, West Germany.
Egyutt almodunk,
verse anthology, Europa Publishing House, Budapest, Hungary.
80 poezii (80 poems),
bilingual edition Romanian-Italian, Bucharest.
Frames,
poems, bilingual edition Romanian-English, Eminescu Publishing House and Iowa University Press, USA.
Ionah,
first performance in Tampere, Finland.
Suflete, bun la toate (Odd-Job Soul), poems,
Editura Tineretului, Bucharest.
Paracliserul (The Sixton),
first performance in Skoplye, Yugoslavia.
La lilieci (By the Liliacs),
poems, Editura Eminescu, Bucharest.
Astfel (And So),
poems, Editura Junimea, Iasi.
Ocolul infinitului mic (Around the Small Universe Starting from Nothing),
poems, Editura Ion Creanga, Bucharest.
Matca (The Matrix),
drama, first performance, Teatrul Mic, Bucharest.
Aberglaube,
poems, LOB Editionen, translation by Oskar Pastior, West Berlin.
Setea muntelui de sare (The Thirst of the Salt Mountain),
plays including Jonah, The Sixton, The Source, Medusa's Raftand Nerves Do Exist,
Editura Cartea Romaneasca, Bucharest.
Verse anthology,
Moscú, USSR.
Norii (Clouds),
poetry anthology, Editura Scrisul Romanesc, Craiova.
Framknalling,
poetry anthology, Tidens, Stockholm, Sweden.
Poeme,
"The Most Beautiful Poems" Series, Bucharest.
Noach, ich will dir was sagen,
poems, Inselverlag, Frankfurt am Main, West Germany.
Matca,
first performance in Piatra Neamt, directed by the author.
The Source,
Nations Theatre Festival in Warsaw.
The Source,
first performance in Teatr Polski Bydgeszezy, Poland.
Troyannische Pferde,
poems, translated by Dieter Roth, Editura Kriterion, Bucharest.
The source,
first performance in Helsinki (National Theatre), Finland
Matca,
Editura Eminescu, Bucharest.
Smiles and Sarcasm,
poems, Dorikos Publishing House Athens, Greece.
Descîntoteca (Disenchantmenteque),
Editura Scrisul Romanesc, Craiova.
A Cold,
drama, "Teatru" magazine nr. 3, Bucharest.
Was awarded the prize of the Writers' Association Bucharest
Keramia,
poems, Editura Albatros, Bucharest.
Jonah,
first performance in Port Jefferson, USA.
Starea de destin,
essays, Editura Junimea, Iasi.
Three Front Teeth,
novel, Editura Eminescu, Bucharest.
The Cold,
first performance, Bulandra Theatre, Bucharest.
Participation in the BITEF Festival,
Belgrad, Yugoslavia.
To the Lilac Tree,
2nd volum, poems, Editura Cartea Romaneasca, Bucharest.
The Source,
first performance at the State Theatre of Oradea (Romania), Hungarian Section.
Itinerant Feasts,
poems, Editura Cartea Romaneasca, Bucharest.
A treia teapa (The Third Stake),
drama, awarded with the Prize of the Romanian Writers' Union.
Als ich einmal fliegen wollte,
Editura Ion Creanga, Bucharest.
Ceramics,
poems, Editura Militara, Bucharest.
La Juventud de Don Quijote-Tineretea lui Don Quijote,
poems, bilingual Romanian-Spanish edition, Editura Eminescu, Bucharest.
The Third Stake,
first performance in el Theatre Nacional de Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Craiova.
The Cold-Răceala,
drama, bilingual edition, Editura Junimea, Iasi.
Don Quijote's Tender Years-Tineretea lui Don Quijote,
poems, bilingual edition, Editura Cartea Romaneasca, Bucharest y Corycin Press, Iowa City, USA.
Theatru,
drama anthology, Editura Scrisul Romanesc, Craiova.
Medusa's Raft,
first performance in Paris and Petrosani (Romania).
L'Ouragan de papier,
poems, Ed. St. Germain des Prés, Paris.
Nerves Do Exist,
first performance at the Comedy Theatre Bucharest.
La lilieci (By the Liliacs),
3rd volume, Ed. Cartea Romaneasca, Bucharest.
Kemeneink Fuste,
poems, Ed. Kriterion, Bucharest.
Giona (Jonah),
Napoli, Italy.
Poznavame se,
poetry anthology, Narodna Kultura, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Hidegleses,
drama anthology, Ed. Europa, Budapest.
Nerves Do Exist,
first performance at the Comedy Theatre, Bucharest.
Viziunea vizuinii,
novel, Ed. Albatros, Bucharest.
Luptătorul pe două fronturi,
drama, the literary reviews "Ramuri" in Craiova and "Convorbiri literare" in Iasi.
Gedichten,
poetry anthology, Ed. Elsewier-Manteau, Antwerpen-Amsterdam.
Poemas. La Juventud de Don Quijote,
Visor de Poesía, Madrid.
Tri predni ziba,
Narodna Kultura, Sofia.
Pod Vratata,
poetry anthology, Misla, Skoplye.
This Hour,
poetry anthology, Logbridge-Rhodes, Durango, Colorado, USA, translated by Michael Hamburger.
Symetries,
poetry anthology, translated by por John Robert Colombo and Petronela Negosanu, Hounslow Press, Toronto, Canada.
Fîntîni în mare,
poems, Ed. Eminescu, Bucharest.
La muerte del reloj,
poetry and drama, translated into Spanish by Manuel Serrano Pérez, Ed. Univers, Bucharest.
Selected Poems,
Bloodaxe Books, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, Michael Hamburger version.
Drumul,
poetry selection, Ed. Minerva, Bucharest.
Iesirea prin cer,
drama anthology,
Ed. Eminescu, Bucharest.
Ceramique,
poetry selection, Ed. St. Germain des Prés/UNESCO (Oeuvres representatives), Paris.
El Huracán de papel,
poems, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, México, translated into Spanish by Marco Antonio Campos.
Let's Talk about the Weather,
poetry selection, Forest Books, London.
The Thirst of the Salt Mountain,
a trilogy of plays, Forest Books, London.
Tratat de inspiratie,
essays and interviews, Ed. Scrisul Romanesc, Craiova.
Abendrot Nr. 15,
poetry selection translated by Oskar Pastior, Piper Verlag, Munchen.
Usor cu pianul pe scări,
Ed. Cartea Romaneasca, Bucharest.
El Ecuador y los Polos,
poetry selection, translated into Spanish by Omar Lara, Ediciones Hiperion, Madrid.
66 Poems,
Centre of International Studies, Lyon III University Lyon, translated by Jean-Louis Courriol.
Cocostîrcul Gît-Sucit,poems, Ed. Ion Creanga, Bucharest.
The Biggest Egg in the World,
poetry selection, translated by Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes, Michael Hamburger, D.J. Enright, David Constantine, Michael Longley, Paul Muldoon, William Scammel; Bloodaxe Books, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.
The Youth of Don Quijote,
poetry selection, translated by John F. Deane, Dedalus Press, Dublin.
Vlad Dracula-The Impaler,
Forest Books, London.
Poesie d'amore,
poetry selection, translated by Gh. Caragiani, Gabriela Bertini, Dick Person, Napoli, Italy.
Apă vie, apă moartă,
poems, Ed. Scrisul Romanesc, Craiova.
Kabulat,
poetry selection in Hungarian version, Ed. Albatros, Bucharest.
Papironkan,
poems, Ed. Kriterion, Bucharest.
To the Liliac Tree,
poems, IVth volume, Ed. Scrisul Romanesc Publishing House, Craiova.
Lovratac Faraona (The Return of Faraon),
poems, YKYT Publishing House, Belgrad.
Cousin Shakespeare,
drama, fragments published in literary magazines.
First personal exhibition of paintings
in the Art Museum in Brasov.
Ionas, het volat van de meduse (Jonah, the Raft Of The Medusa),
Publishing House of the Amsterdam University.
Paysans du Danube (Peasants of the Danube),
poems selected from To the Liliac Tree, Editions Jaqueline Chambron, Nîmes, France.
The Equator and the Poles,
poems, Facla Publishing House, Timisoara.
Lyrics,
translations from Boris Pasternak poetry, 2nd edition.
Second personal exhibition of paintings
in the Art Collections Museum in Cluj.
Odet och Alfabetet (Scaune in alfabet),
Symposium Borkforlag, Stockholm, Sweden.
Eja te ta them nje fjale (Am zarit lumina),
poems, Ed. Rilindja-Prishtine, Albania.
Poems, first volum, definitive edition,
Scrisul Romanesc Publishing House, Craiova, Romania.
Poems selected by the Censorship (Poezii alese de cenzura),
Roza Vinturilor Publishing House, Bucharest.
Member of the Romanian Academy.
La Vision de la tanière (Viziunea vizuinii),
novel, Ed. Jacqueline-Chambin, Nîmes, France.
Hands Behind my Back (Cu miinile la spate),
poems, Oberlin College Press, Field translation, USA.
Jag sagljus pa jorden (Am zarit lumina pe pamînt),
poems, Ed. Bonniers, Sweden.
Iona,
drama, translated in Benghali, Sa hitya Academy, New Delhi.
Der Fakir als Anfanger (Fachirul incepator),
poems, Ed. Akzente Hanser, Germany.
Participates at an exhibition in Paris,
Maison de la Radio, with 3 works.
Varul Shakespeare si alte piese,
drama, Ed. Cartea Romaneasca, Bucharest.
Personal exhibition of paintings
at Sala Ronda at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bucharest (47 works).
Iona, A treia teapa, Varul Shakespeare,
drama anthology,
Ed. Minerva, Bucharest.
Poems,
2nd volume, definitive edition definitiva,
Ed. Scrisul Romanesc, Craiova.
Pesme (Poems),
poems,
Novi Sad.
Cirip-Ciorap,
poems for children,
Ed. Junior Club, Bucharest.
Nje flate dhe nje kembe,
poems.
Trei dinti din fata,
novel,
Ed. Creuzet, Bucharest.
"For a dramatist, history is like a bone to a dog. It arouses that state of covetous exaltation, the eyes grow larger at such a heap of facts and ready-made dramas, all senses are alerted. Inspiration wets the lips and wags its tail; the marrow of life stands before it -enticing it. I wrote The Third Stake several years ago and then had in mind various stage presentations and certain intonations of actors, but I can no longer remember them. On the eve of the publication of this English translation, I have re-read the text 'with new and different eyes' as the saying goes. In essence, the problem posed here is one of symmetry, but how far is it resolved? This is a personal opinion, but the moments of leaping backwards and forwards occur only when this symmetry is lost, when imbalance occurs. The Roman poet Lucretius spoke of atoms which deviate, which fall awkwardly in the void, and thought that from this small deviation life was created -an aberration, a happening in the cosmos. I have tried to study, both as poet and playwright, several of thes knots of world history which, when unravelled, have had repercussions on Romanian history as well -on my personal history, to coin a phrase. Such a knot is the fall of Byzantium. [...] I feel like giving up writing plays and prefaces when I think that Shakespeare would have written this in the form of a verse prologue, and Lord, with what artistry, and with how many plays upon words between 'history' and 'anecdote', and with what masterly definitions of history! Anyway this one is almost finished. I'll go back to the beginning: It is generally said of writers that they have, or lack, a good intuition of the present. I have tried to practise my intuition of the past. An exercise in shooting with a bow and arrow. An exercise in moving the moving targets at which you release your arrow. A supplement to the ebb of time which has long drifted down the hour-glass. It so happens that as I write these words it's snowing outside. I look out of the window and see that the flakes are slipping obliquely from the sky towards the roof-tops to the ground. Like the atoms of Lucretius."
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