ADRIAN POPESCU (Romania)

ADRIAN POPESCU (born May 24, 1947, in Cluj, Romania) is a poet, essayist, translator, and a member of the first generation of the Echinox literary movement. He made his publishing debut with the poetry volume Umbria in 1971.

He worked as a reviser, then editor, and eventually served as editor-in-chief of the literary magazine Steaua from 1999 to 2020. His poetry has been translated into several languages and published in volume form: in German (by Franz Hodjak), in French (by Gérard Bayo), in Serbian (by Dimo Dimcev and Dumitru M. Ion), and in Hungarian (by Farkas Árpád). His work has also been included in anthologies in various languages, including Spanish, Greek, Hebrew, and English, among others. He is the recipient of numerous literary distinctions, including: the Romanian Academy Prize (1989), several awards from the Romanian Writers’ Union (1971, 1979, 1997), the National “Mihai Eminescu” Poetry Prize (2007), the “Tudor Arghezi” Prize (2013), and the “Lucian Blaga” Prize (2017).

Published Works – Umbria (Dacia, 1971 – Debut Prize of the Romanian Writers’ Union), Focul și sărbătoarea (The Fire and the Feast, Dacia, 1975), Cîmpiile magnetice (Magnetic Fields, Eminescu, 1976), Curtea medicilor (The Physicians’ Court, Eminescu, 1979 – Poetry Prize of the Romanian Writers’ Union), Suburbiile cerului (The Suburbs of Heaven, Eminescu, 1982), O milă sălbatică (A Wild Mercy, anthology, afterword by Mircea Iorgulescu, Cartea Românească, 1983), Proba cu polen (The Pollen Trial, Dacia, 1984 – Cluj Writers’ Association Prize), Vocea interioară (The Inner Voice, Dacia, 1987), Călătoria continuă (The Journey Continues, Cartea Românească, 1989 – “Mihai Eminescu” Poetry Prize of the Romanian Academy), Pisicile din Torcello (The Cats of Torcello, Albatros, 1997 – Poetry Prize of the Romanian Writers’ Union; Poesis Magazine Prize; National Book Salon – Cluj Prize; Ateneu Magazine Prize; Familia Magazine Prize), Poezii (Poems, anthology, Vitruviu, 1988), Fără vârstă (Ageless, with a foreword by Dan Cristea, Cartea Românească, 1998), Umbria (anthology, Vinea, Definitive Editions Collection, 2000; 2nd edition: 2007, foreword by Ștefan Borbély), Drumul strâmt (The Narrow Road, Dacia, 2001 – Cluj Branch Poetry Prize of the Romanian Writers’ Union), Dimineața în forul roman (Morning in the Roman Forum, Limes, 2008), Poezii religioase (Religious Poems, anthology and foreword by Ion Buzași, Galaxia Gutenberg, 2010), Ieșirea în larg (Sailing into the Open, anthology, National “Mihai Eminescu” Poetry Prize Laureates Collection, afterword by Ion Pop, Paralela 45, 2010), Cuibul (The Nest, anthology, Tipo Moldova, 2012), Costumul negru (The Black Suit, Cartea Românească, 2013), Corso (Cartea Românească, 2018), Poezii. 1971–2018 (Poems. 1971–2018, Școala Ardeleană, 2018 – “Book of the Year” Award, ex-aequo, awarded by România literară magazine), Planetă dificilă (Difficult Planet, Junimea, 2022).