Zoe Dumitrescu-Bușulenga
- Nicolae Dumitrescu (father)
- Maria (Apostol) Dumitrescu (mother)
Zoe Dumitrescu-Bușulenga (August 20, 1920 – May 5, 2006) was a Romanian comparatist and essayist. A native of the national capital Bucharest, she was educated at its main university and went on to become a professor there. Together with a focus on interdisciplinary studies, she devoted several studies to Mihai Eminescu. Dumitrescu was also a dignitary of the Romanian Communist Party. Following the Romanian Revolution, she lived in Rome for several years, then retired to a monastery.
Biography
Education and academic career
Born in Bucharest, her parents were Nicolae Dumitrescu, a jurist, and his wife Maria (née Apostol).[1] In her native city, she attended primary school (1927–1931) and the Central School for Girls (1931–1939).[2] She was an early lover of music, but unable to pursue a career in the field for medical reasons.[3] Enrolling in the University of Bucharest, she studied law from 1939 to 1943 and literature from 1944 to 1948. She earned a doctorate in 1970. From 1947 to 1948, around the time a communist regime was established in her country, she went to the Soviet Union to attend the Gorky Pedagogical Institute.[2] Dumitrescu worked as an editor at Editura de Stat from 1948 to 1949, and at Editura pentru Literatură until 1957. She was hired as teaching assistant at her alma mater in 1949. She rose to assistant professor in 1951, associate professor in 1963, full professor in 1971 and began chairing the department of universal and comparative literature in 1975.[2] Critic Alex. Ștefănescu, a former student, recalled her courses as being "impressive in their erudition and solemnity, and through a veneration of humanist values visibly at odds with the proletarian egalitarianism promoted by the communist regime". [3]
Having been a researcher there until 1957, she rose to director of the George Călinescu Institute of Literary History and Theory in 1973. She was admitted to the Romanian Writers' Union in 1963. From 1970 to 1982, she served as vice president of the Social and Political Sciences Academy. [2] She was elected a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy in 1974. In 1975, she became president of the Romanian National Committee for Comparative Literature, she was on the executive board of the International Comparative Literature Association from 1973 to 1979, and visiting professor at the University of Amsterdam in 1972.[1] Dumitrescu's rapid ascent in academia drew the ire of Elena Ceaușescu, who eventually decided to halt her progress. [3] She directed two magazines, Synthesis and Revista de istorie și teoria literară. As a comparatist and critic in the Anglo-German mould, her interests included interdisciplinarity and philosophy of culture. Among her books were Renașterea: Umanismul și dialogul artelor (1971), Valori și echivalențe umanistice (1973), Periplu umanistic (1980) and Itinerarii prin cultură (1982). Dumitrescu also initiated and coordinated several syntheses of literary history for the institute she led.[1] The four books she published between 1964 and 1989 closely analyse the works of poet Mihai Eminescu.[4] As a gifted communicator, she spoke before a wide range of audiences: students, in conference halls and on radio and television, emerging as a public intellectual.[3]
Political involvement, later years and legacy
Dumitrescu joined the Romanian Communist Party in 1966, the year after Nicolae Ceaușescu came to power. She was a member of the party's central committee from August 1969 to November 1974. [2] She served two terms in the Great National Assembly, representing Bucharest districts both times: from 1975 to 1980 and from 1980 to 1985. She was awarded the Order of 23 August, fourth class. This was followed in 1971 by the Cultural Merit Order, second class, and by the special prize of the Writers' Union in 1986 and 1989. She was granted the Order of Cyril and Methodius by the People's Republic of Bulgaria in 1977, and the following year became a commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. She received the Herder Prize in 1988.[2] In 1990, following the Romanian Revolution, she rose to titular membership of the Romanian Academy.[5] From 1991 to 1997, she headed the Accademia di Romania in Rome.[6]
Late in life, beginning around 2000, she spent most of her time at the Romanian Orthodox Văratec Monastery and ultimately took the vows of a nun, adopting the name Benedicta.[3][4] She had been introduced to the monastery by Valeria, the widow of writer Mihail Sadoveanu, who invited her to spend summers there.[3][4] Dumitrescu herself was a widow;[7] she was married at age 29, and had no children.[8] She died in Iași and was buried at Putna Monastery.[1] Writing shortly after her death, Ștefănescu claimed that her rapprochement with the regime was motivated by a desire to be left alone, permitted to teach the humanities at home and assert the importance of Romanian culture abroad. He lamented that this stance drew opprobrium in the post-communist period, both from "maniacal vigilantes bereft of a feeling for nuance" and from "poorly educated youths of the sort who deface statues with paint".[3]
Notes
- ^ a b c d (in Romanian) Aurel Sasu (ed.), Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române, vol. I, p. 539. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. ISBN 973-697-758-7
- ^ a b c d e f (in Romanian) Florica Dobre (ed.), Membrii C. C. al P. C. R.: 1945-1989, p. 245. Bucharest: Editura Enciclopedică, 2004. ISBN 973-45-0486-X
- ^ a b c d e f g (in Romanian) Alex. Ștefănescu, "Ce urât ne-am purtat cu Zoe Dumitrescu-Bușulenga!", in România Literară, nr. 19/2006
- ^ a b c (in Romanian) Mădălin Sofronie, "Cum s-a transformat criticul literar Zoe Dumitrescu-Bușulenga în maica Benedicta", in Adevărul, August 16, 2015
- ^ (in Romanian) Membrii Academiei Române din 1866 până în prezent at the Romanian Academy site
- ^ (in Romanian) Florin Toma, "Accademia di Romania, la 93 de ani", in Viața Românească, nr. 12/2015
- ^ (in Romanian) Alex. Ștefănescu, "Zoe Dumitrescu-Bușulenga a spus NU", in Evenimentul Zilei, January 8, 2016
- ^ (in Romanian) Teodora Stanciu, "Zoe Dumitrescu-Bușulenga:'Aveam o grădină splendidă în spatele casei. Acolo am trăit până la 29 de ani.'", in România Literară, nr. 34/2007
- v
- t
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- 1964: Oto Bihalji-Merin
- Jan Kott
- Stanisław Lorentz
- Lucijan Marija Škerjanc
- 1965: Tudor Arghezi
- Manolis Hatzidakis
- Emanuel Hruška
- Zoltán Kodály
- László Németh
- Hugo Rokyta
- Hristo Vakarelski
- 1966: Ján Cikker
- Dezső Dercsényi
- Zlatko Gorjan
- Aleksander Kobzdej
- Anton Kriesis
- Niko Kuret
- Dimiter Statkov
- 1967: Iván Fenyő
- Vladimír Kompánek
- Witold Lutosławski
- Spyridon Marinatos
- Alexandru A. Philippide
- Mihai Pop
- Svetozar Radojčić
- 1968: Constantin Daicoviciu
- Roman Ingarden
- Miroslav Krleža
- Ludvík Kunz
- Anastasios Orlandos
- Lajos Vayer
- Pancho Vladigerov
- 1969: Jolán Balogh
- Albín Brunovský
- Bohuslav Fuchs
- Mihail Jora
- Marijan Matković
- Ksawery Piwocki
- France Stele
- 1970: Jan Białostocki
- Jan Filip
- Zoltán Franyó
- Milovan Gavazzi
- Gyula Illyés
- Yiannis Papaioannou
- Zeko Torbov
- 1971: Jiří Kolář
- Blaže Koneski
- Georgios Megas
- Kazimierz Michałowski
- Mihail Sokolovski
- Zaharia Stancu
- Bence Szabolcsi
- 1972: Dragotin Cvetko
- Atanas Dalchev
- Branko Maksimović
- Gyula Ortutay
- Jaroslav Pešina
- Henryk Stażewski
- Virgil Vătășianu
- 1973: Veselin Beshevliev
- Stylianos Harkianakis
- János Harmatta
- Zbigniew Herbert
- Eugen Jebeleanu
- Petar Lubarda
- Jan Racek
- 1974: Władysław Czerny
- Ivan Duichev
- Ivo Frangeš
- László Gerő
- Stylianos Pelekanidis
- Ján Podolák
- Zeno Vancea
- 1975: Józef Burszta
- Hristo M. Danov
- Stanislav Libenský
- Maria Ana Musicescu
- Gábor Preisich
- Pandelis Prevelakis
- Stanojlo Rajičić
- 1976: Jagoda Buić
- Marin Goleminov
- Ioannis Kakridis
- Dezső Keresztury
- Nichita Stănescu
- Rudolf Turek
- Kazimierz Wejchert
- 1977: Nikolaos Andriotis
- Riko Debenjak
- Emmanuel Kriaras
- Albert Kutal
- Máté Major
- Krzysztof Penderecki
- Anastas Petrov
- Ion Vladutiu
- 1978: Eugen Barbu
- Đurđe Bošković
- Kazimierz Dejmek
- Stoyan Dzudzev
- Béla Gunda
- Jiří Hrůza
- Yiannis Spyropoulos
- 1979: Magdalena Abakanowicz
- Ferenc Farkas
- Zdenko Kolacio
- Atanas Natev
- András Sütő
- Pavel Trost
- Apostolos E. Vacalopoulos
- 1980: Gordana Babić-Đorđević
- Iván Balassa
- Kamil Lhoták
- Manousos Manousakas
- Vera Mutafchieva
- Alexandru Rosetti
- Wiktor Zin
- 1981: Emil Condurachi
- Sándor Csoóri
- Stefka Georgieva
- Dimitrios Loukatos
- Vjenceslav Richter
- Eugen Suchoň
- Elida Maria Szarota
- 1982: Athanasios Aravantinos
- Ana Blandiana
- Vojislav J. Đurić
- Sona Kovacevicová
- Aleksandar Nichev
- Jan Józef Szczepański
- Imre Varga
- 1983: Władysław Bartoszewski
- Géza Entz
- Jozef Jankovič
- Gunther Schuller
- Zdenko Škreb
- Stefana Stoykova
- C. A. Trypanis
- 1984: Emilijan Cevc
- Konstantinos Dimaras
- Karel Horálek
- György Konrád
- Constantin Lucaci
- Krasimir Manchev
- Krzysztof Meyer
- 1985: Branko Fučić
- Růžena Grebeníčková
- Adrian Marino
- Demetrios Pallas
- Károly Perczel
- Simeon Pironkov
- Andrzej Wajda
- 1986: Georgi Baev
- Tekla Dömötör
- Boris Gaberščik
- Konrad Górski
- Johannes Karayannopoulos
- Jiří Kotalík
- Anatol Vieru
- 1987: Roman Brandstaetter
- Doula Mouriki
- József Ujfalussy
- Vladimir Veličković
- Velizar Velkov
- Gheorghe Vrabie
- 1988: Roman Berger
- Christos Kapralos
- Zoe Dumitrescu-Bușulenga
- György Györffy
- Donka Petkanova
- Mieczysław Porębski
- Edvard Ravnikar
- 1989: Maria Banuș
- Ákos Birkás
- Jerzy Buszkiewicz
- Václav Frolec
- Nikolai Genchev
- Petar Miljković-Pepek
- Nikos Gabriel Pentzikis
- 1990: Liviu Calin
- Bronisław Geremek
- Aris Konstantinidis
- Dejan Medaković
- Virginia Paskaleva
- Adriena Šimotová
- András Vizkelety
- 1991: Maja Bošković-Stulli
- Gerard Labuda
- Andor Pigler
- Yorgos Sicilianos
- Emil Skála
- Marin Sorescu
- Stoimen Stoilov
- 1992: Manolis Andronikos
- Jenő Barabás
- Blaga Dimitrova
- Stefan Kaszynski
- Jiří Kořalka
- Zmaga Kumer
- Jon Nicodim
- 1993: Vasilka Gerasimova-Tomova
- Petro Kononenko
- György Kurtág
- Jerzy Tchórzewski
- Răzvan Theodorescu
- Elena Várossová
- Māra Zālīte
- Dionysis Zivas
- Viktor Žmegač
- 1994: István Borzsák
- Dževad Juzbašić
- Ștefan Niculescu
- Andrzej Szczypiorski
- Jitka and Květa Válová
- Takis Varvitsiotis
- Zigmas Zinkevičius
- 1995: Sándor Kányádi
- Mirko Kovač
- Milcho Lalkov
- Michael G. Meraklis
- Mindaugas Navakas
- Wisława Szymborska
- Jaan Undusk
- 1996: Tamás Hofer
- Karel Hubáček
- Konstantin Iliev
- Marin Mincu
- Jože Pogačnik
- Pēteris Vasks
- Marian Zgórniak
- 1997: Tasos Athanasiadis
- Bogdan Bogdanović
- Oskár Elschek
- Ferenc Glatz
- Lech Kalinowski
- Jaan Kross
- Dunja Rihtman-Auguštin
- 1998: Imre Bak
- Andrei Corbea-Hoișie
- Eliška Fučíková
- Ismail Kadare
- Justinas Marcinkevičius
- Dorota Simonides
- Elena Toncheva
- 1999: Svetlana Alexievich
- Vera Bitrakova-Grozdanova
- Mircea Dinescu
- István Fried
- Henryk Górecki
- Dževad Karahasan
- Ferdinand Milučký
- 2000: Ján Bakoš
- Ivan Čolović
- Nikola Georgiev
- Imre Kertész
- Milan Kundera
- Karolos Mitsakis
- Arvo Pärt
- 2001: Yurii Andrukhovych
- Janez Bernik
- János Böhönyey
- Maria Kłańska
- Marek Kopelent
- Andrej Mitrović
- Evanghelos Moutsopoulos
- 2002: George Demetrius Bambiniotis
- Māris Čaklais
- Péter Esterházy
- Radost Ivanova
- Nedjeljko Fabrio
- Aurel Stroe
- Lech Trzeciakowski
- 2003: Vasil Gyuzelev
- Drago Jančar
- Károly Manherz
- Stanisław Mossakowski
- Ales Rasanau
- Ludvík Václavek
- Ana Maria Zahariade
- 2004: Theodore Antoniou
- Michał Głowiński
- Dušan Kováč
- Fatos Lubonja
- Éva Pócs
- Kazimir Popkonstantinov
- Romualdas Požerskis
- 2005: Károly Klimó
- Hanna Krall
- Primož Kuret
- Jiří Kuthan
- Andrei Marga
- Eimuntas Nekrošius
- Krešimir Nemec
- 2006: Włodzimierz Borodziej
- Nicos Hadjinicolaou
- Gabriela Kiliánová
- Ene Mihkelson
- Vojteh Ravnikar