Anthology Alert (7): ANTOLOGIA REVISTEI 'Orizont Literar Contemporan'

~ "Writers from all over the world, let's come together!" ~ 

Daniel Dragomirescu,

editor-in-chief,

 'Orizont Literar Contemporan'

'A very happy new year' to you all - or perhaps that should be 'La mulţi ani', since my first anthology to arrive in 2011 has come from Bucharest in Romania.

Those of you who read my blog will know that I have followed the rise of the international and multicultural magazine, 'Orizont Literar Contemporan', since 2009. The editor-in-chief, Daniel Dragomirescu, has once again collaborated with the students at the University of Bucharest, under the direction of Professor Lidia Vianu, to bring us articles, poems and features in Romanian and English. The Spanish language features prominently, too, so perhaps at this juncture I should add in a third greeting: '¡feliz año nuevo'.

The anthology has an arresting and attractive colour cover. It is A4 in size and contains 82 pages (plus the covers) of work from contributors representing the following countries:

• Romania
• Spain
• Wales
• England
• USA
• Mexico
• India
• Japan
• Canada
• France
• Uruguay
• USA 
• Bratislava (Slovakia)
• Israel 
• Nigeria
• Greece
• Germany
• Belgium
• Nepal

 The volume brings together a plethora of literary and artistic contributions from previous issues of the magazine. I shall list a few examples:

• Multicultural Dialogue: a detailed feature about 'Orizont Literar Contemporan' as a multicultural project. Editor-in-chief, Daniel Dragomirescu answers questions put to him by Maria Eugenia Mendoza Arrubarrena, 'a writer, journalist and cultural activist from Mexico'. In response to a question about the distribution of the magazine, Daniel Dragomirescu replies that while the publication was initially read in Romania, it currently has '7.500 readers all over the world ... and the number is constantly increasing.' The editor goes on to consider a question about other similar enterprises, and whether these exist. He cites 'The Seventh Quarry' magazine from Swansea, home town of Dylan Thomas, a 'magazine led by the remarkable Welsh poet Peter Thabit Jones' and 'an old Romanian magazine - "Secolul XX" - that publishes writers from all over the world in a high quality editorial and cultural layout.'  

• Fictional Universe / Universul Prozei: a detailed and finely observed perspective, 'In the Army', by the magazine's esteemed Director, Mihai Cantuniari. The narrative opens in Spring 1968. Cantuniari writes, 'Little by little I got to the bottom of the big mystery . . .' If you would like to follow this through, you might consider buying a copy of the anthology, which is available via PayPal (details below). 

• International Literary Criticism / Universul Criticii Literare: I was delighted to have the opportunity to refresh my memory on the subject of 'The Meaning of MTTLC'. Professor Lidia Vianu, is Professor of Contemporary English Literature at the University of Bucharest and an honorary member of the magazine's Editorial Team. Her students contribute to the translation work involved in presenting a multicultural and multilingual magazine. Alina-Olimpia Miron has played a large role in the translation side of things as General Secretary.  

• Report on the Official Launch, 9 April 201, of 'Orizont Literar Contemporan' by Ion Lazu, Romania. His report begins with these words, 'On 9th April 2010 issue no. 15 of Contemporary & Literary Horizon' journal was launched; it is run by novelist Daniel Dragomirescu under the aegis of poet, translator and memorialist Mihai Cantuniari, one of the coryphaei of contempoary literature.' Lazu remarked on the fact that the issue in the spotlight contained 8 written contributions from Romania and one artistic contribution. It contained 18 contributions from those representing other countries. Lazu described the launch in 'la Muzeul Literarturii Romane' in Bucharest as a 'spring morning hailing faith in the talent-forged word.' 

• Excerpt from a Novel: 'Meshes of Smoke' by Nazia Mallick from India, which has been accepted for publication by Drnequill Publishers in Bangalore.

• World Poetry (my personal particular interest!): e.g. a selection by the Canadian-British poet, Paul Sutherland. His deeply personal yet universal poem, 'Grandma's Night', struck a particular chord with me. I enjoyed the combination of pathos and wit in 'Suflet Ciobet' / 'Broken Soul' by Roxana Drăguşin Romanian poet (and also Publishing Assistant and Translations Coordinator' for the magazine). It was good to have the opportunity to re-read Swansea poet, Byron Beynon's poem in memory of John Keats, 'The Spanish Steps, Rome'. It evoked a place I know well from my year in Italy (1985-86), namely no.26 Piazza di Spagna, home of the poet who died so young. Poetry from England is represented by Anne Stewart, whose first collection, 'The Janus Hour' was published by Oversteps Books in 2010. USA poet, Peggy Landsman, writes on 'Still Life with Onions', contrasting her chopping technique with Van Gogh's handling of paint. My thanks to Daniel for including examples of my work on p.42: 'A Stone Romance', 'Boat House Cat, Laugharne', 'Preseli Blue' [previously read on BBC radio] and 'Show me the Colour of Pain'.   

• Self-Portrait of an Artist, with examples of her Work: while I am a great believer in the old saying of American origin that 'a picture is worth a thousand words', I always enjoy marrying an artwork with its creator. For this reason I was delighted to find an autobiographical sketch by French painter, Hélène Glehen, whose fine floral art graces the magazine. Glehen explains that her muse is fired by her 'garden, the flowers, literature and English poetry of the Victorian and Regency periods.' 

Speaking personally, I have gained so much in terms of international awareness, the discovery of new voices in the field of world literature - and perhaps above all, the forging of new friendships with members of this inspiring muticultural and artistic community. A big 'thank you' to Daniel and 'The Team'.

Here's to 2011 and the continued success of 'Orizont Literar Contemporan' as it strives to reach new heights and an even wider international readership.   

You can read more about the magazine here and here - and you can always leave a comment on the Contemporary Horizon site, if you feel you have a comment or query or would like to make a response of some kind. You might also like to visit Kristina Kostaki's blog. Kristina, a contributor to the magazine, lives in Greece. She has written a post about the Anthology here. You might also like to visit M. Denise C's blog, here.

• MAGAZINE PRICE: 12 EUROS | 15 DOLLARS PER COPY (SHIPPING INCLUDED). PayPal details to the right of the magazine page if you click here.
• Antologia Revistei Orizont Literar Contemporan (ed. Daniel Drogmirescu, Bucharest, Romania): PRICE PER COPY: 40 EUROS | 50 DOLLARS PER COPY Via PayPal: details to the right of the magazine page if you click here.