International Echoes: From Romania ~ Orizont Literar Contemporan

From Romania : Orizont Literar Contemporan journals and Daniel Dragomirescu's * new * Oriztonturi Interculturale book

Daniel Dragomirescu, author and editor-in-chief

Many of you will know that I am a supporter of - and external collaborator for - the international journal, Orizont Literar Contemporan from Romania. The Romanian team members work extremely hard to produce publications reflecting the diverse views of writers of all kinds (novelists, journalists, poets ...) from all over the world. This makes for a fascinating read and offers a multicultural perspective on life in general and on the international literary scene in particular.

There has been a flurry of new publications in recent months, beginning with the issue of the journal (top right, showing Edinburgh Castle), An V - Nr. 5 (31), which includes a feature by Scottish-based poet, Neil Leadbeater, on 'A Dizzen Scottish' poets. Eileen Carney Hulme, known to Indigo Dreams poets, is represented as one of the twelve, along with Kenneth Steven, known for his poems of the wonderful island of Iona. I enjoyed Eleanor Livingstone's report on StAnza, Scotland's international poetry festival. This issue also contains poetry from the Dominican Republic (Marielys Duluc Reyna), Brazil (Andreia Franco), Italy (Claudio Sottocornola) and the USA (Daniel Montoly), to cite but a few.

This journal was swiftly followed by An V - Nr 6 (32), which includes not only the work of Mexican poets, but also a prose piece, 'A Letter about Mexico' from Mira Faraday in the USA. I would particularly like to see the phenomenon of the mountain-top butterfly migration that Mira evokes, the more so since I was spellbound by the coverage of something similar in Sir David Attenborough's recent BBC natural history programmes on Africa. This issue also includes a selection of poetry by Anne Stewart, who will be known to many of the British poets. Her poem, 'Take my Hand', particularly appealed to me.

This brings me to the new book!

Orizontale Interculturale (ISBN 978-606-13-1174-3) by Daniel Dragomirescu is a remarkable record of the early years in the life of this multicultural literary magazine. It charts the hopes and dreams alongside some of the challenges that faced the small team of dedicated enthusiasts in the early days of the project. In one sense the smiling faces of Equipo Dragomirescu say it all, in the delightful cover painting by Virginia Patrone from Spanish Uruguay for Orizont Literar Contemporan has come of age!

The Director, Mihai Cantuiari, pays tribute in his Preface to Daniel's vision, noting that Daniel's 'youthful dream' for an independent international literary magazine finally came to fruition in 2008. There is certainly cause for much celebration in 2013. The magazine has found its way into numerous corners of the globe. It continues to draw more supporters via its presence on the web and by word of mouth. The Director's Preface is followed by a Romanian translation of Daniel's Cosmic Suitcase, a witty and charming tribute by Peggy Landsman (USA), a loyal supporter from the outset.

The book is largely in Romanian. It also contains articles and chapters in English. These include the paper that constitutes the final chapter of the book, From Creative Localism to Interculturalism, and a transcript of the interview conducted by Luis Benitez with Daniel, entitled All the World in a Journal.

So ... in the words of Daniel Dragomirescu,

'We're offering our readers pieces of literature

 written in languages of international circulation, 

and our efforts appeal to them ... 

CLH  (i.e. Orizont Literar Contemporan) aims to become

 an ambassador of friendship and cultural dialogue 

between all the people in the world.'

•  Coming soon ... the Antologia