An unknown national icon

Every year on January 15th the Romanians celebrate the birthday of poet Mihail Eminescu, who they revere as a national icon. But abroad the poet, born in 1850, is virtually unknown. Gândul newspaper asks why: "All those who call themselves great admirers of Eminescu should ask themselves which of his works could be of interest for a foreign readership and how one could make known the 'existence of our national poet' in an efficient and sensible way. It is said that every culture has its representatives, and illustrious examples are given - Dante for the Italians, Shakespeare for the British, Goethe for the Germans - to confirm that Eminescu plays the same role for Romania. But these examples have long since been anchored in the consciousness of universal literature ... . We are a culture that is represented by an unknown figure and we are doing nothing to change this."

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