Apostrof
Encyclopedia
ApostrofApostrof (Romanian
for "Apostrophe
") is a monthly literary magazine
published in Cluj-Napoca
, Romania
under the Romanian Writers' Union patronage. It was founded in 1990 by Babeş-Bolyai University
professor Marta Petreu
, who is also its editor in chief and main columnist. Among its regular contributors are literary critics Irina Petraş, Ştefan Borbély, and Florin Manolescu.
Apostrof is especially noted for publishing dossiers on 20th century Transylvania
n intellectuals, many of whom were subject to censorship
under the communist regime
, and for detailing their contribution to Romanian literature. It also publishes regular book chronicles.
toppled the communism. According to the Moldova
n magazine Revista Sud-Est, it met with financial difficulties during several periods of its existence, and, in 2004, briefly closed down.
Apostrof has published dossiers on prominent literary figures who are associated with Transylvania and whose work, in many cases, was not accessible to the public under communism. These include poet and philosopher Lucian Blaga
, literary critics Mircea Zaciu, Ion Negoiţescu
and Nicolae Balotă, and dramatist Ion Desideriu Sârbu. According to Revista Sud-Est: "Natives of this area, [the dossiers' subjects] are also resounding names that have coverage throughout Romanian literature."
In June 2005, it was also involved in a public awareness campaign over construction work carried out in Lancrăm, which threatened to harm a historical site and, it argued, went against Lucian Blaga's last wish (by disrupting the access from Blaga's grave to the Red Ravines area).
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
for "Apostrophe
Apostrophe
The apostrophe is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritic mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet or certain other alphabets...
") is a monthly literary magazine
Literary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
published in Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth most populous city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
under the Romanian Writers' Union patronage. It was founded in 1990 by Babeş-Bolyai University
Babes-Bolyai University
The Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca is an university in Romania. With almost 50,000 students, the university offers 105 specialisations, of which there are 105 in Romanian, 67 in Hungarian, 17 in German, and 5 in English...
professor Marta Petreu
Marta Petreu
Marta Petreu is the pen name of Rodica Marta Vartic, née Rodica Crisan , a Romanian philosopher, literary critic, essayist and poet. A professor of Philosophy at the Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, she has published eight books of essays and seven of poetry, and is the editor of the...
, who is also its editor in chief and main columnist. Among its regular contributors are literary critics Irina Petraş, Ştefan Borbély, and Florin Manolescu.
Apostrof is especially noted for publishing dossiers on 20th century Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
n intellectuals, many of whom were subject to censorship
Censorship in Communist Romania
Censorship in Communist Romania was widespread and virtually every published document, be it a newspaper article or a book, had to pass the censor's approval...
under the communist regime
Communist Romania
Communist Romania was the period in Romanian history when that country was a Soviet-aligned communist state in the Eastern Bloc, with the dominant role of Romanian Communist Party enshrined in its successive constitutions...
, and for detailing their contribution to Romanian literature. It also publishes regular book chronicles.
History
The magazine was established in 1990, one year after the Romanian RevolutionRomanian Revolution of 1989
The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a series of riots and clashes in December 1989. These were part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several Warsaw Pact countries...
toppled the communism. According to the Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
n magazine Revista Sud-Est, it met with financial difficulties during several periods of its existence, and, in 2004, briefly closed down.
Apostrof has published dossiers on prominent literary figures who are associated with Transylvania and whose work, in many cases, was not accessible to the public under communism. These include poet and philosopher Lucian Blaga
Lucian Blaga
-Biography:Lucian Blaga was a commanding personality of the Romanian culture of the interbellum period. He was a philosopher and writer higly acclaimed for his originality, a university professor and a diplomat. He was born on May 9, 1895 in Lancrăm, near Alba Iulia, Romania, his father being an...
, literary critics Mircea Zaciu, Ion Negoiţescu
Ion Negoitescu
Ion Negoiţescu was a Romanian literary historian, critic, poet, novelist and memoirist, one of the leading members of the Sibiu Literary Circle. A rebellious and eccentric figure, Negoiţescu began his career while still an adolescent, and made himself known as a literary ideologue of the 1940s...
and Nicolae Balotă, and dramatist Ion Desideriu Sârbu. According to Revista Sud-Est: "Natives of this area, [the dossiers' subjects] are also resounding names that have coverage throughout Romanian literature."
In June 2005, it was also involved in a public awareness campaign over construction work carried out in Lancrăm, which threatened to harm a historical site and, it argued, went against Lucian Blaga's last wish (by disrupting the access from Blaga's grave to the Red Ravines area).