Carmen-Francesca Banciu
Encyclopedia
Carmen-Francesca Banciu is an award-winning Romania
n novelist and lecturer.
, Arad County
, she was the daughter of a high-ranking Romanian Communist Party
and government official. Banciu studied church mural
painting and foreign trade at schools in Bucharest
.
In 1985, she won the International Short Story Prize of the city of Arnsberg
, Germany
, an achievement which prompted a publication ban
in Romania. In 1990, after the fall of the communist regime
in Romania (the Romanian Revolution of 1989
), Banciu moved to Berlin
, and since 1996, she has not only written in Romanian
, but also in German
. In addition to writing, she works as a freelance editor and commentator for various news media and regularly teaches seminars on creative writing
.
In 2005, Banciu was writer-in-residence at Rutgers University
in New Brunswick
, New Jersey
.
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...
n novelist and lecturer.
Biography
Born in LipovaLipova, Arad
Lipova is a town in Romania, Arad County, located in the Banat region of western Transylvania. It is situated at a distance of 34 km from Arad, the county capital, at the contact zone of the Mureș River with the Zarand Mountains, Western Plateau and Lipovei Hills...
, Arad County
Arad County
Arad is an administrative division of Romania roughly translated into county in the western part of the country on the border with Hungary, mostly in the region of Crişana and few villages in Banat. The administrative center of the county lies in the city of Arad...
, she was the daughter of a high-ranking Romanian Communist Party
Romanian Communist Party
The Romanian Communist Party was a communist political party in Romania. Successor to the Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to communist revolution and the disestablishment of Greater Romania. The PCR was a minor and illegal grouping for much of the...
and government official. Banciu studied church mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
painting and foreign trade at schools in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
.
In 1985, she won the International Short Story Prize of the city of Arnsberg
Arnsberg
Arnsberg is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the location of the Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg's administration and one of the three local administration offices of the Hochsauerlandkreis.-Geography:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, an achievement which prompted a publication ban
Publication ban
A publication ban is a court order which prohibits the public or media from disseminating certain details of an otherwise public judicial procedure. In Canada, publication bans are most commonly issued when the safety or reputation of a victim or witness may be hindered by having their identity...
in Romania. In 1990, after the fall of 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...
in Romania (the Romanian Revolution of 1989
Romanian 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...
), Banciu moved to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, and since 1996, she has not only written in Romanian
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...
, but also in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. In addition to writing, she works as a freelance editor and commentator for various news media and regularly teaches seminars on creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
.
In 2005, Banciu was writer-in-residence at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in New Brunswick
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Works
- Manual de Întrebări ("Manual of Questions"), 1984
- Fenster in Flammen ("Windows in Flames", 1992
- Filuteks Handbuch der Fragen ("Filutek's Manual of Questions"), 1995
- Vaterflucht ("Flight from Father"), 1998
- Ein Land voller Helden ("A Land Full of Heroes"), 2000
- Berlin ist mein Paris ("Berlin Is My Paris"), 2002
- Deborah (radioplay), 2005
- Das Lied der traurigen Mutter, ("The song of the sad mother"), 2007
Awards
- Arnsberg International Short Story Prize (1985) for Das strahlende Ghetto (trans. "The Beaming Ghetto")
- Luceafărul Literature Prize
External links
- Excerpt from Vaterflucht ("Flight From Father"), in Logos: A Journal of Modern Society and CultureLogos: A Journal of Modern Society and CultureLogos: A Journal of Modern Society and Culture is an academic journal established in 2002 and edited by Michael J. Thompson. It is published quarterly and features articles that seek to foster critical dialogues on issues ranging from arts, politics, foreign affairs, culture, social sciences, to...
Issue 2.1 (Winter 2003) - "Deborah" - A Radioplay in Logos: A Journal of Modern Society and Culture Issue 4.2 (Spring 2005)
- Das strahlende Ghetto ("The Beaming Ghetto") in the Brooklyn Rail (April 2005)
- Elena Mancini, An Afternoon with Carmen Francesca Banciu (PDF file) Literaturport.de Carmen-Francesca Banciu on www.rom2.de