Mircea Dinescu | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1950-11-11)November 11, 1950 (age 74) |
| Nationality | Romanian |
| Occupation(s) | Poet, journalist, editor |
| Parent(s) | Ștefan Dinescu, Aurelia (née Badea) |
Mircea Dinescu (Romanian pronunciation:[ˈmirtʃe̯adiˈnesku]; born November 11, 1950) is aRomanian poet, journalist, and editor.
He was born inSlobozia, the son of Ștefan Dinescu, a metalworker, and Aurelia (born Badea). Dinescu studied at the Faculty of Journalism of theȘtefan Gheorghiu Academy, and was considered a gifted young poet during his youth, with several poetry volumes published.
In August 1988, Dinescu was invited by theUnion of Soviet Writers in the Soviet Union and on August 25, he gave an interview to the Romanian section of theVoice of Russia.[1] During the interview, he expressed his support for theGlasnost andPerestroika policies of the Soviet Union.[1]
After returning to Bucharest, he invited some friends (includingGabriel Liiceanu,Alexandru Paleologu, andAndrei Pleșu) to write a protest against Ceaușescu's policies that were destroying Romanian culture and villages, but they failed to reach a consensus on the text and Dinescu decided to write his own protest.[2] The members of the group were then visited by theSecuritate, which argued that their actions were done underKGB orders as an attack against Romania, not against Ceaușescu.[2]
His book,Moartea citește ziarul ("Death is reading the newspaper") was turned down in 1988 by theCommunist regime's censorship apparatus,[2] and was then published inAmsterdam.
On March 17, 1989, he was fired fromRomânia Literară literary magazine,[1] as a result of an anti-totalitarian interview against PresidentNicolae Ceaușescu, which Dinescu had granted to the French newspaperLibération in December 1988.[3] According to him, the reason for dismissal was "receiving visits from diplomats and journalists from Socialist and capitalist countries without permission".[4] He was expelled from theRomanian Communist Party (PCR),[5] held underhouse arrest, with his house guarded around the clock, all visits banned; he was allowed to go outside just for shopping, but always flanked by two Securitate officers.[4]
Dinescu got support from seven writers (Geo Bogza,Ștefan Augustin Doinaș,Dan Hăulică,Octavian Paler,Andrei Pleșu,Alexandru Paleologu, andMihai Șora), who wrote a letter toDumitru Radu Popescu, the President of the Writers' Union, asking him "to undo an injustice". Despite the original authors' secrecy (they didn't publish it abroad), six of them (all, except forGeo Bogza, a veteran socialist) were forbidden to publish.[4] He got additional support from poetDoina Cornea, literary criticsAlexandru Călinescu andRadu Enescu,[6] and, in November 1989, a collective of 18 young academics and writers, who also wrote letters to Popescu.[7]
Despite being isolated, Dinescu noticed that with a handful of exceptions, the writers did not protest against the oppression of the regime. On November 11, he wrote a statement in which he attacked the Romanian intelligentsia for theirsycophancy for Ceaușescu, theRomanian Orthodox Church for being "trade unionists in religious vestments", journalists for being 'apostles of thepersonality cult", and writers for being "trustedhandmaidens of the party".[8]
In December 1989 he had a preeminent role in theRomanian Revolution, taking part in the occupation of theNational Television building by the people of Bucharest. According to popular rumors, his fellow revolutionaryIon Caramitru, unaware that he was being filmed, said to Dinescu something that was taken to be "Mircea, fă-te că lucrezi!" ("Mircea, pretend you are working!"); this was to be proof that the Revolution was a carefully staged front for acoup d'état. According to the investigation ofAlex Mihai Stoenescu, Caramitru actually said "Mircea, arată că lucrezi" ("Mircea, show that you're working [on something]" – while holding Dinescu's booklet in front of camera), to which Dinescu replied "La un apel" ("[I'm working] on an appeal [to the people]") – which was indicative of their ill-preparedness and preoccupation in quickly drafting a single revolutionary proclamation on the spot.[9]
After the fall of Communism, he co-foundedAcademia Cațavencu, the most famous Romanian satirical magazine. He quit the publication in 1998 and went on founding his own publications,Plai cu Boi (loosely translated as "Land of the Dumb") – a satiricalPlayboy-style magazine andAspirina Săracului (The Poor Man's Aspirin – a humorous reference to sexual intercourse) – a weekly satirical magazine.
He invested a part of the money he earned from the books published into agriculture. His estate makes a wine sold under the nameVinul Moșierului ("Landlord's wine") – the name is a tongue-in-cheek reference to an ironic comment PresidentIon Iliescu had made about Dinescu's social status.
Dinescu remains a strong and charismatic voice of thecivil society. As member ofConsiliul Național pentru Studierea Arhivelor Securității [ro] (National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives), he is particularly concerned with exposing the former officers and collaborators of theSecuritate. He is also a strong critic ofCommunism and of Romanian leaders that had connections with the Communist regime.
Although not politically involved, he openly supportedTraian Băsescu's candidature forPresident of Romania during the2004 elections.
In May 2005, in collaboration with the journalistCristian Tudor Popescu, he started a new newspaper calledGândul, with an initial circulation of 100,000 copies, but he sold his shares in July 2006. He andStelian Tănase host a talk show onRealitatea TV,Tănase și Dinescu.
Dinescu was appointed a Commander of theOrder of the Star of Romania. In 1991, he became an Honorary Member of theUniversity of Augsburg.
