Romania has just lost one of the most important personalities of the cultural world. The news of Nicolae Manolescu’s passing away caused a huge wave of reactions from the cultural, journalistic and political fields. Personalities of Romanian culture, but also representatives of the university environment, sent messages on the death of the literary critic and historian Nicolae Manolescu.
Nicolae Manolescu, the critic and literary historian, died on Saturday, at the age of 84. All prominent personalities from Romania wanted to send messages in memory of the most important Romanian literary critic and historian after the Second World War.
The President of the Senate, Nicolae Ciucă, the leader of the PNL, expressed Romania’s deep regret for the loss of the most important contemporary literary critic and historian of Romanian literature, Nicolae Manolescu, who died recently.
Nicolae Ciucă: We lost the most important literary critic
In a post on Facebook, Nicolae Ciucă emphasized Nicolae Manolescu’s outstanding contribution to Romania’s cultural heritage through over 50 published volumes and numerous articles in prestigious magazines such as “Romania Literară” and “Contemporanul”. He also mentioned the political career of the academician.
Nicolae Ciucă emphasized that the death of Nicolae Manolescu leaves a void in Romanian culture and that his work will remain a source of inspiration and knowledge for future generations. He evoked one of Manolescu’s famous lines, “How to respect national values if you don’t know them?”, considering it a current and relevant exhortation for contemporary society.
Contribution to the redefinition of Romanian literary criticism and historiography
The Faculty of Letters in Bucharest, where Manolescu was a professor, sent a message of condolences. The institution emphasized his major contribution to the redefinition of Romanian literary criticism and historiography.
The academic community of SNSPA also expressed deep regret at the loss of a man of such worth and influence. In addition to his contribution to the literary field, Manolescu was also a prominent figure in politics. He was recognized for his involvement in Romania’s democratic process and for his role as a political leader.
The SNSPA said his loss leaves a huge void in our hearts, but his legacy will continue to inspire.
A heavy loss for Romanian culture
The Romanian Writers’ Union emphasized that his death represents a heavy loss for Romanian culture. Friends, colleagues and students remembered the man and his work with sadness.
Beyond the academic field, personalities from the literary and cultural environment sent messages of regret. These highlighted the impact the critic had on generations of writers and critics.
Varujan Vosganian emphasized that Manolescu was a great personality of Romanian culture, of literary criticism in its most prestigious dimension, along with Titu Maiorescu, Eugen Lovinescu and George Călinescu.
And the journalist and writer Cristian Tudor Popescu had a message for Manolescu’s death.
“Nicolae Manolescu, one of the great literary critics and teachers of Romanian culture, died at the age of 84, following a cardiac arrest. I will keep his memory alive”, Cristian Tudor Popescu wrote on Facebook.
Wave of messages in memory of Nicolae Manolescu
“Nicolae Manolescu, the most important Romanian literary critic and historian since the Second World War, has passed away. May God rest him!”, said the literary critic Mircea Mihăieş.
“Another black day for Romanian culture,” literary critic Daniel Cristea – Enache wrote on Facebook.
“Now I found out that Nicolae Manolescu is no more. Like many of my generation, I didn’t agree with Manolescu at all in the last years, but I can’t imagine my adolescence without his critical literature, the most beautiful pages I read by him were written”, the poet Elena Vlădăreanu also transmitted.
Literary critic Paul Cernat reacted to the news of Manolescu’s death.
“To say that a world, a critical history of Romanian literature collapsed, brutally and unexpectedly, is too weak. But this time it’s true. I thought (what an illusion…) that he would get 90 or even a hundred: that was how intellectually present he was, attentive to the present and the future; I sensed his concern about the future of our literary criticism – a future that doesn’t really sound encouraging.
He felt that the time had come to reconcile with the ‘young people’ and to pass on the baton. He would have liked the prodigal sons (including me) to return to that way of criticizing in which he believed. (…) At 84, his mind had remained as alive as ever; the heart, instead, betrayed him. (…), wrote Paul Cernat.
“God rest Nichi! There are reasons that only he and I know why I don’t want to talk about him very much. It will remain, however, in history. It is a sad day for Romanian culture”, was the message of the director of the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant, Virgil Ştefan Niţulescu.
“Smooth road, professor!”, wrote the poet and publisher Denisa Comănescu, editorial director – Humanitas Fiction.
