*celebrating our national poet*
by Denisa Stan
Mihai Eminescu
You live in your sphere’s narrowness
And luck rules over you –
But in my steady world I feel
Eternal, cold and true!
From the first years we spend in the educational system and till we finish school, we are told about Eminescu in the most praiseworthy, but also with the best possible terms: “our national poet”, “the polish of Romanian poetry”, “the eminescian genius”.
For eight years, on January 15th, Romanians celebrate National Culture Day. This is not the only reason we wish “Many years!” On this day, the Romanian national poet, Mihai Eminescu, was born. This is the date of the birth of Mihai Eminescu (1850-1889), the national poet of the Romanians, the writer, playwright, journalist and thinker.
January 15th is not only the day when we celebrate the “Luceafarul”(“Evening star”) of the Romanian poetry, but also a day of reflection on our contribution to the creation of cultural identity. Pompiliu Constantinescu stated that Eminescu “opens with his magic name all the doors of the spirit, because the substance of creation is under the sign of eternity through its spiritual anchorage.
“Evening star”, the most uplifting poetry in Romanian literature, has been approved by the World Records Academy as the longest love poem in the world. The legend of this star is a story between a young princess who prays at the star every evening. The evening star falls in love with her and is ready to give up immortality for her, but realizes that the pure love he has for the young girl cannot exist in the material world. World Records Academy describes this poem for today’s generation as a combination of the stories of the films “On the wings of the wind”, “star treck” and “Love story”(romantic poem with a dramatic end). At the same time, Eminescu’s linden, which is over 100 years old, is also remembered as World Records academy as the place where the poet found his inspiration, a place which nowadays became a favorite one by lovers.
The Romanian poet’s masterpiece has been translated in almost every corner of the world, in over 60 languages, from all continents.
The link to the Wikipedia page for Mihai Eminescu is supplemented by a series of clarifications as if from the hyperbolic comments from the high school collections: “Mihai Eminescu is often described as the essence of the Romanian soul, the modern Romanian literary language being highly indebted”. The writer is not missing the European context, realized in the same praiseworthy terms, the author of “Evening star” being considered “the last great romance of Europe, not least because he gave voice to the unique music of the sadness of love”, and the presentation ends apoteoctically.
In his memory, NASA named Mihai Eminescu a crater on the planet Mars, because he “is a successful and influential poet”. At the same time, the year 2000 was declared by UNESCO “The Year of the Poet Mihai Eminescu”
Finally, we, as a Romanian nation should reflect on all the literary art that we have from this great man who influenced and revolutionized art, giving it meaning and candor.
hARTS magazine 