Colorful Romania to be celebrated here

Most people know Romania as the home of the Dracula legend, as a gymnastics powerhouse that gave the world Nadia Comaneci, or as the site of Dickensian orphanages, sickening pollution, food shortages and other horrors reported during the 1989 overthrow of Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.

But professor Charles Carlton knows Romania as a "green mountain state" like his native Vermont and as his spiritual home, a country with a colorful culture and history.

He and dozens of Romanians and "adoptive Romanians" will share that culture through readings, papers, exhibits, musical performances, and other events here during the 23rd annual convention of the American-Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences August 6-9.

Carlton's fascination with the linguistics of the Romanian language grew into a devotion for all things Romanian while he was on a National Defense Foreign Language fellowship at UCLA in 1970. There, his contact with a Romanian professor whetted his appetite to learn more.

"My whole life turned on this--it's been like a religious experience," he recalled. He lived in Romania for nearly three years teaching and conducting research, falling in love with the picturesque countryside of tucked-away villages, old wooden churches, and shepherds tending flocks. He learned more about the culture in art museums and theaters in the cities, and from the warm and hospitable populace.

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Romania is a jewel of a country," Carlton explained. "The variety of the culture says a lot about the history of Europe in general." The public is invited to attend any event during the convention. Call x5-4258 for details. August 6 Video on Trajan's column--5 p.m. Piano recital and discussion of composer Georges Enesco, by Emerita Lory Wallfisch, Smith College professor--7 p.m. August 7 Performance by local dancers Da Igramo--noon Poetry readings by W.D. Snodgrass--5 p.m. Ongoing Romanian culture exhibit of photos, artifacts, books, in Rush Rhees Library

The country's culture is a unique blend of East and West, owing to its location on European and Middle Eastern trade routes. Over the centuries the Romans, the Ottoman Turks and the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires ruled Romanian lands. As a result, Romanian is the only Latin language in eastern Europe, but folk arts, music, and architecture show oriental influence. Since 1989, the restoration of religious, press, travel and other freedoms has fostered a revitalization of Romanian heritage.

Carlton has translated Romanian literature, published an annual linguistics bibliography, helped found the Society for Romanian Studies, co-edited a Romanian studies journal, talked to local groups about Romanian culture, and sponsored symposiums at the University, where he is professor of French and romance linguistics.

He also keeps an up-to-date list of Romania-Rochester connections with names of students, academics, speakers, and well-known visitors--a list likely to grow with next month's convention.

Carlton's call for papers elicited more than 200 responses. Participants will be coming from the United States, Canada, Romania, Moldova and elsewhere in Europe. They'll include opening speakers Stefan Stoenescu, a professor of English and Romanian who defected in the late 1980s, and historian Dinu Giurescu, former professor at the University of Bucharest and a member of the Romanian academy who'll provide an update of events in Romania. Thomas LeBlanc, dean of the faculty of arts, science and engineering, will welcome participants at the opening session.

One of the guests is Pulitzer Prize-winning poet W.D. Snodgrass, who'll read translations of Romanian ballads and poetry. Snodgrass won the Pulitzer in 1960 for Heart's Needle and has written more than 30 volumes of poetry and translations, including translations of Romanian ballads. He taught at the University in the 1960s and has lived in upstate New York since retiring from the University of Delaware. (For more events, see sidebar.)

"We hope the public will attend the performances and look at the exhibits and see how it's an island of romance in a sea of Slavic countries," Carlton said.

All of the convention activities are open to the public. For more information, contact Carlton at x5-4258.