Ioan T. Morar

Ioan T. Morar (November 2009)

Ioan T. Morar (born April 13, 1956) is a Romanian journalist, poet, dramatist, novelist, literary and art critic, diplomat and civil society activist. He is a founding member of the satirical magazine Academia Caţavencu (to which he notably contributes art and culture reviews) and, since 2004, a senior editor for Cotidianul. An amateur actor in his youth, he was also a member of the comedy troupe Divertis from the mid-1980s to 1996.[1][2]

Biography

Born in Şeitin, Arad County, Morar graduated as a valedictorian from the University of Timişoara's Faculty of Philology (Romanian-French section) in 1981.[2] During the period, he became active in student theater groups — his troupe's performance in the 1981 adaptation of Vasile Alecsandri's comedy Sânziana și Pepelea won it first prize during a festival in Iaşi (the city where he also met with and joined Divertis).[3]

Assigned to a teaching position in Lugoj,[3] he sat on the editorial staff for the magazines Viața Studențească and Amfiteatru after 1987.[2] He also began writing his first works of drama and poetry, and joined the Writers' Union.[1] Morar's works, translated into several languages, won him the Writers' Union debut prize (1984, for Vara indiană) and its poetry prize (2000, for Șovăiala).[1][2]

Following the 1989 Revolution, he became a member of the Civic Alliance, while contributing to the newspaper Cuvântul.[2] In 1990, Morar was employed by the national television station's Entertainment section and created several shows, but resigned the following year.[2]

He authored his debut novel Lindenfeld in 2006, to critical acclaim.[1][2][3][4] A fresco of a Swabian locality in the Banat (see Lindenfeld, Caraş-Severin), it is considered a "Postmodern novel".[4] Lindenfeld was awarded the prize for prose works by the newspaper Ziarul de Iaşi.[1][3]

Morar returned to work for national television in 2006, and began hosting his talk show Lumea citește! ("People Read!"), aired by TVR 1.[2] During the same year, he was invited to take part in the final stage of TVR1's Mari Români campaign, a series which called on intellectuals to showcase the 10 greatest Romanians ever (who had been determined by a poll); Morar supported Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza for the top position, and co-produced a short television film depicting the latter's merits.[1] As part of a 2005-2006 television advertising campaign for Kandia chocolate bars, Morar impersonated the last ruler of Communist Romania, Nicolae Ceauşescu.[5][6]

In early 2007, he left on an extended journey to New Caledonia, which he documented in a special blog for Academia Caţavencu, called Morar&More.

In 2010, he was named Romania's Consul General in Marseille, France.[7] In 2013 he published his second work of prose, "Negru și Rosu", which was shortlisted for "Book of the Year" by "România literară".

Works

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 (Romanian) Ioan T. Morar at Mari Români
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 (Romanian) Biography at the Polirom site
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 (Romanian) 2005 Awards, in Ziarul de Iaşi
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 (Romanian) Tania Radu, "Rochia de mireasă" (review of Lidenfeld), in 22, Nr.802, July 2005
  5. ↑ (Romanian) Interview with Alexandru Dumitrescu, deputy creative director for McCannErickson, in Dilema Veche, Nr.142, October 2006
  6. ↑ (Romanian) 2007 interview with Ioan T. Morar, at iqads.ro
  7. ↑ "Jurnalistul Ioan T. Morar, noul consul general al României la Marsilia". Retrieved 26 October 2012.

External links