Valeriu Matei

Valeriu Matei (born March 31, 1959, Cazangic) is a Romanian writer and politician. He is a member of the Romanian Academy.

Biography

Early life and education

Valeriu Matei was born March 31, 1959, in Cazangic, Lăpușna County, Basarabia (Republic of Moldova). His parents were Nicolae Matei (1922–1981) and Sevastita (1924–2009). He went to a school of primary and secondary education (now the college ‘Mihai Viteazul’) in his native village (1966–1974). Then to the Romanian School of secondary education n.2 in Leova (1974–1976) from which he graduated with a golden medal. He won National Contests in History, Romanian Language and Literature, as well as French Language and Literature. He attended the State University of Moldova (1976–1979), and Lomonosov University from (1979–1983). In Moscow, he graduated with honors, and wrote a dissertation on the historic and ethnological value of the work of Nicolae Milescu Spătarul (1636–1708), which was recommended for publication by the university’s scientific council.

1980-1983

In 1980, he made his poetic debut in the newspaper Tineretul Moldovei (The Youth of Moldova), from Chișinău. In 1981, after meeting Laurențiu Fulga, Mircea Ciobanu, Anghel Dumbrăveanu and Ion Cocora, he published some of his verse in the literary press of Romania (Orizontul, Timișoara, Luceafărul, Bucharest, Cronica and Convorbiri literare, Iași, Tribuna and Steaua, Cluj-Napoca, Familia, Oradea and more). In 1982, the magazine Utunk from Cluj-Napoca published his first poems translated into Hungarian. In 1983, he was excluded from a post-graduate degree at Lomonosov University, accused of anti-sovietism. He managed to obtain employment as a scientific assistant at the Museum of the city of Istra (the former New Jerusalem Monastery), until May 1987. After a silence of five years, his poems start to appear (although slightly modified) in literary publications in Chișinău and he was awarded the Prize for Poetry of the magazine Orizontul (The Horizon).

1986-1989

In January 1986, he met Ion Alexandru, made friends with the writers Grigore Vieru and Liviu Damian, and introduced the manuscript The pillar of flame (Stâlpul de foc). The prestigious Moscow Almanac Pamiatnâie knijnâie datâ published his study of Nicolae Milescu Spătarul; he also participated in scientific conferences dedicated to the work of Milescu Spătarul, organized by The Academy of Science in Chișinău and the University of Irkutsk. The year of 1987 marks an important series of events that would shape the destiny of Moldova. In 1987, Valeriu Matei is one of the protagonists of the events initiated by The Writers’ Union of Moldova. This triggered the National Movement that gave birth to the 1989 Revolution against the Soviet occupation of the territory. In the same year, the The National Theatre Mihai Eminescu hosts the drama Prologue (Prologul – stage director – Ion Bordeanu, music – Tudor Chiriac, main role- the actor Valeriu Cupcea), which received the first prize at the Contest of Drama organized by the Ministry of Culture. Meanwhile, Grigore Vieru releases his article Ennobling Poetry (Înnobilarea poeziei), while Valeriu Matei publishes in the newspaper Literature and art (Literatura și arta),The Youth of Moldova (Tineretul Moldovei),Moldova, Orizontul (The Horizon) (Chișinău). In 1988, the publishing house, Artistic Literature (Literatura artistică), from Chișinău releases Valeriu Matei’s volume of poetry, The Pillar of Flame (Stâlpul de foc) (with a preface by Gr. Vieru), and the historical novel The Wanderings and the Sufferings of the Sword Bearer Niculai from Milești (‘Peregrinările şi suferinţele spătarului Neculai din Mileşti’). He becomes a member of The Writers’ Union of Moldova and of The Theatrical Union; he is among the founding members of the Democratic Movement; a jury governed by the writer Ioan Alexandru awards him the Prize for Poetry of the magazine Transilvania (Sibiu, Romania). August 1988, he visits Romania for the first time at the invitation of The Writers’ Union of Romania. September 25, 1988 he married Claudia Postică, professor of Romanian Language and Literature. During the same year, he meets Henry Deluy, Emmanuel Okkar, Marie Etienne and Olivier Cadiot, whom he invited to Chișinău and whose poems he later translates into Romanian. In May 1989, he participates in the creation of The Peoples’ Front of Moldova, being a member in the Council and in their Permanent Bureau, as well as their spokesperson. In August (1989) he writes the final document of the first Great National Meeting About sovereignty and our right to have a future; at the same time the study The work of Nicolae Milescu Spătarul – a source for the study of the historical ethnology of the peoples of Siberia and of the Extreme Orient appears in the Compendium. In the same month his daughter Mușata is born.

1990

In 1990 the publishing house ‘Hyperion’ from Chișinău releases his second volume of poetry entitled "Sleep of wolf" (Somn de lup). During the same year he is chosen deputy in the Parliament of Chișinău, president of the Parliamentary Commission for the Mass-Media, member in the Presidium of the Parliament and on the 16th of December he is a leader of the second Great National Meeting which proclaims the independence of all Romanians from the territories occupied and annexed by the soviets and their right to reunite with Romania. He also writes The Proclamation (The Final Document) adopted by this meeting and participates, on the behalf of the Republic of Moldova at the Conference OSCE (The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) at The Human Dimension in Copenhagen. At the invitation of the Romanian community from Germany, he visits the Universities of Freiburg, Heidelberg and Tübingen, where he meets Eugen Coșeriu, Paul Miron and Klaus Heitmann. He then takes part in the negotiations with the leadership of USSR with regard to the so-called ‘new treaty’.

1991

1991 marks the release of the Romanian, Russian, English and French versions of the collection of documents called The Ribbentrop - Molotov Pact and its consequences in Basarabia (in collaboration with V.Văratic and I.Șișcanu). In the month of August of the same year, Valeriu Matei is the main author of the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Moldova from the Soviet Union. The prize George Bacovia is conferred on him by the magazine Ateneu (Bacău). He also participates in the Conference of the Francophone Associations of friendship and relations organised in Paris. On his return he takes part in the creation of the French Alliance in Moldova, of which he is a president of honor for 12 years. In 1992 he is awarded the prizes of the publication Flacăra (The Flame, Bucharest) and participates in the war at Dnister (Nistru).

1993-1994

During the period 1993–1994 he is a member in the Permanent Bureau of the Intellectuals Congress (later known as the Party of Democratic Forces), the director of the publishing house Hyperion and editor of the weekly Mesagerul (The Messenger). In 1994 the publishing house Junimea from Iași releases his volume of poetry The Death of Zenon; he was re-elected as a deputy in the Parliament of Moldova on behalf of the Party of Democratic Forces, the president of which he becomes on the 25 June 1994.

1995-1998

In 1995 he is awarded the Great prize for contemporary Romanian poetry Nichita Stănescu. In 1996 he is awarded the prize Mihai Eminescu by The Romanian Academy, as well as the prize for poetry by the International Academy Mihai Eminescu, refuses the decoration The Civic Merit (Meritul civic) conferred on him in the Republic of Moldova and runs for the presidential elections in Moldova. In 1998 he is re-elected deputy in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova on the lists of the Party of Democratic Forces, as well as vice-president of the Parliament and president of the Commission of cooperation between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union.

2000-2004

In the year 2000 the medal Mihai Eminescu (Romania) is conferred on him. In 2002 he is awarded the great prize Nichita Stănescu of the city of Ploiești for Opera Omnia and the trophy Nichita Stănescu. 2003 marks the release of his volumes of poetry The morning of the great city (Dimineaţa marelui oraş), Orpheus and the solitude (Orfeu şi singurătatea) and The imaginary Greece (Grecia imaginară). In 2004 he is awarded the National Decoration The star of Romania in the rank of colonel (Steaua României în grad de Comandor), as well as the prize for Literature of the Romanian diaspora from Germany.

2006-2009

In 2006, the completion of 1900 years since the end of the Dacian- Roman wars was the occasion for the publication of his volume "Sleep of wolf" (Somn de lup) by the publishing house Signs (Semne) in Bucharest. In 2007 he is awarded the prize Poesis at the International Festival Poesis organized in Satu Mare. In 2008 he publishes his volume Ziliada at the publishing house of the Cultural Foundation Poezia in Iași, for which he is awarded the Prize of the Writers’ Union. In 2009, in the collection ‘Critical editions’ of the publishing house Princeps Edit from Iași, he releases the anthology "The Elegies of the prodigal son" (Elegiile fiului risipitor). Valeriu Matei has published numerous articles of journalism, essays about literature (about Mihai Eminescu, Lucian Blaga, Nichita Stănescu, Arthur Rimbaud, Fr.Nietzsche, Terry de Montbrial, Eugen Simion, Grigore Vieru, Mihai Cimpoi and others) and has translated from French poetry (Arthur Rimbaud, Henry Deluy, Emmanuel Okkar, Marie Etienne, Olivier Cadiot), Russian poetry (Mihail Lermontov, Anna Ahmatova, Osip Mandelştam and others) and Spanish poetry (Federico Garcia Lorca). Member of the Romanian Academy 2011.

External links

• Cine au fost şi ce fac deputaţii primului Parlament din R. Moldova (1990-1994)?
• Site-ul Parlamentului Republicii Moldova

References

Agache Catinca. Valeriu Matei – exponent al modernizării limbajului poetic din lirica basarabeană, în vol.: Literatura română din țările vecine. 1945–2000. Iași, edit. Princeps Edit, 2005. Alexandrescu Sorin. Une nouvelle poésie roumaine en Moldavie, în vol. Une antologie de la poésie moldave, Paris, edit. L”Esprit de Péninsules, 1996. Alexandru Ioan. Tânărul poet, în Luceafărul, București, 9 iulie1988. Avramescu Lucian. Un poet de peste Prut - Valeriu Matei, în Tineretul liber. Supplement literar-artistic, București, 13 ianuarie1990. Bărbulescu Marian. Un poet al esențelor – Valeriu Matei, în Literatura și arta, nr.nr.42,43 din 21 și 28 octombrie 2004. Boaru Nicu. Nobila stirpe, în Telegraful de Prahova, nr.40 (1643), 28 februarie 2002. Busuioc Nicolae. Proiecție și viziune de sinteză imaginară, în Dacia literară, nr. 92 (5/2010). Călin Constantin. Valeriu Matei. Somn de lup, în Unirea, Focșani, nr.2, 15–21 August 1991. Chiper Grigore. Săgeata, lancea, spada, în Curierul de seară, Ch., 12 februarie 1991. Chiper Grigore. Fanarul exterior și Grecia imaginară, în Contrafort, nr.12, decembrie 2004. Cimpoi Mihai. Prologul, în Moldova socialistă, nr.283, 9 decembrie 1987; Cimpoi Mihai. O istorie deschisă a literaturii române din Basarabia. Ch., 1997. Cimpoi Mihai. Valeriu Matei și relecturile barbiene, în Critice, vol.IV, Demonul relecturii, Craiova, Fundația Scrisul Rămânesc, 2004, pp. 234 – 237. Cimpoi Mihai. Valeriu Matei, în Mica enciclopedie ilustrată a scriitorilor din Republica Moldova, p.p. 465 – 474, București –Chișinău, edit. Litera internațional, 2005. Cimpoi Mihai. Matei Valeriu, în Dicționarul general al literaturii române, vol L/O, p.p. 271 – 272, București, edit. Univers enciclopedic, 2005. Cimpoi Mihai. Modul intellectual al lirei, în Literatura și arta, 26 martie 2009, nr.12 /3315/. Cimpoi Mihai. Poetul cântecului trist al formelor, pref. la vol. Valeriu Matei. Elegiile fiului risipitor. Opera poetică, Iași, edit. Princeps Edit, 2010. Cioclea Eugen. Cartea de vizită, în Lanterna magică, Ch., nr. 5, 15–29 februarie 1992. Ciopraga Constantin. Valeriu Matei – poet al rezistenței, în Convorbiri literare, nr.9 (129), Iași, sept.2006. Codreanu Theodor. Singurătatea lupului, în Viața Basarabiei, nr.3, 2004. Codreanu Theodor. Un caz de postmodernism premodern, postf. la vol. Valeriu Matei. Elegiile fiului risipitor. Opera poetică, Iași, edit. Princeps Edit, 2010. Codruț Mariana. Căci nu sunt decât călcâi, în Cronica, Iași, 4 August 1989. Colesnic Iurie. Un poet ce-și cântă generația, în Ora satului, nr. din februarie 2004. Condurache Val. De la Nistru pân' la Tisa, în România literară, București, 27 iunie 1990. Corbu Daniel. Valeriu Matei sau noul expressionism liric, în Philologia, nr. 1-2, Ch., 2010 și în Cronica, nr.7 (iulie), Iași, 2010. Crăciun Victor. Postfață, în vol. Somn de lup, edit. Semne, București, 2006. Dabija Nicolae. Un spartan, în Literatura și arta, 26 martie 2009, nr.12 (3315). Dinescu Viorel. Orașul fără farduri, în Literatura și arta, Ch., nr. 48, 27 noiembrie 2003. Dinescu Viorel. Mai dreapta cinstire, în Literatura și arta, nr. 8, 26 februarie 2004. Dinescu Viorel. Ultima experiență, în Viața Basarabiei, nr.3, 2004. Dinescu Viorel. Portretul unui argonaut, în Literatura și arta, 26 martie 2009, nr.12 (3315). Dinescu Viorel. Paloarea luminii, în Literatura și arta, nr.13, 1 aprilie 2010. Dinescu Viorel. Șlefuitorul de versuri, în Literatura și arta, nr.21, 27 mai 2010. Doinaș Ștefan Augustin. O panoramă lirică necesară, în Cronica Română, București, 17 iunie1999; Groșan Ioan. Jumătate de veac de prizonierat, în Cuvântul, București, nr.36, septembrie 1991. Manea Ion. Valeriu Matei sau sacrificarea întru poezie, în Viața liberă, Galați, an.XV, nr.2299, 8 ianuarie 2009. Manolache Petre. Moartea lui Zenon de Valeriu Matei, în Porto-Franco, Galați, nr.3, 1996. Marcu Emilian. Valeriu Matei. Somn de lup, în Convorbiri literare, octombrie 2006, nr.10 (130). Matei Valeriu, în Dicționarul scriitorilor români din Basarabia. 1812–2006, edit. Prut Internațional, p. 302 -304. Nicolaev Matei. Destinul țării, mai întâi..., în Viața satului, nr.141, 21 noiembrie 1987. Poantă Petru. Ceremonialul începutului, în Tribuna, Cluj-Napoca, nr.32, 8–14 August 1991. Pop Ion. Între nufăr și spadă, în Vatra,Târgu-Mureș, nr.6, 1995; Popa Nicolae. Solemnitatea ca pretext, în Literatura și arta, Ch., nr.21, mai 1991. Prus Elena. Valeriu Matei ou le spectacle sacre de la poésie, în rev. Fenêtre Francophones, Chișinău, nr. 4 – 6, 2008 -2009. Rachieru Adrian Dinu. Un triptic, în Convorbiri literare, nr.7 (115), iulie 2005; Răileanu Vitalie. Șaisprezece ipostaze poetice, în Literatura și arta, 26 martie 2009, nr.12(3315) și în vol. Totul la prezent, edit. T-Par, Ch., 2010. Simion Eugen. Poezia lui Valeriu Matei, în Literatorul, București, nr.16, 1995 și în Scriitori români de azi, vol.IV, edit. David- Litera, Ch.-București, 1998; Sicoie Florin. Un poet adevărat, în Monitorul de Prahova, Ploiești, 5 aprilie 2002. Spiridon Vasile. Metafizică, în rev. Ateneu, nr.9, Bacău, 1995. Ștefănescu Alex. Diafanități, în România literară, București, nr.21-28, 1995. Tărâțeanu Vasile. „Și-n țara-mi sfâșiată urmăresc / singura pradă sacră – poezia...”, în rev. Concordia, Cernăuți, martie, 2009. Vicol Dragoș. Valeriu Matei. Condiția sacerdotala a poeziei, în Literatura și Arta, Ch., nr.12, 25 martie 1999. Vieru Grigore. Înnobilarea poeziei, în Tineretul Moldovei, Ch., 13 noiembrie 1987.