The Foundation

Romania

                              Bucharest, december 1997

I'm writing to  you  with the feeling - still of grief
caused  by a painful absence, the same feeling I had a
year ago  when  my husband,  the writer  Marin Sorescu
left  us  all  forever,  but  nevertheless,  also with
the  feeling  of  his  thoughts and spiritual presence
beside me.

When he died, he left an amazing number of unpublished
manuscripts:  poetry, prose, essay and journal. In the
last period of his life, totally aware of every single
fact,  my husband  gave me detailed  instructions  for 
the complete publication of his posthumous work.

For  Romanian  Writing, as  critics often  underlined,
Sorescu's existence and  masterpieces have an enormous
signifiance; he melts by means of an extemely original
style, previous sources of spiritual evolution. He had 
the chance, due to the mark of his talent to be easily
translatable and also  to bear  the stamp  of Romanian
Spirituality,    thus    becoming   a   wellknown  and 
distinguished figure in universal literature.

I don't know whether  I will  have enough  strength to
bring all his wishes to reality during my own life and
to carryout all those tasks I  was  assigned  when  my
husband was getting ready for his sad departure.

However I managed to materialize one of his primordial
wishes: to  solve all the legal matters allowing us to
create  the  "Foundation  Marin  Sorescu",   meant  to
maintain the writer's memory alive.

The Foundation has such aims as the publication of his
posthumous  works,  the  new  edition  of  his already
published  books  in  a series of "Complete Works" and 
the  publication  as well  of  new  exegetic materials, 
some of them being in course of elaboration at present.

At the same time, the  Foundation  aims to promote the 
translation  and  spreading  of his works so that they 
continue  being   known  all   over  the  world. Other
activities  of  cultural  promotion are also foreseen:
calls   for   "Marin  Sorescu  Prizes"   addressed  to
aknowledged  poets  and  playwrights  as  well  as the
organization of  literary circles on  poetry in  which
prizes for talented debutant authors will be awarded.

The  Foundation  intends  to  organize  Festivals  and 
Sessions   in   collaboration   with   other  cultural 
intitutions, in various Romanian cities and to promote
the staging of Sorescu's dramas.

My husband's  wish  was that  our whole  estate should
become part of the  Foundation  patrimony;  therefore,
this includes  now  our house in Bucharest,  a flat in
Craiova  and a large villa  in  the poet's  home-town,
Bulzesti,  in which  he invested all  his  savings and
which will soon turn into his Memorial House.

The Foundation will  become - according  to the poet's
will - a cultural focus with a national and  hopefully
international  exposure. It would  be a pleasure and a 
honour, both for me and the Foundation,  to receive as
members  of  it,  all   those   people   who  consider 
themselves  spiritual  friends  of  Marin Sorescu,  or 
who understood  his  genius  and  wish to preserve his
memory.

If you are willing to fraternize in posterity with the
one who was and still is a great poet and  an original
and complex writer, and you  would accept to  become a
member of the "Foundation Marin Sorescu" and a  sharer
of  his  generous initiatives, the poet's  spirit  and 
memory  would  feel,  through   my  person,  extremely
grateful.