A Message to the Launching of Contemporary Literary Horizon 1/2014

On Saturday, April 12, 2014, 11:00 a.m., the multilinguistic magazine Contemporary Literary Horizon is organizing the annual event called “Intercultural Spring 2014. Romanian and foreign authors and the translation of the contemporary literary text”.

Issue no. 1 (39) / 2014 of Contemporary Literary Horizon, which is in its seventh year of existence, is being launched on this occasion. The content of the new issue is diverse, balanced and includes a wide range of literary texts signed by Romanian, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and German authors. The translations were made by teams of students and translators coordinated by Professor Lidia Vianu and Monica Manolachi, University of Bucharest.

The guests will speak about the magazine and about their own experience as writers and translators.

Editor-in-chief Daniel Dragomirescu is to refer to the evolution of the CLH intercultural project over the last year, since the last meeting with its public in April 2013, as well as to the relationship with the contributors to the magazine, both from the country and from abroad.

In the second part of the event, the audience will listen to music and will be invited to a debate on topics related to translating the contemporary literary text.

Among those expected to participate are: the readers of the magazine, MA and BA students, as well as lovers of literature, culture and intercultural relationships from Bucharest and elsewhere. (Shortened excerpt from a press release by Daniel Dragomirescu)

Dedicated to the editorial team and the audience

“For whom am I writing?

Should I know this?

In any case I am writing for me.

Can I have an idea of

who is able to read and, above all,

who is willing?”

Many authors around the globe may have similar thoughts – the young ones in particular but also the experienced and successful writers.

You never can be sure who your readers are, how they think and interpret your intentions, what they are depending on: traditional believings, fashion, political reprisals, diplomatic cheatings or just the empty behavings of permanent consuming and “chilling out”.

I have put my doubts into perspective since Daniel Dragomirescu – meanwhile a real friend of mine – introduced to me his magazine “Contemporary Literary Horizon”, and I feel honoured by contributing to this multilingual and multicultural publication since 2010.

First I am impressed by the enormous variety of actual literature from so many countries, I appreciate the different styles and purposes of a fascinating and increasing community of authors. And all this is united in one magazine!

My second aspect of valueing CLH is of political nature.

One might suppose that such an example of independency and open-minded creative power would come from one of the leading so-called free nations, but CLH is published in Romania, in one of the younger member states of the European Union.

In my opinion this is a sparkling signal that freedom cannot be regarded as a domain of some “first-world-states” only which, by the way, seem to get tired of freedom as they are acting more and more against democratic principles.

Freedom and democracy stand for humanity worldwide, so they have to be propagated and defended by convincing but nonviolent argumentation.

In this sense I am very thankful especially to the editor in chief, Daniel Dragomirescu, and his competent team for the support of my new philosophy which I call “Cosmonomy” and which is documented in the “Cosmonomic Manifesto”. Several cosmonomical essays have been published in various CLH editions.

So, from Paderborn in Germany, I am sending best wishes for the CLH launching in Bucharest on April 12^th, 2014.

Kind regards to all people who join the event at the National Literature Museum and pay tribute to our “Contemporary Literary Horizon”.

Let us stand together in widening our horizons for the benefit of mankind. Humane writing and reading is it worth.

Raymond Walden