Astra

The L@st Witch

excerpt (Yes, man, it was her, Dalia, his girlfriend from fifteen years back, the sausage girl, the blonde at the slaughter house, married to the drunken sub-lieutenant who was away one week at a time on field practice, yeah, mate, the one you first saw at a meeting with

A Shortcoming

If we were to maintain that the erotic language as an independent writing mode has at present been obliterated from Romanian literature, we would, perhaps, make a serious overstatement, but not lie entirely: it might seem peculiar, but this European literature, which is

The Wedding Book

excerpt  A few violent knocks on the door startled him. Vera hid under the blanket again, and Jim pushed the door ajar. It was the maid, who wanted to know if they were still there, puzzled by the fact that they hadn't come out of the house till noon. They hurried

What Mystery Love Is...

Around 1820, Barbu Paris Mumulean thus concluded one of his poems: Hankering I will not fade / Cupid cometh but in aid / thus in luxury I may / crave until I wilt away. In actuality, these verses word the ideal of a generation that sets out to inventory, and answer for,

The National Spirit, 1926

The polemic, sustained by two journals, around a problem that is admittedly dated has yet to die down. One of them maintains that we are surrounded by Chinese walls, that we vegetate in an oriental indifference when we are not openly hostile toward the flow of ideas and

Pioneers Forever

Pioneer's honor if I lie to you! I don't know why, but I skipped school the day I was supposed to become an Oktombrel (a sort of junior pioneer), when I was in the first grade. You can imagine my suffering for not having participated in the ritual which made you

Think About The Elephant

My dear child, when you're sickOr feel afraid or sad,Think about the elephant.  One day, a baby elephant,In the jungle went astray,Where it's hot and humid –He was alone and lost his way.  He was scared and thirstyAnd looking to cool down,To take a bath at

The Colored Continent

excerpt AUREL FRECKLE ENTERS ZOOLOGY COUNTRY SUSPECTING NOTHING OF THE UNEXPECTED EVENTS THAT AWAIT FOR HIM THERE.  So, Aurel got out of the car, ready to head for Zoology Country, and Rodica Pencilcase slammed the door of the colored car with all her might, started the

International Relations

INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION Since the declaration of the Danube Delta and its geo-morphological appendages as a Biosphere Reserve in 1990, specialist environmental protection institutions from abroad have displayed interest in developing collaborative relations with the

The Maritime Cemetery Of Sulina

I enter Sulina as one would enter a myth; that is to say, I have that feeling of chimerical quality, of life heightened into memory. The ship sets anchor, therefore I find myself at Sulina, the gateway to the Delta, watching the white countenance of the town, the neatly

The Dobruja Patrimony Of The National Village Museum

Director of Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum in Bucharest Ethnological research of Dobruja represented an important objective for the experts at the Village Museum starting from the 1950-1960s. Dobruja proved to be one of the most fascinating regions due to the history

The Danube Delta In The Modern Age

The desire to possess the navigable channel and to exploit the richness of the Danube Valley has generated many military conflicts and diplomatic disputes, which have permanently marked the history of the people settled on its banks. During the first half of the 19th century,