One of life's special opportunities came to me ten years ago in Bucharest when I had the opportunity to meet poet Ileana Mălăncioiu and, along with my co-translator Doru Radu, enjoy a afternoon beer with her in a sunny cafe and talk of the opportunity of translating her collection Sora mea de dincolo / My Sister Beyond. These fifty-four poems were written in response to the illness and eventual death of Mălăncioiu's sister; the bilingual collection with our translations came out in 2003 (Paralela 45). During the past year I have faced the critical illness of a family member and have, during this time, found Mălăncioiu's poems especially relevant.
With university studies in philosophy (PhD) and experiences as journalist and editor, Mălăncioiu is a thoughtful observer who offers new best ways of seeing what is at hand. Here is her "Forty Days."
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