Gellu Naum (1 August 1915 – 29 September 2001) was a Romanian poet, dramatist, novelist, children's writer, and translator. He is remembered as the founder of the Romanian Surrealist group. The artist Lygia Naum, his wife, was the inspiration and main character in his 1985 novel Zenobia.[1]
In 1936 (the year when he published his first book), Naum met Victor Brauner, who became his close friend and who later introduced him to André Breton and his Surrealist circle in Paris.
In December 1947, the Surrealist group succumbed to the vicissitudes of postwar Soviet occupation and successful Communist takeover of Romania's government. As Socialist realism had officially become Romania's cultural policy, he could only publish books for children (out of which the two books with Apolodor were reissued several times). Although he published several books in the line of Socialist realism, which he reneged on afterwards, he never stopped writing Surrealist poems, such as the 1958 poem composed of several parts Heraclitus (published in the 1968 volume Athanor) or the esoteric manuscript The Way of the Snake, written in 1948–1949 and published after his death, in 2002.
Culoarul somnului, ("The Corridor of Sleep"; poems, illustrated by Victor Brauner), Bucharest, 1944
Medium (prose), Bucharest, 1945
Critica mizeriei ("Critique of Misery"; manifesto, co-written with Paul Păun and Virgil Teodorescu [ro])), Bucharest, 1945
Teribilul interzis ("The Terrible Forbidden"; drama, illustrated by Paul Păun), Bucharest, 1945
Spectrul longevității: 122 de cadavre ("The Specter of Longevity: 122 corpses"; drama, co-written with Virgil Teodorescu), Bucharest, 1946
Castelul Orbilor ("Castle of the Blind"; drama), Bucharest, 1946
L'infra-noir ("Infra-Black"; manifesto, co-written with Gherasim Luca, Paul Păun, Virgil Teodorescu, and Dolfi Trost), Bucharest, 1947
Éloge de Malombra – Cerne de l'amour absolu ("Malombra's Eulogy – Black Circle of Absolute Love"; manifesto, co-written with Gherasim Luca, Paul Păun, and Dolfi Trost), Bucharest, 1947
Filonul, Bucharest, 1952 ("The Vein"; prose)
Tabăra din munți, Bucharest, 1953 ("The Camp in the Mountains"; prose)
Așa-i Sanda, Bucharest, 1956 ("So Is Sanda"; poems for children)
Cartea cu Apolodor, Bucharest, 1959 ("The Book With Apolodor"; poems for children, illustrated by Jules Perahim)
Poem despre tinerețea noastră, Bucharest, 1960 ("Poem About Our Youth"; poems, illustrated by Jules Perahim)
Soarele calm, Bucharest, 1961 ("The Calm Sun"; poems, illustrated by Jules Perahim)
A doua carte cu Apolodor, Bucharest, 1964 ("The Second Book With Apolodor"; poems for children, illustrated by Jules Perahim)
Sora fântână ("Sister Fountain"; poems), Bucharest, 1995
Întrebătorul ("The Inquirer"; prose), Bucharest, 1996
Copacul-animal, urmat de Avantajul vertebrelor ("The Animal-Tree, followed by The Advantage of Vertebrae"), Cluj-Napoca, 2000
Ascet la baraca de tir ("Recluse in the Firing Range Shack"; poems), Bucharest, 2000
Calea șearpelui ("The Way of the Snake"), Bucharest, 2002 (posthumous)
Presence in English language anthologies
Testament – Anthology of Romanian Verse – American Edition - monolingual English edition -Daniel Ioniță (editor and principal translator), with Eva Foster, Daniel Reynaud and Rochelle Bews – Australian-Romanian Academy for Culture – 2017 – ISBN 978-0-9953502-0-5
Testament - 400 Years of Romanian Poetry - 400 de ani de poezie românească - bilingual edition - Daniel Ioniță (editor and principal translator) with Daniel Reynaud, Adriana Paul & Eva Foster - Editura Minerva, 2019 - ISBN 978-973-21-1070-6
Romanian Poetry from its Origins to the Present - bilingual edition English/Romanian - Daniel Ioniță (editor and principal translator) with Daniel Reynaud, Adriana Paul and Eva Foster - Australian-Romanian Academy Publishing - 2020 - ISBN 978-0-9953502-8-1 ; OCLC 1288167046
References
^Bota, Ana Maria (6 March 2005). "S-a stins din viață Lyggia Naum" (in Romanian). BBC News. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
^"Decretul nr. 138 din 20 aprilie 1971 al Consiliului de Stat al Republicii Socialiste România privind conferirea unor ordine ale Republicii Socialiste România, art. 12". lege5.ro (in Romanian). Buletinul Oficial. 31 December 1971.
^Dobrescu, Petre (1 October 2001). "Gellu Naum s-a stins din viață la 86 de ani". Libertatea (in Romanian). Retrieved 29 April 2024.