This collection includes: ON THE ENJOYMENT OF UNPLEASANT PLACES, AN APOLOGY FOR IDLERS, AES TRIPLEX, TALK AND TALKERS, A GOSSIP ON ROMANCE, THE CHARACTER OF DOGS, A COLLEGE MAGAZINE, BOOKS WHICH HAVE INFLUENCED ME, and PULVIS ET UMBRA.

The author's journals. Both volumes in a single file. According to Wikipedia: "Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 –1864) was an American novelist and short story writer... Much of Hawthorne's writing centers around New England and many feature moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. His fiction works are considered part of the Romantic movement and, more specifically, dark romanticism. His themes often center on the inherent evil and sin of humanity and his works often have moral messages and deep psychological complexity. His published works include novels, short stories, and a biography of his friend Franklin Pierce."

This file includes: Celtic Twilight, Four Years, Rosa Alchemica, The Secret Rose, Stories of Red Hanrahan, and Synge and the Ireland of His Time. According to Wikipedia: "William Butler Yeats (13 June 1865 - 28 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years Yeats served as an Irish Senator for two terms. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival, and along with Lady Gregory and Edward Martyn founded the Abbey Theatre, serving as its chief during its early years. In 1923, he was awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature for what the Nobel Committee described as "inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation." He was the first Irishman so honored. Yeats is generally considered one of the few writers whose greatest works were completed after being awarded the Nobel Prize;[2] such works include The Tower (1928) and The Winding Stair and Other Poems (1929). Yeats was born and educated in Dublin, but spent his childhood in County Sligo. He studied poetry in his youth, and from an early age was fascinated by both Irish legends and the occult. Those topics feature in the first phase of his work, which lasted roughly until the turn of the century. His earliest volume of verse was published in 1889, and those slowly paced and lyrical poems display debts to Edmund Spenser and Percy Bysshe Shelley, as well as to the lyricism of the Pre-Raphaelite poets. From 1900, Yeats' poetry grew more physical and realistic. He largely renounced the transcendental beliefs of his youth, though he remained preoccupied with physical and spiritual masks, as well as with cyclical theories of life."

This collection includes: Life of Schiller by Calvin Thomas and such works by Schiller as Death of Wallenstein, William Tell, excerpts from The Thirty Years' War, poetry, and Correspondence with Goethe. The German Classics Of The Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries, Volume 3, edited by Kuno Francke.

Book-length collection. According to Wikipedia: "Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (1854 - 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and author of short stories. Known for his barbed wit, he was one of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day. As the result of a famous trial, he suffered a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years of hard labour after being convicted of the offence of 'gross indecency.'"

Book-length study of the great playwright by a great novelist. According to Wikipedia: "Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 - 1936) was an influential English writer of the early 20th century. His prolific and diverse output included journalism, philosophy, poetry

Brief biographies of Benjamin West, Sir Isaac Newton, Samuel Johnson, Oliver Cromwell, Benjamin Franklin, and Queen Christina. According to Wikipedia: "Nathaniel Hawthorne (born Nathaniel Hawthorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer."

Classic biography of Lincoln, first published in 1899. According to Wikipedia: "According to Wikipedia: "Abraham Lincoln is a 2-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln written by John Torrey Morse (1840-1937). Originally published in 1893, the New York times found it to be "for its scope, admirable. It will even stand up and appear respectable in the most distinguished company of Lincoln biographies that might be assembled." The author is "a sane biographer, who brings to the task of writing about Lincoln a mind that aspires to see clear and think straight, instead of one held slavishly subject to a heart's desire to make Lincoln out a hero without fault or blemish." The Atlantic Monthly noted that Morse had "attempted a bit of scientific painting and not a portraiture to the life. The book is a criticism, consequently, rather than an appreciation." They also noted that Morse concentrates mostly on the five years that Lincoln was in office... In 1987, Gabor Boritt noted that Morse was the first biographer to have "fully exemplified as well as diagnosed the above ailment [the schism between the self-serving, not very admirable politician that Lincoln was up until 1860 versus the later "unparalleled greatness"]." Morse has written of "the insoluble problem of two men - two lives - one following the other with no visible link... we have physically one creature, morally and mentally two beings."

Cafeaua fierbinte coboar i urc n acelai timp, ceaca se umple, pereii rotunzi se nclzesc, Tante Dante (din prun) simte cldura i se trezete, Nea Tza simte n nri aburul cafelei i deschide ochii, midiile snt deja fierbini, Tante Dante ateapt cuminte, n prun, s fie servit. De ani de zile, n fiecare diminea, mblnzitorul privete amuzat cum cafeaua fierbinte readuce la via imaginea inscripionat pe ceaca de cafea, mblnzitorul privete cum, simind cldura cafelei, Tante Dante i Nea Tza ncep s se mite de fiecare dat dup acelai scenariu, adresndu-i din fotografia aceea fierbinte aceleai cuvinte, de ani i ani de zile:— Bun dimineaa, Tante Dante!— Bune midii, Nea Tza!“

O sut? cincizeci de mii la peluze e una dintre cele mai puternice c?r?i scrise ?n perioada postsocialist?. E o carte care, la fel ca ?i Tratat de Tanatofobie sau ?oboloniada (de Steliana Grama) va bulversa, cu siguran??, clasamentele literaturii contemporane. Doar c?, spre deosebire de celelalte dou? c?r?i, tragem n?dejdea c? cei care fac critic? literar? nu vor str?mba din nas ?i o vor citi acum. Iar dac? acest lucru nu se va ?nt?mpla, suntem siguri c? peste ani se va g?si cineva care o va descoperi ?i o va aprecia la justa valoare. (Dumitru Crudu)Diana Iepure e o poet? matur? ?i complet?, textele ei sunt scrise bine ?i controlate, iar cartea unitar? adun? ?i formeaz? o lume proprie, ceea ce e foarte important pentru un poet, o lume contradictorie ?n raport cu titlul c?r?ii. Un experiment interesant, cu r?d?cini ad?nci ?n .md, care m? face curios ?n leg?tur? cu urm?torul proiect al Dianei Iepure. (Mihail Vakulovski)Poezii ca ni?te scrisorele sau file de jurnal simulat adolescentin. Cele mai bune mostre, ?lefuite ?i frizate exact c?t s? nu par? prea aranjate, sunt parc? inspirate de noua sinceritate sau, ?i mai bine, de experien?ele holistice, intime ale performatismului. Diana Iepure este valoroas? pentru c? reu?e?te s? scape influen?elor. Uneori, e bine ca poe?ii s? stea mai mult ?n cas?, s? c?nte la pian, s? vad? c?t mai rar al?i poe?i. (Felix Nicolau)

Zece basarabeni pentru cultura rom?n? face parte dintr-un proiect mai amplu numit Interviuri cu tinerii dintre milenii. Anul 2000 era considerat unul mistic ?i chiar apocaliptic, s-a vorbit ?i s-a scris foarte mult despre aceast? cifr? plin? de simboluri, oricum, atunci treceam nu doar dintr-un secol ?n altul, ci ?i dintr-un mileniu ?n altul. Cum erau tinerii care au tr?it aceste momente, ce f?ceau, cum g?ndeau, ce proiecte de viitor aveau? – cartea aceasta ne r?spunde la aceste ?ntreb?ri-st?ri. Tinerii ale?i pentru dialoguri erau ?n focul ac?iunii, ?n v?rf, iar acum fiecare e o certitudine, nici unul nu a tr?dat speran?a investit? ?n ei, chiar dac? soarta lor – inevitabil – s-a schimbat de atunci.Dumitru Crudu nu mai scrie poezie, ?n schimb, acum a debutat ?i ca romancier ?i e unul din cei mai aprecia?i dramaturgi contemporani, piesele sale fiind puse ?n scen? pe toate continentele, ceea ce se ?nt?mpl? ?i cu piesele Nicoletei Esinencu, care atunci ?nc? nu debutase ?n volum, de?i textele ei erau jucate pe scena unor teatre de prestigiu at?t din Rom?nia, c?t ?i din Rusia, SUA, Germania, iar acum are c?r?i publicate ?i aici, ?i peste hotare. ?tefan Ba?tovoi a devenit ieromonahul Savatie, poetul deosebit de talentat dintre milenii s-a c?lug?rit, ?i-a f?cut o editur? ?i a ?nfiin?at ?i o revist?, iar c?r?ile sale de dup? c?lug?rire, romane ?i eseuri existen?iale, sunt poate cele mai citite c?r?i, cel pu?in asta spun v?nz?rile. Alexandru Vakulovski nu mai e debutantul furios care demonstreaz? prin c?r?ile sale de debut (3!) c? se poate scrie ?i altfel, revolu?ion?nd limbajul ?n literatura rom?n?. ?ntre timp, trilogia Letopizde? a fost publicat?, scriitorul edit?nd ?i c?teva c?r?i de poezie, iar piesele sale de teatru au fost traduse ?i editate ?n antologii din str?in?tate, unde au fost dramatizate, poeziile sale fiind selectate ?i pentru antologia de poezie din SUA, New European Poets, cea mai recent? carte a sa fiind romanul 157 de trepte spre iad sau Salva?i-m? la Ro?ia Montan? (Editura Cartier, 2010). Vasile Ernu a lucrat la una dintre cele mai mari edituri din Rom?nia, a editat o carte de mare succes (N?scut ?n URSS, Editura Polirom, 2007), tradus? ?n mai multe limbi, iar pe a doua a publicat-o direct ?n str?in?tate. Pavel P?duraru ??i continu? lupta ziaristic?, dar ?ntre timp s-a afirmat ca poet ?i a publicat ?i un roman destul de controversat, care a provocat multe discu?ii. Mito? Micleu?anu este, al?turi de Florin Braghi?, fondatorul ?i realizatorul ?Planetei Moldova“. ?ntre timp, Florin s-a concentrat pe munca de designer, iar Mito? pe literatur?, edit?nd trei c?r?i ?i devenind una dintre cele mai sigure voci literare. Roman Tolici este unul dintre cei mai aprecia?i arti?ti plastici tineri, expun?nd mai mult ?n str?in?tate dec?t acas? – la Praga, Strausberg, Celje, Berlin. Super-boxerul Octavian ??cu a devenit un om de ?tiin?? la fel de st?p?n pe noile instrumente de munc?, care scrie c?r?i de istorie ?i lucreaz? la multe proiecte valoroase. Iar Zdob ?i Zdub este una dintre cele mai populare ?i mai originale forma?ii de limb? rom?n?, c?nt?nd la prestigioase festivaluri europene, ?n turnee de promovare a albumelor sau pur ?i simplu ?n concerte, purt?nd marca unui nou stil: hardcore moldovenesc.Ce-i une?te pe ace?ti arti?ti ?nc? tineri? ?n primul r?nd, locul na?terii, to?i fiind rom?ni basarabeni, apoi limba ?n care creeaz?, to?i cei ?zece“ intervieva?i trec?nd Prutul ?i activ?nd ?n cultura rom?n?. Interviurile sunt splendide, Mihail Vakulovski fiind un maestru ?n domeniu, iar r?spunsurile sunt deschise, directe, lipsite de orice fel de inhibi?ii. O carte cu siguran?? interesant? ?i pentru cititorii dintre mileniile trei ?i patru. Lectur? pl?cut?!

Volum nominalizat la sec?iunea ?Critic?. Istorie ?i Teorie Literar?“ – Premiile ?Observator cultural“, edi?ia a VI-a, 2012 Acest al doilea volum abordeaz?, tot din perspectiva experimentalismului, care sufer? ?n contextul postdecembrist anumite ?radicaliz?ri“, poezia autorilor intra?i ?n literatur? dup? 1990. Asemenea ?radicaliz?ri“ (care pot fi subordonate unei ideologii/retorici a excesului) sunt privite din perspectiva conceptului de ?hiper?modernitate“ teoretizat de Gilles Lipovetsky, pe care autorul ?l propune ?n locul celui (consacrat) de postmodernism. Plec?nd de aici, sunt luate ?n discu?ie abord?rile teoretice ale ultimelor dou? promo?ii poetice, ca ?i ?manifestele literare“ (fracturist, utilitarist etc.) ale acestora ?i sunt analizate c?teva direc?ii poetice, situate ?n continuitatea experien?elor experimentaliste discutate ?n volumul anterior.

Un caleidoscop ?n care se rotesc ?ncet imagini din copil?ria cu mineri, decantoare ?i benzi care transport? c?rbunele sau din adolescen?a ?ntr-o uniform? albastr?. Textele astea spun, ?n fond, pove?ti despre oameni dragi. (Ana Pu?ca?u)Ce-?i r?m?ne de f?cut atunci c?nd e?ti num?rat ?dup? gloan?e“, c?nd ajungi s? asociezi cele mai bune vremuri cu ?primele defil?ri“, prin fa?a ochilor ?i se deruleaz? ?toate marile filme ale indiferen?ei“, iar ?n loc de cer nu mai reu?e?ti s? vezi dec?t ?sute/de mii de c?m??i albastre cu epole?i“? Nu-?i r?m?ne altceva dec?t s? ratezi ?tot ce se putea rata“, asta e lec?ia pe care o ?nva?? at?t de bine ?i o pred?, iat?, mai departe, f?r? gre?eal?, fosta elev? a L(iceului) M(ilitar). De?i pare imprimat pe o band? magnetic?, iar limbajul este ?n esen?? unul sever, discursul ?pedagogic“ din te a?tept ca pe un glonte las? s? se strecoare printre r?nduri suficient din emo?iile, respira?iile sau ezit?rile instan?ei emitente, astfel ?nc?t abilitatea celei aflate la pupitru s? devin? de necontestat. Pentru c?, da, Ana Pu?ca?u convinge f?r? probleme, indiferent dac? scrie despre identit??i furate, manevre sterile, r?zboi, iubire sau ratare. (Cristina Ispas)Un spa?iu disciplinar, depresiv, amenin?at de gloan?e, p?ndit de moarte – o zon? biografic? marcat? de absolvirea LM-ului. Prezen?a semnificativ? a conjunctivelor ?i condi?ional-optativelor m? face s? cred c? totul ar putea fi ?ntocmai, iar rezultatul, exact cel b?nuit, c? oricine poate juca rolul principal propus de Ana Pu?ca?u. Concrete?ea spa?iilor nu se dezminte nici un moment, poeta r?m?n?nd fidel? geografiei ?i istoriei imediate, realiz?nd astfel un sumbru decor al lumii la ?nceput de mileniu; cu fabrici dezafectate, baruri, camioane ?i, de ce nu, cu Bosnia sau Basarabia. Teama care str?bate volumul, ca o ven? sub?ire, tr?deaz? fragilitatea de care literatura ultimelor decenii are at?ta nevoie. Debutul poetic al Anei Pu?ca?u este – probabil – cel mai a?teptat (?i mai reu?it) din zona Timi?oarei, ?n ultima vreme. (Moni St?nil?)

Selon Wikipedia: "Victor-Marie Hugo (26 février 1802 - 22 mai 1885) était un poète, dramaturge, romancier, essayiste, artiste visuel, homme d'?tat, militant des droits de l'homme et représentant du mouvement romantique en France. La renommée littéraire vient d'abord de sa poésie, mais repose aussi sur ses romans et ses réalisations dramatiques Parmi les nombreux volumes de poésie, Les Contemplations et La Légende des siècles sont particulièrement estimés et Hugo est parfois identifié comme le plus grand poète fran?ais. La France, ses ?uvres les plus connues sont les romans Les Misérables et Notre-Dame de Paris (connu aussi en anglais sous le titre de Le Bossu de Notre-Dame), bien que conservateur conservateur dans sa jeunesse, Hugo devint plus libéral au fil des décennies. il est devenu un partisan passionné du républicanisme et son travail touche à la plupart des questions politiques et sociales et aux tendances artistiques de son temps: il est enterré au Panthéon.

According to Wikipedia: "Walter Horatio Pater (4 August 1839 - 30 July 1894) was an English essayist and critic of art and literary critic....his study of "Aesthetic Poetry" appeared in the Fortnightly Review, to be succeeded by essays on Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Pico della Mirandola and Michelangelo. These, with other similar studies, were collected in his Studies in the History of the Renaissance in 1873. Pater, now at the centre of a small but interesting circle in Oxford, gained respect in London and elsewhere, numbering the Pre-Raphaelites among his friends.... by the time his philosophical novel Marius the Epicurean appeared, he had gathered quite a following. This, his chief contribution to literature, was published early in 1885. In it Pater displays, with fullness and elaboration, his ideal of the aesthetic life, his cult of beauty as opposed to bare asceticism, and his theory of the stimulating effect of the pursuit of beauty as an ideal of its own. The principles of what would be known as the Aesthetic movement were partly traceable to Pater and his effect was particularly felt on one of the movement's leading proponents, Oscar Wilde, a former student of Pater at Oxford. In 1887 he published Imaginary Portraits, a series of essays in philosophic fiction; Appreciations, with an Essay on Style was published in 1889 with a revised second edition in 1890; in 1893, Plato and Platonism; and in 1894, The Child in the House. His Greek Studies and his Miscellaneous Studies were collected posthumously in 1895; his romance Gaston de Latour appeared posthumously in 1896; and his essays from The Guardian were privately printed in 1897."

According to Wikipedia: "Washington is seen as a symbol of the United States and republicanism in practice. His devotion to civic virtue made him an exemplary figure among early American politicians. Washington died in 1799, and in his funeral oration, Henry Lee said that of all Americans, he was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Washington has been consistently ranked by scholars as one of the greatest U.S. Presidents."

According to Wikipedia: "William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism, and one of the first modern proponents of anarchism. Godwin is most famous for two books that he published within the space of a year: An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, an attack on political institutions, and Things as They Are or The Adventures of Caleb Williams, which attacks aristocratic privilege, but also is virtually the first mystery novel. Based on the success of both, Godwin featured prominently in the radical circles of London in the 1790s. In the ensuing conservative reaction to British radicalism, Godwin was attacked, in part because of his marriage to the pioneering feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft in 1797 and his candid biography of her after her death; their child, Mary Godwin (later Mary Shelley) would go on to author Frankenstein and marry the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Godwin wrote prolifically in the genres of novels, history and demography throughout his lifetime."

Biography by the author of Treasure Island. According to Wikipedia: "Henry Charles Fleeming Jenkin (25 March 1833 - 12 June 1885) was Professor of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh, remarkable for his versatility. Known to the world as the inventor of telpherage, he was an electrician and cable engineer, a lecturer, linguist, critic, actor, dramatist and artist."

Biography of one New England author by another.? According to Wikipedia: "Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist, dark romantic, and short story writer. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, the only judge involved in the Salem witch trials who never repented of his actions. He entered Bowdoin College in 1821, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1824,[1] and graduated in 1825. He published his first work in 1828, the novel Fanshawe; he later tried to suppress it, feeling that it was not equal to the standard of his later work.[2] He published several short stories in periodicals, which he collected in 1837 as Twice-Told Tales. The next year, he became engaged to Sophia Peabody. He worked at the Boston Custom House and joined Brook Farm, a transcendentalist community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple moved to The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, later moving to Salem, the Berkshires, then to The Wayside in Concord. The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. A political appointment as consul took Hawthorne and family to Europe before their return to Concord in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, and was survived by his wife and their three children."

Book-length autobiography, first published in the North American Review in 1906. According to Wikipedia: "Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 - April 21, 1910), better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was a humorist, satirist, lecturer and writer from the United States of America. Twain is most noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which has since been called the Great American Novel, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He is also known for his quotations. During his lifetime, Twain became a friend to presidents, artists, leading industrialists and European royalty. Twain enjoyed immense public popularity, and his keen wit and incisive satire earned him praise from both critics and peers. American author William Faulkner called Twain 'the father of American literature.'"

Am ales cazul de ruptur n evoluia unor exponeni proemineni din literatura romn actual, ruptura care a dus fie la impas, fie la regenerare. Pentru termenii conflictului un factor hotrtor l-a constituit n condiiile date epoca n formele ei de constrngere i de emulaie. Sunt convins c n alte circumstane ecuaia ar fi avut componente diferite. Nu sugerez c ar fi obligatorie restrngerea n ilustrarea pe care o propun, s-ar mai fi putut aduga cu aceeai ndreptite, recunosc, i alte aplicaii. Analizele nu sunt exhaustive, ele insist asupra unui fenomen caracteristic. Deruta ivit la unii pe traseu, parial sau total, s-a articulat pe planul angajrii civice i al nchegrii estetice. Trebuie s remarc o diferen n abordare, deoarece unii din cei selectai (G. Clinescu, M. Preda) nu mai sunt n via, aadar pentru ei e exclus posibilitatea unei schimbri de destin. A survenit pentru toi necesitatea unei racordri la orizontul epocii moderne, la presiunea raporturilor de for, la nvala dogmatismului, la ansele unei sincronizri cu Europa. Imperios necesar a fost lepdarea de prejudecile naionaliste i provinciale, ieirea din comarul ideologiei i al somaiei dure.“ – S. Damian