Matei Calinescu intre literatura si critica literara

This study looks at Matei Călinescu’s life, work, and ideas. Ana C. Vîrlan explores his work as a critic and theorist. She also studies him as a novelist, poet, and journalist. The book has three parts, for readers who study literature. It links shifts in his work to his life and values.

The first chapter looks at his childhood. It explores his roots in the lower middle class. It traces his years in Bucharest and his studies. It also looks at his early work for the press. The next chapter turns to his work before exile. It studies his press pieces from 1957–1965. Most appeared in Gazeta literară and Steaua. It also looks at his first book. Its title is Titanul și geniul în poezia lui Eminescu. His books of criticism from 1965–1973 show how his ideas grew.

One section looks at four books of poems. These are Semn, Versuri, Umbre de apă, and Tu: elegii și invenții. It asks what time means in terms of thought. Another section reads Viața și opiniile lui Zacharias Lichter as a parable. It explores masks, play, and the world as a circus. It compares the work with Kahlil Gibran’s Profetul. This brings out the theme of the prophet whom others misunderstand. It looks at the outcast’s search for truth and the divine.

The last chapter studies Călinescu’s mature work as a critic. It covers his time in exile and the years that followed. It also looks at his views on society and politics after communism fell. Vîrlan shows how he formed his theories. First, he placed shifts in culture within their political setting. Her main focus is what set his writing and criticism apart. She links this to his standing among scholars in America and Europe. His press work and memoirs add context. She gives these less space in her study.