Somewhere a blind child

Ion Cristofor discovers the world as he discovers the poem, which he creates obsessively in an imaginary laboratory. Sensuality and spirituality coexist in a recurring natural world, giving rise to a curious mix of cynicism and purity. This serves the basis of his poetry's characteristic compassion which sets him apart from fellow members of the '80s Generation': Romania's leading literary current of confessional poets who endured the harshest part of the communist regime and witnessed and wrote about the events preceding and following the 1989 Revolution.

Cristofor's poems leave the door open to possibilities: there is always more beneath the surface. A self-possessed seeker who builds upon his most authentic self with unwavering direction, he is a poet to welcome into the English language with open arms.

Ion Cristofor (b.1952) is a poet, literary critic, and translator with a doctorate in Romanian literature. He is former editor of Echinox journal and a member of the leading literary circle of the same name. He has published over twenty books of poetry and essays, some of which have been translated into Italian, German, French, and Catalan. In addition to his many awards in his native Romania, Cristofor has received the University of Freiburg's Publication Prize and an honorary diploma of membership from the Romanian-Israeli Cultural Centre in Haifa, Israel. Authors he has translated into Romanian include Tahashi Arima, Alain Petre, Alain Jadot, Paul Emond, Philippe Jones, and Liliane Wouters. He has translated, coordinated, and edited anthologies of poetry from Japan and Tunisia.

Ion Cristofor's poetry leaves the door open to possibilities. There is always more beneath the surface of these poems. He "discovers the world as he discovers the poem", which he creates "obsessively" in an imaginary laboratory. Sensuality and spirituality coexist in a recurring natural world, giving rise to a curious mix of cynicism and purity. This serves the basis of the compassion which both qualifies and sets him apart as a member of the "80s Generation": Romania's leading literary current of confessional poets who endured the harshest part of the communist regime and participated in the 1989 Revolution.

A self-possessed seeker who builds upon his most authentic self with unwavering direction, Ion Cristofor is a poet to welcome into the English language with open arms.