Recitals of Poetry by Lucian Blaga in California

Recitals of Poetry by Lucian Blaga in California
With Poet-Actress from Bucharest, Lidia Lazu

LucianBlaga self-portrait

O, I want do dance
        as I have never danced!
Let God not feel himself
        a prisoner in me.
Earth, give me wings:
I want to be the arrow tearing infinity,
to see only sky around me,
sky above
and sky below -
burning in waves of light
I want to dance
torn by the lightning of
       unborn desire
so God will breathe freely in me
and will not say: "I am a prisoner in his dungeon!"

 by Lucian Blaga
Translation by Andrei Codrescu

YOU ARE INVITED to a recital of poetry accompanied by music and art, dedicated to the well known Romanian poet and philosopher, Lucian Blaga, the creator of the interesting Romanian concept of "Mioritic Space." During the month of May 2008, the actress-poetess Lidia Lazu will give four performances dedicated to Blaga at several locations in California. Lidia was invited to California by the Viitorul Roman Society, a non-profit organization founded in 1926, and by Ileana Costea, the Society's Cultural Director. Lidia will come from Bucharest, Romania to enchant us with her talent and the beauty of Blaga's verses. In her performance Lidia alternates reciting in both Romanian and English. The paintings of the American artist Jerry W. McDaniel and the musical compositions of Liviu Marinescu will create the artistic background of the recital. Jerry W. McDaniel was impressed by Blaga's poems which he discovered in the beautiful translation of Andrei Codrescu, and inspired by them created a series of sketches and paintings to illustrate the poems that Lidia Lazu recites. The publication of a book of Blaga's poems and Jerry's painting is being planned.

All "I Want to Dance" art © Jerry W. McDaniel 2008

The shows will take place:

• Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 12:00 noon, after mass
  “Saints Michael and Gabriel” Church
  590 Vela Road, Palm Springs, California 92264
  
  Information by phone: (760) 770-4917 or email: liviupopa66@yahoo.com The performance and lunch are sponsored by the church. Donations to benefit the church and the poetry recital will be welcome. On this occasion you can also admire the beautiful interior of the little church decorated by paintings made in traditional Byzantine style by artist Tatiana Popa, the priest's wife. The paintings are delicate as well as strong and evocative.

• Sunday, May 18, 2008 at 3:00PM
  "Inaltarea Sfintei Cruci" Church
  7501 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90046
  
  
  
  Ticket price for show and buffet dinner: advanced purchase $25 per person on-lie at: www.viitorulroman.com or by mail (checks made to Viitorul Roman Society), and $30 per person at the door. For reservations call (323) 254-3886 or (626) 357-0730 or write to calugarita@aol.com. Additional donations for the poetry recital can be made on-line or by mail by calling first.

• Sunday, May 22, 2008 22, Rotary Club Newbury Park, California (www.clubrunner.ca), during the weekly Thursday meeting in Westlake Village, CA. This club has several on-going projects with Romania. Call (818) 784-0813 or write to ileana.costea@gmail.com

• Sunday May 25, 2008, at 12:30 p.m. after mass
  “Invierea Domnului” Church (www.holyresurrectionparish.org:8080/w/), Hayward, California, in the Hall of “Casa Romana”. Donations to benefit the church and the poetry recital will be welcome. For information call (510) 501-9413 or email: odleonte@comcast.net.

Lidia Lazu Actress and Poetess

Lidia collaborated to numerous magazines: Luceafarul, Viata Romaneasca, Poesis, Romania Literara, Arges, and Curierul de Vilcea and published several volumes of anthologies and poems. She gave numerous recitals with poetry of Blaga and Bacovia in various towns in Romania. In a recent show on TV Cultural, Bucharest, Romania, Lidia talked about her new English title of the Blaga recitals: "I want to Dance !"

Email: lazulidia@yahoo.co.uk

Liviu Marinescu - Composer

Liviu is an internationally acclaimed composer of avant-garde music, currently teaching and directing the music composition program at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Liviu's musical compositions were played in several countries, the US (recently by the Nimbus Quartet in Los Angeles), in the Check Republic and in 2007 at the prestigious George Enescu Festival, Bucharest, Romania.

Email: liviu.marinescu@csun.edu
Website: http://www.csun.edu/~liviu7/

Jerry W. McDaniel, Fine Artist

Having had created over 1000 paintings and computer art images, numerous magazines and newspapers praised his work. "One welcomes Jerry McDaniel's computer images for their exoticism: They seem to humanize the tyrannical aspects of the computer. Who would not warm to the needlepoint-look of his images of a pineapple and a bird of paradise?" NEW YORK TIMES

Email: jerrywmcdaniel@yahoo.com

© Jerry W. McDaniel ’98 Bird of Paradise 3

Ileana Costea, Producer
Professor, California State University, Northridge (CSUN)
Cultural Director, Viitorul Roman Society

Ileana organized several cultural and artistic events of Design, Art, & Architecture, Book Fairs, Piano Recitals. Recently she organized art exhibitions "Romanian Painters in Los Angeles" - 2005, and "Two Romanian Sculptors: Brancusi & Mateescu" 2006.

Email: ileana.costea@gmail.com