My relationship to Romania began with travels (sponsored by “Teachers for Tomorrow”) to Deva where, during three summers, I taught conversational English, Internet skills,  and poetry to students at Scoala Andrei Muresanu.  The generous people of this city helped me to understand and to love Romania and this has led to friendships, to poems and to collaborative translation. Radu Doru Cosmin, an English teacher in Deva, introduced me to the poetry of Bacovia and urged me to help translate his favorite poet into English. Travel with Romanian friends led to “The Bear Cave” (one of my “square” poems).

Translations from Romanian Nichita Stanescu  (1933 - 1983)        My current translation project involves working with Romanian physicist, Stelian Apostolescu, to translate some of Stanescu's poems with math-science themes.  Apostolescu and translation partner Brenda Walker have made substantial contriubtions to translation of Romanian poetry into English--inlcuding work by George Bacovia, Lucian Blaga, and Nichita Stanescu.         These are several of the poems that Stelian and I have translated:     Working with Gabriel Prajitura (mathematics professor at SUNY Brockport), he and I have translations of these poems by Stanescu which were first published in CIRCUMFERENCE in the Summer/Autumn 2004 issue.             Lecţia despre cub / A lecture on the cube             Lecţia despre cerc / A lecture on the circle   Ileana Malancioiu  (1940 -  ) Cântai fals / You Sang Out of Tune Îmi amintesc adeseori / Often I Remember Sora mea de dincolo /  My Sister Beyond Privesc cum plouă / I Watch It Rain These translations appear in SORA MEA DE DINCOLO / MY SISTER BEYOND, a bilingual collection by Bucharest poet Ileana Malancioiu, co-translated by Radu Doru Cosmin and JoAnne Growney, published in Romania (2003) by PARALELA 45.   George Bacovia  (1881-1957)   Monosilab de toamnă / Monosyllables of Autumn Strigoii / The Ghosts Marş funebru / Funeral March Pantofii / Shoes   These translations appear in LEAD OF WINTER (PLUMB DE IARNA) a Romanian-English bilingual collection of work by Romanian symbolist poet George Bacovia, translated into English by Radu Doru Cosmin and JoAnne Growney, published by Criterion Publishing (2002), Norcross GA.     Also I have written poetry about Romania.