American novelist
Petru Popescu (born February 1, 1944, in
Bucharest ,
Romania ) is a
Romanian-American writer, director and
film producer , author of the novels Almost Adam and Amazon Beaming .
The son of theater critic Radu Popescu and actress Nelly Cutava, he graduated from the Spiru Haret National College, after which he studied English language and literature at the
University of Bucharest .
[1]
[2] His debut was a collection of poems, Zeu printre blocuri ("A God Between Apartment Buildings"). In 1969, he published Prins ("Caught").
He went on a Herder scholarship to
Vienna (1971–1972), and in 1973 participated in the
International Writing Program at the
University of Iowa .
[3]
After participating in that writing program, Popescu defected in 1973
[4] or 1974 while in
England on a private trip related to the English translation of his book Sfârșitul bahic ,
[1]
[5] taught comparative literature in Great Britain,
[6] and moved to the United States in 1975, where he studied at the Center for Advanced Film Studies of the
American Film Institute .
[7]
[8] The Romanian government tried him for treason.[
citation needed ] In Romania his books were banned.
[9]
At the time of his defection he was the
Union of Communist Youth secretary of the
Romanian Writers' Union and a candidate member of the Central Committee of the
Union of Communist Youth .
[10]
In the United States, he married Iris Friedman, with whom he has two children: Adam and Chloe.
[11] His 2001 novel The Oasis is noted as "A memoir of love and survival in concentration camp" written in the first person as if in the words of the biographee, Blanka Friedman.
Popescu received a letter from
Robert Redford inviting him to submit a script for consideration for the
Sundance Film Festival .[
citation needed ] In 1983, Popescu took Death of an Angel to Sundance, where the script came to near finalization. The festival enabled him to find backers for the film, which was released in 1986.
[12]
[13]
Novels written in Romanian
1969 - Prins
1970 - Dulce ca mierea e glonțul patriei
1973 - Să crești într-un an cât alții într-o zi
1973 - Sfârșitul bahic
1974 - Copiii Domnului
1993 - Înainte și după Edith
2002 - Întoarcerea
2002 - Oaza
2003 - În coasta lui Adam
2008 - Urme în Timp
2009 - Supleantul
[14]
1973 - Bough
1974 - Blues
1975 - Burial of the vine
1975 - Boxes, Stairs & Whistle Time
Popescu, Petru (1977). The Last Wave . Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
ISBN
0-207-13591-6 .
1978 - Before and After Edith
Popescu, Petru (1989).
In Hot Blood . New York: Fawcett Gold Medal.
ISBN
0-449-14554-9 .
Popescu, Petru (1991).
Amazon Beaming . New York: Viking.
ISBN
0-670-82997-8 .
Popescu, Petru (1996).
Almost Adam : a novel . New York: William Morrow.
ISBN
0-688-14863-8 .
Popescu, Petru (1997). The Return . New York: Grove Press.
ISBN
0-8021-1613-2 .
Popescu, Petru (2001).
The Oasis: A Memoir of Love and Survival in a Concentration Camp . New York:
St. Martin's Press .
ISBN
0-312-27869-1 .
Popescu, Petru (2001).
Weregirls: Birth of the Pack . New York: Tor Teen.
ISBN
978-0-7653-1641-7 .
2008 - Weregirls: Through the Moon Glass
Popescu, Petru (2008).
Footprints in Time . New York: Laura Geringer Books.
ISBN
978-0-06-088400-0 .
Popescu, Petru (2009).
Girl Mary . New York:
Simon & Schuster .
ISBN
978-1-4165-3263-7 .
1972 - Drum în penumbră - as producer
1977 -
The Last Wave (aka Black Rain in USA) - Ultimul val - as producer
1982 -
Friday the 13th Part III (1982) (uncredited) ... aka Friday the 13th Part 3 (USA: video title)
1984 - Obsessive Love - (TV, story) - as writer
1986 -
Death of an Angel - Moartea unui înger - as director
1988 - Emma: Queen of the South Seas TV mini-series - as writer
1994 - Nobody's Children (TV)- as writer
^
a
b Giorgioni, Remus Valeriu; Buiciuc, Constantin (2000).
"PETRU POPESCU - "Sînt multe momente cînd tresare în mine România și nu încerc să le reprim" " (in Romanian).
România Literară . Archived from
the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-08-03 .
^ Sasu, Aurel (2006). Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române . Pitești: Paralela 45. pp. 410–411.
^
"Petru POPESCU" . iwp.uiowa.edu . Retrieved August 3, 2014 .
^ Tuca, Marius (November 20, 2009).
"Petru Popescu: "M-am despărțit de Zoia pentru că mi-era frică de Ceaușescu" " .
Jurnalul Național (in Romanian). Archived from
the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014 .
^
"Petru Popescu: De ce am plecat din România, devenind transfug în 1974?" .
Jurnalul Național (in Romanian). October 19, 2010. Archived from
the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014 .
^ Constantin, Dumitru (January 17, 2011).
"În 1976, Petru Popescu declara româna o limbă folclorică și-l critică pe Soljenițîn" (in Romanian).
Cotidianul . Retrieved August 3, 2014 .
^ Kleiner, Dick (14 August 1984). "Romanian Director Finds Pleasure in American Life". Ocala Star-Banner .
^
"DOCUMENTAR - Petru Popescu, un scriitor care crede că lipsa de țeluri este cea mai mare nefericire" (in Romanian).
Agerpres . Retrieved August 3, 2014 .
^ Petrakos, Chris (June 5, 1996).
"Petru Popescu's 'Almost Adam' Is No Great Discovery" .
Chicago Tribune . Retrieved August 3, 2014 . [
dead link ]
^ Nedelcovici, Bujor (2001).
"Sîntem cu toţii inocenţi?" (in Romanian).
Romania literara . Archived from
the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2014 .
^ Roseti, Roxana (October 11, 2009).
"Bună ziua, domnule Petru Popescu, bună ziua, Beverly Hills!" (in Romanian). jurnalul.ro. Archived from
the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014 .
^ "Redford Helps Romanian Director". Toledo Blade . 19 August 1984.
^ Thomas, Bob (21 July 1984). "Thanks to Robert Redford-Independent Filmmaker Gets Chance to Prove His Ability".
Schenectady Gazette .
^
"inauthor:Petru inauthor:Popescu - Google Search" . www.google.com . Retrieved 2023-10-19 .
International National Other