A book launch held Wednesday evening at the “George Apostu” Cultural Centre in Bacău drew an exceptionally large audience, with all available seats filled and late arrivals following the event from the building’s stairs.
The event marked the opening of the CelebrART cultural programme and featured the launch of Conjuncturi și conjecturi. Revelațiile diacroniei, a collection of essays by Romanian writer and literary critic Gheorghe Iorga.
The event, titled “The Book Show”, was opened by Ovidiu Ungureanu, director of the “George Apostu” Cultural Centre. Literary critic Ion Tudor Iovian discussed the breadth of Iorga’s volume, which explores a wide range of subjects and literary traditions, including paraliterature, French poetry, Arabic literature, 18th-century French literature and North American literature.
Moderator Marius Manta highlighted Iorga’s long-standing commitment to scholarship, reading and cultural research, describing him as a representative of a tradition of intellectual work built away from the fast pace of contemporary media.
Daniel Pocovnicu focused on the author’s intellectual approach and its Enlightenment-inspired belief in the role of books, reason and culture in shaping society and opening paths towards the future.
The evening also had a personal dimension, as Iorga dedicated the volume to Marius Manta, acknowledging a longstanding intellectual and personal friendship. Lucian Bogdănel, a member of the Romanian Parliament’s Committee for Culture, Arts and Mass Media, recalled an interview with Iorga published in 2007 under the title “Writing? An Adventure on Your Own!”, noting the continuity of the author’s literary journey nearly two decades later.
The literary programme was accompanied by a solo violin performance by Daria-Maria Popescu, a student at the “George Apostu” National College of Arts, under the guidance of teacher Lenuța Potop. The event also included the presentation of issue No. 65 of Vitraliu, a cultural magazine published by the “George Apostu” Cultural Centre.
The large turnout offered a notable image at a time when declining interest in reading and culture is frequently discussed. Organisers said the opening event of CelebrART demonstrated that, when given a meaningful space for public interaction, books can still bring large audiences together around literature and ideas.
