Carmen Bugan and Alina Cumpan / Romanian Women Voices in North America

Women writers dominate the literature written by Romanians in North America. Our literary series, turning the spotlight on this phenomenal wave of creativity, organized in partnership with Denver-based Bucharest Inside the Beltway, brings together the largest group of Romanian-American and Romanian-Canadian women writers we have ever assembled in the cyberspace. The program, co-curated with author and academic Cristina A. Bejan, offers a series of readings full of passion, truth and skill to match a time of tumult and reinvention.

The third episode features poet and academic Carmen Bugan and poet and cultural promoter Alina Cumpan.

Watch on our Facebook, YouTube and website on Tuesday, October 20, 2 p.m. EDT or any time later.

Carmen Bugan is a prize-winning writer based in Long Island, NY. She was born in Romania and has lived in England, Ireland, and France.  Educated at the University of Michigan and Balliol College, Oxford University, UK, with a PhD in English Literature, she is the author of four collections of poems (the most recent one a Poetry Book Society Special Commendation), an internationally acclaimed memoir, and a highly praised critical study. Her work has been translated into several languages and appears in publications such as PEN Atlas, Modern Poetry in Translation, the TLS, Harvard Review, PN Review, and others. Her book of essays, Poetry and the Language of Oppression, is forthcoming from Oxford University Press.

Alina Cumpan - poet, editorialist, and cultural promoter - likes to describe herself as a citizen of the world. Having been raised in Romania, she received a Master Degree in Public Administration Management and two Majors in Political Science and Economical Science along with other educational programs in diplomacy, migration, and youth policies. In Romania she showed her commitment to public service and cultural projects. In the United States, Alina has had a successful career in claims administration and management and has been generous with her time as a volunteer for Immigrant Justice Center, RUF and other community organizations. Since 2017 she’s the president of Authentic Society for Language and Romanian Culture from Chicago.

Next authors in the series: Claudia Serea, Diana Manole, Clara Burghelea, Roxana Cazan, Anca Mizumschi, Adela Sinclair, Alina Ștefănescu, Lucia Cherciu, Amanda L. Andrei, Andreea Scridon.

Watch the previous episodes here:

Ep. 1 / Cristina A. Bejan and Alta Ifland

Ep. 2 / Mihaela Moscaliuc and Domnica Rădulescu

The program is organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York and Bucharest Inside the Beltway with the support of NARPA - North American Romanian Press Association.