Leon Feraru and the Invention of Romanian Cultural Diplomacy in the United States

To honor the memory of the writer, academic and diplomat who did more than anybody else at the beginning of the 20th century to promote Romanian culture & arts in the United States, we’re pleased to announce the launch of our newest permanent program, “The Leon Feraru Conference Series”. Set up in partnership with Columbia University’s East Central European Center as a platform for Romanian-American intellectual dialogue, the series debuts with a talk and exhibition devoted to the great man himself. Guest speakers: professors Mona Momescu and Christopher J. Caes.   

Leon Feraru (1887-1960), poet, academic, diplomat, and journalist, was the most active figure of the Romanian-American cultural relations at the beginning of the 20th Century. He truly is, as the first co-director of the Institute of Romanian Culture established at Columbia University in 1925, the very founder of the Romanian cultural diplomacy in the United States. Born Otto Enselberg/Inselberg…