by Oliviu Crâznic
Le-Fin-de-Siècle of my youth:
The boys were cool, the girls were hot;
“We live in freedom” was the rule –
It was my time, and now it`s not.
Le-Fin-de-Siècle, Age of Hope:
The stars were gazing back at me;
“There`s fire hidden in the smoke” –
But that was never meant to be.
This new Millennium we`re in,
These new old laws, this “New Thought” rhyme…
I see the sickle on our flag –
So, maybe, it`s my fading time.
About the author:
OLIVIU CRÂZNIC [photo by Mihaela Nazarie] is a Romanian national and international awarded novelist, poet, translator, literary critic, anthologist, conferee, former member of “Imagicopter: The Author/Artist Cooperative” (2012-2017) and legal advisor. Born in 1978; his parents, Oliviu and Dorothea, are both certified and distinguished Romanian Language and Literature teachers. He graduated from Faculty of Law with a thesis on Forensic Science (2001) and from Pro Medierea Association`s Conflict Resolution course (2008). His literary career began in 2010, when he published the celebrated Gothic novel …And Then the Nightmare Came at Last (Vremea Publishing House). His short stories and novellettes were published alongside those of famous contemporary (George R.R. Martin) or classic (Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert E. Howard, Rudyard Kipling, H.P. Lovecraft, Guy de Maupassant, Saki) writers. In 2015, he published the acclaimed short story collection The Witching Hour (Crux Publishing House). He is mentioned in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (J. Clute, P. Nicholls) and literary analysis on his works appeared in academic journals such as Equinox Journal (Faculty of Letters, “Babeș-Bolyai” University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania). He appeared in Ciprian Mitoceanu`s novellette The Redemption (as a literary character). He was invited to speak on various literary themes and topics at Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature – University of Bucharest, at Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures – “Dimitrie Cantemir” Christian University (alongside Ana-Maria Negrilă, PhD), and at Romanian Academy (Romanian Committee for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology). He acted as the moderator of Bucharest International Literature Festival – special Science Fiction & Fantasy evening (2014) and he was guest author at International Festival of Literature and Translation of Iași (2018). He was one of the two jurors (alongside Ana-Maria Negrilă, PhD) of the Literary Contest for Students and Graduate Students (Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures of “Dimitrie Cantemir” Christian University, 2018-2020). He is a regular contributor to cultural magazines: EgoPHobia (2010-present), Apostrof (a Writers` Union of Romania magazine, 2018-present). Author`s Official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/oliviucraznicofficialpage. Author`s Official Blog: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4939353.Oliviu_Craznic/blog.
