by Oliviu Crâznic
The magick in our tale,
Deceiving and untrue:
I`m not the greatest poet –
But, darling, nor are you.
Forget my last love letter,
Our sonnet – let it fade
And I shall not remind you
The promises we made.
[John Tenniel illustration for Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”, 1858]
There is, my playful angel,
No „after”, nor „before”:
Through our bleeding mirrors,
I see the closing door.
Forged in your crimson silence,
One question: „Friend or foe?…”
No need to voice my answer:
All these words I leave to Poe.
About the author:
OLIVIU CRÂZNIC is a Romanian (Transylvanian) 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) and on the Travel Channel show Expedition Unknown (as a vampire expert). 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 is 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, 2018-2019) and 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.
“Oliviu Crâznic is a true Romantic, a character descended form his own extraordinary and spectacular prose, a melange of Baudelaire, Edgar Allan Poe and Walter Scott, crafting his art under the scrutinizing eyes of Bram Stoker and H.P. Lovecraft. Read his novel, read his stories, and you will completely understand my statement!” (Șt. Ghidoveanu, Radio România Cultural`s Science Fiction and Fantasy specialist, in Galileo Online, Nov. 2012)