Edgar Allan Poe in Transylvania: Poe’s short stories and gothic elements in nineteenth century Romanian literature

Abstract

This study presents a new integrative image of the reception of Edgar Allan Poe in Romanian literature, especially in the second part of the nineteenth century, and offers new perspectives on translations of his work into Romanian. Although his writings were eventually translated into Romanian, his work had become known earlier through French translations by Charles Baudelaire. Poe’s work, translated from French, was published in various Romanian language publications during the second half of the nineteenth century. At the beginning of the 20th century a great number of direct translations into Romanian became available, many of these being found in Transylvania and the Banat. This paper discusses the re-analysis of these Romanian translations, the plurality of which suggests an on-going interest in Poe’s literature. The paper specifically focuses on the particular conditions of translations published in areas in East-Central Europe that were inhabited by Romanians. The study also approaches the influence of Poe on Romanian literature by highlighting new critical perspectives on Romanian writers’ interests in the American author’s works.