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Showing posts from May, 2018

In Memoriam: Doina Cornea

In the summer of 1988, my mother took me along on a trip to Cluj.  My recollections are vague; the giant 'Mathias Rex' statue in today's  Unirii Square (back then known as ' Libertatii -freedom - Square'), excitement at taking the tram and the bus, an oppressive summer sun beating down on the city. But I also remember a small leafy street, mom holding my hand tight as she pushed past a small gate into a little yard, and the affectionate welcome we received from her former French Literature professor, Doina Cornea. I knew there was an element of danger to the situation though what I understood about it is uncertain. What is certain is that they left me outside to play, while they went to speak inside a walk-in pantry. I later understood they had gone into the pantry because there were no microphones there. At the time, I did not associate microphones with singing and live music. I understood microphones to be small, hidden devices, planted inside people's