ASSUMING LANGUAGE IDENTITY THROUGH EXILE IN NORMAN MANEA’S FICTION
ASSUMING LANGUAGE IDENTITY THROUGH EXILE IN NORMAN MANEA’S FICTION

Summary/Abstract: The Romanian literary exile has always been an important part of the Romanian literary culture, in the same way in which exile has earned a significance place in the Romanian destiny. These displacements are determined by the terror of communism on culture, on the one hand, and on the creator of cultural values on the other hand. It is absolutely clear what stands behind the departure motivation. But, what is not very clear, especially after 1989, is what happened with the migrant writers’ destinies and why the connection with Romanian readers has been practically interrupted or, worse, canceled. After 1989, the exile literature has been continuously integrated within the national canon. This integration involves editing, reediting, translations, including the dictionaries and anthologies. The diasporic condition offered Norman Manea the possibility to create as many perspectives as he experiences or remembers. But it is the identity that is responsible for connecting his past with his living present. In Norman Manea’s case identity is embodied in the Romanian language he is writing in, and which became his home. His deep Self lives in Romanian language, where it searches and manages to find the best words to express.

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