Eugene O’Neill’s Romanian Memory Revisited through Petru Comarnescu’s Diary and Correspondence
Eugene O’Neill’s Romanian Memory Revisited through Petru Comarnescu’s Diary and Correspondence

Summary/Abstract: My paper investigates the records of an exemplary transatlantic connection discontinued by the historical break in Romanian-American relations that occurred after the second World War and the onset of Communism in Eastern Europe. I will look closely at samples of intellectual affinity between the artistic vision of American playwright Eugene O’Neill and the viewpoints expressed by his Romanian critical supporter Petru Comarnescu. Caught in the net of memory, the two cultural personalities sustain each other as well as the values of their respective cultural spaces, their connection being also an instance of cultural agency on behalf of the Romanian side: thus, consolidating the canonic position of Eugene O’Neill as an American playwright led to the inclusion of Petru Comarnescu in the Romanian and international critical canon. As primary sources, I will be using extracts from Comarenscu’s diary and the letters he exchanged with O’Neill during the 1930s and 1940s. Given that O’Neill’s cultural memory in Romania is at present on the wane, a revival of interest in this respect would be more than welcome.

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