Two Canadian celebrities : Alice Munro and Leonard Cohen in Romania

This article analyses the way in which two important Canadian celebrities – Alice Munro and Leonard Cohen – have been perceived by the Romanian public. Before winning the Nobel Prize in 2013, Munro had only one volume of short stories translated into Romanian – Too Much Happiness / Prea multă fericire (Litera, 2011). As her fame grew internationally, three more of her fourteen volumes of stories – Dear Life / Dragă viaţă (2014, 2017), Runaway / Fugara (2014) and Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage / Ură, prietenie, dragoste, căsătorie (2014) – were issued by the same publisher. Cohen became known in the late 1960s, although his records were a rarity. It was only in the new millenium that Romanians could enjoy his concerts (2008, 2009, 2012), the novels Beautiful Losers / Frumoşii invinşi (2003) and The Favorite Game / Joaca preferată (2008), both published by Polirom, and two books of poetry. Today, their presence is kept vivid through numerous essays devoted to their arts of story-telling, music and poetry.

Cet article a pour but de montrer la voie par laquelle deux célébrités canadiennes – Alice Munro et Leonard Cohen – sont arrivées à la connaissance du public roumain. Avant d'être couronnée par le prix Nobel de littérature en 2013, Munro n'avait qu'un seul recueil de courts récits traduit en roumain – Too Much Happiness / Prea multa fericire (Litera, 2011). Comme sa renommée a grandi à l'international, trois de ses 14 volumes – Dear Life / Draga viata (2014, 2017), Runway / Fugara (2014), et Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage / Ura, prietenie, dragoste, casatorie (2014) – ont été publiés par le même éditeur. Cohen commence à être connu vers la fin des années '60, ses disques étant difficiles à trouver. Au cours des décennies suivantes, les Roumains ont apprécié ses concerts (2008, 2009, 2012), ses romans Beautiful Losers / Frumosii invinsi / (Polirom, 2003) et The Favorite Game / Joaca preferată (Polirom, 2008) et deux receuils de poésie. Aujourd'hui, leur présence est maintenue dans de nombreux essais consacrés à leur art de la narration ou talent musical et poétique.