Departed Moldovan poet commemorated in Chisinau

Chisinau, 18 May /MOLDPRES/ - A show titled “Omul duminicii,” (Man of Sunday), dedicated to departed poet Grigore Vieru, took place at the Chisinau-based Nicolae Sulac National Palace on 17 May – the day of the Ascension of the Lord. The event was organized by the Concert and Impressario Organization Moldova-Concert, with the support of the Education, Culture and Research Ministry.      

Attending the event, Education, Culture and Research Minister Monica Babuc said that the show was dedicated to a man who had given us importance through his works.  

“We came today, on the holiday of Ascension of Lord, to pay homage to the matchless poet, to prove together with artists on the stage how big our respect and valuing are for the heritage left by the one who contributed in a special way to the return of the national values and their taking root in the spirit of our nation. Grigore Vieru lives also after his death through his poems, which penetrated our souls deeply and arouse special feelings,” the official stressed.   

According to Monica Babuc, the Man of Sunday is a title which fits Grigore Vieru best of all. And this given that, on Sundays, we become more human, look more in the eyes of our children, meet our parents and the poet was a man of Sunday, as he sang his mother, parents’ house, language, motherland and, certainly, love in his poems.  

For her part, the wife of the departed poet, Raisa Vieru, thanked Minister Monica Babuc for the organization of this concert, which will remain in the memory of all those in love with the poems of Grigore Vieru.  

More well-known light, folk music singers performed at the concert.  

Poet Grigore Vieru was born in the Pererata village, Hotin county, now Briceni district, on 14 February 1935. He is the author of more volumes of poems, especially for children. Vieru was also a co-author of a well-known ABC-book. Grigore Vieru’s works were translated into English, Russian, German, Italian, Bulgarian and other languages. In 1988, Vieru was awarded the most prestigious international distinction in the field of literature for children – Honorary Diploma  Hans Christian Andersen.      

In 1996, Grigore Vieru was awarded the Order of the Republic. In 1990, he was elected Honorary Member of the Romanian Academy and in 1993 – corresponding member of this Academy. The poet died in the wake of a traffic accident on 18 January 2009. Grigore Vieru was posthumously awarded the National Order Star of Romania in Degree of Grand Cross. Presently, more schools from Moldova, a boulevard in the Moldovan capital and a street in Iasi, Romania, bear his name. There is also an international poetry festival which bears his name, organized in Romania and Moldova, which is at its tenth issue in 2018.      

(Reporter N. Roibu, editor L. Alcaza)