Mihai Eminescu was born on January 15, 1850 in the
village of Botoșani, Romania. The poet would later be referred to as
the beacon, “the morning star of Romanian literature.” His poetry is now
renowned all over the world, printed in countless editions. His poems have been
translated into seventy languages and some of them have become folk songs.
Hundreds of books have been written about his life and death; memorials in his
honor have been erected and streets named after him. The year 1989, the 100th
anniversary of Eminescu’s death, was declared ‘International Eminescu Year’ by
UNESCO and he was also named ‘poet of the year’ in 2000.
Unfortunately, the poet neither received such acclaim
nor enjoyed fame during his lifetime.
Despite the fact that Mihai Eminescu’s contemporaries
were impressed by the broad scope of his education, his intelligence, the
richness of his poetic style and the unique harmony present in his poetry,
Eminescu’s life was filled with depravation, wandering, hostile attitude
towards him, ceaseless work and poverty.
