Caption: Novelist Bogdan Suceavă, associate professor of mathematics, was in downtown Târgu Mureș, Romania, last June. The visit there was “somehow special for me,” he said. His grandfather left Ibanesti, Mures, 85 years ago to look for work south of Carpathians. He was as a professional truck driver for many years in Câmpulung Muscel and died in 1945, after a war incident. Suceavă went back to Mureș County in 2010 during a book tour to talk about his novel “Coming from An Off-Key Time.”
Free Public Lecture March 16
Romanian Novelist, Mathematician to Discuss Eastern Europe
March 11, 2011 :: No. 94
What:
Cal State Fullerton’s Bogdan Suceavă, associate professor of mathematics and a critically acclaimed novelist, will give a free public lecture on “Literature, History and Politics in Eastern Europe.” Presented by the university’s European Studies Program, the lecture is open to the public, as well as students, faculty and staff members.
When:
Wednesday, March 16
4-5:30 p.m.
Where:
Cal State Fullerton’s Center for Oral and Public History
Pollak Library, Room 360
800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton, 92831
Why:
Suceavă grew up in Romania and as a college student, witnessed the 1989 Romanian revolution. This so-called “transition” period and its impact on the country’s culture fascinated him, motivating him to write his novel “Coming from an Off-Key Time” (2011 Northwestern University Press). He will speak about his home country’s cultural chaos during recent Romanian history, his perspective on the transformation of Romanian society after 1990, and his experiences working on his latest novel.
Background:
Suceavă joined the CSUF faculty in 2002. He teaches upper-division math courses, as well as courses to prepare future math teachers. The Irvine resident has been called one of Romanian literature’s most promising writers and received the 2007 Fiction Award of the Association of Bucharest Writers for his novel “Miruna, A Tale.” That work was described by one critic as a “ literary jewel, one that puts readers under a strange and unique spell.” In addition, he has written books of short fiction and several collections of poetry. His research interests include differential geometry and metric geometry.
Quote:
“I wrote ‘Coming from an Off-Key Time’ because I felt it was my duty to write a lucid book about the culture I was born into, and to try to cover the logic of a world that seems to be attracted more by its own illusions than reality,” Suceavă said.
Info:
Contact Cora Granata, director of the European Studies Program, at 657-278-3568.
Media Contacts:
Bogdan Suceavă, Mathematics, 657-278-7535 or bsuceava@fullerton.edu
Debra Cano Ramos, Public Affairs, 657-278-4027; 657-278-2414 or dcanoramos@fullerton.edu
