Gaudeamus Fair has begun

Bucharests cultural agenda is dominated these days by the Gaudeamus book fair organized by Radio Romania.

Bogdan Matei, 15.11.2018, 13:52

One century since the establishment of the Romanian nation state, 90 years since the first broadcast aired by Radio Romania and 25 years since the first edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair, are the three anniversaries marking this year’s celebration of books and reading, organized by the Romanian public radio corporation.

The Romanian Literature Museum, jointly with Radio Romania and the Bucharest City Hall, has on display 600 volumes devoted to the Great Union of 1918, when, at the end of World War I, all the provinces inhabited by Romanians previously under Austro-Hungarian and Tsarist occupation, became part of the Romanian state. The central theme of the fair is, in fact, the Romanian Centennial, after the previous editions were devoted to the US or the Scandinavian countries, to Israel or the Russian Federation.

Here is the president and director general of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation, Georgica Severin: “This year we did not want a guest of honour in the common sense of the phrase. Instead, we have chosen to focus all activities around this major event which is the Centennial. We cannot say that Romania is the guest of honour in Romania, we only found it natural this year to give a chance to the Romanian culture to be the star of this fair.”

Top level Romanian publishers offer countless titles on a discount: more than 2,000 books from Polirom, over 1,300 from RAO, over 1,000 from Humanitas, to name but a few. This year’s edition brings together mostly domestic publishers, in more than 300 stands, although foreign participants are also present. The agenda comprises around 900 events, from book launches to screenings, round tables and public lectures. The organisers also announced that they prepared a Black Friday campaign for books only.

The president of the Romanian Academy, Ioan Aurel Pop, who is also this year’s honorary president, gave the Gaudeamus inaugural address on Wednesday: “I invite the Romanian public to celebrate books. Books deserve to be placed on a pedestal, because they comprise the wisdom of humankind, a fragment of which is the Romanian nation’s wisdom that should be taken into account by all of us.”

In turn, the Culture Minister, George Ivascu, underlined the international dimension of the event: “How could we reaffirm our freedom more clearly than by quick and unhindered access to the ideas and interests of the other humans on the planet? So let me say, ‘Happy anniversary, Gaudeamus!’, ‘Happy anniversary, Radio Romania!’, ‘Happy anniversary, Romania!’”