The Walls Behind the Curtain: East European Prison Literature, 1945–1990

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Published by the University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15260 Copyright © 2012, University of Pittsburgh Press All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Printed on acid-free paper 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The walls behind the curtain : East European prison literature, 1945–1990 / edited by Harold B. Segel. p. cm. — (Pitt series in Russian and East European studies) ISBN 978-0-8229-6202-1 (pbk.) 1. Prisoners’ writings, East European—Translations into English. 2. Europe, Eastern— Literary collections—Translations into English. I. Segel, Harold B., 1930– PN6069.P7W35 2012 808.8’9947—dc23 2012022364 Three Romanian poems by Ion Caraion (1923–1986) Neconoscutul ferestrelor [The Mystery of Windows] Mă-ntorceam de la propria mea [I was coming back from my own înmormîntare. burial. Fusesem pus să vorbesc despre I had been asked to speak about mine. myself. Dar am uitat unde şi am uitat cine But I forgot where and I forgot who ieşea din ţintirim c-un ospiciu-n was leaving the cemetery with a spinare. . . . madhouse on his back. . . .] La marea putredă [At the Putrid Sea] Vă vom chinui, vă vom ucide şi [We will torture you, we will kill you vom rîde and we will laugh pe urmă vom fi ucişi şi se va rîde then we will be killed and be laughed at sîntem destul de bătrini şi de vicleni we are old enough and clever enough să nu ne pese not to care totul e adevăr, chiar şi minciuna everything is true, even the lie totul e minciună, chiar şi adevărul— everything is a lie, even the truth— înturnericul se face singur. darkness creates itself.] Halucinaţie [Hallucination] M-au luat şi m-au executat. [They took me and executed me. Mai e liber un pat. Another bed is free. Priveşte şi-ascultă: Watch and listen: niciodată singurătatea n-a fost mai never was there more solitude. multi. Prin ciulinii somnului, Through the thistles of sleep, umblă desculţă Maica Domnului. the Mother of God walks barefoot.] ...