ETA BOERIU BETWEEN THE MUSIC OF POETRY AND POETRY OF MUSIC. TRANSLATION, INTERMEDIALITY, AND MELOPHRASIS

Abstract

This article explores an often-overlooked aspect of Eta Boeriu’s intellectual and artistic profile, namely the relationship between poetry, music, and translation in her work. Although her work as a translator of Italian literature, particularly Dante’s works, has been widely recognized, her longstanding connection to the musical milieu of the “Gheorghe Dima” Conservatory and the influence of music on her poetic sensibility have received little attention from scholars. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach that integrates concepts like cultural agency, medial transfer, melophrasis, the study explores three aspects of her work. First, it analyzes her role as a cultural mediator between Italian and Romanian culture through translation; second, it discusses her interpretation of Dante’s “Divine Comedy” from the perspective of the poetry of sounds, highlighting the acoustic dimension of Dante’s poetic imagination. Finally, the study explores the intermedial dialogue between poetry and music in the author’s own poetic work, particularly in the poem “Piesă de Alban Berg” (Piece by Alban Berg) inspired by the composer’s music.[1] 

[1]     This article is an expanded version of a paper presented on 7 March 2024 at the International Museum and Library of Music in Bologna, within the event “Una voce in bilico. Omaggio a Eta Boeriu,” organized on the occasion of International Women’s Day, together with Ioana Badiu, Cristophe Alvarez, and Georgiana Fodor, in partnership with the cultural association Athena Musica.