Papers by gabriela glavan
Analele Universităţii de Vest din Timişoara. Seria ştiinţe filologice, Jan 15, 2024
For almost four decades after she died, Sylvia Plath's executors (The Sylvia Plath Estate) carefu... more For almost four decades after she died, Sylvia Plath's executors (The Sylvia Plath Estate) carefully guarded biographical details concerning the circumstances of the writer's final months of life. As generations passed and archives opened, Plath scholarship was enriched with new perspectives feeding on new materials and documents. I shall explore the impact of archival elements on the constant revising and rewriting of Sylvia Plath's biography, while also discussing the relevance of the unpublished manuscripts of some biographers. Despite their long and thorough documentation, they abandoned their projects, leaving, in sealed archives now open, massive amounts of research materials that can now be reevaluated.
Caietele Echinox, Dec 1, 2023
Quaestiones Romanicae, Jun 9, 2023
Borders and Imaginary Spaces in Cătălin Dorian Florescu's Short Stories): In his only short ficti... more Borders and Imaginary Spaces in Cătălin Dorian Florescu's Short Stories): In his only short fiction volume, The Navel of the World, the Romanian-born Swiss writer Cătălin Dorian Florescu revisits some of his predilect themes, recurring at large in his previous novelsfractured identity, fluid borders, the search for a homeland, emigration and migration, The nine stories of the volume could be read as attempts to define, in a new dialect, that of short prose, the meaning, in today's context, of the travels and migration of those in search of a home.I intend to explore the significance of these journeys by investigating the way in which Florescu redefines them in the new context of his oeuvre.
British and American Studies, May 30, 2023
Grace Tiffany's debut novel, My Father Had a Daughter, is a vibrant tale of uninhibited desire, r... more Grace Tiffany's debut novel, My Father Had a Daughter, is a vibrant tale of uninhibited desire, revenge and loss in the shape of a fictionalized 'memoir' of Judith, Shakespeare's youngest daughter. The present paper will focus on the diegetic narrator's trajectory of becoming; the theoretical framework will be informed by some of Deleuze and Guattari's most important concepts, such as lines of flight, desiring machine, nomad and body without organs.
Romanian Journal of English Studies, Nov 1, 2022
Following the publication, in 2018, of a consistent part of Sylvia Plath's correspondence, schola... more Following the publication, in 2018, of a consistent part of Sylvia Plath's correspondence, scholars interested in her complex biographical and literary story found new opportunities to read the American poet in a new light. I shall explore the letters she sent to her psychiatrist, Dr. Ruth Beuscher, while also critically observing their relevance in understanding Plath's oeuvre.
Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai, Mar 30, 2021
"Max Blecher’s Central European Affinities. Max Blecher’s connections with the Central E... more "Max Blecher’s Central European Affinities. Max Blecher’s connections with the Central European literary imaginary, which scholars have established through readings that place Blecher in the proximity of authors such as Bruno Schulz or Franz Kafka, could be revisited not only comparatively, but also by tackling some key issues in his work and biography that may confirm the writer’s belonging to this vast intellectual territory. Provincial spaces, marginality, uncertainties regarding identity, existential confusion, immaturity, the pervasiveness of objects and of the artificial, they all reveal a perspective upon literature that may function, in the absence of a geographical belonging, as a bridge and connection between worlds that mirror each other’s essence and difference. Keywords: Central European literature, identity, the province, periphery, Jewishness "
Romanian Journal of English Studies, Dec 1, 2020
I intend to explore Philip Roth's representation of aging in his 1997 novel, American Pastoral, a... more I intend to explore Philip Roth's representation of aging in his 1997 novel, American Pastoral, and in the allegorical, medical life story of his generic hero, Everyman (2006). My arguments connect the writer's constant preoccupation with the biological life of the body and the cultural significance of aging, divergently projected in these two novels.
British and American Studies, 2019
Dacoromania litteraria, 2019
Arcadia, Jun 1, 2014
Max Blecher, a paradigmatic case of marginality, has been the subject of recent critical reevalua... more Max Blecher, a paradigmatic case of marginality, has been the subject of recent critical reevaluations that established his canonic status in modern Romanian literature. His novel Occurrence in the Immediate Unreality (1936) bears not only the mark of Blecher’s affinity with the Avant-garde, but of his intense and original perception of issues pertaining to identity and the construction of the self. His status as a Jewish writer struggling for authenticity and recognition in the complex historical context preceding World War II and the instauration of Communism adds depth and detail to a dramatic biography lying in the background of his fiction. Peripheral spaces, childhood and immaturity, the revelation of sexuality and death become decisive elements in a metaphysical adventure that is simultaneously an initiation and a metamorphosis. A narrative that validates the author’s Surrealist lineage, Occurrence in the Immediate Unreality favors a comparative perspective that equally connects Max Blecher to a Central and Eastern-European framework.
Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai, Dec 20, 2022
"Narratives of a Struggle: The Experience of Assisted Reproductive Medicine in Online Infert... more "Narratives of a Struggle: The Experience of Assisted Reproductive Medicine in Online Infertility Communities. Although ART (assisted reproductive technology) has become a well-established field in modern medicine, the subject is still taboo in many modern societies. This prompted infertility patients (roughly 15-20% of the general adult population) to find online platforms to discuss options, treatments, experiences and create virtual communities – mainly forums and Facebook groups. I shall focus on aspects concerning the narratives of trauma, loss and empowerment in two online communities - Infertilitate. Fertilizare in vitro. Sustinem Asociatia SOS Infertilitatea (Infertility. In vitro fertilization. We support the SOS Infertility Association) and Fertility Friends, from two different geographical areas – the UK and Romania, in order to reveal the dynamics of advice giving, information sharing, experience narratives and patient support. Communication is paramount to infertility treatment, yet specialized clinics often underestimate the importance of this aspect. Online forums and social media have provided patients with opportunities to connect, shaping particular jargons and textual strategies with regard to the medical journey of ART. I intend to outline the structure and relevance of these verbal constructs, in order to explore the specific manner in which online platforms offer a valid environment for a positive exchange of information among ART patients while also creating a medium of emotional support. My interdisciplinary focus will involve methods specific to medical humanities, text and discourse analysis and linguistic commentary. Keywords: assisted reproduction, infertility, loss, online communities, support groups, trauma "
Critical Studies on Terrorism, May 5, 2021
Peter C. Herman’s volume Unspeakable: Literature and Terrorism from the Gunpowder Plot to 9/11 is... more Peter C. Herman’s volume Unspeakable: Literature and Terrorism from the Gunpowder Plot to 9/11 is a comprehensive approach to the cultural history of terrorism, namely its reflection in literature....
Orbis Litterarum, Sep 4, 2017
In order to uncover the fictional strategies that project Florescu's native Romaniaparticularly t... more In order to uncover the fictional strategies that project Florescu's native Romaniaparticularly the former Habsburg region of Banatas a homeland, an exploration of the consistency and particularities of the tropes of exile, displacement and homecoming, as revealed in his earlier novels, is an essential prerequisite. Given the relevance of autobiographical elements in this writer's work, this paper will focus on the author's first three novels, Wunderzeit (2001), Der kurze Weg nach Hause (2002) and Der blinde Masseur (2006), investigating the themes and dynamics of his exilic discourse. Drawing from contemporary theories concerning displacement and the search for real and imaginary homelands, the article explores the specific ways in which these issues surface as subjective reflections on the recent Eastern European past.
Analele Universităţii de Vest din Timişoara, Dec 20, 2022
a pivotal point in modern literature, a particular mythology reflecting the paradoxical divide be... more a pivotal point in modern literature, a particular mythology reflecting the paradoxical divide between literature and biography-simultaneously unifying and separating the realm of creation and that of life. In Plath's case, the two worlds are difficult to separate, and a particular type of mythology stems from this complex ground. I shall explore Plath's post-1960 correspondence with her psychiatrist, Dr. Ruth Beuscher, to reveal some significant characteristics of this captivating biographical narrative.
Romanian Journal of English Studies, Nov 1, 2019
From Philip Roth's characater Merry Levov in American Pastoral to real-life figures such as the p... more From Philip Roth's characater Merry Levov in American Pastoral to real-life figures such as the perpetrators of the Columbine massacre, the young domestic terrorist has become the archetype of a dramatic and unpredictable social and political climate. This paper intends to explore the real and fictional avatars of this contemporary anti-hero, its dynamics and specific place in contemporary imagination.
Linguaculture, 2020
I intend to explore Philip Roth’s strategy of affirming youth as core value among his major theme... more I intend to explore Philip Roth’s strategy of affirming youth as core value among his major themes revealing the experience of aging, illness and loss by revealing its particular framing in the novels of his later work. I shall analyze the contexts that connect youth to vitality and survival, revisiting some key moments in the long imaginary biographies of his notorious characters David Kepesh and Nathan Zuckerman. Although central in Roth’s work, youth has been commonly investigated in connection to allegories that anchor the writer’s oeuvre in a territory marked by nostalgia, loss, and a sense of impending vital exhaustion. My aim is to isolate this issue more clearly and focus on its specificity rather than its connectivity.
Analele Universității de Vest. Seria Științe Filologice, 2022
Cinema was, in interwar Romania, one of the most relevant agents of cultural modernization. It be... more Cinema was, in interwar Romania, one of the most relevant agents of cultural modernization. It became an important subject of discussion not only in the artistic and literary milieus of the era but also in the writings of Romanian modernism’s founding promoter – poet and journalist Tudor Arghezi. The present investigation maps some of Arghezi’s most penetrating writings about cinema in his time.
Gender Studies, 2021
Little girls and young women are Dorothea Tanning’s recurrent archetypes, defining and structurin... more Little girls and young women are Dorothea Tanning’s recurrent archetypes, defining and structuring her conceptual archive concerning gender and the feminine. A celebrated painter and sculptor who shaped her artistic vision in the proximity of the historical avant-gardes, Tanning was also a writer who revealed the mystery and estrangement of family ties in Chasm: A weekend, a novel she started writing in 1943 and published six decades later, in 2004. This singular book offers a privileged dialogue between literature and art, as several episodes revisit and translate the high tension of some of her most representative paintings. From within a feminist framework, the article will discuss aspects of female authority and control in Tanning’s novel as dominant forms of female empowerment, present throughout her visual Surrealist oeuvre. I argue that examining these allegories reveals their role as connectors between the literary and the visual arts, between Dorothea Tanning’s fiction and ...
Caietele Echinox, 2020
In this paper I shall explore one of Herta Müller’s cardinal tropes, the collective imaginary pro... more In this paper I shall explore one of Herta Müller’s cardinal tropes, the collective imaginary project of fleeing communist Romania, of massive influence in her novels and biography. Novels such as The Land of Green Plums (1984), The Passport (1986) and Travelling on One Leg (1989) shape a complex perspective on one of the most intense collective desires of Romanians during communism – fleeing the country
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Papers by gabriela glavan