Poetry As a Bridge to Romania (Words Exchange Poetry Conference, Cluj, Romania‪)‬

A report on the Words Exchange Poetry Conference in Cluj, Romania, in June 2005. Poems in this issue are from Romanian poets and are translated by Andreea and Cami Luncan. It's almost midnight, a cold night in late May under the full moon in Transylvania. We've seen no vampires, not yet. We get out of the car and walk the dark pavement through the spacious city square in Cluj toward the massive equestrian statue, where we have agreed to meet our contacts. We have driven twelve hours across Hungary from Vienna. It is our first visit to Romania. We don't speak Romanian. Silhouettes of the slim, middle-aged man and willowy young woman swim into focus. Crossing our arms over our chests, pulling our coats close to us, we walk toward them with our heads down into the cold wind. When we arrive in the square, we meet their gaze for a few seconds, shake hands awkwardly, and then we embrace.