Ionuț Caragea

He started writing poetry in his teens but it was in Canada that he discovered his true calling [18]. His first poems were published on April 6, 2006, in "Observatorul," a literary magazine from Toronto, where he was welcomed by the poet George Filip [19]. Then he was promoted by the editor Dumitru Scorțanu, who published his first three books at STEF Publishing House, Iași. On July 16, 2008, he founded, together with the poet Adrian Erbiceanu, The Romanian Writers’ Association of Québec and the ASLRQ Publishing House. As an editor and founder of ASLRQ, in 2009 he compiled, together with Adrian Erbiceanu and Dumitru Scorțanu, the first anthology of Romanian writers from Québec, a very important work for the diaspora[20]. He committed himself to promoting Romanian culture in North America, being webmaster, webdesigner, and literary promoter for the site of the Romanian Writers’ Association of Québec (www.aslrq.ro), and founder of the Prietenii Poeziei/Poetry's Friends Literary Society. In February 2012 he returned to Romania and settled in Oradea. In 2014 the eLiteratura Publishing House published his latest collections of poems that were welcomed by the poet Ana Blandiana with a text on the back cover of his Cer fără scări/Stepless Sky. In 2015 he coordinated the 2015 ASLRQ anthology. He has published more than 40 books (poems, aphorisms, science fiction, critical essays, thoughts on spirituality, memoirs, and anthologies). Romanian literary critics see him as one of the leaders of the 2000 poetic generation (some critics even considered him the undisputed leader of this generation) and one of the most atypical and original writers of today's Romania. The critic Maria-Ana Tupan believes that the poet Ionuț Caragea sometimes reminds one of Marin Sorescu, a great Romanian writer.

In 2003-2011 he lived in Montréal, Canada, where he received the Canadian citizenship (2008). He worked as a sports instructor and professional sportsman, continuing his rugby career which he started in Romania. He is the son of a former star of Romanian rugby, Florin Caragea, who played for Farul Constanța [16]. Ionuț Caragea played for Parc Olympique and won the Québec province championship three times [17].

Ionuț Caragea (Romanian pronunciation: [joˈnut͡s kaˈrad͡ʒe̯a]; born April 12, 1975, Constanța, România) is a Romanian writer living in Oradea, România. Romanian literary critics see him as one of the leaders of the 2000 poetic generation (some critics even considered him the undisputed leader of this generation) and one of the most atypical and original writers of today's Romania. He is also known in France, where he has been published several books translated or written directly into French, thus becoming a member of the Société des Poètes Français and a member of the Société des poètes et artistes de France. Academician Giovanni Dotoli, one of the leading personalities of Francophonie, analyzing the volume of poems "Mon amour abyssal", considers that Ionuț Caragea is a poet who honors Romania and European literature. Ionuț Caragea has been awarded three times by the Society of French Poets. The volume "Mon amour abyssal" was awarded the "François-Victor Hugo" prize [1], the volume "J'habite la maison aux fenêtres fermées" was awarded the "Mompezat" prize [2], and the volume "Infecté par l'amour" was awarded an honorary diploma [3]. Three other prizes were awarded by the Society of French Poets and Artists. The volume "J'habite la maison aux fenêtres fermées" won second prize in the grand competition "Henri Meillant" and third prize in the grand competition "Jenny Alpha et Noël-Henri Villard"[4], and the volume "Infecté par l'amour" won second prize in the grand competition "Jenny Alpha et Noël-Henri Villard"[5]. In 2021, Ionuț Caragea received the "Genius" prize from the Naji Naaman Foundation, an award given only four times between 2002 and 2021 [6].

Caragea was born on April 12, 1975, in Constanța. He is a poet, prose writer, literary critic, editor, aphorism-writer, and cultural promoter. He is a member of the Romanian Writers’ Union, the Cluj branch [7], a co-founder and vice-chairman of the Romanian Writers’ Association of Québec, an honorary member of the Writers’ Society of Neamț County, an honorary member of the Maison Naaman pour Culture Foundation of Lebanon, a member of Elis – the worldwide remarkable Romanians’ Network, an honorary member of the International Association of Paradoxism, a member of the Diversité Artistique Cultural Organization of Montréal [8], a member of the Poetas del Mundo Cultural Organization of Chile [9] etc. As a result of his friendship and name relation with Prince Eugen Enea Caraghiaur, in 2008 he was raised to the noble rank of Baron of the Cuman House of Panciu [10]. He started his literary career in 2006, with a collection of poems – Delirium Tremens (STEF Publishing House, Iași). His poems, aphorisms, short stories, and critical essays have appeared in various magazines, newspapers, and anthologies in Romania and diaspora. He is one of the twenty authors who were published in Antologia aforismului românesc contemporan/An Anthology of Contemporary Romanian Aphorisms (Genesi Publishing House, Turin, 2013)[11], and one of the twenty-seven authors who were published in Antologia aforismului românesc contemporan/An Anthology of Contemporary Romanian Aphorisms (Digital Unicorn Publishing House, Constanța, 2016)[12]. Following the 2012 Naji Naaman International Contest, he was awarded the Creativity Prize for aphorisms from his collection Dicționarul suferinței/A Dictionary of Suffering (Fides Publishing House, Iași, 2008), translated into French by Professor Constantin Frosin, PhD [13]. He is included in Cartea înțelepciunii universale. Maxime și cugetări din literatura universală/A Book of World Wisdom. Maxims and Thoughts from World Literature (eLiteratura Publishing House, Bucharest, 2014). He is also included in Alertă de grad zero în proza scurtă românească actuală/Red Alert in Today's Romanian Short Story Writing (Herg Benet Publishing House, 2012) [14]. He has won several poetry and short story contests. Some of his work has been translated into six languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic and Albanian. He was nicknamed "The poet who was born on Google" after the title of his book M-am născut pe Google/I Was Born on Google (STEF Publishing House, Iași, 2007) [15]. In 2012, the English version of his science fiction novel Uezen was published by Wildside Press (US).