Romania took hold of my heart in 2015 and since then has consumed my mind and soul. As with any genuine commitment, my relationship with this beautiful, complex country has grown and deepened over time as I have learned of its many tragedies, as well as its many triumphs. I have surrendered myself to Romania. [...] As I continue my Romanian journey, I marvel over the resiliency and fortitude of the people. I am fortunate to have developed close relationships, familial in many ways, with many Romanians. And I am eternally grateful to have been granted a Fulbright and honored to become part of this amazing community.
Green Horses on the Walls
U.S. Fulbright Alumna Cristina A. Bejan will be releasing her second book, titled Green Horses on the Walls, in May 2020 (Finishing Line Press).
About the volume: “Green Horses on the Walls is a collection of poems that I have written in English (mostly), Romanian and French that I have performed on open mic stages over the past ten years under my stage name, Lady Godiva. As many of you know Busboys & Poets in Washington DC is an incubator of creativity and freedom of thought. As a very nervous and lonely post-doc in 2010 I rode my bike to their former location on 5th & K to share something I had written. Since then spoken word poetry has been a central part of my life. I never thought these poems would be in print and to those unfamiliar with spoken word poetry, they may seem unconventional. Some may be shocking. All are honest. And I believe that honesty is one way we can change the world. I write about love, exile, identity, inherited trauma, the crimes of communism, mental health and sexual assault. The collection also includes my own translations of two poems by iconic and inspirational Romanian poets Nina Cassian and Ana Blandiana.”
The volume is available for pre-order here.
Cristina A. Bejan is a Fulbright and Rhodes Scholar. She has had fellowships at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), the Wilson Center and Georgetown University. She received her Masters and DPhil in Modern History from the University of Oxford and her BA in Philosophy (Honors) from Northwestern University, where she also studied theatre.