RCINY, in collaboration with the Romanian Studies and Central European Cultural Collaborative in the School of International Letters and Cultures (SILC) at Arizona State University present

Matei Vişniec Celebrated at Arizona State University


RCINY and Arizona State University present internationally acclaimed playwright Matei Vişniec in a series of lectures on How to Become a Good Writer in a Foreign Language, and on Metaphor and Political Theatre. One of his most successful plays, Pockets Full of Bread, will also enjoy two performances featuring Dragoş Pop (National Theatre in Cluj-Napoca, Romania) and professor Lance Gharavi (ASU). The schedule is as follows:

November 5&6, 7.30 pm
Pockets Full of Bread, by Matei Visniec

WED, November 9, 12.00-1.15 pm
How to Become a Good Writer in a Foreign Language / Matei Visniec's French and Romanian Journey
Followed by Q&A session

THU, November 10, 12.00-1.15 pm
Metaphor and Political Theatre. Between East and West with Matei Visniec
Followed by Q&A session


Matei Vişniec is a playwright, poet and journalist. Born in Romania in 1956, Vişniec studied philosophy at Bucharest University and became an active member of the so-called Eighties Generation, who left a clear stamp on the Romanian literature. Before 1987 Matei Vişniec had made a name for himself in Romania by his clear, lucid, bitter poetry. Starting with 1977, he wrote drama; the plays were much circulated in the literary milieus but were barred from staging. In September 1987, Vişniec left Romania for France, where he was granted political asylum. He started writing in French and began working for Radio France Internationale. At the present time, Visniec has had many of his works staged in France, and some twenty of his plays written in French are published (Actes Sud-Papier, L'Harmattan, Lansman). His plays have been staged in more than 20 countries. In Romania, after the fall of Communism, Matei Vişniec has become one of the most frequently performed authors, with more then 30 plays put on throughout the country. In Unites States, the work of Matei Visniec has been represented in New York, Chicago, New Jersey and Hollywood.