On 1 January 2007, Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union, enhancing the European natural and cultural heritage. With Bulgarian and Romanian the EU language family will grow from 21 to 23. One of the most emblematic Romanian cultural symbols is Eminescu, the last romantic of Europe.
Not many people in Europe or elsewhere in the world know that Eminescu, the last romantic of Europe, is Romanian. He was born in 1850 and died at the age of 39, in 1889. Eminescu is famous not only for his masterpieces, but also for his philosophical meditation works. Today he is more honoured than ever in the past century.
Eminescu was influenced by Arthur Schopenhauer’s philosophy. His literary work has significantly inspired the Romanian culture. His poems were translated in more than 60 languages.
Eminescu is Romania's national poet, since his poems comprise a large variety of themes, from nature and love to history and social commentary. Poems such as “Luceafărul” (The Morning Star), “Floare albastră” (Blue Flower), “Dorinţa” (Desire), “Sara pe deal” (Evening on the Hill), “Mai am un singur dor” (I Have Yet One Desire) or “Lacul” (The Lake) have been popular with several generations in Romania and elsewhere in Europe and in the world.
Eminescu was first translated into English by Sylvia Pankhurst and I. O. Stefanovici in 1930. The book features a preface which was signed by two celebrities of that time, namely Nicolae Iorga, the Romanian famous historian, and George Bernard Shaw, the famous English play-writer.
Later on, in 1969, Roy MacGregor- Hastie published an anthology of the Romanian poetry, in London. In addition to the Romanian poems he selected and translated some of Eminescu’s masterpieces. The author also introduces Romania:
Tourists and businessmen have discovered not only a country of great beauty, but also a modern state with flourishing agriculture and industry. It has come as a great surprise to some to discover that Bucharest had petrol- vapour street lighting as long ago as 1861, is a city which in springtime is as invigorating as Paris and is alive and full of bustle, of theatres, art galleries, libraries and concert halls… The Romans settled in Dacia, and gave the country as a whole its language, still the nearest and the eldest sister of Latin… Ovid, exiled to the Black Sea coast, noted, could not defeat the women of the country who married centurions and legionaries alike. One way or another, Ovid said, a man who comes here is destined to die here, and die happy even against his will.
Not many people in Europe or elsewhere in the world know that Eminescu, the last romantic of Europe, is Romanian. He was born in 1850 and died at the age of 39, in 1889. Eminescu is famous not only for his masterpieces, but also for his philosophical meditation works. Today he is more honoured than ever in the past century. 
