Poet, literary critic and essayist. She taught for more than three decades at the Department of Romanian and Universal Literature of the „Alecu Russo” University of Bălți. Author of the volumes „Simple bluesuri” and „Eternul Orfeu”.
Margareta Curtescu is a poet, literary critic and essayist. She was born on 22 September 1960 into the family of Vasile and Maria Curtescu, in the village of Hîncești, Fălești, Republic of Moldova. In 1977, after finishing the secondary school in the village of Călinești, she became a student at the Faculty of Philology (Romanian – Moldovan, as it was then called, Language and Literature section) of the „Alecu Russo” State Pedagogical Institute in Bălți, graduating in 1981.
She began her teaching career as a teacher of Romanian language and literature at Technical and Vocational School no. 26 in Ungheni, continuing at Secondary School no. 4 and at the „Mihai Eminescu” Theoretical Lyceum in the city of Bălți.
From 1991 she became a member of the Department of Romanian and Universal Literature, Faculty of Letters, „Alecu Russo” State University of Bălți. In her university career she passed through every teaching grade: from assistant, lecturer and senior lecturer to associate professor. She holds a doctorate in philology from „Al. I. Cuza” University of Iași, Romania, with the thesis Reflexe ale mitului orfic în literatura română [Reflections of the Orphic myth in Romanian literature] (2004).
Between 2011 and 2014 she held the post of head of the Department of Romanian and Universal Literature of the same faculty. She has written a number of specialist studies and academic articles.
Between 2020 and 2023, Margareta Curtescu worked as a senior researcher at the National Museum of Romanian Literature in Chișinău.
From 2021 to the present she is a coordinating researcher at the „Bogdan Petriceicu-Hasdeu” Institute of Romanian Philology of the State University of Moldova. She is a member of the Writers’ Union of the Republic of Moldova and of the Writers’ Union of Romania.
Between 1995 and 2008 she was an associate editor of the literary review Semn (Bălți). She has published verse, literary criticism and essays in reviews at home and abroad. She has taken part in literary events in the Republic of Moldova, Romania and Slovakia. Her work appears in reviews, collective volumes and poetry anthologies published at home and abroad. Works: Poetry: Prinsă între clamele speranței (Prima verba series). Chișinău: ARC, 1997; Simple bluesuri. Chișinău: Cartier, 2003; Iubirea altfel. Chișinău: Cartier, 2013, 2016; Inima desenată pe cer (foreword by Ioan Holban). Iași: Junimea, 2018; Verse anthologies: în piața dante (anthology). București: Vinea, 2014; poèmes obliques (translated by Victoria Sicorschi). Bucarest: Vinea, 2015; Echinoxul de toamnă (anthology). Iași: TipoMoldova, Literary criticism, essays: Eternul Orfeu (Opera aperta series). Chișinău: Știința, 2005; Critici literari și eseiști din Basarabia (1990-2020). Dicționar selectiv. Chișinău: Cartier, 2024. Academic and teaching books (anthologies): Proza romantică românească. Foreword, selection of texts, biobibliographical notes, glossary, working concepts and bibliography. Chișinău: Știința, 2014; Constantin Negruzzi. Proza romantică. Negru pe alb. Foreword, explanatory notes, glossary and bibliography. Chișinău: Știința, 2023. Books written jointly: Femeia în labirintul istoriei. Chișinău: Știința, 2003; Dialogues francophones, Vol. I. Tipografia din Bălți SRL, 2012; Manuscrise de Dimitrie Balica comisul. Chișinău, 2013; Kafka sau Alegoria omului modern. Note de curs. CEP USM, Chișinău, 2015.
Margareta Curtescu belongs to the generation of Bessarabian writers who came to prominence after 1990, a generation that helped reconnect the literature of the Republic of Moldova with the Romanian and European cultural space. Her work combines three main strands:
- poetic writing
- literary criticism and literary history
- university and philological research
This dual identity – poet and researcher – gives her a distinct place in contemporary literature.
Features of her poetry
Literary critics note in Margareta Curtescu’s poetry:
- reflective, confessional lyricism
- the exploration of love, time, memory and identity
- cultural and mythological symbols, in particular the myth of Orpheus
- restrained, refined and metaphorical language
- a balance between feminine sensibility and the intellectual dimension of poetic discourse
Volumes such as Simple bluesuri, Iubirea altfel and Inima desenată pe cer illustrate the maturing of a lyrical voice given to meditation on the human condition and the destiny of the creative artist.
Work as critic and researcher
In the field of literary criticism, Margareta Curtescu is concerned with:
- literary mythology and symbolism
- modern and contemporary Romanian literature
- the literature of Bessarabia
- the relationships between literature, philosophy and culture
Eternul Orfeu is one of her most important contributions, developing the research begun in her doctoral thesis on the persistence of the Orphic myth in Romanian literature.
The dictionary Critici literari și eseiști din Basarabia (1990–2020) is likewise a reference work for the history of contemporary Bessarabian literary criticism.
University work
For more than three decades, Margareta Curtescu has trained generations of teachers, philologists and researchers at the „Alecu Russo” State University of Bălți. Her teaching has focused on:
- the history of Romanian literature
- literary theory
- universal literature
- myth criticism and the hermeneutics of the literary text
- Contribution to cultural life
- Alongside her university and publishing work, she has been consistently involved in literary life through:
- taking part in international festivals and colloquia
- working with literary reviews in the Republic of Moldova and Romania
- promoting contemporary Romanian literature
- publishing and research work in academic institutions
- The importance of her work
Margareta Curtescu’s work is notable for combining artistic creation with the rigour of academic research. She belongs to that category of intellectuals who have contributed both to the development of contemporary literature and to the consolidation of philological studies in the Republic of Moldova. Through her volumes of poetry, critical studies, annotated editions and teaching works, she has played an important part in promoting Romanian literary heritage and in training new generations of specialists.