Interview and Correspondence
1984-1992

Adrian Poruciuc and Marija Gimbutas

Abstract

In celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of the discovery of the Cucuteni civilization in Romania, the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iaşi held an international conference,  “The Cucuteni Culture in a European Context,” September 24-28, 1984. During the conference, Adrian Poruciuc, professor in the Faculty of Philology at the same university, provided a live translation of Marija Gimbutas’ presentation, “Old European deities with an emphasis on images from the Cucuteni culture.” Shortly thereafter he conducted an interview with her that appeared in early 1985 in a Romanian cultural publication.

A vital friendship began between the two scholars, as reflected in their subsequent correspondence. Before 1990, their letters had to be carefully worded in order to pass through the government’s censors during the “worst period of Communism in Romania.” Some letters were never delivered. Adrian Poruciuc describes Marija Gimbutas as “a miraculous beacon” during those extremely repressive years.