Quotes by Dumitru Tepeneag

Dumitru Tepeneag

After multiple trips to Paris and being accused of participating in ‘heinous’ activities in regard to the state, I found my Romanian nationality revoked by ‘presidential decree’ in 1975. Because I hadn’t asked for political asylum like everyone else, I had to live and travel with the infamous Nansen Passport from then on. This wasn’t easy…I finally obtained my French citizenship in 1983.

Paris

Political

Presidential

As my editor had no desire to frighten readers with the Romanian pages, he had them translated and published the whole thing in French in 1984. It was only years later, in Romania, that I was able to publish the book as I wrote it.

Book

Editors

Years

At one point I had a very complicated plan to use the game of chess as a generating structure for writing. I prepared for a long time. I finally wrote two chapters and stopped. It was too complicated and too difficult to write. And who would’ve read it?

Games

Two

Writing

But music doesn’t sum up my approach to literature – even in Vain Art of the Fugue. To ‘fugue’ I had to invent ‘trap-words,’ or words that would force the narrator to turn around and start his path anew.

Art

Literature

Narrators

Chess hasn’t really influenced my literature. It’s true, there’s a character in Pigeon Post, an old chess player; but it’s more of a wink, a self-portrait and not much more.

Character

Player

Self

For me, literature is the daughter of music: a bit heavy and more level headed than its mother. Literature submits to the same principles of successive perception, which allows it to build progressively.

Daughter

Mother

Perception

I had severed relations with the Romanian exiles who had become politically conservative and even extremely right wing; I was giving chess lessons to earn a living. Luckily we spoke quite a bit of French at home so it wasn’t too difficult for me to write in my adopted language.

Home

Wings

Writing

I was a professional chess player in Romania, but only a small-time master. When I came to France, I continued playing chess for many years: I played tournaments in numerous countries with mixed results. I wrote and published a book – La Défense Alekhine and translated two others from Russian. I taught chess in schools; I earned more money through chess than through literature.

Book

Country

School

In Necessary Marriage, I tried to repeat entire phrases without the reader noticing. My work doesn’t have the rigor of music, but I hope it alludes to it.

Phrases

Reader

Rigor

In so-called communist Romania, chess was held in high esteem, even if our champions were weaker than the Soviets. This game, this “sport of the mind,” was at the time a better way to establish your reputation than literature.

Champion

Games

Sports

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Animal

Art

Bird

Book

Champion

Character

Country

Culture

Daughter

Decision

Dream

East

Editors

Finals

Forever

Games

Genius

Goal

Groups

Hands

Home

Law

Literature

Looks

Memories

Mother

Movement

Narrators

Numbers

Opportunity

Order

Painting

Paris

Passion

Perception

Perfect

Phrases

Player

Political

Presidential

Psychics

Reader

Reading

Reality

Recognition

Revenge

Rigor

Scene

School

Self

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Quotes by Dumitru Tepeneag

Dumitru Tepeneag

As my editor had no desire to frighten readers with the Romanian pages, he had them translated and published the whole thing in French in 1984. It was only years later, in Romania, that I was able to publish the book as I wrote it.

At one point I had a very complicated plan to use the game of chess as a generating structure for writing. I prepared for a long time. I finally wrote two chapters and stopped. It was too complicated and too difficult to write. And who would’ve read it?

But music doesn’t sum up my approach to literature – even in Vain Art of the Fugue. To ‘fugue’ I had to invent ‘trap-words,’ or words that would force the narrator to turn around and start his path anew.

Chess hasn’t really influenced my literature. It’s true, there’s a character in Pigeon Post, an old chess player; but it’s more of a wink, a self-portrait and not much more.

For me, literature is the daughter of music: a bit heavy and more level headed than its mother. Literature submits to the same principles of successive perception, which allows it to build progressively.

I had severed relations with the Romanian exiles who had become politically conservative and even extremely right wing; I was giving chess lessons to earn a living. Luckily we spoke quite a bit of French at home so it wasn’t too difficult for me to write in my adopted language.

In Necessary Marriage, I tried to repeat entire phrases without the reader noticing. My work doesn’t have the rigor of music, but I hope it alludes to it.

In so-called communist Romania, chess was held in high esteem, even if our champions were weaker than the Soviets. This game, this “sport of the mind,” was at the time a better way to establish your reputation than literature.

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