Mircea Cărtărescu
Born in Bucharest in 1956, Mircea Cartarescu is Romania’s most widely translated author. Along with his other activities as a writer (Why We Love Women, Levantul…), he publishes a regular column in the daily Evenimentul Zilei, and teaches in universities in Bucharest, Berlin and Vienna.
Writer Mircea Cărtărescu argues that since the fall of communism Romanian society has been characterised by bad taste, physical and verbal violence, sexism and racism. Worse still, at a time when populism is emerging in the country’s media, Romanian intellectuals are increasingly ignored. 
Although many commentators have called for it to be established, the United States of Europe remains a chimera, which is incompatible with the history and plurality of cultures on our continent, argues Romanian writer Mircea Cărtărescu.