The Festival of the Book: Romanian Society’s Perception of Books and Readings between the Two World Wars

Romanian culture in the 1930s witnessed an authentic cultural spectacle centred on books. The Day of the Book, which was later to become the Week of the Book, and during the royal dictatorship (10 February 1938 – 6 September 1940) the Month of the Book, was a nation-wide event, creating a favourable social context for readings and books to find their place in the centre of public discussion. The event that channelled all these discussions is presented chronologically in the first part of the paper: its origin and evolution from a simple book exhibition to a veritable national festival, encompassing large cities such as Bucharest, Cluj, or Oradea, and minor ones as well, like Baia Mare or Satu Mare. The second part of the research presents the position of the state in the festival of the book. It identifies and exposes the official discourse and message that state representatives transmitted on this occasion. It was a policy which had more to do with ideological propaganda, and aimed at creating a certain type of citizen. Next I will expose the economic-commercial discourse of publishers and booksellers, and of all those who profit from book trade. The article will try to establish how far the various printing house policies are interrelated with the cultural directives of the political sphere. The relationship of publishers and authors, publishers and book distributors will also be followed, as well as their marketing strategies. Finally, the discourse of the civil society involved in raising the cultural standard of the population will also be analyzed, including the discourse of intellectuals, literary critics, authors, as well as interviews with individuals, found in the press of the age.

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