DORIAN, DOREL

DORIAN, DOREL (Iancovici ; 1930– ), Romanian writer. Dorian was born in Piatra-Neamt. Upon completion of secondary school he studied building engineering at the Politechnical Institute, Kiev, 1948–53. As a student he had begun to make literary contributions to Revista elevilor (1946) and to Communist youth journals, among them Tanarul Muncitor and Scanteia Tineretului. Upon his return to Romania he worked as a building engineer for several years until he became the editor of popular science publications, among them Stiinta si tehnica. In 1955 he published a volume of stories, Nau inflorit inca merii ("The Apple Trees Haven't Blossomed Yet"). In 1959, his first play, Daca vei fi intrebat ("If You Are Asked") was performed at the Bucharest Municipal Theater and his play Secunda 58 ("The 58^th Second") earned him a state prize. By 1985, ten of his plays had been performed in Romanian theaters and on TV, among them: De n-ar fi iubirile ("If There Was No Love," 1961); Oricat ar parea de ciudat ("As Strange as It Seems," 1965), judged the best of the year; Teatru cu bile ("Theater with Balls," 1970); and Confesiune tarzie ("Late Confession," 1985). His plays deal with problems of conscience under the Communist regime. Dorian also published science fiction and ecological and parapsychological essays, such as Paranormal 2000 (1998). In the 1980s he became active in Jewish communal life. In 1996 he became the main editor of the bimonthly Realitatea Evreiasca and in 1997 editor of the series of cultural pamphlets published by the same review. He also published a play on a Jewish subject, Foc in Calea Vacaresti ("Fire on Vacareshty Street," 1999). From 1996 to 2004 he was a member of the Romanian Parliament as the representative of the Jewish minority.

bibliography:

A. Mirodan, Dictionar neconventional, 2 (1997), 137–43; Realitatea Evreiasca (April 22, 2005).

[Lucian-Zeev Herscovici (2^nd ed.)]