Located in Comana, the Memorial House „Gellu Naum“ is actually the summer house of the great surrealist poet, which is preserved as it was, back in time, when Gellu Naum spent his summers here.
This place was for writer a withdrawal into his own universe of creation, isolation from the external social and political context of the era (1968). The house bears today anonymity. However, inside, you can see his world, the reminiscences evidenced by the collection of small objects and spaces organization.
The built assembly, consists of two parts: cultural foundation space and rooms for accommodation.
He was born on August the 1st, 1915 in Bucharest; he was the son of the poet Andrei Naum, killed in action in Marasesti and of his wife Maria Naum born Rosa Gluck.
Philosophy professor, translator due to his need to earn a living (Diderot, Stendhal, Hugo, Dumas, Jules Verne, Gracq, Prévert, Char, Kafka, Beckett), Gellu Naum (1915 – 2001) remains one of the greatest surrealist writers of Romania. His writing universe bear the mark of a surgical clarity in the middle of the absurd. His singular poetic universe and the force of his talent will bring a well-deserved, but late recognition.
In 1948 and 1949, Gellu Naum wrote the poem philosophically and esoterically tinted, Calea șarpelui/ “The Way of the Snake“, experience that will mark his definitive style. In 1950s and 1960s, he published several books for children (such as the acclaimed book “The Book With Apolodor“), and also proletcultist literature (such as the volume (“Soarele calm”/ “The Calm Sun” or the novel for youth “Tabăra din munti”/”The Camp in the Mountains”), the latter two are not listed in the official bibliographies. However, Gellu Naum continued to write secretly, surrealist poems (eg., the poem Heraclit in 1958). During this period, he lives more from the translations of authors René Char, Denis Diderot, Samuel Beckett, Stendhal, Franz Kafka, Julien Gracq, etc.
In the period of detente regime, in 1968 he started to publish his drawer poetries. He started with Athanor volume. With this volume and the next (Copacul-animal, Tatăl meu obosit etc.), Gellu Naum succeeded to provoke some reactions among critics, but in the same time was recognized as an important writer but only after the Zenobia novel publication (1985). In a few years, many translated editions of Gellu Naum poems occurred. Also, after 1990, he is invited to keep public lectures in Germany, France, Switzerland Holland and Switzerland. His work is translated into major international languages by prestigious publishers, being crowned with significant prizes. In 1995 he was for one year DAAD scholarship in Berlin.
Like André Breton, Gellu Naum remained faithful until the end to his surreal way of living and writing poetry, which proves that surrealism choice for him was not an conjectural option, but the expression of the authentic self affirmation.
