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'''Valery Oisteanu''' ({{lang-ro|Valery Oișteanu}}; {{IPA-ro|valeˈri o.iʃˈte̯anu}}; born September 3, 1943) is a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-born [[Romania]]n and [[United States|American]] poet, art critic, essayist, photographer and [[performance art]]ist, whose style reflects the influence of [[Dada]] and [[Surrealism]].<ref name="fpiforg">{{cite web |url=http://www.fpif.org/articles/support_peace_or_ill_kill_you |title=Support Peace or Ill Kill You! <!--(sic)-->|last1=Oisteanu |first1=Valery |last2= |first2= |date=October 24, 2006 |work= |publisher= Washington, DC: Foreign Policy In Focus |accessdate=December 26, 2010}}</ref> Oisteanu is the author of more than a dozen books of poetry, a book of short fiction, and a book of essays.<ref name="fpiforg"/> He is the brother of Romanian historian of religion, cultural anthropologist and writer [[Andrei Oișteanu]].

==Biography==
Oisteanu was born in [[Karaganda]], [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Kazakhstan]], raised and educated in Romania, where he was known as '''Valeriu Oișteanu''' ({{IPA-ro|vaˈlerju|}}). He graduated from the Department of Chemical Industry of the [[Polytechnic University of Bucharest|Politechnical Institute]] in [[Bucharest]].

In 1970, Oisteanu made his literary debut in Romania with a collection of poems called ''Proteze''. Due to his [[History of the Jews in Romania|Jewish]] ancestry, the C[[Communist Romania|ommunist regime]] allowed him to emigrate to [[New York City]] in 1972 or 1973, and he has been writing in  English ever since.<ref name="bigcitylit">{{cite web |url= http://www.bigcitylit.com/bigcitylit.php?inc=fall09/articles/oisteanu|title= Eugene Ionesco's Centennial 1909-2009 |last1= Oisteanu |first1= Valery |last2= |first2= |date= Fall 2009 |work= "the rivers of it, abridged" |publisher= BigCityLit.com |accessdate= December 26, 2010}}</ref>

Oisteanu adopted [[Dada]] and [[Surrealism]] as a philosophy of art and life.<ref name="fpiforg"/> He appears regularly at poetry readings in various New York venues, where he presents original performances of [[Zen]] and Dada-inspired "[[jazzoetry]]".<ref name="bigcitylit"/> He is a freelance art critic and on the permanent staff of several arts magazines, including ''[[The Brooklyn Rail]]'', ''[[NYArts]]'', ''Rain Taxi'',<ref name="fpiforg"/> the [[Spain|Spanish]] publication ''art.es'',<ref name="bigcitylit"/> and the [[Canada|Canadian]] magazine ''D'Art International''. Oișteanu is a member of Poets and Writers Inc. in New York and the founder and president of PASS: Poets and Artists Surrealist Society.

==Poetry written in English==
*''Underground Shadows'' (Pass Press, New York, 1977)
*''Underwater Temples'' (Pass Press, New York, 1979)
*''Do Not Defuse'' (Pass Press, New York, 1980)
*''Vis-a-vis Bali'' (poems and photographic collage; New Observation Press, New York, 1985)
*''Passport to Eternal Life'' (Pass Press, New York, 1990)
*''Moons of Venus'' (Pass Press, New York, 1992)
*''Temporary Immortality'' (Pass Press, New York, 1995)
*''ZEN DADA'' (Linear Art Press, New York, 1999)
*''Perks in Purgatory'' (Fly by Night Press,New York, 2009)

'''''Poetry written or translated to Romanian:'''''
*''Proteze'' ("Prosthesis"), Editura Litera, Bucharest, 1970
*''Poeme din Exil'' ("Poems from Exile"), Editura Paralela 45, Pitești, 2000

==Prose written in English==
*''The King of Penguins'' (Linear Arts Books, New York, 2000)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.pierrejoris.com/blog/?p=5548 "The Drum Circle for Janine Pommy Vega"] &ndash; <small>this tribute to [[Janine Pommy Vega]] (1942–2010) on [[Pierre Joris]]'s blog includes this homage-poem written by Oişteanu in honor of Pommy-Vega</small>
*[http://www.jackmagazine.com/jack/?p=193 "The Life and Death of John Badum" & "Lorenzo Perrone — The Righteous Gentile"] &ndash; <small>these 2 "stories" by Oisteanu are about two true life figures: fashion designer John Badum, who was murdered in May 1999; and Lorenzo Perrone, friend and "guardian angel" to the world famous writer and Holocaust survivor [[Primo Levi]]</small>
*{{YouTube|ZSidcsmmhNA|Meditation/Mediation: Valery Oisteanu}}, ''Meditation/Mediation'' is described as "an ongoing project conceived by Daniel Rothbart in collaboration with Valery Oisteanu. Curated by Lisa Paul Streitfeld, The Lab Gallery, New York, NY, April 24, 2005"</small>
*[http://www.milkmag.org/oisteanu.htm At The Caves of the Wind: Cretan Meditations] &ndash; <small>an "essay-meditation" about [[Crete]] which Oisteanu first visited in July, 1977</small>
*[http://visualpoetrymailartexhibit.blogspot.com/2010/07/vispo-collage-from-valery-oisteanu.html Vispo Collage from Valery Oişteanu] &ndash; <small>some poetry-collages (or [[visual poetry]]) by Oisteanu</small>
*[http://www.brooklynrail.org/2010/10/artseen/marcel-broodthaers-the-living-mirror MARCEL BROODTHAERS, The Living Mirror] &ndash; <small>Oisteanu writes about [[Marcel Broodthaers]] for [[The Brooklyn Rail]], published in October 2010</small>
*[http://mingus.charlesmingus3art.com/valery-oisteanu-_163.html Where have the Real Famous gone? to Andy Warhol] &ndash; <small>a poem by Oisteanu</small>

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oisteanu, Valery}}
[[Category:Romanian poets]]
[[Category:Romanian male writers]]
[[Category:Romanian art critics]]
[[Category:Romanian essayists]]
[[Category:Romanian surrealist writers]]
[[Category:Romanian collage artists]]
[[Category:Romanian performance artists]]
[[Category:Romanian photographers]]
[[Category:American male poets]]
[[Category:American art critics]]
[[Category:American essayists]]
[[Category:Jewish American writers]]
[[Category:American performance artists]]
[[Category:American photographers]]
[[Category:Neo-Dada]]
[[Category:American spoken word poets]]
[[Category:People from Karaganda]]
[[Category:Soviet emigrants to Romania]]
[[Category:Soviet Jews]]
[[Category:Jewish Romanian writers]]
[[Category:Romanian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Politehnica University of Bucharest alumni]]
[[Category:American people of Romanian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American male essayists]]