On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the declaration of Moldova’s Independence, IPN News Agency decided to depict the portrait of the current Republic of Moldova. For the purpose, it provoked a number of people, including state officials, politicians, businessmen, civil rights activists and persons without posts and titles, but who have what to say. The generic picture is entitled “Thoughts about and for Moldova”.
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Gheorghe Erizanu, director of the publishing house “Cartier”: There are several myths about the Moldovans, but none of them is true.
Gheorghe Erizanu accepted to speak about the editorial sector on the 25th anniversary of Moldova’s independence, but avoided to characterize the state in general. In this connection, the director of the publishing house “Cartier” said the book market during the first years extended a lot and was huge, with the number of printed copies ranging between 50,000 and 100,000. Today this figure oscillates between 300 and 500.
A new twist
At first, there was openness towards the markets of Romania and Russia, and the editors of the Republic of Moldova worked for a part of the Russian market, while another part for the market of Romania. Some of these worked on both of the markets. Today, we have no editor, with small exceptions, who would work for the Russian market. Most of the editors oriented to the Romanian market or remained in the Republic of Moldova. The Moldovan editorial system produced one of the biggest publishing houses on the Romanian book market – “Litera”. This is what happened during the 25 years, stated Gheorghe Erizanu.
He noted that at the beginning, there was openness and market conditions were developed in an area that was earlier ideologized and closed. The fact that they work with small numbers of printed copies is something normal and there is no catastrophe. Nowhere in the world does the book market go through a happy period. For example, the market of Russia works with thousands of numbers of printed copies. This is not much compared with a population of Russian speakers of over 200 million.
“It’s hard for me to perceive those who work only for the market of the Republic of Moldova as editors. They are rather service providers, not editors in the classic meaning of the publishing house, when manuscripts are looked for, contracts are signed, books are printed and sold. The book market of Moldova does not offer such possibilities. After 25 years of independence, it is at the incipient stage yet,” stated Gheorghe Erizanu.
Too many lost years
The Union of Editors of the Republic of Moldova in 1998 managed with difficulty to obtain the removal of the VAT on books. “But do you realize how many years we lost? In 2012 a project to support the national book was implemented. This means that about 300 copies of editors’ printed copies are sold to libraries for 60-40% of the selling price. This is how the book stock of libraries at reasonable prices grows. But this has been done for three years. We lost another 22 years. A bill to this effect has been promoted since 1998, but met with opposition,” stated the editor.
Gheorghe Erizanu considers that things in the field of regulation and legislation in Moldova must be brought to an end. “If you ask me what place the book takes in the people’s priorities, I can tell that it is on the periphery because we only discussed and didn’t create a system of values, a meritocratic system in the field of books, knowledge and education,” stated the director of the publishing house “Cartier”.
At the kindergarten, the parents paid for their children to be fed and accommodated and the book was at the bottom of the list of priorities. There were profitable persons who worked in the field and imposed their own books, eliminating thus the books that could have created respect for culture. In the education system, it is a period when reading is left out. Gheorghe Erizanu considers the children can be taught to read in two periods – the third and fourth grades, when these should be given the suitable books to read, and in the seventh and eighth grades. If these periods are lost, it’s impossible to make them read.
Chronic lack of book
Furthermore, at the Faculty of Journalism, for example, there is no model of literature. Journalists cannot be trained without teaching them to read. “If we look at the press, we practically do not have book chronicles. Several literary magazines try to exist on subsidies, but for the book to become a cult, it must be promoted in the daily and generalist press,” believes the director of the publishing house “Cartier”.
Gheorghe Erizanu noted that when financial optimization is needed, the media outlets first of all make the culture section redundant as practically no one needs it. In the 1990s, the best journalists went to work in culture, but now these choose to work in the area of politics.
However, the director of “Cartier” has never been the supporter of the theory that they read not much in Moldova. They read not more or less than in other countries. The writers should visit lyceums or kindergartens, where to discuss their books, because, during 25 years, they didn’t manage to shift from the notion of writer from the ideological battlefield, as it was in the Communist period, to writer as a rather social and illumination profession.
Return to crisis
Speaking about “Cartier” as a business, Gheorghe Erizanu said that two books were printed during the first year, in 1995. Afterward, a normal pace was reached, of about 60 book titles a year. He didn’t feel the crisis of 1998 probably because he was just a beginner then, but the crisis of 2008 was felt by the whole editorial system of the country. The system started to show signs of recovery only this year and will recover if nothing new happens. The difference is that when you start something, you feel that you know everything and are sure that all the books will enjoy success. Now Gheorghe Erizanu is not so sure. There are books that he likes a lot, but is not sure that these will be successful.
Though he avoided generalizations, Gheorghe Erizanu agreed to characterize the Moldovans, noting there are several myths saying the Moldovans are very hardworking and welcoming, but do not read. According to him, the Moldovans are hardworking, but have something of the Russian heirupism and do not use to systematize things, if only for particular periods. The editor said that in particular areas of activity, the Moldovans work very well and then become bored and leave things unfinished. Or, particular things that should be done pedantically are simplified until particular elements are forgotten. For example, in printing the colors can be controlled in a computerized way. The typographers, if a problem appears, eliminate the problematic element and print as they consider it right.
“I’m afraid that if we continue like this, in 25 years we will be unable to speak about the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. If we read the figures and statistics, we see that we can become a country with elderly people and nothing else. We produce nothing,” concluded the director of “Cartier”.
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Gheorghe Erizanu is a blogger, essayist, journalist, publicist, businessman, man of culture and Romanian writer from Chisinau. He founded and has headed the publishing house “Cartier” since 1995, which is one of the prestigious publishing houses in the Romanian language space. Since 1987 until 1996, he worked as a reporter, editor, secretary of editorial office and culture editor at different publications in Moldova.
Mariana Galben, IPN
The articles of the series “Thoughts about and for Moldova” started to be published on July 18. Among the protagonists are: Dumitru Alaiba, Iurie Ciocan, Ana-Maria Ţulea, Ion Manole,Olga Gagauz, Stella Ciobanu, Iurie Leancă, Victor Parlicov, Doru Curoşu, Igor Meriacre, Valeria Şeican, Ciprian Raeţchi, Andrei Năstase, Ghenadie Gâlcă, Arcadie Barbăroşie,Valeriu Matei, Eugen Doga, Dumitru Postovan, Petru Macovei, Tatiana Negruş, Maia Sandu, Viorel Soltan, Valentin Guţan, Gheorghe Erizanu, Mariana Onceanu-Hadârcă, Viorel Cibotaru, Victor Micu, Sergiu Prodan, Igor Dodon, Aureliu Batrînac, Alexandru Pleşca, Dionis Cenuşa, Kalman Mizsei, Petru Bodarev, Marian Lupu, IUlia Iabanji, Pavel Filip, Andrian Candu.
