Grigore Vieru would have turned 86 on February 14. On this occasion, President Maia Sandu invited children to write letters to her and tell her about their favorite books and authors. Parliament Speaker Zinaida Grechanyi, acting Prime Minister Aureliu Ciocoi, Minister of Education, Culture and Research Lilia Pogolșa, MPs and officials of the municipality of Chisinau retendered homage to the poet, IPN reports.
Maia Sandu’s call to the children forms part of a campaign to promote reading, which was launched by the presidential institution. “Vieru is the man who managed to keep the child alive in his soul throughout his life,” the President said in a video call by which she encourages the children to read the bard’s poems. She also urges the children to send letters about their favorite author or book marked “My favorite book” to the email address of the presidential administration.
Zinaida Grechanyi in her message said that Grigore Vieru’s talent gave birth to many literary masterpieces that inspire and are a reason for pride. “His verses, his whole work play a great role in moral education. He was and will remain one of the best teachers of love on our land. Grigore Vieru’s works are loved and appreciated by readers of all ages,” stated the Speaker, noting that almost 2,000 children and grownups took part in the Parliament’s online reciting competition dedicated to the bard.
Aureliu Ciocoi noted that Grigore Vieru’s works continue to cultivate love for the mother tongue and other values and it is our moral duty to take care of the intellectual inheritance left by the poet. “Vieru’s poems are so plain, but also so full of content. But what is more important, they can penetrate the souls of people from different generations, from young to old,” he said in his message.
Lilia Pogolșa said Grigore Vieru is the one who managed to cultivate love for the national country, the Romanian language and national values by the simplicity of his poems. “We are really proud that Grigore Vieru is the spiritual patron of 22 education institutions in the country that bear our national poet’s name with dignity,” stated the minister.
The Chisinau City Hall also commemorated Grigore Vieru. In the morning of February 14, Mayor General Ion Ceban, deputy mayor Angela Kutasevich and representatives of the municipality laid flowers at the poet’s bust. Ion Ceban said the municipal authorities will be making effort to create the Museum “Grigore Vieru” in Chisinau. For 2021, the Culture Division earmarked funds and will initiate the procedure for launching the contest to design the future museum.
The MPs of the PPPDA and of the “For Moldova” platform that includes the MPs of the Shor Party also laid flowers at the bard’s bust. The president of the PDM Pavel Filip wrote on Facebook that Grigore Vieru, who is a prominent figure of the national renaissance movement, was an ardent promoter of the Romanian language and the Latin script. “Simple and genial, his verses taught us to honor love for the country, for the Romanian language, for mother,” runs Pavel Filip’s message.
Grigore Vieru was born in Pererita village of Briceni district on February 14, 1935. He is loved and known by people of all ages. He wrote multiple poems for children and was given the most prestigious international children’s literature award – Andersen Diploma of Honor. He was also conferred the honorific title of People’s Writer and the Order of the Republic. He is a national renaissance poet. A boulevard in Chisinau and a number of national education institutions bear the name of Grigore Vieru. The poet died on January 18, 2009 as a result of a road accident not far from Chisinau that occurred on January 16, one month before he would have turned 74.
