"In the years following the collapse of the Wall, Romanian poets have assaulted the English language directly and indirectly with impressive vigor. Romanians, whether in the depths of the Transylvanian provinces or in the better parts of Manhattan, respond to the word poetry with a straightening of the shoulders, a chin-forward movement, and a far-away gaze. We may not be sure of many things, they say with that rearrangement of the body, but we are sure of our poetry". - from the introduction by Andrei Codrescu

Born in Utopia is a landmark in the history of literary translation. Critics have long recognized Romania as one of the foremost contributors to literary Modernism, but until now, English translations of even the essential works have been few. Born in Utopia also documents Romania's considerable poetic accomplishments both during the tyrannical regime of Nicolae Ceausescu and during the cultural flowering that followed. The editors have constructed an anthology that arguably places Romanian poetry at the center of literary achievement in our time.