Literature as the Way Out of that World Biography and Confrontation in I. P. Culianu's Case

Ioan Petru Culianu was not only a religious studies scholar, but also a great storyteller. Unquestionably, he believed in magic. He also believed in tales and the capacity of the imagination to change worlds. I. P. Culianu published his first story in 1967. For the Communist regime in Romania that was a period of relative relaxation. But this "liberalization" ended in 1971; as the article will expose, that affected Culianu, too. This article is about Culianu's book, which should have been his debut, but it was not published until 2002 Art of Fugue (Arta fugii) - and about Culianu's problems with the Securitate; about his critical articles and sarcastic stories about the Romanian communist regime. It also debates Culianu's relation with the political power and reveals the way he understands power in itself.