With the relaxing of cultural controls in the mid-1960s, many of those who had been silent resumed their writing, together with a new group of younger writers. The mid-and late-1960s saw an outpouring of literary creativity that had been pent up during the preceding decade. The variety of genres and styles was impressive; some continued the traditions of the past, others repudiated their literary traditions and ventured into new areas of expression. Lyricism dominated the poetry of Ion Alexandru, Adrian Paunescu, Marin Sorescu, and others. Their greatest appeal was among young people whose doubts, hopes, and restlessness they expressed.
Prose showed two trends: realism, which was now free to examine all aspects of human existence; and antirealism, which showed influences of some contemporary French writers.
Literary criticism, which had played an important role in the development of Romanian literature, was revived as a literary art and was removed from politics. Both old and new works were examined and evaluated, and Romanian literary traditions were studied and analyzed. The literary output of the 1950s was attacked for its lack of imagination and creativity.
The retightening of controls in 1971 reduced the volume of new works being published, and many writers retreated into a self-censorship, which restricted their creativity. Literary periodicals and other publication media were more selective in deciding what to publish, whereas some critics attacked the volume and quality of the recent literary output.
SCHOLARSHIP AND RESEARCH
A tradition of scholarship and research has in the past been limited to a small intellectual elite centered in Bucharest and Iasi. The group was oriented toward France and, to a lesser extent, Germany in terms of professional contacts and sources of inspiration. During the 1930s a number of sociologists at the University of Bucharest established a reputation for outstanding and original work in their field.
The great expansion of the educational system since the 1940s has provided a much broader base for scholarly activity but, in keeping with ideological dictates, scholarly activity must be socially useful, that is, directly applicable to the needs of the society. Therefore, great emphasis has been placed on applied research in the sciences and technology designed to improve the economy. All research is sponsored by the state and is directed and supervised by the National Council for Scientific Research.
The interest in sociology has continued, but work in this field, as in the other social sciences, has suffered from the restrictions imposed by communist ideology. The only accepted philosophy is that of Marxism-Leninism, and all scholarly work must be based on its precepts, which frequently leads to sterile research or preconceived results.
Two developments by Romanians in the field of medicine have caused considerable controversy among specialists in other parts of the world. One is a regeneration therapy for the aged based on the administration of procaine, which was developed by Anna Aslan of the Institute of Gerontology. The therapy, strongly backed by the government, is intended to free the elderly from the various chronic discomforts of advanced age and thereby make them more active. Many prominent gerontologists have questioned the efficacy of the treatments and the results claimed by the Institute of Gerontology, but others have reported it to be fully effective. A Romanian-developed drug used in the treatment is extensively sold in Europe. The other medical development acclaimed by Romania but questioned by many specialists in the field is the use of an extract obtained from cattle eyes for the treatment of many human eye diseases. The extract was developed by Professor Petre Vancea.