Moni
Stănilă
writer
ABOUT THE RESIDENT
Moni Stănilă was born in Tomești, Timiș county, Romania, in 1978. She studied Orthodox Theology and Literature in Timișoara and Sibiu. Since 2010, she has lived in Chișinău, where, together with Alexandru Vakulovski, she organizes the Republic Literary Circle. She has published six books of poetry, three novels (the most recent, “Oase strălucitoare”, published by Polirom in 2026), two children’s books, and the biographical novel “Brâncuși sau cum a învățat țestoasa să zboare”. Her poetry collection “Ofsaid” received the Radio România Cultural Award, the Observator Cultural Award, the Bacovia Prize, and the Timpul Magazine Award in Moldova. Some of her previous volumes have also received awards from the Writers’ Union of Moldova and other institutions.
Translations of “Ofsaid” have been published in Sweden and Germany, the German edition appearing under the title “Metalische Igel”, while an author anthology was published in France. “Metalische Igel” was included in the 2025 “Lyrik-Empfehlungen” list, an initiative of the German Academy for Language and Literature, the Lyrik Kabinett Foundation, and the House of Poetry.
In 2024, she was awarded the Ion Monoran Prize in Timișoara, and in 2026 she received the “Constantin Stere” Prize from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova.
ABOUT THE RESIDENCY
Homo viator: the threshold of departure
Every long journey begins with hesitation, but also with excitement. In the symbolic architecture of the Via Transilvanica path, Bucovina is precisely such a first threshold: the starting point for the traveler, the place where the excitement of setting out first encounters the idea of alterity. The concept of homo viator — the human being as fundamentally “on the way” — acquires here its most literal meaning: the traveler has not yet accumulated the experience of the trail, but appears open and receptive, in Gabriel Marcel’s sense of the term.
Bucovina’s hospitality is a historical reality sedimented over time, shaped by a fusion of imperial and peasant influences that, over the centuries, crystallized into a particular way of welcoming the stranger to the table. This gesture represents the first act of acceptance of alterity encountered by the traveler along the route, and the literary residency here should capture precisely this inaugural moment: the path as a threshold of trust.
The aim is to create prose that captures the impressions and state of mind specific to the beginning of a journey, the excitement of travel untouched by the fatigue of the kilometers still to come. The text will explore how welcoming the stranger functions as the traveler’s first test of their willingness to be transformed through an encounter with the other. This theme connects Bucovina directly to the rest of the way, like an overture announcing everything that will follow in the other seven regions. In essence, the writer gives literary form to the very premise of the project: that the pilgrim, quite literally, is Romania itself searching for meaning, and Bucovina is the place where this search first takes on a face.
ABOUT THE REGION
Situated in the north-east of the country, at the meeting point between Transylvania and Molova, Bucovina is a territory of crossings: between regions, histories, communities, and landscapes. For Via Transilvanica, it marks the beginning of the journey and is known for the high level of difficulty of its terrain, which serves as a baptism for the long-distance traveler. It prepares them physically, but above all mentally and spiritually, for a long journey all the way to Drobeta-Turnu Severin.
The 144 kilometers of the route pass through villages, forests, valleys, and gentle ridges, bringing to light a distinctive natural and cultural heritage. Putna is the starting point, where the hiker is rested and has an unknown journey stretching out before them.
Along the way, even those who spend fewer days on the trail immediately encounter the hospitality specific to the region, most often expressed through its rich gastronomy, filled with old recipes whose flavors bear the imprint of diverse cultural influences.
The story begins in Bucovina, with a hollow feeling in the stomach at the thought of the unknown ahead, but one that quickly fills up… at the latest when the hiker reaches Sadova.
ABOUT THE CULTURAL IMPRINT LEFT ON THE REGION
The short story created by the resident becomes a dual cultural artifact: on the one hand, a physical object, printed precisely in the place that inspired it; on the other, a sound experience accessible through a QR code. Years from now, a traveler arriving in the area will be able to listen to the story, in the very place where it was written.
