Cristina Boncea · Writer · Poet · Essayist · Translator · Literary reviewer

i was once the almée of a sheikh
the pharaoh’s mistress or something like that
among cacti & sand

now my temples throb
when i have to ask for something at the store
from the lady behind the counter
with stuffed peppers and deli meats
one voice says: i have a career are you stupid!?
the other repeats mechanically: could i please have
350 grams of saxon salami
‘cause my mom serves it with potatoes.

– Delululand, OMG Publishing, 2025

Works

Cristina Boncea was born on January 1, 1998, in Târgu Jiu, southwestern Romania, into a family of musicians, and is currently based in Brașov. She studied Philosophy at the University of Bucharest, followed by an MA in Clinical Psychology and an MA in Cultural Innovation at Transilvania University of Brașov, with a focus on creative writing, literary translation and cultural management.

Active in the literary field since 2014, she has published reviews, essays and cultural journalism in Romanian literary and cultural magazines including Familia, Observator Cultural, Steaua, Tomis, Echinox and Matca Literară. She has read and performed her work at Other Plans III in London, at the invitation of poet Sam Riviere, Discuția Secretă in Arad, Institutul Blecher in Bucharest and Reduta Poetică in Brașov. Since 2025, she has also co-hosted and moderated Dactăr Nicu’s Skyzoid Poets, a contemporary poetry reading series in Brașov, alongside her work in literary translation, editing and creative writing workshops.

Her writing moves across fiction, poetry and the personal essay, drawing extensively on autobiographical material. Recurring concerns include memory, intimacy, identity and the psychological life of the individual, often set against the social legacy of post-communist Romania and the rapid transformations brought about by the digital age.

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Photos by Raluca Dicu Photographer.