Andrei Codrescu

Andrei Codrescu (born December 20, 1946 in Sibiu, then part of the Kingdom of Romania) is a Romanian‑born American poet, novelist, essayist, journalist, and screenwriter. He emigrated with his mother in 1966, settling in the U.S., where he quickly immersed himself in the avant‑garde literary scene in New York City, mingling with figures like Allen Ginsberg and Ted Berrigan BrainyQuote+10+10Andrei Codrescu+10. Over a prolific career, Codrescu founded the literary journal Exquisite Corpse, taught at universities including Louisiana State University, and worked as a regular commentator on NPR’s All Things Considered from 1983 to 2016 The Poetry Foundation+2Andrei Codrescu+2+2.

Codrescu has published dozens of books spanning poetry, memoir, travel writing, and criticism. His early poetry debut License to Carry a Gun (1970) won the Big Table Poetry Award, and later works include The Disappearance of the Outside, The Posthuman Dada Guide, Bibliodeath, and New Orleans, Mon Amour Andrei CodrescuThe Poetry Foundation. He earned prestigious honors such as the Peabody Award (for the film Road Scholar) and the Ovid Prize for poetry, affirming his status as a bold and irreverent literary voice +3+3The Poetry Foundation+3.

Codrescu is known for his sharp wit, surreal imagery, and incisive commentary on language, exile, and culture. Consider his often‑cited lines:

“Nostalgia is masochism and masochism is something masochists love to share.” +3+3Goodreads+3
“It is the job of the market to turn the base material of our emotions into gold.” +2+2Goodreads+2
“In the grand collage that is Dada, past and future are equally usable.” Lib Quotes+2+2+2

These quotes capture his exploration of how language, memory, and power shape identity and art—making Codrescu a distinctive modern thinker in literary nonfiction and poetic reflection.