Codrescu, Andrei

Codrescu, Andrei (Betty Laredo, Maria Parfeni, Urmuz, pen names) (1946–  ) poet, writer; born in Sibiu, Romania. He studied at the University of Bucharest (B.A. 1965) and emigrated to America in 1966. He taught at numerous institutions, such as Johns Hopkins (1979–80), the University of Baltimore (1982–84), and Louisiana State University (1984). His first poetry collection, License to Carry a Gun (1970), brought him critical acclaim, and his subsequent works of poetry and prose reveal a provocative, humorous, and surrealistic stylist. He produced several series for National Public Radio (NPR), and has been a commentator for NPR's "All Things Considered," and for Radio Free Europe. Among other editorial and journalistic positions, he was the editor of Exquisite Corpse: A Monthly Review of Books and Ideas (1983). A cross-country trip he took in his 1986 Cadillac convertible resulted in a movie, Road Scholar (1993).