Danube–Black Sea Canal
Manoliu was persecuted and twice imprisoned by the communist regime in the 1950s, serving time on the building site of the Danube–Black Sea Canal. Banned from publishing upon his return, he focused instead on translation work, and achieved national recognition for his renditions from Thomas Mann. He nevertheless lived a secluded life, marked by poverty, and continued to write works which went unpublished, in particular diaries.