To be honest, it is not in the interests of the signatory of these lines to predict what kind of reception the volume will have from the well-known and respected field of literary criticism. Paul Goma-Historical consciousness and literary consciousness. Written by Flori Bemenescu and published in late 2022 by Bucharest Corinth.

Nevertheless, I am taking a considerable risk and expressing my belief here that a study that is undoubtedly serious, coherent, with a marked rigor of argument, will be received either with reservations or will be accepted, tacticalunder the silence

Why do I think so? Like someone whose biography is reconstructed in just over 600 pages, Flory Bemenescu seems unwilling to make the slightest concession. No negotiations, reconciliation, reconciliation not only with the tormentors, whose “client” was Paul Goma since adolescence. Adolescence marked by the status of a refugee from Bessarabia, which fell to the Russians in 1944. Flori Bălănescu never forgives anyone. Regardless of whether we are talking about security guards, policemen, party activists who occupied all kinds of leadership positions at the university or at various cultural forums of the communist era and the world (Union of Writers, Publishers, Editors), or about writers or literary critics who, on opinion of the author of the book, the treacherous game of power, becoming complicit in spreading and justifying the idea that Goma’s literary works would be modest, if not completely useless.

The big names of Romanian literature before 1989 do not leave the book of Flori Bemenescu at all (which, it must be said, contains an extraordinary amount of documents to support its claims), such as Nicolae Breban, Zacharia Stancu, Nikita Stenescu, Nicolae Balote, Adrian Marino, Stefan Augustin Doinash , Marin Preda, Ioaniki Olteanu, George Makovescu and many, many others

Even Augustyn Buzura or Nicolae Manolescu do not receive even a bad passing grade. Writers, intellectuals in the country, with the exception of an extremely few (perhaps the most notable in terms of consistency is the psychiatrist and writer Ion Vianu) – as Flory Belenescu repeatedly reminds us – did not protest when Paul Goma suffered numerous persecutions after publishing a novel abroad Ostinato. Thus placing Romania on the map of dignity, as stated by Monica Lovinescu. Or Ostinato it was the novel that had been waiting for 20 years, as he said from the microphone Free Europe, Virgil Yerunka. In 1973, Goma was released from Literary Romania headed by Gheorghe Ivascu. The intelligentsia and writers did not rally in 1977 hom movement. She was looked at either indifferently, or even expressed not even kind, uncomfortable judgments about her. Undoubtedly, Paul Goma was expelled from the Union of Writers on April 9, 1977, and at the special meeting, some colleagues in the workshop made statements, uttered words that should cause them shame today. It should have been, but Flory Bemenescu tells us it wasn’t.

Until 1989, they wrote, as they say, okay about opposition about Paul Goma (he was an opponent and by no means only a dissident, as is often mistakenly said, semantic and factual differences are extremely important) and about the literature of Paul Goma (by the way, the writer had only one volume of stories) Monica Lovinescu, Virgil Ierunka, Noel Bernard and journalists and literary critics from abroad. Starting with the information sent to the Security Service by Nicolae Balote, who honestly informed his hosts how financially difficult it was for the Homme family to get to Paris, Flory Belenescu believes even Vlada Georgescu, director of the Romanian department Free Europe since 1983. Which, – says Flory Belenescu, – would be very understatement regarding Goma’s cooperation. It is true that Vlad Georgescu and his successors, Nestor Rates and Nicolae Stroescu-Stanișoara, had some distaste for Goma’s texts. See on this subject the notes of Goma himself in vol Half-open letters. It is true that budget constraints also came into play, and – and unfortunately Flory Belenescu ignores this detail – certain stylistic saturation (let’s say) opponent. Many of them do not respond at all Code of ethics positions magazine Monica Lovinescu testifies to a certain tension between Iyerunka and Noel Bernard’s successors, some are even associated with an attitude that has been qualified as the prudence of the new directors, but also, somewhat further, with a chronic ingratitude to the opponent. Inadmissibly humorous and debaucherous. Who, yes, behaved like a child, as Monica Lovinescu admits in the book Doina Yela, only this behavior hurt the one who unconditionally supported the author Herla. Unfortunately, Flory Belenescu goes through such pains too easily, as well as all the mistakes that Goma made after 1989.

After 1989, other pains, other stories intervened. From the computer the keys of the author of the book Paul Goma- Historical consciousness and literary consciousness fury, insults pour out on the same Swamp. Breban and, above all, Nicolae Manolescu. About the publishing house Humanitas and about Gabriel Liichana. Take it to repair, put it on an untinted wall. Almost in the same tone as, for example, Security General Nikolaje Pleshita. Which scandalously fluttered on the screens ANSWER in the company of infrequent Dan Diaconescu.

The idea that Flory Bemenescu emphasizes is that even after the December Revolution, both Goma’s unique and exemplary opposition and his literature were not properly appreciated. Ion Simutz (who also protested when Ion Ioannides was appointed Romanian Solenitsin, as the poet Miron Radu Paraskiescu told Gomi decades ago), Marius Mihec Jr. (he used it both in periodicals and in academic publications, the latter, unfortunately, less accessible to readers from Romania), Daniel Cristia-Enake, Ruksandra Cezerianu and two or three more. Still very little. Journalists Paul Kozigian, Mariana Sipos and Marilena Rotaru were among those rare voices who brought back to the memory of Romanians the courage, unusualness and refusal of any compromises and any negotiations with representatives of the totalitarian authorities, which is emphasized by Paul Goma. entire article and commentary by .com contributors