Paul Georgescu | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 7, 1923 Țăndărei, Ialomița County, Kingdom of Romania |
| Died | October 15, 1989 (aged 65) Bucharest, Socialist Republic of Romania |
| Occupation | literary critic, journalist, novelist, short story writer |
| Period | 1944–1989 |
| Genre | experimental literature, parody, novella, essay, memoir |
| Literary movement | Socialist Realism, Modernism, Neorealism, Postmodernism |
Paul Georgescu (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈpa.ul dʒe̯orˈdʒesku]; November 7, 1923 – October 15, 1989) was a Romanian literary critic, journalist, fiction writer and communist political figure. Remembered as both a main participant in the imposition of Socialist Realism in its Romanian form and a patron of dissenting modernist and postmodern literature, he began his career in politics during World War II, when he sided with the anti-fascist groups and the underground Romanian Communist Party in opposition to the Axis-aligned Ion Antonescu regime. During the first twenty years of Communist Romania, Georgescu assisted Leonte Răutu in exercising Stalinist control over local literature, but also published young nonconformist authors, beginning with Nichita Stănescu and Matei Călinescu, in his Gazeta Literară. Sidelined over his own incompatibility with the Socialist Realist dogma, and returning to public life during the 1960s liberalization enforced by Nicolae Ceaușescu, he became openly adverse to Ceaușescu's variety of national communism and clandestinely cultivated the prohibited ideology of Trotskyism.
During the final part of his life, Paul Georgescu became especially known as an experimental novelist, among the first postmodernists on the local scene, and, although physically impaired, one of the most prolific Romanian authors of the late 20th century. His main works of the time, including the critically acclaimed Vara baroc ("Baroque in Summer"), deal with urban and suburban life on the Bărăgan Plain, creatively parodying the work of 19th and early 20th century writers. While admired for his contribution to fiction and his lifelong promotion of anti-dogmatic literature, Georgescu remains controversial for his political affiliations and his early participation in censorship.