Post by Webster on Mar 26, 2020 14:48:08 GMT -5
(The Guardian) The Romanian writer and anti-communist dissident Paul Goma has died in Paris after contracting coronavirus. Goma, 84, was admitted to hospital a week ago and died in the early hours of Wednesday, his biographer told Romanian media outlets.
Born in 1935, Goma first caught the attention of communist Romania’s notorious secret police in 1952 while still at school, and he was in and out of prison for the next 25 years. In 1977, he wrote an angry open letter to the dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu.
He was subsequently arrested, but was later allowed to leave Romania for Paris with his wife and son. Goma had lived in the French capital ever since. He published a large number of novels and short story collections throughout his life, many about the experience of life under totalitarianism. Some of his later work was criticised for antisemitism.
He was taken to the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris on 18 March, tested positive for coronavirus, and died in the early hours of Wednesday, Romanian news outlets reported.
Born in 1935, Goma first caught the attention of communist Romania’s notorious secret police in 1952 while still at school, and he was in and out of prison for the next 25 years. In 1977, he wrote an angry open letter to the dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu.
He was subsequently arrested, but was later allowed to leave Romania for Paris with his wife and son. Goma had lived in the French capital ever since. He published a large number of novels and short story collections throughout his life, many about the experience of life under totalitarianism. Some of his later work was criticised for antisemitism.
He was taken to the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris on 18 March, tested positive for coronavirus, and died in the early hours of Wednesday, Romanian news outlets reported.