''The poems carry deep inside Paler's unique tenderness and reflection – short descriptions of feelings, thoughts or moments of our life. In all these short poems, sometimes only into a verse...I found again the main and constant topics which enriched my mind...I found definitions of tears and cries, of departures, of love, of regret, or of obsession. I found definitions of illusion, of maturity, of dignity, of balance, of silence, of loneliness, of ego....'' Mariana Ganea, Romanian-Insider
''The poetry reads as though an individual, the poet, is going through a process of examination, attempting to define his relation to the world and to himself, to define not just how he fits in, but if and why. Therefore making this a very introspective collection of poetry, but one that will have you smiling at that collection of words placed in that "best order" & then the awareness of a deeper thought process will seep into your mind – that this collection of beautiful, clever introspective poetry, is not merely one individual's exploration of self, but that it relates to you, us, all of us.'' Gary Moon, The Parrish Lantern
Octavian Paler was a poet, novelist, essayist, journalist and former politician. He was born on July 2, 1926, into a peasant family in Lisa, Romania and attended the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy and the Law School of Bucharest (1945-1949). During his long career, he worked as an editor for the cultural section of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company (1949-1964), Agerpres correspondent in Rome (September-December 1964), General Manager of the Romanian Television (1965-1968), Vice-President of the Radio Broadcasting Company and coordinator of the literary and music sections (1968-1970), editor-in-chief with "România liberă" newspaper (1970-1983) and starting from 1990, honorary director of the newspaper.
Octavian Paler graduated in Law and Philosophy from the University of Bucharest and went on to become one of Romania's top journalists and writers. Early in his career, he acted as vice president of the Romanian Radio & Broadcasting committee and was later made president of the Romanian Journalists' Council. Originally a member of the Communist Party, he soon split with them due to his criticism of the regime, which led to persecution by the secret police and the suppression of his artistic work. Following the revolution, he was appointed Editor-in-Chief at the influential newspaper Romania Libera. In a 2006 Romania Television survey, Paler was voted one of the 100 greatest Romanians of all time.
