<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Mihail Sebastian’s diary was published posthumously, over fifty years after the writer’s death, by the Humanitas Publishing House, under the title Journals 1935-1944, its publication being considered the major literary event of 1996. Faithful to Jules Renard’s diary, which he read and about which he also wrote, Mihail Sebastian is an adept of authenticity and sincerity in diary writing. The fact that it was published more than fifty years after the author’s death - a totally unexpected death - without the author having any possibility of processing it, is the best argument in favor of authenticity. Mihail Sebastian’s Journal is a mixed type of diary, which captures a complex existence, mirroring the events he participates in, what he does and how he acts, but especially what he feels, being faced with certain situations. Thus, the Journal becomes a space of small history, as Eugen Simion calls insignificant everyday events, but also of big history, which is written as the Second World War starts, unfolds and ends, one of the more significant historical events that humanity has experienced and to which Mihail Sebastian was a witness. This is the reality that Mihail Sebastian experiences, a reality that could undergo a slight transfiguration, caused by the subjective angle from which the events are viewed. It is precisely this inherently subjective angle that, to a greater or lesser extent, makes intimate writing a fiction of nonfiction.</p>
</abstract>

Mihail Sebastian’s diary was published posthumously, over fifty years after the writer’s death, by the Humanitas Publishing House, under the title Journals 1935-1944, its publication being considered the major literary event of 1996. Faithful to Jules Renard’s diary, which he read and about which he also wrote, Mihail Sebastian is an adept of authenticity and sincerity in diary writing. The fact that it was published more than fifty years after the author’s death - a totally unexpected death - without the author having any possibility of processing it, is the best argument in favor of authenticity. Mihail Sebastian’s Journal is a mixed type of diary, which captures a complex existence, mirroring the events he participates in, what he does and how he acts, but especially what he feels, being faced with certain situations. Thus, the Journal becomes a space of small history, as Eugen Simion calls insignificant everyday events, but also of big history, which is written as the Second World War starts, unfolds and ends, one of the more significant historical events that humanity has experienced and to which Mihail Sebastian was a witness. This is the reality that Mihail Sebastian experiences, a reality that could undergo a slight transfiguration, caused by the subjective angle from which the events are viewed. It is precisely this inherently subjective angle that, to a greater or lesser extent, makes intimate writing a fiction of nonfiction.

Jurnalul Lui Mihail Sebastian – Între Autenticitate Și Ficțiune

Lucian Blaga Yearbook

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Jurnalul Lui Mihail Sebastian \u2013 Între Autenticitate Și Ficțiune"}

Mihail Sebastian’s diary was published posthumously, over fifty years after the writer’s death, by the Humanitas Publishing House, under the title Journals...

Jurnalul Lui Mihail Sebastian – Între Autenticitate Și Ficțiune

Published Online: Feb 01, 2023

Page range: 119 - 128

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/clb-2022-0008

Keywords
authenticity, sincerity, transfiguration of reality, fiction, fiction of non-fiction, narrative identit

© 2022 Ionela Toader, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Jurnalul Lui Mihail Sebastian – Între Autenticitate Și Ficțiune

Published Online: Feb 01, 2023

Page range: 119 - 128

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/clb-2022-0008

Keywordsauthenticity, sincerity, transfiguration of reality, fiction, fiction of non-fiction, narrative identit

© 2022 Ionela Toader, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
authenticity, sincerity, transfiguration of reality, fiction, fiction of non-fiction, narrative identit