Florentin Smarandache

A Very Short Presentation of Paradoxism: Second Paradoxist Manifesto

A) The Very Beginning:

It was in 1980’s when the movement began...

Together with many of my childhood friends (Cost, Geonea, Beca, Bigioc, Piciu, Boros, Covrig, Cris, Pilă, Chesa, Grasu, Babanu – I am giving only their nicknames!) we were in the village restaurants in the town (Bălceşti, Vâlcea, Romania) drinking beer and joking ...

All were, and still are – except Cost (i.e. Constantin Dincă) and I, non-literary people.

They did not want either to read or to write anything!

And yet, we built a new literary movement (without knowing about it ... paradoxically!!). We made inside jokes, spoke in slang, amused each other while the alcohol had its effect on us.

I then wrotein Romanian Legi de compoziţie internă. Poeme cu ... probleme!” (Laws of internal composition. Poems with ... problems!, Morocco, 1982) as a PREPARADOXIST volume.

Returning to Craiova, Rmania, my work city, I contacted the literary circles and then, with the help of other writers (Constantin M. Popa, Ion Soare, Doru Moţoc etc.), set up The Literary Paradoxist Movement.

PARADOXISM CAME TO LIFE FROM NOTHING AND WAS GIVEN BIRTH BY NON-LITERARY PEOPLE! PARADOXISM CAME TO LIFE FROM EVERYTHING, FROM OUR CONTRADICTORY LEAVING IN A TOTALITARIAN SOCIETY.

B) Definition:

PARADOXISM is an avant-garde movement in literature, art, philosophy, science,basedonexcessiveusedofantitheses,parables,odds,paradoxesincreations. It was set up and led by the writer Florentin Smarandache since 1980’s who said: “The goal is to enlargement of the artistic sphere through non-artistic elements. But especially the counter-time, counter-sense creation. Also, to experiment.”

C) Etymology:

Paradoxism=paradox+ism, means the theory and school of using paradoxes in literary and artistic, but also philosophy, science creations.

D) History:

“Paradoxism started as an anti-totalitarian protest against a closed society, Romania of 1980’s, where the whole culture was manipulated by a small group. Onlytheirideasandtheirpublicationscounted.Wecouldn’tpublishalmostanything. Then, I said: Let’s do literature… without doing literature! Let’s write… without actually writing anything. How? Simply: object literature! “The flying of a bird”, for example, represents a “natural poem”, that is not necessary to write down, being more palpable and perceptible in any language that some signs laid on the paper, which, in fact, represent an “artificial poem”: deformed, resulted from a translation by the observant of the observed, and by translation one falsifies. The cars jingling on the street” was a “city poem”, “peasants mowing” - a “disseminationist poem”, “the dream with open eyes” - a “surrealist poem”, “foolishly speaking” - a “dadaist poem”, “the conversation in Chinese for an ignorant of this language” - a “lettrist poem”, “alternating discussions of travels, in a train station, on different themes” a “post-modern poem” (inter-textualism).

Do you want a vertically classification? “Visual poem”, “sonor poem”, “olfactory poem”, “taste poem”, “tactil poem”. Another classification in diagonal: “poem-phenomenon”, “poem-(soul)status”, “poem-thing”. In painting, sculpture similarly – all existed in nature, already fabricated.Therefore, a muteprotest we did!

Later, I based it on contradictions. Why? Because we lived in that society a double life: on official one – propagated by the political system, and another one real. In mass-media it was promulgated that “our life is wonderful”, but in reality “our life was miserable”. The paradox flourishing! And then we took the creation in derision, in inverse sense, in a syncretic way. Thus the paradoxism was born. The folk jokes, at great fashion in Ceauşescu “Epoch”, as an intellectual breathing, were superb springs. The “No” and “Anti” from my paradoxist manifestos had a creative character, not all nihilistic (C. M. Popa). The passage from paradoxes to paradoxism was documetarily described by Titu Popescu in his classical book concerning the movement: “Paradoxism’s Aestetics” (published later). While Ion Soare, Ion Rotaru, Marian Barbu, Gheorghe Niculescu studied paradoxism in my literary work, Nicolae Manolescu asserted, about one of my manuscripts of nonpoems, that they are against-the-hair.

Ididn’thaveanyforerunnertoinfluenceme,butIwasInspiredfromthe“upsidedown situation” that existed in the country. I started from politic, social, and immediately got to literature, art, philosophy, even science. Through experiments one brings new literary, artistic, philosophical or scientific terms, new procedures, methodes or even algorithms of creation. In one of my manifestos, I proposed the sense of embezzlings, changes from figurative to proper sense, upside-down interpretation of linguistic expressions.

E) Features of Paradoxism:

# Basic Thesis of Paradoxism: everything has a meaning nad a non-meaning in a harmony with each other.

# Essence of Paradoxism: a) the sense has a non-sense, and reciprocally b) the non-sense has a sense.

# Motto of Paradoxism: “All is possible, the impossible too!”

# Symbol of Paradoxism: a spiral – optic illusion, or vicious circle;

# Delimitation from Other Avant-Gardes:

- paradoxism has a significance, while dadaism, lettrism, the absurd movement do not;

- paradoxism especially reveals the contradictions, the anti-nomies, anti-theses, antiphrases, antagonism, non-conformism, the paradoxes in other words of anything (in literature, art, science), while futurism, cubism, surrealism, abstractism and all other avant-gardes do not focus on them.

# Directions of Paradoxism:

- to use science methods (especially algorithms) for generating (and studying also) contradictory literary and artistic works;

- to create contradictory literary and artistic works in scientific spaces (using scientific: symbols, meta-language, matrices, theorems, lemmas etc.).

Author Bios

Liz Axelrod received her MFA from the New School in 2013. Her work has been published in Yes Poetry, The Rumpus, The Brooklyn Rail, Electric Literature, Ginosko Journal #14, Maintenent #14 & #15, 12th Street Journal, Wicked Alice by Dancing Girl Press, Counterpunch.com, and more. Her Chapbook Go Ask Alice (June 2016) was a finalist in the Finishing Line Press New Woman's Voices Competition. Liz has written book reviews for Boog City Press, Kirkus Reviews and Publisher's Weekly. She was founder, co-host, and curator of the Cedarmere Reading Series in the home of William Cullen Bryant (2014-2017) and is currently an Adjunct English Instructor at SUNY Westchester Community College, Central New Mexico Community College & The University of New Mexico, Valencia.

Axel Jerix Balicat is a full-time student who is very adept and proficient in most courses that I’ve taken. Besides being a student, I enjoy writing as an escape from the stressful school environment. I have taken a vast array of your courses and feel my writing ability is top-notch. I am reaching out to you about my inquiry about submitting my work to UNM Gallup’s literary art journal, Red Mesa Review. The work I would like to present is titled Unexpected. The results include a short memoir inspired by my experiences of first love and experiences of real heartbreak.

DeLyssa Begay is Dibelizhini (Black Sheep People), born for Honaaghaani (OneWho-Walks-Around People). Her maternal grandfathers are Todicheenii, and her paternal grandfathers are T’acheenii. She is Navajo, and her family’s homestead is in Tse Chizhi/Rough Rock, Arizona. DeLyssa teaches at Rehoboth Christian High School in New Mexico. She is a Northern Arizona University Dine Teacher Institute Fellow.

Born on December 26th, 2004, Langham Bitsoi grew up in Naschitti, New Mexico. While growing up he found an interest in writing through watching movies and reading books. At a point in his life, he aspired to become an author. Nowadays, he keeps writing as a hobby and hopes to continue it on as the years ago by.

Dr. Christopher L. Dyer is an applied anthropologist and the former CEO and now professor of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico-Gallup. He received an M.S in marine biology from the University of Alabama in 1983, an

M.A. in anthropology in 1986 and his Ph.D. in anthropology in 1990 from Arizona State University. Grants, contracts, research support and donor support to academic institutions rose to date amount to over $33.3 million. Dr. Dyer has received research support from the National Science Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the National Hazard Center (NSF), the Organization of American States, Blue Cross-Blue Shield, Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, Ducks Unlimited, and others. Research interests include community disaster mitigation, human ecosystem modeling, medical anthropology, and disaster assessment. He has directed field research teams in seventeen countries including Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Kenya and the Philippines. Present research includes projects with the Roanoke Area Ministries (RAM House) on impact of the pandemic on homelessness and with the Center for Social Complexity, George Mason University, and four other institutional partners, which will extend into the summer and continue on for at least three years: “Modeling Human –Infrastructure Interactions Following Nuclear Detonation.

Mars Glazner is a senior art student at UNM set to graduate with a minor in creative writing. They work manly with second person point of view when writing and enjoy playing with lesser used forms in fiction. Seeking out and experiment with different formats helps create unique challenges which inform the authors style and characterizations. Going forward they are looking at writing in the horror genre and are hoping to create a discography of work that encompasses their writing range.

Jennifer Macktima Grisenti is from the San Carlos Apache Tribe and currently lives in Parker, Colorado. She is Apache and Hopi. She is a recent graduate from the Tohono O’Odham Community College. In addition, she earned her associate’s degree in liberal arts and general studies from Eastern Arizona College. Her goal is to continue her education and work towards a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies. Someday she would like to work at a college teaching or assisting others. She served eight years in the United Marine Corps and one year in the Army National Guard. She was awarded several military medals, and she is proud of her military experiences and accomplishments.

She has been working for many years, but now her hobbies have become her small business: drawing, sewing and writing stories about her life. She receives encouragement and support from her husband, Dave, her children, and her siblings. She had a late start with her education, but she enjoys her classes, her instructors, and the experience of learning from the younger generation.

Quentin Guyonnet is a second-year student enrolled in the Associate in Nursing program. He is originally from Bordeaux, France and moved to New Mexico two years ago with his wife. They met in the Democratic Republic of Congo while working in a humanitarian mission for Doctors Without Borders. In his free time, he enjoys playing the drums and spending time with his 2-month-old daughter.

Carmela Delia Lanza’s poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. Her first chapbook of poetry, Long Island Girl, was published by Malafemmina Press. Her second chapbook of poetry, So Rough A Messenger, was published by Finishing Line Press. She was raised on Long Island in a workingclass Italian immigrant family (her first language was Napolitana). After completing her undergraduate work at Emmanuel College in Boston, MA, she worked at Columbia University Press, in New York City. Eventually she crossed the country to New Mexico where she made the desert her home. As a graduate student at the University of New Mexico, she studied with poets Joy Harjo and Gene Frumkin. She is an associate professor of English at the University of New Mexico at Gallup, in Gallup, New Mexico.

Sarah Llanque A nurse by trade, Dr. Sarah Llanque, has created three poems with the theme of hope, struggle, and growth in becoming a nurse. These poetry submissions are her first attempt to express these themes that can be experienced by those who are new to the subculture of nursing.

Joseph Lujan is a small scale creative that’s lived in Gallup their entire life. After a lot of outdoors experience in the local area, they moved inside and started learning how to work with metal, wood, words, pictures and leather. Always looking for new ways to express ideas, they continue to create practical wood items and currently working towards completing the UNM Gallup Lab Technician program.

Tom McLaren Surréaliste Synesthésique. With my background in the AvantGarde and my Asian wife by my side, I’m John Lennon to this Fab Four.

Aretha Matt is from a small community on the Navajo Nation. She teaches English at the University of New Mexico-Gallup. She writes poetry and short stories about her upbringing on the Navajo reservation and her experiences as an educator.

Jennifer McCandless This submission was submitted for her by her cousin, Nick Brokeshoulder, who said the following about her: I have a cousin named Jennifer McCandless who has an interesting background as a former HS & College Cross Country athlete, a USMC Veteran, and as a beginning writer.

Andrew V. McFeaters is an assistant professor in the English Department at University of New Mexico-Gallup. He has published criticism on authors such as James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, and Flann O'Brien. He is a coeditor for, and contributor to, the Cold Hard Type series, anthologies that celebrate the value of typewriters for writing fiction and poetry.

Gloria Grace Paluga-Macapagal is an Asian wife, a mother of two beautiful kids, and a striving college student at the University of New Mexico-Gallup. Her colorful journey and rich ethnicity embolden her to write her story with the hope of inspiring writers as it has done to her.

Shelli Rottschafer completed her doctorate from the University of New Mexico in Latin American Contemporary Literature (2005). Since 2006, Rottschafer has taught at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI. She is a Professor of Spanish within the Department of World Languages. She teaches Spanish Language, Chicanx and Latinx Literature, Film and Gender Studies. Rottschafer writes Poetry, Creative Nonfiction, and Fiction. Her Travel Writing is published in Wanderlust Journal of Travel Essays Atmosphere Press in Austin, TX published her debut novella, Stay North (2021). Her short stories have been published in Chamisa: A Journal of Literacy, Performance, and Visual Arts of the Great Southwest and Cutthroat: Journal of the Arts

Although Rottschafer doesn’t currently live in “The Land of Enchantment” it continues to call her in the Midwest and it is her hope to return to the Four Corners Area as it is part of her querencia.

Bridgette Silva is currently a student at UNM-Gallup. She is a certified peer support recovery worker, with plans of becoming a substance abuse counselor. She has a passion for helping those with addiction problems. As the case manager at a local recovery center, she assists the homeless and those with alcohol addiction.

She relates to her clients because at a certain point in her life she faced the demons of addiction. She is now seven years clean, and she thanks God that today she is a productive member of society. Every day she strives to become better in all areas of life. She believes we all have a purpose in life, and she chooses to live according to God’s will. Her hobbies include walking and studying the bible. Her faith is strong, and she will continue to persevere when difficulty may arise in her life.

Florentin Smarandache is a professor of mathematics at the University of New Mexico, United States. He got his MSc in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Craiova, Romania, PhD in Mathematics from the State University of Kishinev, and Postdoctoral in Applied Mathematics from Okayama University of Sciences, Japan.

He is the founder of neutrosophy (generalization of dialectics), neutrosophic set, logic, probability and statistics since 1995 and has published hundreds of papers and books on neutrosophic physics, superluminal and instantaneous physics, unmatter, quantum paradoxes, absolute theory of relativity, redshift and blueshift due to the medium gradient and refraction index besides the Doppler effect, paradoxism, outerart, neutrosophy as a new branch of philosophy, Law of Included Multiple-Middle, multispace and multistructure, hypersoft set, degree of dependence and independence between neutrosophic components, refined neutrosophic set, neutrosophic over-under-off-set, plithogenic set / logic / probability / statistics, neutrosophic triplet and duplet structures, quadruple neutrosophic structures, extension of algebraic structures to NeutroAlgebras and AntiAlgebras, NeutroGeometry & AntiGeometry, Dezert-Smarandache Theory and so on to many peer-reviewed international journals and many books and he presented papers and plenary lectures to many international conferences around the world.

In addition, he published many books of poetry, dramas, children’ stories, translations, essays, a novel, folklore collections, traveling memories, and art albums [http://fs.unm.edu/FlorentinSmarandache.htm].

Benjamin Space is currently a student at UNM–Gallup pursuing a degree in social services and addiction counseling. After 20 years spent in Fire/EMS services, he decided a change was in order and so his goals include further education in psychology and writing. He remains active in community mental health groups and