Description

Andrei Crăciun writes about Emil Cioran’s loss of freedom and despair. A child plays with skulls near a graveyard. Years later, Cioran thinks of ending his life in Paris. He fears his death would become a public show. This fear holds him back. The book blends his life story with fiction. It forms part of the BIOGRAFII ROMANȚATE series.

Cioran’s life began in Răşinari in 1911. He was the second child of an Orthodox archpriest. His mother’s noble family came from Transylvania. He went to school in Sibiu. He then studied philosophy in Bucharest. There he grew drawn to German thinkers. A Humboldt fellowship took him to Berlin. He stayed there from 1933 to 1935. He saw Germany turn toward Nazism. He later backed the Legionary movement.

His first book came out in 1934. Four more books in Romanian followed. He taught in Braşov for a short time. Then he left for Paris in 1937. There he met Simone Boué. She became his lifelong companion. He settled in France in 1945 and lost his Romanian citizenship. From 1949, he wrote only in French. He stayed out of public life. But he kept close friends through letters. They included Constantin Noica and Eugène Ionesco. He also wrote to Arşavir Acterian and Mircea Eliade. He died in 1995.

Crăciun’s life began in 1983. He writes poems, fiction, essays, plays and news stories. He studied in Romania, Spain and Israel. He studied public administration and the history of ideas. He also studied Hebrew culture. In 2019, he began research for a doctoral degree. His subject was Panait Istrati’s political life. He also helped found Recorder.ro. He won awards for his work in Romanian journalism. Through the CELA project, his work reached four other languages.