Ministry of Culture has no money for Cioran’s manuscripts
Several manuscripts and documents that belonged to the writer Emil Cioran will be put up for auction in Paris, on Thursday. The Ministry did not succeed in purchasing the personal items of Constantin Brâncuşi.
Articol de Andreea Marin, 07 Aprilie 2011, 09:47
Romanian Ministry of Culture has no money to participate in the auction held in Paris, on Thursday, where several manuscripts and documents belonging to Emil Cioran will be sold.
Sources within the institution stated for Radio Romania that the only reason why these items have not been purchased by the state so far is the lack of funds.
It is the second time that the Ministry does not participate in such an action after the one held at the end of November last year, when the collection of personal items left by Constantin Brâncuşi to his testamentary legatees was put up for auction.
Out of the manuscripts and personal papers belonging to Romanian philosopher Emil Cioran that will be put for sale in Paris, on Thursday, the most expensive is The Passionate Handbook, valued by experts at between $ 8,000 and $ 10,000.
Expert Frédéric Castaing, quoted by Radio France Internationale, said that manuscripts signed by Cioran are rare pieces and the event on Thursday is extremely important since this is the first time that ‘so many documents of such high quality’ will be put up for auction.
Emil Cioran was a renowned writer and philosopher that moved to France after Romania started to be governed by the communist party. He was born in Răşinari, Sibiu, on 8 April 1911 and this year we commemorate 100 years since his death.
Along Mircea Eliade and Eugen Ionescu, Emil Cioran is one of the most famous twenty first century Romanian writers, whose debut took place in the interwar period.
Emil Cioran published several works in Bucharest, including On the Heights of Despair, The Book of Delusions, The Transfiguration of Romania, Tears and Saints, The Passionate Handbook.
Other works of his were published in Paris, among them A Short History of Decay, All Gall Is Divided, The Temptation to Exist, History and Utopia, The Fall into Time, The New Gods, The Trouble With Being Born, Drawn and Quartered, Notebooks.
Translated by: Denisse-Meda Bucura
MA Student, MTTLC, University of Bucharest
