E. M. Cioran

Emil Mihai Cioran (1911–1995) was a Romanian-born philosopher and essayist, later based in France. He first wrote in Romanian, publishing early works such as *On the Heights of Despair* (1934). After moving to Paris in 1937, he gradually adopted French and became known for aphoristic, skeptical prose focused on despair, insomnia, and the limits of meaning. His first major French book, *A Short History of Decay* (*Précis de décomposition*), appeared in 1949 and won the Rivarol Prize. Later works include *The Trouble with Being Born* (1973). Cioran lived much of his life in Paris and wrote primarily in French thereafter.