On the Heights of Despair

On The Heights of Despair

Author	Emil Cioran
Translator	Ilinca Zarifopol-Johnston
Language	Romanian
Genre	Philosophy
Publication date	1934
Publication place	Romania
Published in English	1992
Pages	156
Awards	King Carol II Foundation's Young Writer's Prize
ISBN	9780226106717
Followed by	The Book of Delusions

On the Heights of Despair (Romanian: Pe culmile disperării) is a Romanian philosophical work written by Emil Cioran, published in 1934 as his first book. It consists of several brief reflections on negative themes which later permeated Cioran's work, such as death, insomnia and insanity.

It was one of several works that Cioran wrote in his native Romanian language. In 1937, Cioran left Romania and relocated to Paris, where he lived for the rest of his life. This break marked two definite periods in Cioran's life and work: an early Romanian period, and a later, mature French period. Cioran later published several works in French, which brought him to wider attention.

On the Heights of Despair received a young authors' prize, established by the King Carol II Foundation for Art and Literature.^[1] Cioran's later works received other awards, including the Prix Rogier Namier and the Grand prix de littérature Paul-Morand, although Cioran declined both.^[2] In 1992, On the Heights of Despair was translated into English by Ilinca Zarifopol-Johnston.