Eugene Ionesco, the Rumanian-born French playwright, accepted the Jerusalem Prize at special ceremonies at the Sixth Jerusalem International Book Fair here last night. He was given the $2000 award for “contributing to the concept of the freedom of the individual in society.”
The 61-year-old playwright, who is best known as the creator of the “Theater of the Absurd,” said he felt pride at receiving this “prize of liberty” but remarked that it was too soon to describe the award as one of love. He said “humanity’s heart today is devoid of love.”
Roni Feinstein, director general of the Jerusalem Municipality and chairman of the Book Fair permanent committee told a press conference earlier in the day that this year’s turnout qualified the Fair for admission into the International Fairs Association. About 100,000 persons are expected to visit this year’s Jerusalem Book Fair which has 38,000 books on display. About 80 percent of the 720 publishers whose books are being shown here have sent personal representatives to the Fair.
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