#hungarianlit

Fiction
Rug in the Trunk by László Márton

A mystery by László Márton involving a Hungarian chemical engineer and a Persian rug, set in Vienna, just six years after the Soviets withdrew.

In Focus
“it was iron: i thought by János Marno

A fragmentary avantgarde poem by Hungarian poet János Marno, with seemingly no framework, contorted with cynicism, lust, shame, villainy, and terror.

In Focus
Epidemic by Petra Szőcs

The inhabitants of this plague-struck world, in this poem by Hungarian poet Petra Szőcs, are seething with suspicion, horror, fear, and longing.

Poetry
The Ghost of Rococo by János Marno

In this poem by Hungarian poet János Marno in a private moment of near hallucination a ladybird on a finger is mistaken for a drop of blood.

Poetry
Lie Detector by Petra Szőcs

In this polygraphic poem, by Petra Szőcs, we discover whether any truths are revealed when one’s heart becomes the subject of a lie detector test.

Non-Fiction
Café of Eternal Light by Noémi Saly

In her essay about the legendary Hungarian Café Pilvax, Noémi Saly offers our readers a sneek peek into the revolutonary atmosphere of 1848.

Fiction
Visit by László Sepsi

In the criminal underworld of László Sepsi’s upcoming novel Territorium, talk never really was an option and violence comes with the territory.

Poetry
The Personification of Nothing by János Marno

An aphoristic one-word poem by veteran Hungarian poet János Marno that captures both the black humor and the utter pessimism of noir.

Poetry
The Home for Crazy Girls by Márta Júlia Nagy

In Márta Júlia Nagy’s poem, a home for beautiful crazy girls lies rotting as if from a modern nightmare or a fairytale by the Brothers Grimm.