#hungarianlit

Non-Fiction
The Way I Live by Andrea Tompa

Hungarian writer Andrea Tompa reflects on how all faiths simultaneously desire embodiment, in an essay translated by Bernard Adams.

Fiction
Arinca, the Lăteşti Camp by András Visky

At Lăteşti Camp, a new arrival, Arinca, develops a reputation for her stormy love life, frequent escapes, and ability to find bodies.

Poetry
A Gloss on the Ten Commandments by Zsófia Balla

“So, when I write, I should / keep your commandment—but how?” a poem by Hungarian poet Zsófia Balla, in Anna Bentley’s translation.

Fiction
The Last Terrorist by Máté Makai

In this dystopian, Hungarofuturist short story by Máté Makai, an investigative journalist follows a cell of time-travelling climate terrorists.

Fiction
I Rocked Up and Down on the Branch a Bit More by Miklós György Száraz

Two boys, of very different fates, consider friendship and cruelty in this short story by Hungarian writer Miklós György Száraz.

Fiction
The Joke by Ilka Papp-Zakor

In this sometimes strange and unusual story, by Ilka Papp-Zakor, a practical joke involving a tattoo questions what we can and cannot know.

Non-Fiction
Finely Tuned by Árpád Tőzsér

Reflecting on his own poem, Hungarian writer Árpád Tőzsér asks whether we can believe in a Cosmic Orchestra without a conductor?

Poetry
Then Without the Body by Béla Markó

“collapse, rejection, resurrection, / this is what we all longed for, / this broken bread”—Béla Markó, in Anna Bentley’s translation.

Fiction
The Eye of the Storm by Viktor Horváth

Father Viktor struggles to contain his rage against Prime Minister Ferenc Ács, until one day he receives a visit from men in suits.