#hungarianpoetry

In Focus
Yesterday’s Biker by Balázs Szálinger

This beautiful, despairing poem about a biker is a love letter to someone we never missed and an obituary to a stranger we never knew.

Poetry
Christiana Democracy by Balázs Szálinger

Weary and worn, Christiana Democracy considers her name, its history, and questions whether in this world a person can still believe.

Poetry
“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.

Poetry
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.

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.

Poetry
Osmosis by János Marno

The Hungarian poet János Marno considers the bright optimism of the ageing Jorge Luis Borges in the face of death, and a new life in Buenos Aires.