One of the most significant boundary-crossing poets of Hungarian literature first became known to the wider public for his political role in the events which followed the changes in the political system in 1989: Béla Markó, born in Târgu Secuiesc (Kézdivásárhely) in Romania, was the president of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania from 1993 to 2011, and twice served in the cabinet of the Romanian government, representing the interests of the minority Hungarian speakers. Followers of Hungarian literature will know that Markó has also been one of the finest voices of contemporary Hungarian literature since the middle of the 1970s, forming a culture-shaping body of work and publishing more than 40 poetry collections. Among them are such memorable delights as Skeleton of a Butterfly (1980), Stock Removal (1984), Fresh Snow on the Book (1987), Expelled from the Computer (1991), The Wreath of the Poet (2002), Demolition (2011) and Front View (2014).
Markó Béla is also one of the greatest contemporary masters of the sonnet – which is why he caused a sensation at this year’s Book Week Celebration with his the collection of “suitable and unsuitable” poems, the Fence, which combines free verse about the happiness of late-blooming love with the grotesque misery found in Eastern Europe in a lyrical literary report. This evening promises to be an intimate encounter with a true great of poetry and the winner of, among others, the Attila József, Milán Füst, Déry and Hazám poetry prizes.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest