The linguistic and stylistic virtuosity, the twists, distortions and inventions of our most important contemporary artist of the Hungarian language, Lajos Parti Nagy have become so embedded in the literary discourse that no handbook on today’s literature can disregard the poet. His brilliant humour goes hand in hand with a social sensitivity and a superb command of the art, in the best-loved lyric poetry as much as in his prose, drama and stage adaptations.

Parti Nagy’s oeuvre has created a new quality from the corrupted, hackneyed and popular elements of the language, creating original arrangements that are immediately recognizable. This model of creating texts, which builds on the effects of humour, irony and parody, and is a salient feature of his theatrical work as well, is probably key to his exceptional popularity. Accordingly, we would be hard put to find a contemporary Hungarian author more suitable to be the highlighted artist of CAFe Budapest, a festival dedicated to the concept of contemporaneity. Because Parti Nagy is topical. His art both stems from, and offers reflections on, the current reality of Hungarian society. He is absolutely modern. He keeps reinventing himself. He is very popular. His art is to be reckoned with, with an influence that is obvious. He moves and disturbs his readers, and makes them roll with laughter: he is very entertaining. There is every chance of his becoming a classic who documents and embodies literature and the state of the language at the turn of the millennium for the benefit of a curious posterity.

Presented by: Palace of Arts