As a doyen of contemporary Hungarian literature, an evening with the József Attila, Márai and Kossuth Prize-winningIván Sándor (born in 1930) will be a fascinating event for both people working in the profession and the general public. While Sándor is undoubtedly a suberb novelist, with works including Századvégi történet (1987), Arabeszk (1991) Tengerikavics (1996), Drága Liv (2002), Követés Egy nyomozás krónikája (2006), Az éjszaka mélyén. 1914 (2012) and A Vanderbilt-jacht hajóorvosa (2014), A hetedik nap (2018), many of his more than 50 volumes of published works are essay collections. Sándor is one of the last guardians and committed servants of the great traditions of a genre which is dying out in Hungary. He continues to take seriously the ethos of the classic writers István Bibó, Antal Szerb and Gábor Halász, and the idea that it is the duty of writers to reflect the current issues of the 'polis' (to put it simply, the affairs of the country and its general situation), without failing to confront the fading stains of history, which exist even today. Which is why, for example, the Tiszaeszlár trial, the aftermath of the 1956 revolution, the hope and the disappointments that came at the end of Communism, the future of the novel and much more besides take centre stage.
Iván Sándor's books, his piercing gaze and his democratic philosophy help us to avoid the distortions in our national consciousness. It is certainly worth spending some time in his company for what promises to be an enlightening evening.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest