Mihály Babits

Mihály Babits
Mihály Babits
Born	26 November 1883; Szekszárd, Austria-Hungary
Died	4 August 1941 (aged 57); Budapest, Hungary
Nationality	Hungarian
Period	1900–1941
Genre	Poetry, Short stories, Novels; Literary history; Essays, lyric poetry
Spouse	Ilona Tanner [hu] (pen name: Sophie Török)
Relatives	Mother: Auróra Kelemen; Father: Mihály Babits

Mihály Babits (Hungarian: [ˈmihaːj ˈbɒbit͡ʃ]; 26 November 1883 – 4 August 1941) was a Hungarian poet, writer, essayist, and translator. His poems are well known for their intense religious themes. His novels such as “The Children of Death” (1927) explore psychological problems.^[1]

Biography

Babits was born in Szekszárd. He studied at the University of Budapest from 1901 to 1905, where he met Dezső Kosztolányi and Gyula Juhász. He worked to become a teacher and taught at schools in Baja (1905–06), Szeged (1906–08), Fogaras (1908–11), Újpest (1911), and Budapest (1912–18).

His reputation for his poems in the literary life started in 1908.

He made a trip to Italy in the same year, which made him interested in Dante; he made several other trips in later years. This experience led him to translate Dante's Divine Comedy (Hell, 1913, Purgatory, 1920, and Paradise, 1923).

Briefly after the Hungarian Revolution of 1919 he became a Professor of Foreign Literature and modern Hungarian literature at the University of Budapest, but was soon removed for his pacifism after the revolutionary government fell.

In 1911, he became a staff writer on the magazine Nyugat.

Babits' 1918 novel The Nightmare (also known as King's Stork) is a science fiction novel about a split personality influenced by Freudian psychology.^[2] His 1933 novel Pilot Elza or the Perfect Society (Hungarian: Elza pilóta, vagy a tökéletes társadalom) is set in a dystopian future.^[3]

In 1921 married Ilona Tanner [hu], who later published poetry under the name Sophie Török. Two years later he moved to Esztergom. In 1927 he became a member of the "Kisfaludy Társaság" (Kisfaludy Society) and in the same year he was made a trustee of the Baumgarten Prize.

He became the editor-in-chief of Nyugat in 1929 (sharing the role until 1933 with Zsigmond Móricz), a position he held until his death.

In 1937, he was diagnosed as having laryngeal cancer. He died in Budapest in 1941.

Work

Babits is best known for his lyric poetry, influenced by classical and English forms. He also wrote essays and translated much from English, French, German, Greek, Italian, and Latin. There is a museum in Szekszárd showcasing Mihály Babits's work and life, as well as a memorial building in Esztergom.^[4] His brother István Babits occupied the house at Szekszárd most of the time, with his two sons: István and Tibor.

A bilingual selection of his poems was published in 1988 and in 1994, titled 21 Poems (21 vers), translated by István Tótfalusi (Maecenas).

Notes

^ Norwich, John Julius (1985–1993). Oxford illustrated encyclopedia. Judge, Harry George., Toyne, Anthony. Oxford [England]: Oxford University Press. p. 28. ISBN 0-19-869129-7. OCLC 11814265.
^ "The Nightmare" by Franz Rottensteiner in Frank N. Magill, ed. Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature, Vol 3. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, Inc., 1983. pp. 1121–1123.
^ "Elza Pilóta, vagy a tökéletes társadalom" by Péter Kuczka. In: Frank N. Magill, ed. Survey of Science Fiction Literature, Vol. 2. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1979. (pp. 708–711). ISBN 0-89356-194-0
^ Babits Mihály Emlékház (the English-language version is under construction)

External links

[1] Norwich, John Julius (1985–1993). Oxford illustrated encyclopedia. Judge, Harry George., Toyne, Anthony. Oxford [England]: Oxford University Press. p. 28. ISBN 0-19-869129-7. OCLC 11814265.

[2] "The Nightmare" by Franz Rottensteiner in Frank N. Magill, ed. Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature, Vol 3. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, Inc., 1983. pp. 1121–1123.

[3] "Elza Pilóta, vagy a tökéletes társadalom" by Péter Kuczka. In: Frank N. Magill, ed. Survey of Science Fiction Literature, Vol. 2. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1979. (pp. 708–711). ISBN 0-89356-194-0

[4] Babits Mihály Emlékház (the English-language version is under construction)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Hungarian literature
The list is by chronological order.
Early sources	Old Hungarian script Establishing charter of the abbey of Tihany Urgesta Funeral Sermon and Prayer Anonymus (notary of Béla III) Gesta Hungarorum Ákos (chronicler) Simon of Kéza Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum Lamentations of Mary
14th century	Minorite Chronicle of Buda John of Küküllő Mark of Kalt Chronicon Pictum
15th century	John Vitéz Hussite Bible Janus Pannonius Johannes Thuróczy Codex of Bécs Codex of Munich Zirc Bestiary Buda Chronicle Chronica Hungarorum Epitome rerum Hungarorum
15th – 16th century	Antonio Bonfini Gáspár Heltai Nicolaus Olahus
16th century	Sebestyén Tinódi Lantos Tripartitum Érdy Codex Péter Bornemisza Bálint Balassi
16th – 17th century	Péter Pázmány
17th century	Miklós Zrínyi István Gyöngyösi Nádasdy Mausoleum
17th – 18th century	Kelemen Mikes
18th century	József Kármán
18th – 19th century	Ferenc Kazinczy János Batsányi Mihály Fazekas Sándor Kisfaludy Mihály Csokonai Vitéz Dániel Berzsenyi Károly Kisfaludy Ferenc Kölcsey István Széchenyi József Katona
19th century	Mihály Vörösmarty József Bajza János Garay József Eötvös Ede Szigligeti Zsigmond Kemény János Arany Mihály Tompa Sándor Petőfi Imre Madách János Vajda Gergely Csiky
19th – 20th century	Mór Jókai Kálmán Mikszáth Elek Benedek Zoltán Ambrus Sándor Bródy Géza Gárdonyi Ferenc Herczeg Ignotus Miklós Bánffy Endre Ady Miksa Fenyő Ferenc Molnár Gyula Krúdy Dezső Szabó Zsigmond Móricz Ferenc Móra Menyhért Lengyel Margit Kaffka Lajos Nagy Gyula Juhász Mihály Babits Károly Kós Géza Gyóni Béla Balázs Árpád Tóth Géza Csáth Dezső Kosztolányi Lajos Kassák Frigyes Karinthy Lajos Áprily Milán Füst József Nyírő Sándor Reményik Lajos Zilahy Tibor Déry Béla Hamvas Sándor Szathmári Áron Tamási János Kodolányi
20th century	István Fekete Lőrinc Szabó Sándor Márai László Németh Antal Szerb Gyula Illyés Jolán Földes Sándor Török Jenő Rejtő Attila József Albert Wass Miklós Szentkuthy Mária Szepes Géza Képes Miklós Radnóti István Örkény Géza Ottlik László Kálnoky Sándor Weöres Iván Mándy Ferenc Karinthy János Pilinszky Ágnes Nemes Nagy László Nagy Éva Janikovszky Péter Zsoldos Ervin Lázár Gáspár Nagy
20th – 21st century	György Faludy Magda Szabó András Sütő Ferenc Juhász Sándor Kányádi Imre Kertész Gábor Görgey Sándor Csoóri Anna Jókai György Konrád György Moldova István Csukás Tamás Cseh Péter Esterházy György Károly Erno Polgar
Contemporary	Ágnes Gergely László L. Lőrincz Endre Kukorelly Péter Nádas György Spiró Ádám Nádasdy Miklós Vámos Zsuzsa Rakovszky Béla Markó Lajos Parti Nagy László Krasznahorkai Attila Bartis György Dragomán
Category:Hungarian writers

Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF FAST WorldCat
National	Germany United States France BnF data Italy Czech Republic Spain Netherlands Norway Sweden Poland Vatican Israel Finland Belgium
People	Deutsche Biographie DDB
Other	IdRef 2