Dezső Kosztolányi (; March 29, 1885 – November 3, 1936) was a Hungarian writer, journalist, translator and also a speaker of Esperanto. He wrote in all literary genres, from poetry to essays to theatre plays. Building his own style, he used French

symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sym ...

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

, expressionism and psychological

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

. He is considered the father of futurism in Hungarian literature.

Biography

Kosztolányi was born in Szabadka,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(today Subotica,

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

) in 1885. The city served as a model for the fictional town of Sárszeg, in which he set his novella ''Skylark'' as well as ''The Golden Kite''. He was the child of Árpád Kosztolányi (1859–1926), physics and chemistry professor and headmaster of a school, and Eulália Brenner (1866–1948), who was of French origin. He started high school in Szabadka but because of a conflict with his teachers he was expelled, and so he graduated as a private student in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also other alternative names) is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat of Csongrád-Csanád county. The University of Szeged is one of the m ...

. Kosztolányi moved to

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

in 1903, where he studied at the

University of Budapest A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

and met the poets

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

and Gyula Juhász, and later for a short time in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

before becoming a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

—a profession he continued for the rest of his life. In 1908, Kosztolányi replaced the poet Endre Ady, who had left for

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, as a reporter for a

daily. In 1910, his first volume of poems, ''The Complaints of a Poor Little Child'', brought nationwide success and marked the beginning of a prolific period in which he published a book nearly every year. He met the actress Ilona Harmos in the winter of 1910; they were married on 8 May 1913. They had one son. Kosztolányi died in 1936 from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

of the larynx.

Writings

The literary journal ''

Nyugat ''Nyugat'' ( Hungarian for ''West''; pronounced similar to ''New-Got''), was an important Hungarian literary journal in the first half of the 20th century. Writers and poets from that era are referred to as "1st/2nd/3rd generation of the NYUGAT" ...

'' (Hungarian for "West"), which played an invaluable role in the revitalization of Hungarian literature, was founded in 1908 and Kosztolányi was an early contributor, one of what is often called the "first ''Nyugat'' generation", publishing mainly poetry. Starting in the 1920s he wrote novels,

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

, and short prose works, including ''Nero, the Bloody Poet'' (to the German edition to which

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

wrote the introduction), ''Skylark'', ''The Golden Kite'', ''Kornél Esti'' and ''Anna Édes''. In 1924 he published a volume of verse harkening back to his early work, entitled ''The Complaints of the Sad Man''. Kosztolányi also produced literary translations in Hungarian, such as

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's '' Romeo and Juliet'', ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some crit ...

'',

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...

's '' Alice in Wonderland'',

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel '' The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and '' The Skin of Our Teeth'' — ...

's ''

The Bridge of San Luis Rey ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' is American author Thornton Wilder's second novel. It was first published in 1927 to worldwide acclaim. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1928, and was the best-selling work of fiction that year. Premise ''The Bri ...

'', Lord Alfred Douglas' memoirs on Oscar Wilde, and

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

's "

If— "If—" is a poem by English writer and poet Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936), written circa 1895 as a tribute to Leander Starr Jameson. It is a literary example of Victorian-era stoicism. The poem, first published in ''Rewards and Fairies'' (1 ...

". He was the first authentic translator of Rilke's poetry, and he worked a Hungarian masterpiece after

Paul Valéry Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry (; 30 October 1871 – 20 July 1945) was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction (drama and dialogues), his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters, mus ...

's '' Cimetiere Marin''.

Bibliography

* ''Nero, a véres költő'' (1922). ''Darker Muses: The Poet Nero'' (Corvina, 1990). * ''Pacsirta'' (1924). ''Skylark'', trans. Richard Aczel (Chatto & Windus, 1993; New York Review Books, 2010). * ''Aranysárkány'' (1925). ''The Golden Kite''. * ''Anna Édes'' (1926). Trans. George Szirtes (Quartet, 1991; New Directions, 1993). * ''Kornél Esti'' (1934). Trans. Bernard Adams (New Directions, 2011).

External links

* * *
Dawnstruck
(translation of his poem) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kosztolanyi, Dezso 1885 births 1936 deaths Writers from Subotica Hungarians in Vojvodina Hungarian male poets Burials at Kerepesi Cemetery 20th-century Hungarian poets 20th-century Hungarian male writers