József Pusztai (originally József Pozderecz, ; January 26, 1864 – February 13, 1934) was a Slovene writer, poet, journalist, teacher, and cantor in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. He was also known under the pen name ''Tibor Andorhegyi.'' Born in Bellatincz, Muravidék, in

Zala County Zala (, ; ; ) is an administrative county (Counties of Hungary, comitatus or ''vármegye'') in south-western Hungary. It is named after the Zala River. It shares borders with Croatia (Koprivnica–Križevci County, Koprivnica–Križevci and Me� ...

of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

(present-day

Beltinci Beltinci (; Prekmurje Slovene: ''Böltinci'', or ''Belatincz'', ) is a town in the Prekmurje region of northeastern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Beltinci. Črnec Creek, a tributary of the Ledava, flows through the settlement. ...

Prekmurje Prekmurje (; Prekmurje Slovene: ''Prèkmürsko'' or ''Prèkmüre''; ) is a geographically, linguistically, culturally, and ethnically defined region of Slovenia, settled by Slovenes and a Hungarians in Slovenia, Hungarian minority, lying betwee ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

), his parents were János Pozderecz and Franciska Nemecz. His surname was modified to ''Pusztai'' because he thought of himself as a Hungarian and felt it was the duty of ethnic Slovenes to assimilate. In Csáktornya (present-day

Čakovec Čakovec (; ; ; ) is a city in Northern Croatia, located around north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital, and close to the borders with Slovenia and Hungary. Čakovec is both the county seat and the largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmo ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

) and

Pécs Pécs ( , ; ; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Päťkostolie''; also known by #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the c ...

he studied to be a teacher, graduating in 1883. After first having worked in Szőce (in the Őrség region), in 1889 he returned to Muravidék (Prekmurje). From 1889 until 1919 he worked in Mártonhely, near Muraszombat (present-day

Martjanci Martjanci (; , Prekmurje Slovene: ''Marčanci'' or ''Merčonci'') is a village between Murska Sobota and Moravske Toplice in the Prekmurje region of Slovenia. It is known for its parish church dedicated to Saint Martin, from which the village ge ...

, near

Murska Sobota Murska Sobota (, Slovenian abbreviation: ''MS'' ; ;''Radkersburg und Luttenberg'' (map, 1:75,000). 1894. Vienna: K.u.k. Militärgeographisches Institut. ) is a town in northeastern Slovenia. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Murska Sob ...

) where he wrote the first

hymnal A hymnal or hymnary is a collection of hymns, usually in the form of a book, called a hymnbook (or hymn book). They are used in congregational singing. A hymnal may contain only hymn texts (normal for most hymnals for most centuries of Christia ...

Prekmurje Slovene Prekmurje Slovene, also known as the Prekmurje dialect, Eastern Slovene, or Wendish (, , Prekmurje Slovene: ''prekmürski jezik, prekmürščina, prekmörščina, prekmörski jezik, panonska slovenščina''), is the language of Prekmurje in Easte ...

. He wrote articles for ''Muraszombat és Vidéke'' (Murska Sobota and District), for ''Értesítő'' in

Szombathely } Szombathely (; ; also see #Etymology, names) is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas County in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria. Szombathely lies by the streams ''Perint'' and '' ...

, and for ''Dober pajdás'' (Good Friend) in

Szentgotthárd Szentgotthárd () is the westernmost town of Hungary. It is situated on the Rába River near the Austrian border. History The town took its name from, and grew up round, the Cistercian Szentgotthárd Abbey, founded here in 1183. In 1664, it was ...

. In 1919 he returned to his hometown of

Works

* ''Krcsánszko katholicsanszko pesmi z iz potrejbnimi molitvami i vnógimi vogrszkimi peszmami / Kersztény katholikus egyházi énekek a legszükségesebb imákkal és több magyar énekkel'' (Catholic Hymnal with Essential Prayers, Prekmurje Slovene and Hungarian text) * ''Dober pajdás'' (1899, 1900, 1901) * ''Mála molitvena kniga z potrejbnimi molitvani i vnó gimi peszmami za katholicsanszko mladézen / Kis imakönyv a legszükségesebb imákkal és énekekkel a kath. ifjúság számára'' (Small Prayer-Book with Essential Prayers for Catholic Youth; Hungarian and Prekmurje Slovene text)

References

Muravidéki Életrajzi Lexikon

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pusztai, Jozsef 1864 births 1934 deaths People from Beltinci Slovenian writers and poets in Hungary Hungarian writers Hungarian journalists Slovenian journalists

Works

See also

References