György Petri
Encyclopedia
György Petri was a Hungarian
poet
.
. After his father's death he was raised by his mother, grandparents and aunts. According to his remembrance, he turned to poetry at 11 or 12, and from the early 1960s he published in such renowned periodicals as Kortárs and Élet és Irodalom
. Disillusioned by their style himself, he never let any of those writings be re-issued, and soon he developed intention to change career. During the following years he nursed at a mental clinic as a preliminary exercise for planned psychiatry studies, resigning from which he showed interest in economics and law, but later he decided to be a philosopher
. He informally attended philosophy classes at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. In 1966 he finally enrolled at Eötvös Loránd University with a Philosophy and Literature major, without ever graduating. His most inspiring professors were György Márkus
, Endre Simon and György Lukács.
After 1975 his works were banned as politically unacceptable. Until 1988 his works appeared only in samizdat
. During that period he made a living as a freelance translator of poetry and drama, most notably that of Molière
. The first official collection of his poems was printed in 1991 by Szépirodalmi Könyvkiadó.
was formed in 1988. During the 1994 elections, SZDSZ nominated him for MP
, but in the same year he had to express his disgust of the party's collaboration with its old enemies, the Socialists, by quitting the party. He never appeared in the political scene again.
By receiving Kossuth prize in 1996 along with Péter Esterházy
, he once again became subject to political criticism for alleged disrespect to Christianity
.
and alcoholism
. In 1998, he was diagnosed of cancer
at an incurable stage, in which he died two years later. After his death, Petri's oeuvre was re-issued in a four volume collection by Magvető Publishing House under revision by poet Szabolcs Várady, one of his closest friends.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.
Childhood and youth
He was born in 1943 to a multi-ethnic Jewish family in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. After his father's death he was raised by his mother, grandparents and aunts. According to his remembrance, he turned to poetry at 11 or 12, and from the early 1960s he published in such renowned periodicals as Kortárs and Élet és Irodalom
Élet és Irodalom
Élet és Irodalom is a weekly Hungarian newspaper about literature and politics. It is considered a postmodernist and politically liberal periodical, politically close to the left-wing parties MSZP and SZDSZ....
. Disillusioned by their style himself, he never let any of those writings be re-issued, and soon he developed intention to change career. During the following years he nursed at a mental clinic as a preliminary exercise for planned psychiatry studies, resigning from which he showed interest in economics and law, but later he decided to be a philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. He informally attended philosophy classes at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. In 1966 he finally enrolled at Eötvös Loránd University with a Philosophy and Literature major, without ever graduating. His most inspiring professors were György Márkus
György Márkus
György Márkus is a Hungarian philosopher, a student of Lukács and a member of the "Budapest School" of socialist philosophy. He completed his philosophical training at Lomonosov University in Moscow in 1957...
, Endre Simon and György Lukács.
Life under the Soviet regime
Under the influence of Lukács, he claimed to be an Austromarxist, which strongly opposed the official doctrine of the time.After 1975 his works were banned as politically unacceptable. Until 1988 his works appeared only in samizdat
Samizdat
Samizdat was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader...
. During that period he made a living as a freelance translator of poetry and drama, most notably that of Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
. The first official collection of his poems was printed in 1991 by Szépirodalmi Könyvkiadó.
Political activity
Between 1981 and 1985 he co-edited Beszélő, the illegal paper of the Democratic Opposition, and became involved in their anti-regime activities; he was a member of SZETA (Fund for the Support of the Poor, an illegal NGO that drew governmental attention by advocating the mere existence of poverty) from which a liberal party, SZDSZAlliance of Free Democrats
The Alliance of Free Democrats – Hungarian Liberal Party is a liberal party in Hungary, led since July 2010 by Viktor Szabadai . The SZDSZ is a member of the ELDR and of Liberal International...
was formed in 1988. During the 1994 elections, SZDSZ nominated him for MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, but in the same year he had to express his disgust of the party's collaboration with its old enemies, the Socialists, by quitting the party. He never appeared in the political scene again.
Life in the Third Republic
He was one of the editors of Holmi, a literary periodical from 1989, the year of its foundation, to his death in 2000.By receiving Kossuth prize in 1996 along with Péter Esterházy
Péter Esterházy
Péter Esterházy is one of the most widely known contemporary Hungarian writers. His books are considered to be significant contributions to postwar literature....
, he once again became subject to political criticism for alleged disrespect to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
Death and afterward
From his early youth, Petri suffered in serious nicotine dependencySubstance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
and alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. In 1998, he was diagnosed of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
at an incurable stage, in which he died two years later. After his death, Petri's oeuvre was re-issued in a four volume collection by Magvető Publishing House under revision by poet Szabolcs Várady, one of his closest friends.
Works
Each year links to its corresponding "[year] in poetry" page:- 19711971 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* This Magazine founded by Robert Grenier and Barrett Watten...
: Magyarázatok M. számára - 19741974 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:*The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics is founded by Allen Ginsberg and Anne Waldman....
: Körülírt zuhanás - 19811981 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Jane Greer launched Plains Poetry Journal, an advance guard of the New Formalism movement....
: Örökhétfő - 19851985 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* The term "New Formalism" was first used in the article "The Yuppie Poet" in the May 1985 issue of the AWP Newsletter in an attack on the poetry movement...
: Azt hiszik - 19891989 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Dead Poets Society, a film incorporating excerpts from many traditional poets, ending with the title and opening line of Walt Whitman's lament on the death of Abraham Lincoln, "O Captain! My...
: Valahol megvan - 19891989 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Dead Poets Society, a film incorporating excerpts from many traditional poets, ending with the title and opening line of Walt Whitman's lament on the death of Abraham Lincoln, "O Captain! My...
: Ami kimaradt - 19901990 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* Allen Ginsberg crowned "Majelis King" in Prague on May Day...
: Valami ismeretlen - 19921992 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:The Forward Book of Poetry, an annual anthology of best British poems, is published for the first time by the Forward Poetry Trust. By 2003, the publication was selling 5,000 to 7,000 copies a year...
: Sár - 19991999 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* July 1 — Scotland's Parliament opened with the singing of Robert Burns' "A Man's a Man For A'That", instead of "God Save The Queen"...
: Amíg lehet
External links
- HUNLIT (Multilingual Literature Database of the Hungarian Book Foundation)
- György Petri at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Detailed biography in HungarianHungarian languageHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
Sources
- Géza FodorGéza Fodor (philosopher)Géza Fodor was a Hungarian art and literary critic, philosopher, and dramaturge. He was one of the founding members of the Katona József Theater in Budapest...
: Petri György költészete. Budapest : Szépirodalmi Könyvkiadó, 1991. ISBN 9789631543704 - Tibor Keresztury: Petri György. Bratislava : Kalligram, 1997. ISBN 9788071491880