Okay, as much as we love Sándor Petőfi and his National Song, especially on March 15th, trust us, there’s way more to know about Hungarian poetry.
So, joining forces with Libri, we’ll bring you a series of Hungarian poems, in English, of course. Don’t get lost in iambic pentameters and alliterations, simply enjoy our crash course on Magyar verse.
Attila József is one of the most complex Hungarian poets of the 20th century. Written at the age of 20, With a Pure Heart shows the force, energy but also the struggle inside the young talent. April 11th, his birthday, has been celebrated as the Day of Hungarian Poetry as a tribute to him.
Attila József: With a Pure Heart
Fatherless and motherless,
godless in my statelessness,
neither crib nor should have I,
kiss nor lever’s lullaby.
Three days, three, I’ve fasted three –
what is bread to such as me?
my twenty years shall prevail,
my twenty years are up for sale.
If nobody wants to buy,
devil take them then, say I.
With a pure heart I would steal,
if it needed, I would kill.
Catch me, hang me on a tree –
earth is blessed that covers me;
grave-grass on my heart yet grows,
heart as lovely as a rose.
(March, 1925)