Eorsi, Istvan

▪ 2006

      Hungarian writer and political activist (b. June 16, 1931, Budapest, Hung.—d. Oct. 13, 2005, Budapest), attempted to ignite social reform by working as an organizer during the 1956 revolt against Soviet rule in Hungary. He was a follower of Marxist philosopher George Lukacs, and two anti-Soviet poems that he published in 1956 in the journal Elunk (“We Are Alive”) led to his arrest. Eorsi was sentenced to an eight-year prison term, and his literary works were banned from publication for 12 years. After obtaining an early release in 1960, he worked as a literary translator and wrote poetry and plays, which were distributed underground. His many works included the verse collection Utni az ordogot! (1956; “To Pummel the Devil!”) and Urugyeim (1979; “My Pretexts”), a volume of essays. His play A kihallgatas (“The Interrogation”) was written in the 1960s but was not staged until 1984 in West Germany, where he lived for a time. Eorsi was honoured with many awards, notably, in 1991, the Memorial Medal of the 1956 Revolution.

* * *