Poetry. Translated from the Hungarian, with an introduction by Michael Castro and Gabor G. Gyukics. Regarded by many as Hungary's greatest twentieth century poet, Attilla Jozsef was born in Budapest in 1905 and died, after apparently throwing himself under a train, in December of 1937. His difficult life paralleled the conditions of his native country during an uncertain and turbulent period of the 20th century between the wars. Writing in intense emotional tones that swings between despair and hope, Jozsef invigorates old poetic forms with a new freedom, orchestrating his poems with fresh rhythmic patterns influenced by folk music's rhythms as well as their metrics. But Jozsef is also influenced by Dadaist and other modernist ideas sweeping Europe, finding a voice that works to synthesize the older cultural forms of Hungary with the new experiments of his time.

Born in 1905, Jozsef published numerous collections of poetry during his life, and is recognized today as perhaps the greatest 20th century Hungarian poet. He committed suicide in 1937.

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