Ferenc Szénási

Both branches of his family come from Jászság. Both his paternal and maternal ancestors moved to Rákospalota (then still separate), near Budapest, in the attraction of urban life. His parents were motivated by the same when they enrolled him in secondary school in Újpest, which was more urban than their home. He graduated from Könyves Kálmán High School in 1965.

In accordance with his interest in literature and the language skills he acquired in high school, he completed his university studies at the Hungarian-Italian Department of ELTE, graduating in 1971. Later (after moving inland himself), he obtained a doctorate (Italo Calvino’s Career and Hungarian Translations, 1984) and a PhD (summa cum laude, 1996) from the same university.

Between 1982 and 1996, he spent four extended study visits (several months) in Italy.

From 1972 to 1993 he taught Italian language at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, in the meantime for a year, and from 1995 he taught 20th century Italian literature at the University of Szeged as a part-time lecturer. At the same time, he was full-time head of the Italian Department at the Juhász Gyula Teacher Training College and College Faculty (1995-2006).

Academic activities: regular participation in scientific conferences; publications in Hungarian and Italian in scientific collections and journals; guest lectures in Hungary and at the University of Rome (La Sapienza) and the University of Bologna.

Radio interviews: about 10 professional interviews on Hungarian Radio, Catholic Radio, 1 in Italian on RAI.

Translations

• Leonardo Sciascia: The Disappearance of Majorana (in: Aims and Means, Magvető, 1978 and Kriterion, 1982)
• Ferdinando Camon: The Fifth Order (Europa, 1979)
• Ferdinando Camon: Altarpiece for my mother (Magvető, 1980)
• Giuseppe Berto: Ó Serafina (Europe, 1987)
• Italo Calvino: American Lectures (Europe, 1998)
• Carlo Collodi: The Adventures of Pinocchio (Noran, 1999, bilingual edition; Noran, 2007 Hungarian edition only; Tevan, 2003)
• Italo Calvino: Palomar (Noran, 1999, bilingual edition)
• Silvio D’Arzo: Under a strange sky (Noran 1999, bilingual edition)
• Italo Calvino: The Castle of Crossing Fates (Europe, 2000)
• Daniele Del Giudice: Atlas of the West (Noran, 2001, bilingual edition)
• Sebastiano Vassalli: The Vision (Bastei, 2002)
• Italo Calvino: Daughter of the Sun. Italian Folktales (Europa, 2006, co-translated by István Polgár Telegdi)
• Mario Luzi: Dark flame burning above (selected poems, Hungarian Journal, 2008)
• Italo Calvino: Comic Cosmos (Europa, 2013, co-translated by István Polgár Telegdi)
• Aldo Palazzeschi: This is how I keep my mood (selected poems, Hungarian PEN Club, 2016)

Luigi Pirandello, Cesare Pavese, Alberto Moravia, Primo Levi, Italo Calvino, Natalia Ginzburg, Umberto Eco, Tommaso Landolfi, Carlo Emilio Gadda, Claudio Magris, Fulvio Tomizza, Alberto Savinio, Giorgio Pressburger, essays in anthologies and journals.

Poems by Salvatore Quasimodo, Eugenio Montale, Umberto Saba, Giuseppe Ungaretti, Aldo Palazzeschi, Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca, Alfonso Gatto, Vittorio Sereni, Piero Bigongiari, Mario Lunetta, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Edoardo Sanguineti, Francesco Chiesa, Giorgio Orelli, Primo Levi, Giuseppe Conte, Giorgio Caproni in anthologies, magazines.