{"id":11385,"date":"2024-03-28T17:07:29","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T17:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magyarpenclub.hu\/tagok\/ferenc-szonyi\/"},"modified":"2025-03-26T17:40:24","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T17:40:24","slug":"ferenc-szonyi","status":"publish","type":"tagok","link":"https:\/\/magyarpenclub.hu\/en\/tagok\/ferenc-szonyi\/","title":{"rendered":"Ferenc Sz\u0151nyi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Born in 1944 in Ny\u00edregyh\u00e1za. At the age of 17, he won a prize in the national literary competition for secondary school students entitled “This is how we write”, organised by Hungarian Radio. <\/p>\n

After passing his school-leaving exams, he worked as a loader for a year and as an administrator in Budapest for another year.In 1964 he was admitted to the Faculty of Humanities at ELTE, where he graduated in 1969 with a degree in Hungarian-Spanish secondary school teaching. After a few months of correspondence in foreign languages, he worked for three years as a professional singer with the Choir of the Hungarian Radio and Television, and then, also for three years, as a concert organiser with the National Philharmonic Orchestra’s Department of Arrangements. During this period he began to publish literary studies, his first novel translation was published in 1973 (Salvador Garmendia: Par\u00e1nyok). During these 16 years he took part in several study trips abroad (Spain, Panama, Colombia). Since 1985 he has published poetry in Mozg\u00f3 Vil\u00e1g, L\u00e1t\u00f3hat\u00e1r, Holmi and other literary magazines, and his first book of poems, entitled Rope-dancing Wind, was published in 1996 by Cser\u00e9pfalvi K\u00f6nyvkiad\u00f3. In the meantime, in 1991, she made a radical career change to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she worked in the Latin American and American Department until her retirement at the end of 2005. Between 1993 and 1998 he served as a diplomatic attach\u00e9 at the Embassy of the Republic of Hungary in Bogot\u00e1, and between 2001 and 2005 he headed the Hungarian Embassy in Argentina as Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary to Uruguay and Paraguay. He was actively involved in the publication of the Spanish translation of the Gesta Hungarorum of Anonymous by the Catholic University of Buenos Aires, the inauguration by the Hungarian emigration in Argentina of the Hungary Square in Buenos Aires with the only Szekler gate in Latin America, and the Hungarian altar of Mary in the altar of the Pilgrimage Church in Luj\u00e1n. <\/p>\n

He has given numerous lectures on Hungarian history and literature in Panama, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.<\/p>\n

Since his retirement from diplomacy, he has devoted all his time to his work as a poet and translator.<\/p>\n

His volumes were presented by L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Lator, Gyula Tell\u00e9r, Zolt\u00e1n Sumonyi Papp, Istv\u00e1n Elmer and L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Borb\u00e9ly at the Pet\u0151fi Literary Museum, the MOM Culture House, the PEN Club, Litea Bookshop and the Hungarian Writers’ Association. <\/p>\n

In June 2015, he represented Hungary at a round table discussion in Spain, at two evenings of contemporary poetry of the Visegr\u00e1d Four (in Madrid and Toledo), where he presented several of his poems in Spanish translation. <\/p>\n

He has been a member of the Hungarian Writers’ Association and the Art Fund (now the successor of the National Association of Hungarian Artists) since 1981, and of the Hungarian Pen Club since 2006.<\/p>\n

In 2016, his poem “Zr\u00ednyi’s Last Prayer” won a prize in the anniversary commemorative competition organised by the Hungarian Journal and the Zr\u00ednyi Memorial Committee.<\/p>\n

After several months of serious illness, he died on 13 April 2017. <\/p>\n

Poems<\/h2>\n