Final Matters

An award-winning translator presents selections from the haunting final volumes of a leading voice in contemporary Hungarian poetry

Szil�rd Borb�ly, one of the most celebrated writers to emerge from post-Communist Hungary, received numerous literary awards in his native country. In this volume, acclaimed translator Ottilie Mulzet reveals the full range and force of Borb�ly's verse by bringing together generous selections from his last two books, Final Matters and To the Body. The original Hungarian text is set on pages facing the English translations, and the book also features an afterword by Mulzet that places the poems in literary, historical, and biographical context.

Restless, curious, learned, and alert, Borb�ly weaves into his work an unlikely mix of Hungarian folk songs, Christian and Jewish hymns, classical myths, police reports, and unsettling accounts of abortions. In her afterword, Mulzet calls this collection "a blasphemous and fragmentary prayer book ... that challenges us to rethink the boundaries of victimhood, culpability, and our own religious and cultural definitions."

Un traducator premiat prezinta selectii din volumul final obsedant al unei voci de frunte in poezia maghiara contemporana Zilrd Borbly, unul dintre cei mai celebri scriitori care au iesit din Ungaria post-comunista, a primit numeroase premii literare in tara sa natala. In acest volum, apreciatul traducator Ottilie Mulzet dezvaluie intreaga gama si forta versurilor lui Borbly, reunind selectii generoase din ultimele doua carti ale sale, Probleme finale si Catre corp.