Vitrine exhibition- Pilinszky 100

This year we celebrate the 100^th anniversary of Pilinszky János’s birthday. In honor of the Kossuth and József Attila Prize winner poet, numerous public and online productions, music shows, book reading events and projects are being organized over this year.

Pilinszky's poetry – who has passed away exactly 40 years ago – is more relevant than ever. The poet is known for his deep and contemplative works and uniquely atmospheric poems that mostly cover the themes of human behavior, faith, love, anxiety, loneliness and hope that can provide comfort to many readers during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Thanks to Sylvia Plath’s husband, poet Ted Hughes, English-speakers can also explore the vulnerable poetic world of Pilinszky, and there are German, French, Italian, Romanian, Slovak and Serbian translations as well.

The exhibition can be visited until the end of June.

Mire megjössz                                                           By the Time You Come     

Egyedül vagyok, mire megjössz,                               I am alone. And by the time you come
az egyetlen élő leszek,                                               I shall be the only one still alive.
csak tollpihék az üres ólban,                                     Feathers in an empty roost
csak csillagok az ég helyett.                                      Stars instead of a sky.

A temetetlen árvaságban,                                          In my orphanage, unburied,
mint téli szeméttelepen,                                             as on a wintry dump
a hulladék közt kapirgálva                                         picking among the rubbish
szemelgetem az életem.                                             I keep finding scraps of my life.

Az lesz a tökéletes béke.                                           And that will be seamless peace
Még szívemet se hallani,                                           Even my heart inaudible.
mindenfelől a némaságnak                                        All around me the ecstatic
extatikus torlaszai.                                                     barriers of silence

A pőre örökkévalóság.                                               Naked eternity
S a tiéd, egyedűl tiéd,                                                And yours, helplessly yours
kezdettől fogva neked készűlt                                   A majestic simplicity
e nagyszerű egyszerüség.                                          created for you, from the first day

Mint tagolatlan kosárember,                                      Like a lumpish basketwork dummy
csak űl az idő szótalan,                                              time simply sits, without a word.
nincs karja-lába már a vágynak,                                Desire has lost its limbs
csupán ziháló törzse van.                                          It has nothing but a gasping trunk.

Mindenem veszve, mire megjössz,                            By the time you come I shall have lost
se házam nincs, se puha ágyam,                                everything. No house, no soft bed
zavartalan heverhetünk majd                                    We shall be able to lie undisturbed
a puszta elragadtatásban.                                           in a bare ecstasy.

Csak meg ne lopj! Csak el ne pártolj!                       Only you must not rob me, you must not
Ha gyenge vagy, végem van akkor.                          desert me. If you are weak, I am finished
Ágyban, párnák közt, uccazajban                              Horrible, then, to awake, in a bed
iszonyu lenne fölriadnom.                                         among pillows, hearing the noise of the street.

1948

TRANSLATION: Ted Hughes and Csokits János: The Desert of Love: Selected Poems

Photos and idea: Pató Diána és Révész Enikő Evelin