Gáspár Nagy

Gáspár Nagy studied at Benedictine High School of Pannonhalma and Berzsenyi Daniel College. The recorded working language is Hungarian. The field of work recorded is Hungarian literature, Hungarian poetry and literary magazine. Work by Gáspár Nagy is recorded in the collections of Documents of the Bethlen Gábor Foundation, Gáspár Nagy Memorial House, Olasz Sándor Private Collection of Banned Literature and Collection of Vargha János. Distinctions recorded are Kossuth Prize, Prize of the Society of Writers, Alföld Prize and Kölcsey commemorative plaquette.

• Name — Gáspár Nagy • Born — 4 May 1949 • Birthplace — Bérbaltavár, Hungary • Died — 3 January 2007 • Place of death — Budapest, Hungary • Occupation — * Poet • writer • Awards — Balint Balassi Memorial Sword Award (1999) • Children — 3

He graduated from the Benedictine Grammar School of Pannonhalma where he studied Library Science in Szombathely, then Aesthetics and Sociology in Budapest. He was editor of Móra Ferenc Publishing House (1976–1980), secretary of Hungarian Writer’s Association (1981–85), co-editor, with Sándor Csoóri, of Hitel the first legally permitted oppositional periodical (1988–2007) and literary editor of the Hungarian Catholic Radio (2003–2007). In 1974, he married Marta Szabo; they had one son, and two daughters. From the very beginning his poetry was determined by the ideas of the two important facts of the Central-European history: 1956 and 1968. The Budapest Autumn and the Prague Spring motivated him to protest against the Communist dictatorship and his poems stimulated the democratic changes in Hungary in 1989. His legendary “political system changing” poem "Öröknyár, elmúltam kilenc éves", (Eternal Summer: I’m Over Nine) was published in 1984 in the October issue of the Új Forrás periodical. The brave poem was about the unmarked grave of Imre Nagy (he was the executed prime minister in the 1956 revolution), and about the unnamed murderers. One day he must be buried and we must not forget to appoINt the murderers! The hidden initials of Imre Nagy (NI - in Hungary the given name traditionally comes after the family name) appear in the last two letters of each line. This hidden meaning escaped the notice of the censors and the poem was published. The authorities retaliated, stripping him of his post as Secretary to the Hungarian Writers Union.

Gáspár Nagy worked in Hungarian literature, Hungarian poetry, literary magazine and radio broadcasting. He belonged to Hungarian Art Academy.

Gáspár Nagy is recorded as having received Kossuth Prize, Prize of the Society of Writers and Alföld Prize.