Mihály Babits
Babits, Mihály
Born Nov. 26, 1883, in Szekszárd; died Aug. 4, 1941, in Budapest. Hungarian poet.
Babits graduated from the University of Budapest. His first verses were published in the collection Holnap (1908); in 1909 he published a collection of verses Leaves From the Wreath of Iris. In the poem “Before Easter” (1916), Babits came out against the imperialist war; later he condemned fascism (the narrative poem The Book of Jónás 1941). Beginning in 1916 he was one of the editors of the literary-social magazine Nyugat. He translated Dante’s Divine Comedy into Hungarian. Babits also wrote novels (Sons of Death, 1927; and others) and essays (Life and Literature, 1929). He was the author of History of European Literature (1934).
WORKS
Müvei, vols. 1–7. Budapest, 1957–61.Válogatott versei. Budapest, 1957.
REFERENCES
Klaniczay, T., J. Szauder, and M. Szabolcsi. Kratkaia istoriia vengerskoi literatury Xl-XX v. Budapest, 1962.A magyar irodalom története, vol. 5. Budapest, 1965.