Language/Literature paper by Sohar, Paul
Refugee Identity in Zoltán Böszörményi’s Latest Book of Poems: Conscience of Trees.
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
The identity most in the news lately has been that of the refugee. Hungarian literature has several writers who have cultivated their art while in self-imposed exile, and we can get a varied picture of the refugee identity through their works. The most prominent among them was György Faludy, but now we have a new generation or two of refugee writers as a result political pressure. A unique case among them is Zoltán Böszörményi, from Transylvania who was forced to flee Romania in 1982 because of his association with a circle of young Hungarian poets. As a refugee in Canada he had to put aside his literary pursuits for existential concerns which included learning English, getting a degree in philosophy from York College and working his way up from low-paying janitorial jobs to a position with an advertising agency. In 1990, after the collapse communism, he went back to Romania and, using his business experience, he started a Hungarian publishing firm, complete with a weekly newspaper, a quarterly literary journal and books of prose and poetry. He was also able to restart his writing career, adding prose to his poetry; his adventurous escape and varied experiences in the Western World combined with his knowledge of the contemporary intellectual currents of Central Europe gave him plenty of material and inspiration as well. Thus his poetry, while Hungarian in language and cultural influences, can be best described as globalist in the positive sense of it: being open to the ideas and the intellectual ferment of the world.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Paul Sohar, a 1956 refugee from Hungary, finished his education in the US with a degree in philosophy and has been writing and publishing in every genre, including seventeen volumes of translations, the latest being Conscience of Trees, Zoltán Böszörményi’s poetry (Ragged Sky Press, Princeton, 2018). His own poetry: Homing Poems (Iniquity Press, 2006) and The Wayward Orchard, a Wordrunner Press Prize winner (2011). Other awards: first prize in the 2012 Lincoln Poets Society contest, and a second prize from RI Writers Circle contest (2014) in addition to several Pushcart Prize nominations and three translation prizes received in Hungary. Magazine credits include Agni, Gargoyle, Kenyon Review, Rattle, Poetry Salzburg Review, and Seneca Review.