András Sütő

András Sütő (17 June 1927 – 30 September 2006) was an ethnic Hungarian writer and politician in Romania, one of the leading writers in the Hungarian language in the 20th century.

The native form of this personal name is Sütő András. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
András Sütő
Born(1927-06-17)June 17, 1927
Cămărașu, Romania
DiedSeptember 30, 2006(2006-09-30) (aged 79)
Budapest, Hungary
OccupationWriter, politician
LanguageHungarian
CitizenshipRomanian
Notable worksAnyám könnyű álmot ígér, Pompás Gedeon
Signature

Early life and education

Sütő was born into a poor peasant family in Cămărașu (Hungarian: Pusztakamarás), in Cluj County, Transylvania. He received his primary and secondary school education in the Reformed College of Aiud and in the Reformed gymnasium in Cluj. After secondary school, he studied Stage Directing at the Szentgyörgyi István College of Dramatic Arts in Cluj.

Career

Journalism

Sütő quit college in order to become the editor in chief of the Falvak Népe weekly. He moved to Bucharest in 1951 because the editorial office was relocated there. Sütő could not identify himself with the political environment of the 1950s in the capital and returned to Târgu Mureş, Transylvania, in 1954, where he edited Igaz Szó, a literary magazine. He held this post till 1957, after which he edited Uj Élet, an illustrated magazine, till 1989.[1]

Literature

Sütő's first work (A Letter to a Romanian Friend) was published by the Hungarian-language Világosság journal in Cluj, when he was 18. His writing career ranged across genres, with short stories (Félrejáró Salamon, 1955), satire (Pompás Gedeon, 1967), historical drama (Egy lócsiszár virágvasárnapja, 1974; Csillag a máglyán, 1974; Szuzai menyegzo, 1981), and myth and folklore (Káin és Abel, 1977; Advent a Hargitán, 1987). The dramas, in particular, probed the duty of the individual, confronted by arbitrary authority, to preserve his dignity and identity even at the cost of his life.[2]

He served as vice-president of the Writers' Association of Romania between 1974 and 1982.[1]

From 1980, aiming to curb his dissent against the Nicolae Ceauşescu regime's repression of Romania's Hungarian minorities, András Sütő's works were banned from publication and presentation. Consequently, between 1980 and 1989 he could publish only in Hungary. During this period, he and his family were constantly harassed by the authorities and the Securitate.[3]

Politics

A committed Communist, Sütő was Member of the Great National Assembly, the parliament of Communist Romania, between 1965 and 1977. But his observations of the fate of the indigent Romanian and Hungarian villagers in Transylvania under forced collectivisation in the 1950s and his discontent with the increasing centralisation of political power brought him disfavour from the Ceauşescu government. Increasing, too, was his opposition to the regime's pressure to "homogenise" the various nationalities in the country, such as restrictions against the use of the Hungarian language.[1]

By the time of Ceauşescu's removal from power in 1989, Sütő was a well-known public figure, respected for his support of the rights of the Hungarian people in Romania.[1]

Awards

In 1979, Sütő was awarded the Herder Prize.[2]

He has also received Gábor Bethlen Prize (1990), and the Kossuth Prize (1992).[4]

Later life

Sütő had his eye gouged out during the 1990 ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureş, and had to undergo treatment in Hungary. He died on 30 August 2006 in Budapest, where he was undergoing treatment for cancer.[3]

Selected works

Drama
  • Mezítlábas menyasszony (Barefoot Bride), 1950
  • Pompás Gedeon (Gedeon the Pompous), 1967
  • Csillag a máglyán (Star at the Stake), 1974
  • Egy lócsiszár virágvasárnapja (The Palm Sunday of a Horse Dealer), 1975
  • Káin és Abel (Cain and Abel), 1977
  • Advent a Hargitán (Advent in the Hargita Mountain), 1985
  • Alomkommandó (Dream Commando), 1987
  • Balkáni gerle (Collared Dove), 1999

Novels and short stories
  • Félrejáró Salamon (By-Stepping Salomon), 1956
  • Anyám könnyű álmot ígér (Mother Promises a Light Dream), 1970

Essays and memoirs
  • Perzsák (Persians), 1981
  • Szemet szóért (Eye for a Word), 1993
  • Engedjétek hozzám jönni a szavakat (Let the Words Come to Me), 1977
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References
  1. Gömöri, George (December 4, 2006). "Andras Suto: Writer banned under Ceausescu". The Independent.
  2. Banham, Martin (1995). The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Cambridge University. p. 1043. ISBN 978-0-521-43437-9.
  3. Gorondi, Pablo (October 5, 2006). "Ethnic Hungarian Writer and Activist Andras Suto, 79". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  4. "András SÜTŐ (1927 - 2006)". Publishing Hungary. Petőfi Irodalmi Múzeum. October 16, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
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