Bertók László: Összegyűjtött versek I-II.

The collection of poems by László Bertók (1935-2020) makes his well-known and acclaimed works available to the public, and by publishing texts not included in his volumes, we can get to know the entirety of Bertók's exciting poetry, which sought new forms in each era. The collection begins with the poems that led to Bertók's imprisonment in 1955 on charges of inciting rebellion against the state. These are followed by the independent volumes from Fák felvonulása (The March of the Trees, 1972) to the posthumously published Együtt forog (Turning Together, 2020). In the middle of this series is Bertók's only work of prose, Dongó a szobában (The Bumblebee in the Room, 1998). Following the "core" of his oeuvre, there is a sort of appendix containing some 200 poems not previously included in any volume, from the author's first early attempts dating from 1947 to the last pieces written before his death. László Bertók's career path - from peasant to intellectual, imprisoned by the ÁVH at the age of 19 on trumped-up charges, yet with tenacious perseverance he developed his poetry and ultimately created an extensive oeuvre of some 25 independent volumes, which, among other honors, was awarded the Kossuth Prize - is unparalleled in the history of 20th-century contemporary Hungarian literature.