István Örkény

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Entrance into the Örkény Theatre in Budapest

István Örkény (5 April 1912, Budapest - 24 June 1979, Budapest) was a Hungarian writer. A typical feature of his plays and novels is satiric view and creation of grotesque situations.

[edit] Life

He was born in a family of a chemist. After the high school he studied first chemistry and later pharmacy. He graduated in pharmacy in 1934 and then he traveled to West Europe. When he came back from his journey he graduated also in chemistry. He published his first book (Ocean Dance) in 1941. In 1942 he is send to the Russian Front. As a Jew he was incorporated in in a slave unit. There he is captured and arrested in a labour camp near from Moscow and there he wrote the play Voronesh. In 1946 he came back home to Budapest. 1956 after the revolution in Hungary till 1960 he is not allowed to publish because of political reasons. Later he became especially popular because of his absurd and grotesque short stories (for instance in the book One Minutes Stories). In the year 2004 a theatre in Budapest was named after him (Örkeny Theater, the former Small Madách Theatre).

[edit] His works

Ocean Dance
Voronezh
Cats Play: His most famous theatre play. Originally was written for TV. It is about two aging sisters. It was translated into many languaguages.
The Tot's Family: a drama
One Minutes Stories (cf. flash fiction)