photo: Mariia Kashtanova
Zoltán Németh
Németh, Zoltán (1970) is a poet, prose writer, literary historian and theorist, professor at the University of Warsaw, editor of the literary magazine Irodalmi Szemle, co-chairman of the Bázis association. He was born in Nové Zámky, grew up in Kamenín, graduated from high school in Želiezovce, received his M.A. and PhD. degrees from Comenius University in Bratislava, and habilitated at the University of Pécs. From 2004 to 2013 he worked at Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, from 2013 to 2018 at Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. He currently lives in Legionowo (Poland). His research interests include minority literature, Hungarian literature in Slovakia, postmodern literature, transculturalism, network theory and erotography. Most important awards: Attila József Award (2012), Imre Madách Award (2000, 2015, 2022), Bárka Literary Magazine Award (2002), Alföld Literary Magazine Award (2019), Baumgarten Prize (2021), Bázis Prize (2022). Most important poetry collections: A perverzió méltósága (The Dignity of Perversion, Kalligram, Bratislava, 2002), Állati nyelvek, állati versek (Animal Languages, Animal Poems, Kalligram, Bratislava, 2007), Boldogságtelep, vetélőgépben (Battery of Happiness, in an Abortion Machine, Kalligram, Bratislava, 2011), Kunstkamera (Kalligram, Bratislava, 2014), Állati férj (Animal Husband, Kalligram, Bratislava, 2016), Tektonika (Kalligram, Bratislava, 2021). The most important scientific collections: Olvasáserotika (Erotics of Reading, Kalligram, Bratislava, 2000), A széttartás alakzatai (Forms of Divergence, Kalligram, Bratislava, 2004), Parti Nagy Lajos (Kalligram, Bratislava, 2006), A magyar irodalom története 1945–2009 (History of Hungarian Literature 1945–2009, Matej Bel University, Banská Bystrica, 2009), A posztmodern magyar irodalom hármas stratégiája (The Threefold Strategy of Postmodern Hungarian Literature, Kalligram, Bratislava, 2012), Álnév és maszk (Pseudonyms and Masks, Líceum, Eger, 2013), Postmodern Literature in Central Europe. The Threefold Strategy (University of Constantine the Philosopher in Nitra, Nitra, 2015), Hálózatelmélet és irodalomtudomány (Network Theory and Literary Science, NAP, Dunajská Streda, 2018), Transzkulturalizmus: elmélet és gyakorlat (Transculturalism: Theory and Practice, Hungarian Academy of Sciences – Hungarian Academic Council in Slovakia, Budapest, 2023). The translations of his poetry into Slovak: Kunstkamera (selection, translation: Peter Macsovszky, Vertigo, 2019), Zvierací manžel (Állati férj, Animal Husband, translated by Jitka Rožňová, Abacus+, Bratislava, 2024). A monography about his works has been published in Slovak by Csilla Nagy: Objects on Exhibition. Zoltán Németh’s Poetry (translated by Galina Sándorová, Madách, Bratislava, 2022).
Zoltán Németh: Zvierací manžel (Abacus, 2024), preklad Jitka Rožňová
What form and intensity could a marriage between a human and an animal take? What situations would it create, what hidden feelings, desires, and ideas would it reveal? And what role would humans and animals play in this relationship? Zoltán Németh’s acclaimed poetry collection Állati férj/Zvierací manžel (Animal Husband) humorously and seriously, naturalistically and poetically depicts eight unconventional marriages in which the poetic subject enters into union with eight representatives of the animal kingdom. These marriages are neither random nor self-serving, their purpose is not to shock more than necessary: they encourage the reader to reflect on the fragile bond between man and nature and man’s relationship to himself; they strengthen the reader’s imagination and ability to observe from close proximity, what we can, without exaggeration, call the great story of life. Jitka Rožňová received the Ján Hollý Award for her Slovak translation of the collection.
photo by Juraj Lang
Jitka Rožňová (1976) is a translator, poet, associate professor at Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, and member of the editorial board of Fraktál – literatúra horizontálne a vertikálne (Fractal – Literature Horizontal and Vertical). To date, she has translated over forty works of prose and poetry, fairy tales, plays, and art publications from Hungarian. She is the author of the bilingual poetry collections Zhasínanie svetiel/Lámpaoltás (AB-ART, Bratislava, 2010) and Spriadanie slov/Helyrerakott szavak (AB-ART, Bratislava, 2013). She lives in Nové Zámky.
