András Sütő

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

Early life and education

Sütő was born into a poor peasant family in Cămărașu , Cluj County, in the Transylvania region of Romania. 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 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 in 1954 to Târgu Mureș, in Transylvania, where he edited Igaz Szó, a literary magazine. He held this post till 1957, after which he edited Uj Élet, an illustrated magazine, until 1989.

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.

He also received the Gábor Bethlen Prize (1990), and the Kossuth Prize (1992).

Later life Sütő had his eye gouged out during the 1990 ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureș, and had to undergo treatment in Hungary. He died on 30 September 2006 in Budapest, where he was undergoing treatment for cancer.

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 Engedjétek hozzám jönni a szavakat (Let the Words Come to Me), 1977 Perzsák (Persians), 1981 Szemet szóért (Eye for a Word), 1993