István Eörsi

István Eörsi (; 16 June 1931, in Budapest – 13 October 2005, in Budapest) was a Hungarian writer, novelist, political essayist, poet and literature translator.

He was born in educated Jewish family. After completing English and German literature studies in Budapest he worked as a school teacher. Beginning in early youth, he wrote articles for communist newspaper, claimed to be a Marxist, and wrote a poem on the occasion of death of Joseph Stalin.

Eörsi was part of the Hungarian minority that welcomed the Red Army, when the Russians invaded his country. He was one of those who looked on the Russians as liberators and not enemies. Although most of these Russian supporters were disillusioned after the rise to power of Stalin, Eörsi found new opportunities in this time of uncertainty. Even as a schoolboy, Eörsi published poems that sang the praises of the communist government.

Imprisonment Eörsi's commitment to his ideology, and the expression of it in verse, landed him in prison. He was arrested in December 1956 on the charge of incitement. During his trial two anti-Soviet poems, which had appeared in the clandestine journal Elunk (We Are Alive) some weeks earlier, were used as evidence. He was handed an eight-year prison sentence. However, he only spent 42 months in jail, as he received an amnesty and was released in 1960.

Works Eörsi's second poem anthology, entitled To Pummel the Devil!, was published shortly before his arrest. His arrest meant that the book had to be withdrawn from circulation. This withdrawal marked a barren era for Eörsi, whose works had to wait another 12 years to be published again. While the ban on him lasted, Eörsi earned a living working as a freelance journalist. He also made a living working as an assistant to Lukacs, whose books he translated from German into Hungarian. Eörsi's relationship with the old philosopher was more than a professional one. They developed a strong friendship, and the two recorded numerous frank conversations, which were published in 1989 as Taped Biography.

In 2005 he was awarded the Kossuth Prize, regarded as the most prestigious cultural award in Hungary.

The same year he died from leukemia.