Frigyes Karinthy

Frigyes Karinthy (June 25, 1887 in Budapest – August 29, 1938 in Siófok) was a Hungarian author, playwright, poet, journalist, and translator. He was the first proponent of the six degrees of separation concept, in his 1929 short story, "Chains" ("Láncszemek"). Karinthy remains one of the most popular Hungarian writers. He was the father of writer Ferenc Karinthy.

Among the English translations of Karinthy's works are two novellas that continue the adventures of Swift's character Gulliver. "Voyage to Faremido" is an early examination of artificial intelligence, while "Capillaria" is a polished and darkly humorous satire on the 'battle of the sexes'.

Life and work

Karinthy was born into a bourgeois family in Budapest. He started his writing career as a journalist and remained a writer of short, humorous blurbs until his death. He rose to instant fame in 1912 with the publication of his literary parodies called "That's How YOU Write" ("Így írtok ti"). He expanded the collection continuously during the following years. Among his early works, his collection of short stories from school life, "Please Sir!" ("Tanár úr, kérem") [ [http://mek.oszk.hu/00700/00770/00770.htm Please Sir!] – the complete translation] also stands out for its grasp of the trials and tribulations of the average schoolboy. Another popular highlight is his translation of A. A. Milne's "Winnie the Pooh," that made it a cult book in Hungary.

After the First World War, his writing became more serious and engaged, though never leaving a satirical bent. Karinthy cited Jonathan Swift as a major influence: from this arose the novel "Voyage to Faremido" ("Utazás Faremidóba") and its sequel, "Capillaria". Many of his novels and stories also deal with the difficulties of relationships between men and women, partly due to his unhappy second marriage.

Karinthy had a brain tumor for which he was operated upon in Stockholm in 1936. He describes this experience in his autobiographical novel, "Journey Round my Skull," ("Utazás a koponyám körül"), originally published in 1939; a reissue appeared as a NYRB Classic in 2008). He died two years later, during a holiday at Lake Balaton.

Private life

Karinthy was married twice. He married the actress Etel Judik in 1913. The marriage was serene and happy and they had a son called Gábor. Tragically, Etel died very young during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1919. In 1920, he married the psychiatrist Aranka Böhm, with whom he had another son, the writer Ferenc Karinthy. Karinthy was an Esperantist, attending Esperanto congresses, [ [http://www.karinthy.hu/pages/kf/en/ Biography of Frigyes Karinthy] ] and became president of the Hungarian Esperanto Society in 1932. [Esperanto Wikipedia]

Notes

References

* [http://mek.oszk.hu/00700/00770/00770.htm Please Sir!] – the complete translation
* [http://vmek.oszk.hu/00400/00433/00433.htm#18 The Circus] – a short story with an introduction
* [http://www.frankfurt.matav.hu/angol/irok/karinthy/idez.htm Struggle for Life] – a poem, and two other short quotations
* A Journey Round My Skull, First American Edition published by Harper and Brothers, New York, 1939 (repr 2008) ISBN 978-1590172582

External links

* [http://www.frankfurt.matav.hu/angol/irok/karinthy/elet.htm Biography, quotes, publications compiled for the Frankfurt Book Fair]
* [http://www.karinthy.hu/pages/kf/en/ Biography] at the website of the secondary school named after him
* [http://mek.oszk.hu/02000/02042/html/46.html The Grotesque: Frigyes Karinthy] . In: Lóránt Czigány: "A History of Hungarian Literature," chapter XIX.
* [http://mek.oszk.hu/00000/00017/html/f10.htm#a061 Karinthy's entry in Albert Tezla: "Hungarian authors – A bibliographical handbook"]