This brief anthology covers six centuries and contains some of the most popular Hungarian poems in addition to many of the translator's favorites. Among the large number of great Hungarian poets Sándor Petőfi (1823-1849) forever remains the personified symbol of poetry in Hungarian (Magyar) literary consciousness.

An accomplished poet and the author of Canadian Hungarian Literature (1897 - 2017), Frank Veszely brings to the English reader the rich treasure-house of folk, classical, and modern Hungarian poetry (1000 - 2020). The translations read as if they have been done by the original poets, preserving not only their original inspiration and content, but the form, the rhythm and the rhyme patterns of the originals, a feat thought to be impossible by many, but here they are: as fresh as the ink has not dried on them yet. From the poems emerges a nation’s love of freedom with the breath and depth of humanity impossible not to respond to.

This exceptional bibliography, a pioneer work in its field, surveys Hungarian literature from its beginnings to 1965. Tezla begins his coverage of each author with a brief biographical account offering pertinent data on family background, education, and literary activities. The sketch provides observations on the writings of the author and his place in Hungarian literature, and a record of the languages into which his works have been translated. Further material on the author is divided into annotated sections noting bibliographical, biographical, and critical studies.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1860.