In his poetry Attila József attempted to reach a synthesis of the most important intellectual, ideological, and lyrical aspirations of his era. Influenced early in his career by the revolutionary vision and symbolist techniques of Endre Ady, the preeminent poet of the first decades of the twentieth century, József emerged as the most prominent voice within Hungarian poetry during the period between the two world wars. Experimenting with a wide variety of poetic styles ranging from expressionism to surrealism, József combined a distinct sensitivity and vivid imagination with a passionate commitment to the ideals of human dignity and social justice. József published his first poems at age seventeen in the prestigious literary journal Nyugat (West) and remained a productive and innovative poet despite his intense personal anguish and the gradual deterioration of his mental stability. His popularity continued to increase...