Mihály Babits, one of the most imposing figures in Hungarian literature during the first half of the twentieth century, played an instrumental role in the development of Hungarian literary modernism. As a leading contributor and editor of the prestigious literary journal Nyugat (West), Babits--together with his contemporaries Endre Ady and Dezso Kosztolányi--established a standard of artistic quality that has influenced generations of Hungarian writers from the postwar era to the present. Although best known as a poet, Babits was accomplished as a novelist, short-story writer, essayist, critic, and literary historian; in addition, his literary translations of both classical and modern poets are considered among the greatest achievements in the history of Hungarian literature.

Mihály Babits was born on 26 November 1883 in Szekszárd, a small Transdanubian town, to Mihály Babits, a judge, and Aurora Kelemen. His parents provided him with...