The reception of the poet, writer and translator, who was recognized with the József Attila Award, Hungary's Laurel Wreath Award and Kossuth Award, and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary, took place in the Bulgakov Café in Cluj-Napoca.
On the occasion of his birthday, a celebratory literary event was organized, where László Király's latest A legnyebb izgat monda and the latest issue of Helikon were presented.
The event was opened by János Szántai, the president of the League of Transylvanian Hungarian Writers, and then Consul General Csaba Grezsa greeted the celebrated.
As he put it, László Király was one of the few who raised his voice even under the communist dictatorship because of the injustices suffered by Hungarians, he always bravely stood up for the interests of the community, and he played and still plays a decisive role in Hungarian cultural life.
After Csaba Grezsa's welcome, János Szánai read the greeting of János Szentmártoni, the Deputy Secretary of State responsible for art and community development of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, who said that this work, this life path "had meaning", since László Király became immortal.
After the festive greetings, the poet, editor and translator Vince Fekete introduced the next point of the evening, during which he presented the interview volume entitled A lejkönnebb izgat mendani (Sóváradi conversation with László Király), which contains László Lázár Lövétei's conversation with the person being celebrated. As they said, at the first stage of the completion of the volume, it was uncertain how much could fit into a day, a conversation covering a day, but László Lázár Lászár Lövétei said that you have to believe: you can tell a whole life in one day, since life is not what a person experienced, but what he remembers and how he remembers when he wants to tell a story. During the volume presentation, László Király also read from his own works.
The last program item of the festive event was the presentation of the festive issue of Helikon, prepared for this occasion, which was told by Zsolt Karácsonyi, the editor-in-chief of the magazine.
László Király's most memorable moments from the years he spent in the editorial office were discussed, as well as how his colleagues remember meeting and getting to know him.
The celebrant talked about his years at Helikon, his work as an author, deadlines that were not always met and how he created his now well-known poems. At the end of the event, the authors of the festive issue read from their writings, all of which are somehow related to László Király and his works.
Featured image: Eszter Blága / Maszol
