OTTÓ Tolnai was born in Kanjiža in 1940. The works of this poet, storyteller, playwright and essayist have been translated into Serbian, German, Polish, English, Dutch, Slovakian, French and Italian. Ottó Tolnai is the most prolific and all-rounded author in the literature of Vojvodinian Hungarians. He has experimented with all possible art forms, living a life in metamorphoses, shifting from poetry to essay, from experimental novel to drama. He studied Hungarian Language and Literature in Novi Sad and Philosophy in Zagreb. He has received all major literary awards of former Yugoslavia – Hid Award twice (1974, 1978), Szirmai Award (1988), Todor Manojlović Award (2007) and in Hungary – the awards Attila József (1991), Endre Ady (1995), Tibor Déry (1995) Milan Füst (1997), Sándor Weöres (1999), and Miklós Radnóti (2000). Elected to the Hungarian Academy of Literature and Arts in 1998, he received the highest Hungarian state award, the Kossuth Prize, in 2007.
Poetry collections: Homorú versek (The Concave Poems, 1963); Sirálymellcsont (The Seagull’s Breastbone, 1967); Valóban mi lesz velünk? (What Will Really Become of Us, with István Domonkos, 1968); MAO-POE, with István Domonkos, 1968; Szeplötelen kis gépek, csöpp fejedelmi jelvények (Flawless Little Machines, Tiny Royal Insignia, 1968); Agyonvert csipke (Battered Lace, 1969); Legyek karfiol (To Be a Cauliflower, 1973); Versek (Poems, 1973); Világpor (The Dust of the World, 1980); Vidéki Orfeusz (A Provincial Orpheus, selected poems, 1983); Gyökerrágó (The Root Devourer, 1986); Versek könyve (A Book of Poems, 1992); Wilhelm-dalok (The Poems of Wilhelm, 1992); Árvacsáth (Orphans, 1992); Balkáni babér (Tha Balkan Laurel, 2001); Szög a nadirban (A Nail in Nadir, 2005); Ómama egy rotterdami gengszterfilmben (The Granny in a Rotterdam Gangster Movie, novel of poems, 2006).
Collections of children poetry: Elefántpuszi (Elephant’s Kiss, 1982); Rokoko (Rococo, 1986)
Novels: Rovarház (The House of Insects, 1969); A tengeri kagyló (Seashell, 2011.)
Collections of novelettes: Gogol halála (Gogol’s Death, 1972); Virág utca 3 (3 Florists’ Street, 1983); Prózák konyve (The Book of Prose, 1987); Kékitögolyó (The Blue, 1994); A pompeji szerelmesek (The Pompeii Lovers, 2007); Grenadírmas, 2008; Világítótorony eladó (A Lighthouse for Sale, 2010).
Books of essays on visual arts: Sáfrány Imre, a monograph, 1978; Meztelen bohóc (The Naked Clown, 1992); Rothadt márvány (The Rotten Marble, 1997).
Staged dramas: Végeladás (Clearance Sale, 1979); Вауеr-aspirin, 1982; Briliáns (Diamond, 1985, 1991); Paripacitrom (Horse Breath, 1991); at the Budapest Jurta Színház theatre Mamuttemetö (Mammoth Graveyard, 1988); collection of dramatic texts Végel(ö)adás (Clearance Sale – The Last Performance, 1997).
Available in Serbian:
Gerilske pesme (Guerrilla Poems, poetry, 1967); ZOO (poetry, bilingual, 1969); Kuća insekata (The House of Insects, novel, 1976); Priče iz robne kuće (Stories from a Department Store, novelettes, 1986); Krik ruže (A Cry of Roses, poetry, 1988); Rusma ili minijum možda (To the Russians or Minium Perhaps, poetry, 1990); Krvoločna zečica (A Blood Thirsty Doe, short prose, 2006); Pesnik od svinjske masti (A Poet of Pig Fat, novel-interview, 2009) and Morska školjka (Seashell, novel, 2011).