About National Poetry Day
April 11th is National Poetry Day in Hungary. The notable Hungarian poet Attila József (1905 - 1937) was born on this day, which has been National Poetry Day since 1964.
Every year on National Poetry Day, Hungarians pay tribute to the Hungarian art of poetry with poet meetings, poetry readings, book presentations and lectures.
For a day, customers can pay with a poem in some coffee shops, and people are “posting” poems on trees, buildings, and even writing them on the streets.
Attila József is one of the most famous Hungarian poets of the 20th century. Generally not recognized during his lifetime, József was hailed during the communist era of the 1950s as Hungary's great "proletarian poet" and he has become the best known of the modern Hungarian poets internationally.
