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Bela BalazsHungarian writer, poet, playwright, screenwriter, film theorist
Date of Birth: 04.08.1884
Country:  Hungary |
Content:
- Biography of Béla Balázs
- Early Career
- Travels and Activism
- Life in Berlin and Moscow
- Contributions to Film
Biography of Béla Balázs
Early Life and EducationBéla Balázs was a Hungarian writer, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film theorist. He was born on August 4, 1884 in Szeged, Hungary. When he was six years old, his family moved to Levoca in eastern Slovakia, but after his father's death, he returned to Szeged with his mother. In 1902, he enrolled at Peter Pazmany Budapest Scientific University. During his time at the Lorand Eötvös College dormitory, his roommate was the future composer Zoltán Kodály. After graduating from university in 1906, Balázs continued his studies abroad.
Early Career
While in Berlin, Balázs attended lectures by renowned scholars such as Georg Simmel. He also worked on his first book, "Aesthetics of Death" (Halálesztétika). His first published poems appeared in the anthology "Tomorrow" (Holnap Antológia) in 1908. During this time, Balázs aligned himself with the symbolist movement and published in the influential journal "West" (Nyugat) founded by Endre Ady. In 1909, his first dramatic work, "Doctor Margit Senpál" (Doktor Szölpöl Margit), was staged. In 1910, he wrote the one-act mystery play in verse, "The Castle of Bluebeard," which was intended to be an opera libretto for Zoltán Kodály. However, Béla Bartók, who was present during the reading, was so captivated by the concept that Balázs gave him the text, resulting in Bartók's only opera.
Travels and Activism
From 1911 to 1912, Balázs traveled throughout Europe, living in Italy, Paris, and Berlin. He published his first poetry collections during this time. In 1914, he volunteered for the frontlines and his war diaries, depicting the grim realities of army life, were published in 1916. Balázs was closely associated with the Hungarian Communist Party and participated in the "Sunday Circle" led by György Lukács. He welcomed the establishment of Soviet power in Hungary and served in the Directorate of Revolutionary Writers and worked in the Narkomat of Education of the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919. However, after the regime's defeat, he emigrated from the country and settled in Vienna, Austria, like many other Hungarian socialists. He collaborated with various German and Hungarian publications, published poetry, and wrote film criticism, including "The Visible Man."
Life in Berlin and Moscow
In 1926, Balázs moved to Berlin and collaborated with directors Georg Wilhelm Pabst and Erwin Piscator. While in Germany, he joined the local Communist Party. In late 1930, he moved to Moscow at the invitation of Soviet writers. From 1931 to 1945, Balázs lived in the USSR, where he could freely write and stage productions about the Hungarian Soviet Republic period. He settled in Moscow in 1932 and taught at a film school. He also became a leading contributor to the Hungarian-language newspaper "New Voice" (Új Hang), published in Moscow. During this time, he developed his realistic positions, which were reflected in works such as the novel "Impossible People," the autobiographical novel "Youth of a Dreamer," the play "Mozart," and poetry collections like "Fly, My Word" and "My Path," which won the Kossuth Prize in 1949.
Contributions to Film
Balázs had a significant interest in cinema and wrote several books on the subject, including "The Visible Man," "The Spirit of Film," and "The Art of Cinema." He also co-wrote the screenplay for Georg Wilhelm Pabst's film adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's play "The Threepenny Opera." He was a co-author of Leni Riefenstahl's film "The Blue Light" and the sole author of the screenplay for the film "Somewhere in Europe" directed by Géza von Radványi.
Béla Balázs remained a close friend of philosopher-marxist György Lukács throughout his life. He passed away on May 17, 1949 in Budapest, Hungary, leaving behind a significant body of work that continues to influence literature and film.
