Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány called Faludy ?a wise and much experienced public figure, who thought as a young man even in his old age? in a statement.
?He lived ? suffered ? to the end, experiencing the entire 20th century, taking part in every significant event of the era, and his wonderful intellect, accompanied us as well into the 21st century,? the Ministry of Education and Culture said in a statement.
?His death hurts, regardless of the fact that he lived a full life in every sense of the word,? the Hungarian writer Péter Nádas said of Faludy?s passing.
György Faludy was born in Budapest on September 22, 1910. He emigrated to France in 1938 to escape fascism in Hungary. When the Nazis invaded France, he went to Morocco, and in 1941 he left for the United States.
Faludy returned to Hungary after the war. In 1950 he was imprisoned, on false charges in the infamous Recsk labour camp. He was released when the camp was closed in 1953.
After the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, Faludy fled to London, then to Florence and Malta. In 1966, he emigrated to Canada, where he taught for many years at the University of Toronto. He became a Canadian citizen in 1976.
Faludy returned to Hungary after the change to a multi-party democracy in 1989. He was awarded the Hungarian Republic?s Order of the Flag in 1991, the Kossuth Prize in 1994, the Pulitzer Prize in 1998 and the Gold Quill award in 2000.
Among Faludy?s best known works are ?Autumn Dew?, ?Prison Poems?, ?200 Sonnets?, ?Erotic Poems? and ?Notes on the Margin of the Age?. In 1962, he published an autobiographical account entitled ?My Happy Days in Hell?, which was banned in Hungary until after the change of system, but was widely read in translation abroad.
In the invitation to his 95th birthday celebration, Faludy wrote of himself: ?He has lived to see everything, understand everything, write poetry about everything.?
Faludy will be buried on September 9 in Budapest?s Fiumei Cemetery.
On Sunday, September 3, the musician László Földes, better known as Hobo, has organised a special performance to mark Faludy?s passing at the Gödör Klub in Erzsébet Square. Fanny Faludy-Kovács has said she wishes to take part in the memorial event. Hobo has put Faludy?s poetry to music since 1978.
