Group photograph (front row, from left): unknown woman, Sophie Török, Mihály Babits, unknown woman, Antal Lépold, Mrs. Dezs? Kosztolányi, unknown, Ferenc Einczinger, (back row, from left) unknown, L?rinc Szabó, Aurél Kárpáti, Géza Laczkó, unknown woman, Dezs? Kosztolányi, Oszkár Gellért , unknown woman, unknown, Ferenc Obermüller
Nyugat was founded by the poet and critic Ignotus, the political and economic journalist Miksa Fenyő and the critic Ernő Osvát a century ago this year. It was the most important of Hungary's literary journals from 1908 until 1941.
The first issue was published on January 1, 1908, with the financial support of Lajos Hatvany. Among the contents of the issue, which had a print run of just a few hundred copies, was a study by Endre Ady. The aim of the journal was to elevate Hungarian literature to the same level as Western literature. The journal also backed progressive politics and culture.
Mihály Babits, Sophie Török and Dezs? Kosztolányi (1923)
Nyugat published Hungary's youngest writers as well established authors. Among the older generation appearing in its pages were Endre Ady, Mihály Babits, Dezső Kosztolányi, Árpád Tóth, Frigyes Karinthy, Margit Kaffka, Zsigmond Móricz and Géza Csáth. The generation appearing in the 1920s included Lőrinc Szabó, László Németh, Áron Tamási and Endre Andor Gelléri. The youngest generation to be published in Nyugat boasted names such as Miklós Radnóti, Sándor Weöres, István Vas and Antal Szerb.
In 1929, Osvát committed suicide and Ignotus resigned as editor. The journal's financing dried up. Zsigmond Móricz rescued the paper with a cash injection and became its editor. Mihály Babits and Oszkár Gellért were appointed deputy editors. Because of differences over the direction of the journal, Móricz left in 1933, leaving the top editorial post to Babits.
The journal folded up after Babits's death in August 1941.
