Vice Chancellor Hubert Gorbach presented Méhes with the award together with Rüdiger Stix, an honorary professor at the University of Vienna.
Also on Friday, publishing house Ulpius Ház presented ?Report on a Young Man?, a novel about Méhes?s youth. Gergely Huszti, the publisher?s chief editor, said the book offers an extraordinarily precise and convincing picture of society in Transylvania ? where Méhes is from ? during the Second World War, as well as demonstrating the necessity of fortune for those who survived.
Méhes was especially pleased by the presence of poet György Faludy at the ceremony. He called the poet, who is six years his senior, his dear friend and mentor, adding that he has been reading Faludy?s works since he was 20 years old. Faludy, in turn, said Méhes?s books had introduced him to a world he had never known, adding that Méhes?s ?Millionaires from Kolozsvár? was one of the last books he read before his sight failed.
Hungary?s National Theatre will celebrate Méhes?s birthday too with a gala on Sunday at 7:00pm. The festivities will include performances by the musical groups Kaláka and Sebő, as well as by Márta Sebestyén and György Selmeczi. Actors Péter Blaskó, Juli Básti and Tamás Jordán will also read from Méhes?s one-act play ?Worldly Gods?.
