Hargitai published 100 poems of Attila József to celebrate the poet's 100 year anniversary. In the case of Antal Szerb, who was killed in the holocaust, 2005 was the 60th anniversary of his death.

Hargitai has been teaching Hungarian Literature in translation since 1980 at American universities, where most of his students, he says, are avid fans of both József and Szerb. He and his students had the name of Antal Szerb inscribed into the Holocaust Memorial Wall on Miami Beach along with the name of Miklós Radnóti, a Hungarian poet who was also killed during the holocaust. Hargitai’s selection of József’s poems Perched on Nothing’s Branch is listed in Harold Bloom’s The Western Canon as one of the best books in the 20th century, 'the chaotic age'.

His translation of Szerb’s novel (the original Hungarian title of the book is Traveler and Moonlight) dates from 1988. Since then, another - British - translation was made by Len Rix in 2002. The two translations differ in style: while Rix's is more contemporary, Hargitai’s version tries to convey a sense of Szerb's sophisticated language, reminiscent of the language of Thomas Mann.

Translator Peter Hargitai’s home page