Istvan OErkeny is one of the few Hungarian writers whose works and name have spread beyond the borders of East Europe. Though he wrote only a handful of works (five plays and several short stories), a few of these won him international acclaim, particularly The Toth Family in play form and Cateplay, successfully present at Arena Stage, the Guthrie Theatre, and the Manhattan Theatre Club. When asked why he didn't produce more work, OErkeny answered with characteristic frankness: "I write only when I get an idea." OErkeny was born in Budapest in 1912. Though he wanted to be a writer early on, his father demanded that he study pharmacy. After five years, his diploma in hand, OErkeny was ready to begin writing, but his father insisted that he get a degree in chemical engineering. Five years later, on completing this course of study too, he was drafted, fought on the Eastern front for a year, and spent four years in a Soviet prison camp. After his release, OErkeny was free to write at last; but he found that the oppressive atmosphere of hard-line Communism in the '50s was hardly hospitable to his special style of mocking wit. It was not until the thaw of the '60s that OErkeny came into his own as a writer. After enjoying years of international success, he died in the summer of 1979.
