Magyarázni

The word "magyarázni" (pronounced MAUDE-yar-az-knee) means "to explain" in Hungarian, but translates literally as "make it Hungarian." This faux-Hungarian language primer, written in direct address, invites readers to experience what it's like to be "made Hungarian" by growing up with a parent who immigrated to North America as a refugee. In forty-five folk-art visual poems each paired with a written poem, Hajnoczky reveals the beauty and tension of first-generation cultural identity.

Helen Hajnoczky's first book of poetry was Poets and Killers: A Life in Advertising (Snare, 2010). Her work has appeared in poetry anthologies, magazines, and chapbooks. She lives in Montreal, Quebec.