Paul Sohar

Paul Sohar passed away on August 20, 2023 at the age of 87.

Born in 1936 in Hungary, he fled the country at the age of 20 after the 1956 revolution was crushed by the Soviets.

Arriving in the US, he obtained a BA in philosophy at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Subsequently, he took up a job as a chemist at Merck, where he worked for 36 years. Throughout his distinguished scientific career, he published 26 papers and secured 13 patents. In the evenings and during his free time, he dedicated himself to his literary interests, publishing numerous poems and short stories under his own name, as well as poetry he translated into English from Hungarian and other European languages.

After going into early retirement, he continued to write and translate, and regularly sent his work to publishers around the world. In total, he had his work published in 87 US, 11 Canadian, and 9 British journals. Additionally, his contributions were featured in various publications from France, Austria, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. Beyond journals, he also published over 30 books, encompassing both his collections of translations and his original poetry. His translations of Hungarian poets helped spread awareness of his native Hungarian culture around the world. He was an active member of the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Hungarian Educators Association (AHEA), and regularly spoke at the various events and conferences of these professional organizations. His work was recognized through numerous prestigious awards, including the Wordrunner Press Chapbook Prize (2011), the Janus Pannonius Lifetime Achievement Award (2016), and the Balassi Literary Translation Grand Prize (2021). He was nominated for the Pushcart Prize on two occasions.

He was preceded in death by his daughter, Camilla, and two brothers, Bela and Istvan.

Paul will be dearly missed by his surviving family and friends, as well as by the many fellow poets, writers, and readers he influenced through his work.