b. Nov. 22, 1877, d. Jan. 27, 1919, is generally considered the greatest Hungarian poet of the 20th century. His innovative poems, influenced by French symbolism, countered the earlier poetic tradition of Janos Arany and Sandor Petofi.
Ady left the study of law to become a journalist.
After he met Adele Brull, called "Leda" in many of his poems, he followed her to Paris, where he came in contact with new literary fashions.
When he returned to Hungary, his unconventional beliefs and attacks on the Hungarian aristocracy made him a controversial figure.
His break with poetic and social traditions came with Uj versek (New Poems, 1906) and continued in nine subsequent volumes. Beginning about 1909 he contributed poetry and prose to Nyugat (West), a leading literary and social journal. Ady's lyrical and religious verse draws on colloquial and biblical sources and explores suffering and death in a world that has lost God.