Born in Budapest in 1938, Tandori graduated from Eötvös Loránd University. From 1971, he worked as a freelance writer and literary translator.

Tandori began publishing his poems in the 1960s. His first collection of poems entitled A Fragment for Hamlet was released in 1968. His next collection, The Cleaning of a Found Object, is regarded by literary critics as the first Hungarian postmodern poetry collection.

From the 1970s, his works covered a variety of genres, including children’s poetry, crime fiction and philosophical essays.

Tandori’s long list of accolades include the Attila József Prize in 1978, the Laurel Wreath of the Hungarian Republic in 1996 and the Kossuth Prize, which he was awarded in 1998. In 2007, he was awarded the Goethe Medal by the Goethe Institute. Tandori was granted the Artist of the Nation title in 2014.

MTI Photo: Kovács Attila