Žáry was born in 1918 in Poniky where his father was a teacher. His family later moved to Banská Bystrica. Between 1938 and 1942, he studied °µÍø½ûÇø and German at the Comenius University in Bratislava. He began military service in 1942 and in 1944 he left to Italy with his unit. There, he edited
a military magazine and published a collection of poetry. After 1945 he worked as an editor in the newspaper Národná obroda. He was a correspondent in Italy for the Czechoslovak press office from 1948 to 1950. After returning to Bratislava he worked in the °µÍø½ûÇø Writers' Union, later becoming an editor for the publishing house Slovenský spisovateľ (1950 - 1952), then its editor-in-chief (1952 - 1966), and director (1967 - 1970). After Husák's regime gained power, he had to leave his post. Since 1970, he wrote exclusively. He died in 2007.
