Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1981 (9. évfolyam, 27-30. szám)
1981 / 30. szám
tool to the researcher and writer. The author is prof, of comparative law at Columbia U. Tezla, Albert, ed„ OCEAN AT THE WINDOW: Hungarian Prose and Poetry since 1945. University of Minnesota Press, 2037 University Avenue, S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55414,1980. 481 pages, biblio. $25.00 cloth. Translations of Hungarian prose and poetry seem to multiply and English language publications on Hungarian literature are increasing, as demonstrated by the review of the Columbia Dictionary of Modern European Literature in issue #29 of HSN; and the translation of Radnóti’s ouvre in this issue. The volume before us is an anthology which contains, according to the editor, “works by authors who now reside in Hungary, and seeks to deepen the nonspecialist’s knowledge of the literature appearing after World War II, not by offering an overview through the contributions of numerous authors, but by giving most attention to the works often major figures chosen from among the many who established their place during the first two decades after 1945 and by presenting a few works of fourteen writers selected from those who first published in book form between 1965 and 1975. More space is devoted to prose works than to poems, so that readers can note some of the recent experiments that deserve much more attention in English translation than they have received to the present. Almost all the selections are complete; the only excerpts are taken from two long poems by Ferenc Juhász and a long poem by László Nagy, from three literary treatises, and from the interviews.” The volume includes a substantial introduction to the major developments in postwar Hungary within the context of the changing political climate, and a biographical-critical essay for each writer, as well as a bibliography of twentieth-century Hungarian literature in translation. The editor is prof, of English at the U. of Minnesota. Tudjman, Franjo. NATIONALISM IN CONTEMPORARY EUROPE. East European Monographs no. 76. Distributed by Columbia U. Press, 562 West 113th Street, New York, N.Y. 10025, 1981.293 pages. $21.50 cloth. Some books are noted for their content, others for what they left out. This volume may be noted for both, especially in regard to its Hungary-related information. The nationality question is discussed from the Congress of Vienna to the present, mostly in terms of power and politics. The general tone of the writer is critical, perhaps a little more so when touching upon Hungarian topics. He does not equate the severity or magnitude of the Transylvanian problem with that of twelve European nationality problems, such as the Basque, Irish, Cyprian, and the Jura questions, but duly recognizes that “the Romanian government pursues a very inflexible policy regarding the sizeable Hungarian minority in Erdély, or northern Transylvania, over which the historical dispute bewteen Romania and Hungary has even carried over into the socialist era.” As to pre-World War I minority policies he says that “History has rewarded this minority [the southern Slavs] rather cruelly with a centuries old stubbornly hegomonistic rule over the non-Hungarian nations of Hungary, under the crown of St. Stephen.” He notes that there is “almost no pure one-nation country in Europe free of intra-national problems or a country in which the national question does not appear in one form or another.” In fact the “multinational heirs of Austro-Hungary also experienced disintegration, because of their intra-national contradictions, at the very start of World War II, for they were certainly the NO. 30, WINTER 1981-1982, HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER weakest points in the European Versailles order.” Also: “The political upheavals in Poland and Hungary in 1956,... were, of course, based on national motivations,” and caused “scars of deep wounds" whith will “burst open again at the first historical opportunity.” THE GOOD-HEARTED YOUNGEST BROTHER. A Hungarian Folktale translated by Emőke de Papp Severo and illustrated by Diane Goode, Bradbury Press, 2 Overhill Road, Scarsdale, NY 10583, 1981. 32 pages. $10.95 cloth. This is not a scholarly book, but rather a sample of the folk tales read to or by children between the ages of 3 and 8. It speaks of a kind heart and pure nature of the youngest of three brothers, who breaks the bewitchment of three beautiful princesses and joyfully brings an entire countryside to life. It provides a glimpse at the richness of Hungarian folklore in a lively style and pictured with sumptuous detail for the delight of children of all ages. The translator, born in Canada, was taught Hungarian by her parents. She majored in literature at Smith Coll. The illustrator is a very well-known artist of picturebooks. ARTICLES (j PAPERS Fenyő, Mario D., “Nyugat versus the Establishment,” East Central Europe 7:1(1980)1-16. The Establishment fought Ady and the Nyugat on political grounds, and thus giving it an importance in the process they themselves had possibly not expected. The charges were that the new literature was cosmopolitan, not Hungarian, it brought the decadent morals of the West to the Hungarian public, it was a “front” for the destructive and subversive activities of the Jews, and that its free form and language denied pure and healthy Hungarian tradition. Ady, coming from a gentry family, was not forgiven, while someone like Ignotus might have been excused for the departure from traditional styles and themes. Internationalism, eroticism, and occasional blasphemy were considered representative of decadent Western morals exemplified in the Nyugat writers. Free form and language were attacked, even by as respectable a critic as János Horváth, who, however, admitted that there were exceptions and conceded that Ady, Mo'ricz, and Babits did not debase either language or style and that Ignotus and Margit Kaffka also wrote well on occasion. With the approach of World War I, charges of socialism and revolutionary tendencies were levelled. While Ady and the Nyugat feuded with the Establishment, not all members of the elite were opponents. The counts Albert Apponyi and Gyula Andrássy, among others, were sympathizers or supporters. Censorship became stricter with the outbreak of the war: pacifist and anti-war writings were not tolerated. A 1912 law extended legal responsiblity to editors and publishers, and granted the right of censorship prior to publication. The Nyugat movement was effective partly because of the opposition by the Establishment, although there was an accompanying progress in the reception of the Nyugat and Ady over the years also. (EMB) □ Gabor, Francis A. “A Socialist Approach to Codification of Private International Law in Hungary.” Tulane Law Review 55(December 1980) 63-113. “It is universally recognizable that the essential objective of ‘conflict of laws’ rules is to provide legal security: certainty, predictability, and uniformity of results. The formulation and codification of firm, definitive rules or private international 3
