Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1998 (15. évfolyam, 51-54. szám)
1998 / 51-52. szám
brief study of "Bethlen Archives and Museum, Option Paper" in 1993. Two years later, Ilona Kovács of the National Széchényi Library, Budapest, Hungary, summarized her recommendations in "A Bethlen Archive es Múzeum lövőjére vonatkozó javaslatok.” Finally, in 1997, Dr. lulianna Puskás studied the material, and summarized her report to the Board of Trustees of the Bethlen Museum and Archives in: "A Bethlen Archive és Muzeum rendezése ügyében, mult, jelen és jövő." Although it is difficult to summarize all of the work done by scholars, most of them shared several common concerns: 1. How the collection should be housed. 2. The contents and value of the collection. 3. The work norms that should be used in organizing the material into a functional Archives and Museum. 4. How the Collection should be expanded in the future with newly acquired materials. Not surprisingly, these concerns were also being voiced by HRFA leadership and others. In 1978, the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America and its subsidiary the Bethlen Home in Ligonier, PA (the repository of the Bethlen Collection), initiated its first meeting with the representatives of the American Hungarian Foundation (AHF) to discuss the future of the Bethlen Collection. Both organizations shared the same fundamental basis of concern about and interest in, how both the Bethlen Collection and the archives of the American Hungarian Foundation could continue to serve most effectively their communities, the churches and their members, scholars and students through the document centers and other archives, and of course, the general public. Finally, now the transfer of the Bethlen Collection to the Archives of the American Hungarian Heritage Foundation shall make this all possible. George Dózsa, President, Hungarian Reformed Federation of America. BOOKS/PUBLICATIONS: RECENT AND NEW Restarting an enterprise as ambitious as the Hungarian Studies Newsletter, after a gap of eleven years, is a breathtaking undertaking. Looking back at the past eleven years it is obvious that we have a lot to make up for in reviews. We plan to deal with the backlog of recently published works first, and eventually cover those significant titles that we inadvertently missed earlier. In the case of the latter, we will treat the missed works on the basis of two primary considerations, their "staying power” as contributions to Hungarian studies and their availability for purchase by institutions and individuals. FOUNDATION NEWS (Continued) Teleky, Richard. HUNGARIAN RHAPSODIES : ESSAYS ON ETHNICITY, IDENTITY, AND CULTURE. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, Vancouver: UBC Press, 1997. 218 pp„ with bibliography. Hardbound and paperback. $18.95 paper. Richard Teleky, of York University, Toronto, and a third-generation American Hungarian, has written a collection of pieces that he calls a “combination of essay, lament, celebration, and scholarship" about the "arbitraryness of ethnicity,” presented through a "look at various facets of Hungarian immigrant culture in North America." In doing so, he has produced a book without par or precedent, one that all those with Hungarian roots will read with pleasure and profit. The book is about people, institutions, language, personal musings and philosophy. In it Teleky presents us, among others, with Edmund Wilson, who began to learn Hungarian at 65; with the Hungarian work of New York photographer András Kertész; with the novelist Péter Esterházy; with Margaret Avison, renowned poet and successful translator of Hungarian poetry who does not, herself, know Hungarian; and with the controversial Hollywood script writer, Joe Eszterhas. There is a wonderful chapter on the archives of Cleveland’s St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church, in which we meet its pastor, Father Antal, and reflect upon the one-time glory and present-day tragedy of our ethnic churches; another on the Pannónia bookstore in Toronto, which has done more perhaps than any other institution in supplying North America with the printed Hungarian word during the decades of relative isolation from the Motherland. In "Hungarians in North American Fiction" and “A Short Dictionary of Hungarian Stereotypes" the author ponders why our image is what it is on this continent, for good and for ill. In the remaining parts, Teleky presents us with his first impressions of Hungary in 1993, and discusses his views on "The Third Generation and the 'Problem’ of Ethnicity." His readers will surely share most of his questions, and at least some of his answers. Overall, this is a sensitive, deep, yet gently humorous treatment of what it means to live in America with an ethnic Hungarian identity. Be sure to buy it - and to read it! Louis Elteto HUNGARIAN AND TRANSYLVANIAN FOLKTALES ed. and trans. by Emőke de Papp Severo. Ottawa, Ont.: Borealis Book Publishers, 1997. Pp. xii=l 10. ISBN 0-888871570 bound, ISBN 0- 888871597 Hardbound and paperback, USD $12.95. Hungarian and Transylvanian Folktales is a recently published collection of 21 Hungarian and Transylvanian folktales translated from Hungarian into English by Emőke de Papp Severo. Both Ms. de Papp Severo's parents were of Hungarian origin. She writes: "It occurred to me to translate the Magyar and Székely tales my mother had read, so that they could be enjoyed by everyone-of all ages-in the English-speaking world.” This helps us understand the motivation of her collection. She wants to share her heritage, the folklore of her Hungarian parents, with her audience. The tales that she includes in her selection are very unique. Combining the ever-present elements of tales, the real, the fantastic, and the supernatural, these tales introduce us to imaginary realms. The inhabitants are among others the poor peasant who has children as many as holes in a sieve, perhaps even one more. It also includes the "youngest son”, who usually goes away to try his luck and he solves impossible tasks, and also battles with monsters. Victoriously, he returns and wins the hand of a princess. Other characters are the "iron-nosed witch" as well as the "poor devils". Each of the characters represents mores, values, or manners, which are reflected by their deeds. These tales set examples, teach us and enable us to codify what is good and bad. However hard the wicked try the good always wins his due prize as in “The Lucky Coin”. In this tale the young boy, Gyurika, outwits the mean king and wins the king’s beautiful daughter for a wife. “Brugo” tells us where greed can lead to, as “The Big-Nosed Prince” teaches us a lesson how self-love hides shortcomings and 6 NO. 51-52, SPRING-SUMMER, 1998, HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER
