A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve 2015., Új folyam 2. (Szeged, 2015)
A SOKOLDALÚ MÓRA... EMLÉKÜLÉS MÓRA FERENC TISZTELETÉRE - Mészáros Márta: Móra Ferenc félegyházi életének kutatói
Márta Mészáros Studies on Ferenc Móra's life in Kiskunfélegyháza Studies on Ferenc Móra's life in Kiskunfélegyháza Márta Mészáros Ferenc Móra, Hungarian writer, also director of the county museum in Szeged, was proud of being born in Kiskunfélegyháza, and of the fact that he inherited the obstinacy of the local people. Also, it was in Kiskinfélegyháza where he learned Hungarian language as his mother tongue and acquired a sensible approach in understanding the world. He was proud of his home town, which did not forget him and where he could be a prophet in his own land. In his short stories and novels, Ferenc Móra’s childhood memories repeatedly turn up, elements of creative fantasy mingling with real childhood events. For researchers studying Ferenc Móra’s life and work, it is a difficult task to make a distinction between real past events and the writer's imagination. Researchers studying Móra's life in Kiskunfélegyháza were very well acquainted with the world Móra presented in his works. In the background of the childhood scenes, the world of schools and pupils, family life and the harshness of everyday fights, and the warm family gatherings, the true town Ferenc Móra was brought up in may be traced. Local historians have by now revealed all the details concerning the history of the Móra family, based on authentic sources, documents, photos, and reminiscences. It was Károly Mezősi, who found the house where Ferenc Móra was born; also, it was him, who brought to light a new side of Móra's personality by presenting his juvenile poetry, so far unknown to the public. János Fekete, continuing Mezősi’s research, looked into the history of the Móra family and revealed the interesting details of his honorary citizenship. He paid great attention to create and maintain a cult ofthe famous citizen in Kiskunfélegyháza. While István Fazekas gained remarkable merits in cultivating traditions. In their research activity, similarly to Ferenc Móra, all the three historians were driven by their strong affection and devotion to their home town, Kiskunfélegyháza. Finally, I quote Ferenc Móra himself, who speaks about his hometown in an Alumni gathering in 1933: "[...] Other writers also have a home town, other writers are also devoted to their hometown, but to me Félegyháza means much more as a home town than for other writers their birthplace: it is far more than a simple memory. It was Félegyháza that made me a writer, a fact I will never hide; also, it was Félegyháza that gave me my Hungarian mother tongue, together with a sensible approach to life. Besides, Félegyháza involves all that is of great significance to me: the Daru street and my childhood. To me, Félegyháza means my father, his serenity, and my mother, her caressing hands; it means the adherence that will accompany me to the grave [...]" 317
