Magyar News, 1996. szeptember-1997. augusztus (7. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1997-06-01 / 10. szám
BE AWARE One should be aware that somehow our information about the world is limited, specially when it come to matters of our ethnic background. Many of us learn about events taking place in Hungary from the few Hungarian newspapers that are available here. Once in a while big papers like the New York Times runs an exceptional article, or a TV network shows a few pictures. Locally some newsletters or church related communication fills us in. There are some other sources as Puski-Corvin bookstore in New York where one could find publications in both English and Hungarian. Special books could be found at the Hungarian Center in New Brunswick, or cookbooks also at Magyar Marketing. A fantastic warehouse of tapes, audio and video, is ready to serve from California. I would call these mainstream places. They are to serve the Hungarian population, that is how they are organized. But... Besides there are many so called non Hungarian routes where Hungarian materials come from. They are published with the general population in mind and are really not targeting Hungarian communities. Friends happen to pick up some books that I would never know about, naturally they are on Hungarian subjects, and send them to me. This is how I received Kati Marton’s (TV anchorman Peter Jenning’s wife) novel An American Woman. From the title nobody would know that she is actually a Hungarian woman. Yvette Eastman doing freelance writing in New York and Martha’s Vineyard shows no indication that she has anything in common with the Hungarians. At a veiy young age she married Theodore Dreiser, author of An American Tragedy. To come to the point her maiden name is Yvette Szekely and she came from Budapest. This book was given to me by Dolly Curtis who has a TV show here in Connecticut. A very interesting book was written by Andrei Codrescu about Countess Elizabeth Báthory. Descendants of her, also the author all live in America. The title of the novel is The Blood Countess. This was about the Countess bathing in young girl’s blood at the Sarvar Castle. She believed that this will preserve her beauty. The critics acknowledge the research work that went into the subject and they find it very accurate to history. I do not doubt this, but I feel that the choice of this subject was influenced as a counter point to Dracula. A few years ago at Fairfield High School, and other places in the area, students attended a lecture delivered by Aranka Siegal. She talked about her childhood between 1939 and 1944. This was before and during the Second World War in Hungary. The book carrying the seal of Newberry Honor has the title Upon The Head of The Goat. It does not claim to show the history or other facets of the events, but her personal story comes through with dramatic force. My recent acquisition is Budapest Diary - In search of the Motherbook. It is written by a professor at Harvard University, Susan Rubin Suleiman. She was called ’’Zsuzsika” back in Budapest. Well Motherbook sounds strange, but those who speak Hungarian will understand the translation per verbatim; “Anyakonyv” - book of vital statistics. She left Budapest after the war but was interested in her personal history. She went back to do a a half year research that was interwoven with the present day struggle in the life of the peoples. She was looking for an answer to the questions about life that might have been in a different historical setting. At this point I would like to take a line from Kati Marton’s book. She quotes Kundera:”Just because it’s already happened does not mean the past is finished.” I also have an unusual book, published in Budapest and it is written in Hungariaa “S.O.S., 1956. A Magyar Drama. ” It is an authentic document giving the transcripts of all the radio news and announcements that were broadcast during the 1956 revolution by the official and the many unofficial radio stations. It is an amazing collection with each day introduced by a summary of the events that took place during the given day. The other assets of this book are the 44 drawings by artist Lajos Szalay. These illustrations in a dramatic fashion bring back the images of those days. Lajos Szalay lived in America. As a matter of fact he had something to do with our Hungarain community. He created the Hungary 1956 monument that was erected by the Hungarian Committee of Norwalk. This monument became known world wide and a replica of it will be the centerpiece in the Lajos Szalay Muzeum in Miskolc, Hungary, that is being organized. This book was edited by György Sümegi. We appreciate his outstanding work. You should also be aware of Hungarians popping up in the movies. The English Patient doesn’t sound Hungarian, but the leading character was about Gróf László Almasy, a scientist who in his father’s footsteps was exploring the deserts. Eva Nadai, editor of the Nepszava/Szabadsag, researched this subject and wrote a lengthy article on it. Hopefully we will obtain her permission to translate it and print it for our readers who do not master the Hungarian language any more. There is an other film that also ranked on the top of the list of awards, the Shine. Though the movie doesn’t offer any insight into the Hungarian connection, but from biography and other sources, we were able to find it. In 1964 a music teacher was preparing David Helfgott with the performance of the Piano Concerto no. 3 by Sergei Rachmaninoff. This is considered one of the most difficult pieces of music. U.S. News & World Report referred to it as a piece that demands not just outstanding technical skill but the physical and emotional stamina of an Olympic athlete. Helfgott did reach the finals in the competition and missed the first place by just a fraction of a point. The successful music teacher was a Hungarian bom woman who originally studied with István Thoman. student of Liszt, then with Bela Bartók. She came from a wealthy family that lost everything after the war, then escaped to Australia and she became Helfgott’s piano teacher. So please be aware that there is more Hungarian in the world then what meets the eye. Joseph F. Balogh page 1 ■
