Technikatörténeti szemle 19. (1992)

KÖNYVISMERTETÉS - Papers of the First „MINERALKONTOR” International Conference on the History of Chemistry and Chemical Industry (Veszprém, 12-16 August, 1991)

During his studies, he came into contact with famous professors. His teacher in analytical chemistry was Lajos Ilosvay (1851—1936), well known through the Griess-Uosvay reagent for the determination of nitrite ion. Unfortunately, this method is still important in environmental chemistry because of the increasing water pollution. József Varga (1891—1956), his professor in technology, played an important role in the Hungarian chemical industry before and after World War JJ. There is no doubt that the greatest influence on him was exerted by Géza Zemplén (1883—1956), the world-famous organic chemist. As an example, Professor Zemplén is the main character in Örkény's short story „Zürich, Budapest, Charlottenburg" about the graduation party at which the writer attempts to imagine his chemical engineering career (4). Work After the revolution in 1956, Örkény was condemned to sUence. As a punishment for his role in the events, he was not aUowed by the state to publish. In the period 1958—1963, he worked in a pharmaceutical factory (today EGIS) in a suburb of Budapest, where he could make use of his chemical and pharmaceutical knowledge. He had never practiced as an engineer or pharmacist, and he was therefore employed in the advertising of medicines. He had to write information sheets for doctors about new medicines, and coUected data about them from the International literature. In this way he could use both his language knowledge and his writing abüity. He wrote a few reports in the factory paper, too. Recentiy, his documents, his writings in the factory and happy memories of him by his coworkers appeared in an exceUent compilation by a former coUeague, László Kósa (5). In 1962 he was aUowed to publish again, so he finished his pharmaceutical factory career in 1963 and devoted aU his time to writing. Conclusion Örkény's writings contain an abundance of motifs connected with chemistry, but of much greater importance than this was the effect of his natural-scientific background on his style, and on the conciseness and accuracy of his expressive abüity. In his own words: chemistry a pure, clear formula. This is the clarity I have been looking for throughout my whole life. I loved it: the simplest and clearest expression of everything, the essence" (6). References 1. Lázár, István: Örkény István. Budapest, Szépirodalmi Kiadó, 1979. 2. Szabadváry, Ferenc: Kémiai Közlemények, 16. 41. (1961) 3. Szabadváry, Ferenc — Szókefalvi-Nagy, Zoltán: A kémia története Magyarországon. Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1979. 4. Örkény, István: Novellák I.: Budapest, Szépirodalmi Kiadó, 1980» p. 39. 5. Kósa, László: Pisti a gyógyszergyárban. Budapest, 1989. 6. Örkény István: Párbeszéd a groteszkről. Budapest, Szépirodalmi Kiadó, 1986. p. 14.