Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2000. [Vol. 6.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 26)

Studies - Enikő Bollobás: "My son is a Magyar": Ideas of Firstness and Origin in Charles Olson 's Poems

friend Hakluyt the land they had reached. As the two ships turned south, they got into a storm and were shipwrecked in August 1583, with Parmenius among those lost to the sea. Only one of the four ships, that of Captain Edward Hayes, returned home to England. In his letter written on Newfoundland, Parmenius first describes Penguin Islands, where they saw no penguins and did not land. Then he goes on to writing about the sick on the ship, then about Newfoundland itself. He frankly admits being unable to discuss local customs, since he has only seen the wilderness. He is especially amazed at the abundance of fish, all sorts. Trees are so many that it is just about impossible to move around or see anything. Vegetation is exuberant, he says; there are all sorts of corn, rye, nuts, and berries (blackberries and strawberries), all tasteful and enjoyable. He has not met any local inhabitants, neither can he imagine what varieties of metal the mountains may hide. He notes the extremities of weather: in August it is so hot that the sun scorches their scraps of fish, but snow and ice are still common in May, he hears. The air is always clear above the ground, but always foggy above the sea. Parmenius closes his letter with another paragraph on the wonderful fishing opportunities along the 40 mile Bank where the bottom of the sea can be still sounded. Now I ought to tell you about the customs, territories and inhabitants: and yet what am I to say, my dear Hakluyt, when I see nothing but desolation? There are inexhaustible supplies of fish, so that those who travel here do good business. Scarcely has the hook touched the bottom before it is loaded with some magnificent catch. The whole terrain is hilly and forested: the trees are for the most part pine. Some of these are growing old and others are just coming to maturity, but the majority have fallen with age, thus obstructing a good view of the land and the passage of travelers, so that no advance can be made anywhere. (Quinn 171) The primary significance of Stephen Parmenius' letter of 1583 lies in its existence: it is the first document written by a Hungarian from and about America. Otherwise it seems to represent all those forms— widely prevalent in the 15th-17th centuries

—of knowing and doing from which Olson distances himself, his fishermen, and explorers. First, Parmenius looks in order to recognize. For example, he approaches the Penguin Island with the expectation of seeing penguins 20