Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1975 (3. évfolyam, 6-8. szám)

1975 / 6. szám

ARTICLES (Continued from page 3) armies, and now on his way to the New World, mailed a letter in Bordeaux to Benjamin Franklin, then U.S. Ambassador to France. The English translation of the original Latin text of this document, which is among the holdings of the American Philosophical Society’s Library at Philadelphia, serves as introduction to the article. The author presents a biography with emphasis on Kovats’ role in the Revolutionary War, his close association with General Casimir Pulaski, and their joint efforts toward the establishment of an efficient light cavalry unit. Pulaski resigned as commander of the cavalry named Pulaski Legion, and upon the recommendation of George Washington, Congress commissioned Kovats as ‘‘Colonel Commandant” of the new unit in April 1778. Hedied in battle near Charleston, South Carolina fourteen months later. A draft statement by Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina on the 250th anniversary of Col. Kovats’ birthday is included in the issue.

Barany, George. “‘Magyar Jew or: Jewish Magyar’? (To the Question of Jewish Assimilation in Hungary).” Canadian- American Slavic Studies, VII, 1 (Spring 1974) pp. 1-44.

This is a thorough historical account (with 168 footnotes) of the controversy that characterized Jewish emancipation in 19th and 20th century Hungary. It begins with reference to the enlightened decrees of Joseph II, and ends with the discussion of repressive policies of the 1930’s, pointing out occasional references to the influence of American religious tolerance. The problem of assimilation and dissimilation is discussed in the context of Hungarian fear from being absorbed by its own minorities which had powerful mother nations surrounding the small Hungary; as well as the role of the Jewish as a powerful bourgeois minority. “From the point of Jewish assimilation, the Hungarian situation was in a sense unique on the European scene. To the west of Hungary Jews did not constitute a sizeable portion of the population, while to the east, where the bulk of the Jewish masses lived, assimilation was not the official policy of either the czarist or the Romanian government as it was in Hungary prior to World War I ... The en masse assimilation ... put on the agenda by Hungary’s liberal regime was a sui generis problem left unsolved by both Jewish and non-Jewish society of the interwar years."

Cogden, Lee. “Endre Ady’s Summons to National Regeneration in Hungary, 1900-1919.” Slavic Review 33 (June 1974) pp. 302-322.

Cogden traces Ady’s life to show how and why he became so intimately connected with the regeneration movement: a revolt against the excessive reveration of the past and its accompanying neglect of the future. He shows that the iconoclastic side of the poet as well as his harking back to “pristine tradition” is important here. Ady transmuted the poetry of personal experience to symbolize the national experience, rejecting the concentration on unique personal feelings and arguing that these are significant only if they symbolize more general human experiences. Ady was a crusader against Christianity and popular Hungarian culture to fight for more vital, older Magyar values. He crusaded for purity of langage both as a poet and as one concerned with language as an expression of a people’s character. He saw Transylvania, with its ethnic variety, as having a special role in this regeneration. He is perplexing because of the many seeming contradictions in his character, but the author argues that these contradictions are understandable if we see the poet’s life and work as a whole. The author uses Anton N.

Nyerges’ translation of Ady’s poems. EMB

Cushing, G.F. “The Irreverence of Petőfi.” Slavonic and East European Review 52 (April 1974) pp. 159-181.

Cushing sketches the established tradition in Hungarian literature at te time of Petőfi and argues that Petó'fi’s “irreverence took the form of the reaction of a highly articulate, well-educated, sensitive and flamboyant personality to what he considered to be a dead tradtion.” Petőfi questioned the wisdom of writing “artistic” folk poems. Then, in A hetyse'g kalapacsa, he seemed to parody everything that the literary men of the past had attempted to give to Hungarian literature: a national epic. Cushing stresses that Petőfi’s command of what he is parodying shows him to be one who had great knowledge as well as skill in his craft. More important, with this poem and with János Vitéz he broke ground for the new school of poetry and thus helped to establish a new style for the epics of János Arany. Petőfi’s irreverence was also directed at Hungarians; he minced no words in his reforming zeal. At times he clung to the adolescent notion that frankness is a licence to be rude. Cushing testifies to the significance of Petőfi in Hungarian literature, as well as to his relevance today. EMB

Dienes, Leslie. “Budapest Agglomeration and Hungarian Industry: a Spatial Dilemma.” Geographic Review 63 (July 1973) pp. 356-377.

Dienes presents a thorough analysis of why industry continues to be centered in Budapest and why changes in this pattern are difficult to achieve in spite of obvious ill effects. Inadequate housing continued to increase the number of commuters and shanty towns sprung up just outside the agglomerate. Since economic expansion is geared to international market demands, regional growth poses problems: 2/3 of the manufactured goods exported to capitalist countries are manufactured in Budapest. Inputoutput linkages beween Budapest and the rest of the country also tend to make development of industry outside the capital city difficult. Because of the limitations of the transportation system, many aspects of production can only be solved in a metropolitan area. Dienes concludes that though some efforts, such as the relocation of certain factory units and the removal of old equipment to the countryside might work, “a strong bias against the Budapest industrial complex, even in the interests of greater national socioeconomic balance, could prove fatal.” Useful maps and tables augment the article. EMB

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PAPERS ON WRITERS NEEDED

Dr. Enikő M. Basa was appointed editor of the Hungarian section of the Twayne World Authors Series. This series presents critical-analytical studies of major writers of world literature. Anyone interested in contributing to the series should get in touch with Dr. Basa, Department of Literature, American University, Washington, DC 10016.

RENEWAL OF SUBSCRIPTIONS

Notices of subscription renewals have been mailed. All subscriptions, henceforth, are payable for the calendar year; and therefore, some subscribers have been notified to include payment for more than the three issues published in one calendar year. This adjustment to the calendar year will aid our record keeping.

Hungarian Research Center

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No. 6, 1975 HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER