Fraternity-Testvériség, 1961 (39. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1961-11-01 / 11. szám
FRATERNITY 15 374. East Chicago, Ind. 375. Long Branch, N. J. 377. San Diego, Calif. 140.87 378. San Jose, Calif. _ . 417.19 379. Hollywood, Calif. 779.37 380. Cleveland, O. 183.14 381. Chicago, 111. _ —.— 383. Rural Valley, Pa. 59.50 384. Renton, Pa. _ 140.64 385. San Bernardino, Calif. 238.89 386. Cincinnati, O. _ _ 174.15 388. Lakeland, Fla. ------ 68.30 390. Hudson Valley, N. Y. 53.43 391. Houston, Tex. ____ —•— 392. New Orleans, La. _ __ 61.41 393. Peoria, 111. — 39.78 394. Dallas, Tex. __ 246.75 4. Cleveland, O. ____ 2178.27 Total— __$99,664.26 Washington, D. C. Paul Si. Miklossy, Oct. 6, 1961 Treasurer COMMENTARY ON DEZSŐ SZABÓ Béla Melczer, literary critic living in London, member of the Academia Catholica Hungarica, wrote on Dezső Szabó in his “A Commentary on Hungarian Literature” (1956, pp. 105-106) as follows: “It was Dezső Szabó (1879-1945) whose major novel, “The Village That Was Swept Away”, was the greatest literary event of the revolutionary year 1919. One of the minor writers of the review "Nyugat" (West) for some years, and even from the political “left-wing”, appreciated by Ady and his friends as a fellow-fighter, a solid if not too fertile talent, Dezső Szabó conquered the scene almost at one stroke. His novel stands as the great story of the "Nyugat" (West) generation; an earlier and gifted attempt by Margaret Kaffka (1882-1918) to make a roman á clef of the intellectual Hungary on the eve of 1914 was forgotten, if not obliterated by Dezső Szabó. There was observation, subtle analysis, character-study and above all style in the political novel, also some bitterness and disillusion ... It was not long before Szabó broke with the Counter- Revolution and retired to an isolated position, followed by much of the University youth, although his private lectures on world literature (published in volumes of collected essays) had to be given outside the University walls, a sanctuary which remained closed to this unconventional scholar . . . Dezső Szabó had a message to deliver to his nation that came either too late or too early. Too early, because many years before Hitler he was obsessed by the “German peril”, and urged the friendly union of Magyars, Rumanians and Slovaks. Too late, because Dezső Szabó was a belated Romantic, who ought to have lived in the early nineteenth century. His concept of the writer as a mythical demi-god with a “message”, his more mythical than political nationalism, his concept of “genius” as a streak of lightning . . . would have made him a good fighter in the battles of Victor Hugo . . . Dezső Szabó might have been happy in many countries, and in many ages; in the Hungary of the 1920’s and 30’s, he certainly was not.”
