Robert Zend on Frigyes Karinthy / pri Karinthy

"Among the many Hungarian writers of that age, quite a few kept their integrity. There was one, especially, who wasn't willing to accept any label, either for himself or for others. His name was Frigyes Karinthy. He didn't identify with any group; he belonged nowhere, but this non-belonging meant for him an extremely strong belonging to Man, to Mankind, to Humanity. As a humorist, he was tremendously popular, but as a philosopher, he hardly had any followers then. Today, most Hungarians are enthusiastic about his profound ideas. He was (and remains) my spiritual father, the Master who first inspired me to feel, to think, to express myself, to be considerate, to have high ideals, to understand others as if they were me: in other words, to write. At least that's what it means for me to be a writer. (Of course, it means many other things too, but this is the foundation on which all those other things are built.)"

    -- Robert Zend (Hungarian-Canadian writer, 1929 - 1985), from the Preface: a Statement delivered Saturday, October 3, 1981, at the Panel Discussion on Exile, a Program of the International Writers' Congress, "The Writer and Human Rights," in aid of Amnesty International; in Beyond Labels (Toronto: Hounslow Press, 1982), pp. 1-10.

See also: Camille Martin, Robert Zend - Part 5. Hungarian Literary Roots: The Budapest Joke and Other Influences. Rogue Embryo: a blog about poetry, collage, photography, whatnot. February 9, 2014.

"Inter la multaj hungaraj verkistoj de tiu epoko, pluraj konservis sian honestecon. Estis unu, aparte, kiu ne akceptus ajnan etikedon, por si mem aŭ por aliaj. Lia nomo estis Frigyes Karinthy. Li ne identigis sin kun ajna grupo; li apartenis nenie, sed ĉi tiu ne-aparteno signifis por li fortegan apartenon al la Homo, al la Homaro, al Homeco. Kiel humuristo li estis ege populara, sed kiel filozofo li apenaŭ gajnis adeptojn. Aktuale la plejmulto da hungaroj estas entuziasma pri liaj profundaj ideoj. Li estis (kaj restas) mia spirita patro, la Majstro kiu estis la unua kiu inspiris min senti, pensi, esprimi min, esti konsiderema, teni altajn idealojn, kompreni aliajn kvazaŭ ili estus mi: alivorte, verki. Almenaŭ jen tio kio signifas por mi esti verkisto. (Kompreneble, tiu fako signifas plurajn aliajn aferojn, sed jen la bazo sur kio ĉio cetera estas konstruata.)"

    -- Robert Zend (hungara-kanada verkisto), elangligis Ralph Dumain