"The Nobel Books (NB) is a literary portal which is intended to collect, archive and disseminate information and books which Nobel Laureates and world authors have published for literary contributions to humanity."
European Authors – Welcome to the Nobel Books.
This site doesn't play when it comes to listing Hungarian authors. Included are Julio Baghy, Kálmán Kalocsay, István Nemere, Tivadar Soros, Sándor Szathmári, and Robert Zend. All but Zend wrote in Esperanto. Zend was an Esperantist though wrote in Hungarian and English. Frigyes Karinthy was an Esperantist, wrote almost entirely in Hungarian. George Soros (son of Tivadar) is a native speaker of Esperanto.
Esperantists Marjorie Boulton and Baldur Ragnarsson are also in this list.
Robert Zend’s Novel Novel Nicolette: Not Quite a Review by R. DumainMy review is now linked on the Zend site:
Nicolette - The Robert Zend Website... with this excerpt:
Reading the novel felt to me like reading an amalgam of Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and James Joyce. Joyce is layered and dense in both structure and language. Vonnegut’s prose is easy to read and deceptively simple, though the content is rich. Zend’s prose is easy to read and the “plot” (once pieced together) is simple, but the structure, which I have merely outlined, is highly complex. Zend does not impose formal constraints on the text as the Oulipo writers do, yet the formal structure of the text puts it in a comparable experimental camp. This structure comprises the real content and interest of the novel, amplifying the psychological states that accompany relationships and the creative process.Mia anglalingva recenzo de la avangarda romano Nicolette de la hungara-kanadana verkisto (kaj adepto de Esperanto) Robert Zend nun troveblas referencita ĉe la retejo de Zend (jen retligoj supre) kun ĉerpaĵo el mia recenzo.
Following upon the details of my podcast / Sekve de la detaligo de mia podkasto pri Zend...
And click below to take in a fifty-minute podcast on Robert Zend, a great overview of his works, themes and influences: Robert Zend:Between Budapest & Toronto, Between Zero & One, Between Dream & Reality by Ralph Dumain, May 26 2017
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| Robert Zend |
Robert Zend (1929-1985) was a Hungarian-Canadian multimedia writer, who emigrated from Hungary in 1956 and established himself in Toronto, Canada. I present an overview of his works, themes, and influences. I illustrate Zend's themes of exile & identity, sources & inspirations, myth & religion, metaphysical notions, & the interplay of dream & reality with poems, prose fragments, & summaries of short fiction. Finally, I recount my engagement with Zend, my project of translating his work into Esperanto, the enthusiastic support of the Zend family for this project & the revelation that Zend himself was an Esperantist. [51 minutes: sound file]This is the latest in a logical progression of podcasts on Hungarian literature, utopianism, and Esperanto.
This is my latest podcast, recorded in Buffalo, New York, May 7, 2016:
5/7/16 Frigyes Karinthy: the Hungarian Swift & his musical robots
Frigyes Karinthy (1887-1938), known in our English-speaking world as the creator of the concept of "six degrees of separation" in 1929, was one of the great innovative geniuses of modern Hungarian literature, as a translator and original writer of literary parodies, poems, plays, stories, novels, and essays with a satirical bent and a penchant for fantasy. Out of over 20 volumes of original works in Hungarian only a small fraction have been published in English and/or Esperanto translation. (Karinthy himself was an Esperantist.) This year marks the centennial of Karinthy's 1916 utopian novella "Voyage to Faremido," in which Jonathan Swift's Gulliver undergoes his fifth fantastic voyage, this time to a realm of intelligent robots that speak or sing a language based on musical notes and from their vantage point of greater perfection present a counter-narrative of humanity's flawed evolution. I review Karinthy's life, work, ideas, and influence, with emphasis on "Voyage to Faremido" and its evident influence on Sándor Szathmári's "Voyage to Kazohinia."
To listen (56:55) click here; to download right-click here.
Postscript: I also mention Hungarian-Canadian poet and multimedia artist Robert Zend, who referred to Karinthy as his "spiritual father"--as did Szathmári. Also, I contrast Karinthy's approach to philosophy and literature with the views of Hungarian Marxist philosopher György Lukács, who never mentioned Karinthy as far as I can determine. I end with quotes from Karinthy's published "Letter to H. G. Wells" (July 1925) and from Mihály Babits on Karinthy's greatness.
“Vojaĝo al hungara literaturo, tereno nekonata” de Ralph Dumain, en Kontakto, n-ro 271 (2016: 1), p. 12-15. La redaktoro mencias R. Dumain & hungaran literaturon ĉe p. 3 & 8.Jen PDF-dosiero de mia eseo en bela formato laŭ apero en Kontakto.
Kiel povas okazi, ke ne hungara, sed transnacia esperantisto okupiĝas pri la temo? "Mi ne estas escepto: estas normale ke la studo pri la esperanta literaturo kondukas al Hungario, al certa Hungario. Tiurilate mi povas mencii interalie la laŭdindan laboron de Ralph Dumain en Usono" klarigas prof. Silfer.Temas pri prezentota teatraĵo kiu interligos la hungarajn verkistojn de Nyugat kaj la esperantistajn verkistojn de Literatura Mondo:
La premiero de "Invit' al Njugatesko" okazos la 2an de aŭgusto 2016 kadre de Arta Renkonto Transnacia en Esperanto (la unua ARTE) en Budapeŝto, sub la aŭspicio de la Esperanta Civito.Mi ja feliĉas, ke ĉi tia afero okazos. Miaflanke, mi esperas instigi konstatiĝon pri Karinthy ĉi-jare, okaze de la 100-a datreveno de apero de lia utopia novelego Vojaĝo al Faremido, apenaŭ konata en Usono kaj la anglalingvaj medioj. La 25-a de junio estas la naskiĝtago kaj de Karinthy kaj de mi.
I will write a version of this post in Esperanto, but as I am attempting to promote Karinthy in both English and Esperanto, I will begin with English. Actually, my last post was in Esperanto; this one specifically addresses the linkage between Karinthy and Madách, the latter's work concerned being The Tragedy of Man. It is not by chance that writers inspired by Karinthy were inspired also by Madách: examples are the Hungarian Esperantist writer Sándor Szathmári and the Hungarian-Canadian writer Robert Zend, both of whom referred to Karinthy as their "spiritual father."
Karinthy himself was invested in Madách, but the relevant works have not been translated into English or Esperanto. Hence I must cite the original Hungarian sources, and perhaps someone will take an interest in translating the relevant texts. I cannot read Hungarian, so I cannot address the content directly.
First, there is Karinthy's rewriting of the Tragedy. Here is a bibliographic reference:
Azemberke tragédiája Madách Imrike után Istenkéről, Ádámkáról és Luci Ferkóról. A versikéket írta Karinthy Frigyes. [Acsonkán fennmaradt kézirat kiegészítő részeit írta Karinthy Ferenc] Budapest: Új Idők, 1946. 42 pp.
The actual text can be found here: AZ EMBERKE TRAGÉDIÁJA ....
... and is embedded here:
MADÁCH IMRE
This comedy, The tragedy of little man was written by Karinthy Frigyes following Madách Imre's dramatic poem The tradegy of the Man. Story about God and creation of the world, Adam and Eve, and the falling angel Lucifer. Lucifer guides Adam and Eve through the ages from the ancient age through today and the future while looking for the sense of Life.Frigyes's son Ferenc, also an important writer, filled in the gaps in Frigyes's manuscript.
"Karinthy gyermekkorától rajongója volt Madách művének, ezért válhatott belőle »[...] talán minden idők legmélyebb Madách-értője«. Tizenhárom esztendősen írta naplójába a következő feljegyzést: »Madáchot isteni ihlet szállta meg, [...] hogy olyan igazán, olyan hatalmasan tud beszélni.«"I hope that one day we can see an account (with translations) of the Karinthy-Madách connection in English and Esperanto.
See also my previous posts on Robert Zend and my new web page. / Rigardu ankaŭ miajn antaŭjn ĉi-rilatajn afiŝojn kaj mian retpaĝon pri Robert Zend:
Robert Zend (Hungarian-Canadian writer, 1929-1985): Dedications, Works, Links
In a country
where everyone
is searching for
identity,
I am
an alien
for I'm already
identical.
October 1, 1980
-- Robert Zend (Hungarian-Canadian writer, 1929-1985), from Preface: Labels, in Beyond Labels (Toronto: Hounslow Press, 1982), pp. 1-10.
En lando
kie ĉiu
serĉas
identecon,
estas mi
fremdulo
ĉar jam mi estas
identa.
1 oktobro 1980
-- Robert Zend (hungara-kanada verkisto), elangligis Ralph Dumain, el poemaro Preter Etikedoj
"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
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