News of HLOhttp://www.hlo.hu/http://www.hlo.hu/news/for_better_or_verseA fair amount of hot air has been emitted over literary translation in general, with talk of the destruction of source-texts, the invisibility of the translator and the rest. Verse translation, however, is spoken of even more oddly at times, and the object of this paper is to examine the problem and propose a future course.Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:08:54 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/the_woman_in_blueThey were looking for a woman with a baby, he said, and anybody that sees them is bound by the rigor of the law to report it. If they don’t, they’ll be shot and their house burnt to the ground.Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:05:02 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/csokolomIs it possible, I ask myself, to somehow follow the life or the soul of a nation through this one tiny expression? - The musings of a translator of Hungarian literature a propos of the reappearance of an old expression of greeting.Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:56:54 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/istvan_csurka_diesBorn in Budapest in 1934, István Csurka was a writer active from the 1960s, as well as a politician with extreme rightist views, the founder of a radical nationalist party and a right-wing magazine.Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:07:57 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/the_burning_brideI close my eyes, in my mind I distance myself from the blue planet and step onto the surface of the smaller planet known as Xanax. In earlier times, beings lived here, the citizens of Catatonia, however they were swept away by the edge of a long dream, and since then the heavenly body is completely uninhabited.Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:01:44 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/poem_of_the_month_dezso_kosztolanyi_gyula_krudyDezső Kosztolányi found a variety of ways to express his high regard for Gyula Krúdy's person and writings. The ultimate homage is Kosztolányi's visionary poem to Krúdy.Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:02:46 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/janos_pilinszky_passioA volume of fourteen poems by János Pilinszky, translated by Clive Wilmer and George Gömöri, has been published by English poetry publisher Worple Press.Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:00:33 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/games_of_survivalThey acted out well-known dramas or invented new ones, reflecting the cultural pursuits of their community. “Good morning, Ophelia,” the ghetto children no longer allowed to attend school greeted each other in the morning, or “Good morning, Tristan,” or “Good morning, Rigoletto!”Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:07:13 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/poem_of_the_month_agnes_nemes_nagy_an_american_train_stationThese poems are starting points and final destinations, poems of homecoming: arrivals at homes chosen, absurdly, in a "nameless" geography in a forgotten American train station.Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:35:38 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/verhovina_s_birdsThe quality of Ádám Bodor's humour is akin to the hardly perceptible smile of a Buddhist—as it appears on the smeary face of Eastern Europe. And it can turn into the grimace of horror in any given moment.Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:31:42 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/praise_for_imre_kertesz_s_fiascoAs 2011 drew to a close, magazines and websites put together a list of the best books they reviewed last year. Kertész’s Fiasco, published in English by Melville House, figures at the top of some of these lists.Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:32:36 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/notes_towards_pilinszky_s_hagiographyPilinszky attempted to speak the tongue of angels in a fallen century. He became the self-tormenting conscience of the Hungarian spirit.Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:04:40 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/a_blog_on_janos_kodolanyi_s_novel_i_am_heWhy and how could Yehudah have committed the sin which has for ever been linked to his name in the unforgiving consciousness of mankind? Kodolányi traces the events from the viewpoint of the traitor.Tue, 27 Dec 2011 12:08:25 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/endre_ady_christ_cross_in_the_forestWaiting for the arrival of Christmas, hoping for tender and quiet touches, trusting in the abatement of our great battles of life, we are trudging towards the manger with Ady's snow-covered Christ-cross in the forest. - Lajos Jánossy's choice.Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:09:35 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/close_contacts“We should not for a moment turn our back on the blazing sun, the present.” This is Mészöly’s torch that should be handed on. - Iván Sándor on Miklós Mészöly.Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:50:33 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/an_even_quieter_revolution_v_a_high_mark_for_miklos_meszolyMiklós Mészöly has already been referred to in several previous articles as a major ‘godfather’. Given the influence he has had on just about all major authors writing in Hungarian today it is surprising how virtually nothing by him has ever been published in English.Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:46:20 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/comparative_hungarian_cultural_studiesTwenty-six essays on Hungarian literature, art, history, gender and cultural studies, written by Hungarian and American scholars on topics ranging from Márai's Embers to Vámbéry and Dracula; from Michael Curtiz to Art Nouveau. - A review.Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:49:46 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/the_executioner_s_house_excerpt_from_the_novelNo one had officially told the schoolchildren in Cluj what they were going to portray. All they knew was that they were preparing for a celebration. Then it suddenly dawned on her: the mass of schoolkids were going to portray the Great Leader, Ceaușescu himself, and she is going to be his mouth.Sun, 27 Nov 2011 18:31:55 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/historical_fusion_fiction_noemi_szecsi_the_restlessThe story of The Restless begins in 1853, and follows the destiny through half of Europe of a Hungarian family who had escaped from their homeland after the failure of the revolution and struggle for independence against the Habsburgs in 1848-49.Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:51:34 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/a_cathedral_a_monster_a_goliath_peter_nadas_s_parallel_stories_in_englishPéter Nádas’s monumental novel, Parallel Stories, has come out in English translation. Hailed by the publisher as a “once-in-a-generation literary event”, this 1200-page-long novel is a narrative with a multitude of stories and characters, ranging from Nazi Germany to Communist Hungary.Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:51:21 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/morning_well_poems_ii"We stand above the valley, mountainside – / Diminutive soothsayers who try to read / This huge, rock-callused palm." - More Norwegian poems by Roland Acsai.Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:59:18 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/sandor_tar_gray_pigeon_crime_novel_excerptFor a long time now Szabados wanted a bigger apartment so the children could have separate rooms, but he could never manage it, and now it was too late, he’ll just have to accept it. His dreams had come to naught. And so have lots of other things.Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:09:06 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/the_epidemic_called_dictatorship_sandor_tar_gray_pigeonSándor Tar, one of the most highly respected prose writers of the last third of the century, turned from writing sociography and short stories to a unique “novel of crime”. This was back in 1996, and critics have been trying to find the key to the book ever since.Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:48:44 +0100http://www.hlo.hu/news/poem_of_the_month_zsuzsa_beneyZsuzsa Beney's poetry hovers on the edge of being and non-being, as if creating an ethereal travelogue comprised merely of elusive fragments of that impossible no-man’s land from which none return.Tue, 25 Oct 2011 07:48:35 +0200http://www.hlo.hu/news/with_head_held_high_gyula_krudy_life_is_a_dreamOf the five senses, Krúdy’s short stories tickle that of taste. They revolve around ceremonies related to preparing, consuming and digesting food.Wed, 19 Oct 2011 09:20:26 +0200http://www.hlo.hu/news/two_truths_approach_each_other_an_interview_with_tomas_transtromer_s_translatorIn a 2001 interview, Ferenc Mervel talked about Tomas Tranströmer's poetry, its poetic, musical and psychological inspirations and the Swedish poet's friendship with János Pilinszky.Thu, 13 Oct 2011 10:52:44 +0200http://www.hlo.hu/news/vilmos_kondor_budapest_noirIt may well be that (some) Hungarian critics regard Budapest Noir the first truly “noir” Hungarian thriller, but I wouldn’t go quite that far. It is not a James Ellroy, more something in the older mould: Maigret, say, or Perry Mason, at most a Philip Marlowe, say, but none the worse for that.Fri, 07 Oct 2011 09:54:50 +0200http://www.hlo.hu/news/vilmos_kondor_s_murder_mystery_to_be_published_in_the_usA Hungarian writer’s answer to Raymond Chandler and Dashiel Hammett, Budapest Noir is a hard-boiled murder mystery with Hungarian characters, taking place in the Budapest of the 1930s.Tue, 04 Oct 2011 09:11:41 +0200http://www.hlo.hu/news/peter_nadas_among_nobel_nomineesPéter Nádas may be among this year’s nominees for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Although the list of the nominees is never disclosed, speculations are rife in the literary world. Ladbrokes, a betting and gaming website, sets the odds at 10:1 for Nádas, which makes him third on the list after Adonis and Tomas Tranströmer.Fri, 30 Sep 2011 11:14:32 +0200http://www.hlo.hu/news/morning_well_poemsAfter the book of poems inspired by Finland, here are Acsai's Norwegian poems. A fjord and a vaguely perceptible figure inside the fjord; a whale; cold-blooded rocks; the place where Wittgenstein’s house once stood in Norway. And the empty place where Wittgenstein’s intellectual independence and daring once stood in European culture.Tue, 27 Sep 2011 08:48:54 +0200http://www.hlo.hu/news/poem_of_the_month_lajos_kassak_the_horse_dies_the_birds_fly_awayIt was in the early 1970s that I first encountered this great 500-line poem. I was struck instantly by its title, but then by the starkness and strong rhythm of the lines. - Tim Wilkinson's choice.Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:21:45 +0200