Language and Literature paper by Havas, Judit and Szántó, Ildikó
To the Memory of Benő Karácsony and Ernő Salamon
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
Following the Treaty of Trianon, Hungarian intellectual and literary life developed its own identity in cities such as Cluj-Napoca, Oradea, Arad, Timisoara and Targu Mures within a multiracial and multilingual Transylvania in the newly-created greater Romania. Both Benő Karácsony and Ernő Salamon, though a generation apart, are regarded as solitary figures in Transylvanian Hungarian literature. Benő Karácsony expressed the mood of his generation which, having returned from the trenches was bitter and disillusioned. His characters come from the small town of Alba Julia and his sympathy lies with those, who are at the periphery of society. In comparison to Karácsony, who was a successful novelist and playwright, the much younger Ernő Salamon was a poet of poverty. Salamon believed that there will be a better world and his poems bear a strong link to the poetry of Attila József, as well as to the avant-garde poets of his age. In different ways , both Karácsony and Salamon were nonconformists. Benő Karácsony regarded himself a Hungarian writer who was also loyal to his Jewish roots, similarly to Ernő Salamon, who was much attached to his beloved native region, Gyergyó.
This is intended as a performance presentation, Ildikó Szántó giving an overview of the two writers, with prose and poetry readings by Judit Havas.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Judit HAvas, PhD ELTE, is a research fellow at the Petőfi Literary Museum.
Ildikó Szántó received her M.A. degree in History from Macquarie University, N.S.W. She has taught interdisciplinary courses focusing on the ideological movements of the twentieth century in East-Central Europe at the Budapest University of Economic Sciences, Pázmány Péter Catholic University and the Budapest Business School.