Language/Literature paper by Basa, Enikő M.
Pandemics in Hungarian Literature (Accepted)
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
Several Hungarian writers had addressed earlier pandemics. In his memoirs Ferenc Rákóczi mentioned the quarantines in Turkey, and István Széchenyi also made references to it. Governments were aware of the transmissibility of serious disease. Kelemen Mikes also wrote in his letters about the “pestis” that swept through the Hungarian settlement in Turkey. He was probably a victim of the plague. In the 19th century Ferenc Kölcsey also addressed the cholera epidemic but decides to ignore it. Ferenc Kazinczy is perhaps the most interesting subject as he wrote about his own experiences. The novel by Gergely Péterfy is a testament of the age but more importantly of the writer’s struggle with the pandemic. The Spanish flu adds another dimension since Dezső Kosztolányi’s widow writes about her husband’s brush with the flu. Several of Kosztolányi’s works deal directly with the epidemic, notably his Kenyér és bor cycle.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Enikő Molnár Basa received her PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After teaching for several years at universities in the Washington, DC area, she took a position at the Library of Congress. In 2002-2004 she held the Kluge Staff Fellowship at the Library working on what will eventually be a book examining Hungarian literature from the point of view of its political and social commitment. Dr. Basa is the author of Sándor Petőfi in the Twayne World Author Series (G.K. Hall) and editor of volumes in the series. She was guest editor of Hungarian Literature in the Review of National Literatures series. Author of several articles on Hungarian and comparative literature, she has also been active in Hungarian and literary professional organizations, serving as the Executive Director of the American Hungarian Educators Association. In 1974 she organized a special session on Hungarian literature which a few years later was accepted as a Discussion Group and is now a Forum. Dr. Basa taught at the U. of Debrecen in the Fall semester of 2004 and at the U. of Szeged in the fall of 2009. In 2017 she received the Arany János Medal from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences of which she is an External Member.