Interpreting Hungarian Culture and Identity in Ottó Tolnai’s Wilhelm-dalok, avagy a vidéki Orpheus to an American readership

Type of Abstract (select): Individual Presentation

Abstract (max. 250 words):
According to prominent Tolnai literary scholar, Beáta Thomka, “The countryside is the land of wonders. Those who grow up here have broader horizons, [Ottó Tolnai] quotes Kosztolányi in the motto. At the end of the 1970s, Tolnai first performed Wilhelm Songs at a memorable reading in Novi Sad with a special atmosphere. “...the mousetrap snapped shut,” reads the first line: an overture, an acoustic introduction to a project that would keep him in a state of unwavering excitement for a decade and a half” (Thomka, 89)”. Relatively still unknown outside of Hungarian literary circles, The Balkans or the Eastern European region, Ottó Tolnai made his publishing debut with short stories in 1956 and then with poetry in 1960 in the former Yugoslavia. Wilhelm-dalok was published in Hungary in the 80s and has been a source of inspiration to generations of aspiring poets ever since. My project of translating this poetry collection in English has shed light on various aspects of literary translation such as translating transculturalism by means of exploring Tolnai’s broader cultural and historical perspective, ethnic minority identity, and Hungarian language and culture through a transcultural mediator’s lens which is especially relevant in Tolnai’s work since his origins allowed him to travel to the west at a time when most of his broader peer group on the other side of the border could not. Wilhelm-dalok, avagy a vidéki Orpheus is an avant-garde poetry collection, which highlights many modern-day themes such as existentialism, morality, greed, and spirituality through its main protagonist, Wili, the toothless bard and halfwit country bumpkin, as well as one of Tolnai’s most memorable alter-egos. Presenting Ottó Tolnai to an American readership is obviously a challenge, but not an impossible feat if the transcultural mediator remains committed to the author’s aesthetic sensibility and intent, as well as by applying a sensitivity to both the local and global experience.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Marie-Therese Grunwald was born in 1971 in Baltimore, Maryland. She moved from Los Angeles, California to Budapest in 1994 to learn more about her Hungarian culture and identity. After learning Hungarian, she completed her studies at Eötvös Loránd University with a master's degree in English language and literature, and Philology as well as acquiring her teaching diploma. She is currently in her third year of the Modern English and American literature and Culture Doctoral Program at her alma mater, where she is specializing in interpreting culture and cultural mediation as part of the MODA doctoral program through the literary translation of Ottó Tolnai's Wilhelm-dalok, avagy a vidéki Orfeusz.