Cleveland and Budapest: Correspondence and Cooperation between József Reményi and Dezső Kosztolányi

Type of Abstract (select): Individual Presentation

Abstract (max. 250 words):
József Reményi and Dezső Kosztolányi maintained a rich correspondence and dynamic collaboration throughout the 1920s and 1930s, a period marked by intensified transatlantic cultural exchange between Hungary and the United States. Their friendship, grounded in mutual respect and intellectual curiosity, evolved into a productive partnership that bridged literary cultures on both sides of the Atlantic. Following Reményi’s visit to Hungary in the 1920s, Kosztolányi became a key advocate for his friend’s literary ambitions, facilitating Reményi’s publications in Nyugat and offering a favorable review of his Cleveland-based novel Emberek, ne sírjatok! (“People, Don’t Cry!”).
Kosztolányi’s engagement with American literature also deepened through Reményi’s influence. He translated short stories by William Faulkner and Evelyn Scott, both of which appeared in Reményi’s 1929 anthology Mai amerikai dekameron (“Modern American Decameron”), published by Nyugat. These translations not only introduced contemporary American voices to Hungarian readers but also reflected Kosztolányi’s growing appreciation for the modernist sensibilities emerging from American fiction. Mentions of Cleveland and Ohio in Kosztolányi’s later writings further attest to the transnational impact of this exchange.
Ultimately, the Reményi–Kosztolányi correspondence illuminates a neglected dimension of early twentieth-century Hungarian literary modernism: its dialogic engagement with American cultural narratives. Both writers shared a profound commitment to the idea of world literature (világirodalom), viewing translation, critique, and correspondence as vehicles for intellectual expansion and cross-cultural understanding. Their collaboration stands as a testament to the permeability of national literatures and to the enduring power of literary friendship in shaping transnational modernist discourse.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
James V. Pavlish is a retired adjunct professor of Spanish language and literature at John Carroll University in Cleveland, OH. He holds a BS in Linguistics from Georgetown University, an MA in Spanish from Cleveland State University, and of Master’s in Theology from St. Mary Graduate School of Theology (OH). He has read several papers on the works of Dezső Kosztolányi, and papers on comparative literature at numerous national and international venues, including the Crossing Borders Conference in Vasto, Italy (2017), and AHEA conferences at Cleveland State University (2018), the University of Pittsburgh (2019), Quinnipiac (2023), Rutgers (2024, and Pécs (2025).