CHAPTER XX

Bibliography

On socialist literature there is a bulky publication, Irodalom és szocializmus, 5 vols. (vol. 1-3, ed. by M. Szabolcsi and L. Illés: vol. 1 Tanulmányok a magyar szocialista irodalom történetéből, 1962; vol. 2 ‘Jöjj el szabadság!’, 1967; vol. 3 ‘Meghallói a törvénynek’, 1973. Vol. 4, Vár egy új világ, 1975, and vol. 5 Az újnak tenni hitet, 1977, edited by L. Illés and F. József).

On Kassák, I. Bori and É. Körner: Kassák irodalma és festészete (1967); also by I. Bori: A magyar irodalmi avantgarde (Újvidék, 1971). G. Rónay; Kassák Lajos alkotásai és vallomásai tükrében (1971). There is a special number of the Magyar Műhely (1965) devoted to-Kassák, with essays and a bibliography. Kassák’s own Az izmusok története (1972) is a primary source of the Hungarian avant-garde. In English, Tomaš Štraus: Kassák: A Hungarian Contribution to Constructivism (Cologne, 1975). A spirited essay in the Times Literary Supplement: ‘Universal Hungarian’ 18 Dec. 1969) and a short informative piece by J. Reményi: ‘L. K.’ in Modern Language Journal (1951, reprinted in his Hungarian Writers and Literature, Rutgers U. P., 1964). For his képarchitektura, C. László: Kassák (Basel, 1968) and a catalogue of a commemorative exposition in Museum Bochum ed. by P. Spielmann and H. Zumbro (Bochum, 1973).

On Komját, Barta and Gábor, Arcképek a magyar szocialista irodalomból (1967) ed. L. Illés is sufficient.

On L. Nagy, see I. Vasvári ed. Nagy Lajos emlékkönyv és bibliográfia (1964), and P. Kardos: Nagy Lajos élete és művei (1958).

Literature on József is growing fast, partly because various ‘controversial’ aspects of his life and works need constant reappraisal, and partly because the dramatis personae of his life volunteer their memories as they grow older. Biographical recollections, J. József: József Attila élete (1940; the 2nd edition of this work by József’s sister was drastically abridged and rewritten: 1955). Both her husbands also wrote about József’s life-Ö. Galambos: Makói évek (1941), and L. Bányai: Négyszemközt József Attilával (1943). P. Sándor claimed that József ‘deserted the illegal party in time of crisis’ for false alternatives (Az igazi József Attila, 1940). J. József: A város peremén (1950 and numerous later editions), a fictionalized story of the József children. Friends, G. Sajtos: József Attila Makón (1964), and D. Fábián: József Attiláról (1974). The latest, Márta Vágó: József Attila (1975), the girl ‘her folk snatched away from me’-as József complained about the abortive love affair. The first general work, written with much sympathy, is by A. Németh (1944). B. Bóka’s József Attila: Esszé és vallomás (1947) is a competent appraisal. Mrs L. Fövény: József Attila (1953) shows little understanding of poetry, but abounds in crude political comment. E. Gyertyán: Költőnk és kora (1963) is somewhat superficial; better is his rewritten version: József Attila (1966; 2nd ed. 1970). I. Mészáros: Attila József e l’Arte Moderna (Milano 1964). The first scholarly attempt at a monograph, M. Szabolcsi’s Fiatal életek indulója (1963) treats József’s life and work up to 1923. Its sequel, Érik a fény (1977) covers the years 1923-7. L. Balogh’s short work (1969) is a good survey. A. Fodor: Szállj költemény! (1971) is a popular work. Finally, M. Szabolcsi ed. József Attila Emlékkönyv (1957) contains numerous significant studies and reminiscences. (The book is a rarity now, as printing was completed during the Revolution of 1956; since it included articles written in the spirit of ‘the thaw’, it has never been actually published. A few ‘second-hand’ copies turned up, however, in the 1960s, and the British Library possesses a copy.)

Special studies-G. Vértes: József Attila és az illegális kommunista párt (1964) contains the official version of his expulsion. L. Forgács: József Attila esztétikája (1965): On ‘Eszmélet’, M. Szabolcsi: A verselmezés kérdéseihez (1968). G. Török: A líra: logika. J. A. költői nyelve (1968). J. Levendel and B. Horgas: A szellem és a szerelem: J. A. világképe (1970); P. Szilágyi’s József Attila időmértékes verselése (1971) is excellent. J. Pásztor: József Attila műhelyei (1975) treats the periodicals and literary groups which played a role in József s life, with impressive documentation. G. Török’s latest book, József Attila kommentárok (1976), is useful.

Reminiscences in English: Pá1 Ignotus, the co-editor of Szép Szó, in his Hungary (1972), and Arthur Koestler, first in Encounter (1954) ‘Attila, the Poet’ and later in his autobiography The Invisible Writing (1954). The appraisal by J. Reményi is somewhat superficial (Voices, 1948; reprinted in his Hungarian Writers.) D. Mervyn Jones’s article (Oxford Opinion, 7 March 1959) is a concise survey. L. Pődör: ‘A Portrait of Attila József, the Poet’ (New Hungarian Quarterly, 1961) with excerpts in French and German translation, contains little but platitudes. There is a special study of a cycle of poems by J. Lotz: The Structure of the Sonetti á Corona of Attila József (Stockholm, 1965). A. Sándor’s study of József’s imagery and main themes is a passionate and lucid piece of writing (Tri-Quarterly, 1967; reprinted in G. Gömöri and C. Newman eds. , New Writing of East Europe, Chicago,1968). Finally, there are short notes by J. Bátki (December, 1970), N. Krassó (New Left Review, 1966) and Edwin Morgan (Stand,1965). The noted poet Jean Rousselot published a selection in French with a spirited essay (Paris, 1958).

(It should also be mentioned that a dictionary of József s vocabulary is being prepared by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Szeged University, from which he had been expelled and which is now named after him, as is the highest state prize for poetry.)

Zsigmond Remenyik is being discovered; there is nothing substantial on him in Hungarian as yet. In French there is a monograph by G. Ferdinandy: L’oeuvre hispanoaméricaine de Zsigmond Remenyik (The Hague, 1975), with an extensive bibliography.

Texts

There is no critical edition of Kassák. His Összes versei were edited by Mrs Kassák (1970; latest, enlarged ed. 1977). The original text of Egy ember élete, 8 vols. (1928-39), has been abridged in subsequent editions without the consent of the author. A good selection from his poems is available in French: Hommage á Lajos Kassák, ed. by L. Gara (Bruxelles, 1963). In English ‘A ló meghal, a madarak kirepülnek’ is translated in Lines Review, No. 59 (1976), ‘A diktátor’ and ‘Mesteremberek’ in Literary Review (1966), another poem in Broom (1922), and a short story in Hungaria (1936).

A. Komját: Összegyűjtött művei, ed. by É. Hegedűs (1957). There is a volume of Sándor Barta’s selected poetry (Ki vagy? ed. by E. Vászoly, 1962) and selected writing (Pánik a városban, ed. by Mrs Lajos Varga, 1959).

Andor Gábor: Összegyűjtött művei, ed. by A. Diószegi,14 vols. (1954-64).

Lajos Nagy: Művei, 11 vols. (1955-9). In English: ‘Egy délután a Grün irodában’ in Hungarian Short Stories (Bp., 1962), and ‘Tornázó diákok’ in Hungarian Short Stories (1967).

Attila József: Összes versei are available in many edition. As his poems still crop up in short-lived, forgotten periodicals, the latest edition should always be consulted. A critical edition of his Összes művei was published in 4 vols. ed., by M. Szabolcsi (1955-67), after an attempt by J. Waldapfel (vols. 1-2, 1952) which was abandoned because of deliberate misinterpretations. (e.g. The poem ‘Nagy városokról beszél a messzi vándor’, 1925, is claimed to refer to Rákosi’s description of Moscow, thus serving the ‘personality cult’ of the early 1950s.) His correspondence: E. Fehér, ed., József Attila válogatott levelezése (1976). József’s selected writings, issued in Esztétikai Kiskönyvtár (Irodalom és Szocializmus, ed. by L. Forgács,1967) are heavily abridged. There are three volumes of his poetry in English: Poems, ed. by T. Kabdebó (1966); Selected Poems and Texts, tr. by John Bátki and with a good introduction by G. Gömöri (Cheadle, England,1973); and Attila József, tr. and with introduction by Anton N. Nyerges (Buffalo, N.Y., 1973). In addition, there are numerous translations in periodicals, including Canadian Forum (1959), Chicago Review (1965), December (1970), Hudson Review (1967-8), Kenyon Review (1968), Literary Review (1959), New Hungarian Quarterly (1964,1965, and 1967), New Left Review (1964 and 1966), Poetry (1970), Poor Old Tired Horse (vol. 6, n.d.), Stand (1965), Tri-Quarterly (1967). All the standard anthologies contain poems by József.

Most of the Apocalypsis Humana by Z. Remenyik was published after 1955.