Literary Journal 2021/4. Miklós Mészöly

The Literary Journal has assembled a compilation in memory of Miklós Mészöly, who was born one hundred years ago and died twenty years ago. The author's multilayered oeuvre is often characterised by contradictory tendencies, posing a real challenge to his interpreters; this issue explores the directions and conceptual possibilities of approaching his work.

The conversations with literary historians László Szörényi, Endre Szkárosi and Tímea Urbanik search for the author's place in 20th century Hungarian prose literature in the light of the origins and impact of his oeuvre and the diversity of his creative style, taking into account the results of research into the Mészöly legacy.

The study of Mészöly's disciplined, austere prose requires us to lean closer to his works, to read his writings closely and interpret them according to narratology. The analyses presented here use the key concepts of space, time, atmosphere, narration and style to illustrate the organizational practices of some of Mészöly's texts and the dominant force fields of narrative in the novels Az atléta halála (Death of an Athlete) and Saulus.

Further articles will look at Mészöly's lyrical, dramatic and fairy-tale dimensions, examine the film adaptations and the connections of his oeuvre with 20th century French literature, the results of publishing Mészöly's correspondence, the manuscript bequest in the possession of the Petőfi Literary Museum and the material kept in the Miklós Mészöly Memorial House in Szekszárd.

The issue is illustrated with archive photographs, paintings and prints inspired by the author, pieces of his legacy and contemporary works of art related to Szekszárd.