Géza Szávai

Géza Szávai in 2007

Géza Szávai (born December 4, 1950 in Cuşmed , Küsmöd in Hungarian , in Szeklerland , Transylvania , Romania ) is a Hungarian writer, translator, critic and essayist .

Life

Szávai graduated from middle school in Cristuru Secuiesc (Hungarian Székelykeresztúr), studied at the Cluj Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj (Romanian Universitatea Babes-Bolyai) and in 1973 became a high school teacher of Hungarian and French language and literature. He taught in schools in the Szeklerland and then became a journalist and editor. From 1979 to 1988 he was editor of the Bucharest weekly A Hét . He has lived in Budapest since 1988. In 1994 he founded the publishing house Pont (Pont Kiadó), of which he has been editor-in-chief ever since. Together with European and American friends, he set up the international program CONFLUX (CONFLUX as opposed to CONFLICT).

Szávai is married to Ilona Szávai (née Ilona Simon), editor-in-chief of Fordulópont magazine (turning point). They have a daughter named Eszter Szávai.

Literary

As a novelist, Szávai is a fan of the diversity of this genre. His most famous novel, Székely Jeruzsálem (Szekler Jerusalem, an essay novel on identity) is a representation of the 400-year history of the Szekler - "soul Jews" - who switched to the Jewish religion. The novel Múlt évezred Marienbadban (Past Millennium on Marienbad), described by critics as “monumental”, describes the human and social crises in Hungary after the systematic change. Scene of Aletta bárkája (Aletta Kahn) is, after the bloody murders Christians in the 17th century closed for 200 years in itself, Japan.

Szávai is of the opinion that each of his novels is a separate genre. In his opinion, a story can be told, even on some pages, in such a way that it can be perceived as a novel. In his series Kisregények és nagyregények ( small and large novels ) he experiments with this unusual method of writing a novel. In 2008 he began to publish books from this series, which had been produced over decades, with the volume Valaki átment a havon (Someone has walked through the snow). Regarding his novel Csodálatos országokba hoztalak (I brought you to wonderful countries), Szávai said in an interview: “You hear a term these days that is fashionable: world music. Well, world novels also take place in the depths. ”Regarding the“ wonderful ”, he said:“ I use the word 'wonderful' with a lot of self-irony, with enough bitterness, but with a passionate seriousness ”.

Works

Novels

• Kivégezzük nagyapádat (We will execute your grandfather), written 1974-77, first edition 1982, second edition, version without mutilations 2014
• Oszlik a bál / Utójáték (end of the ball / aftermath), first edition 1991, second edition 2000; also published in Romanian and Russian translation
• Séta gramofonzenére (Stroll on gramophone music ), 1985, 1996, 2006; Published in German translation with the title Walk with Women and Bucks , also published in Romanian, Polish and Russian translation
• A megfigyelő (The Observer), 1987
• Utóvéd ( rear guard ), 1996
• Ki látott minket meztelenül? (Érzelmes, szép művészregény) [Who saw us undressed? (A soulful, beautiful artist novel)], 1998
• Székely Jeruzsálem (Szekler Jerusalem), 2000, 2001, 2008, 2011, 2013; Also published in French and Romanian translations, Polish and Russian translations in preparation
• Aletta bárkája (Alettas Kanh), 2006, 2007
• Múlt évezred Marienbadban ( Past Millennium to Marienbad ), 2009
• Valaki átment a havon (Kisregények és nagyregények) [Someone has walked through the snow (small and large novels )], 2008
• Csodálatos országokba hoztalak (I brought you to wonderful lands), 2013
• Makámaszútra (Kisregények és nagyregények az ideiglenes emberi érintkezések zónájából) [Makamasutra (small and large novels from the zone of preliminary human contact)], 2016

Volumes of stories

• Progéria (történetek) [Progerie (stories)], 1982
• Kivégzősdi (elbeszélések) [Execution game (stories)], 1994
• Ragyog az ég, akár az aszfalt ("Pontos történet") [The sky shines like the asphalt ("An exact story")], 2014

Series Mischievous Muse

• A nagy átmenetelés (The Big Walk ), 1989; (Vígregények - Cheerful Novels , 2013)
• Vígesztendő - A humor körforgása a természetben (The cheerful year - cycle of humor in nature), 2014

Essay volumes

• Helyzettudat és irodalom (kismonográfia Méliusz Józsefről) (situation awareness and literature [small monograph on József Méliusz]), 1980
• Szinopszis (napi kritikák) (Synopsis [daily reviews]), 1981
• Torzmagyar (helyzettudatok - és irodalmunk egyetemessége) (The malformed Hungarian [situational awareness - and the universality of our literature]), 2004
• Szavak a csúcson, közbeszéd és “elit” -beszéd (esszék) (words at the summit, common language and “elite” language [essays]), 2009
• Gyermekvilág trilógia (I.): A hazugság forradalma (A kisgyermek és a valóság) (Children's World Trilogy [I.]: The Revolution of Lies [The Little Child and Reality]), 2001
• Gyermekvilág tirlógia (II.): Ribizli-kávé (A gyermek nyelve és világa) (Children's world trilogy [II.]: Currant coffee [The language and the world of children]), 2009
• Gyermekvilág trilógia (III.): Láss csodát! (A rajzban gondolkodó gyermek) (Children's World Trilogy [III.]: What a miracle! [The child who thinks in drawings]), 2010

Fairy tale novels

• A Zöld Sivatag vőlegénye, avagy Kokó Samuék vándorútja (meseregény) [The Groom of the Green Desert, or the hiking trail of Kokó Samu (fairy tale novel)], 1981, 1994, 2005, 2014
• Burgum Bélus sorozat (I.): Burgum Bélus, a mesterdetektív [Series Burgum Bélus (I.): Burgum Bélus, the master detective], last edition 2010
• Burgum Bélus sorozat (II.): Az elrabolt Burgum Bélus [Series Burgum Bélus (II.): The stolen Burgum Bélus), last edition 2014
• Burgum Bélus sorozat (III.): A celeb énekes nyuszi [Series Burgum Bélus (III.): Celebrity Singer Bunny), last edition 2014
• Burgum Bélus series (IV.): Égi elefantok, avagy Burgum Bélus nyomozásai a világűrben [Burgum Bélus series (IV.): Heavenly elephants, or the investigations of Burgum Bélus in space), 1985, new edition in preparation
• Burgum Bélus sorozat (V.): A rettenthetetlen vízi-medve, avagy Burgum Bélus nyomozásai az óceánban [Burgum Bélus series (V.): The fearless water bear, or the investigation of Burgum Bélus in the ocean], 1988, new edition in preparation
• Burgumburg-füzetek (2010-2011) [Burgumburg-Hefte (2010-2011)]
• Háry János Aakadémia sorozat: Száz lábnak is egy a vége (Hihetetlen történetek és mesék) [Series Háry János Academy: Even a Hundred Feet Have an End (Incredible Stories and Fairy Tales)], 2011
• Háry János Akadémia sorozat: Én ne lennék eszes gyerek? (Series Háry János Akademie: Wouldn't I be a clever boy?), 2013
• Háry János Akadémia sorozat: Háry János és Jeromos, az okos szamár (Háry János Academy series: Háry János and Jeromos, the clever donkey), 2015

Translations

• I. Grigorescu: A szennyezett éden (The Polluted Eden), 1976
• Marin Sorescu : Egyszer repülni akartam ... (I wanted to fly once ...), 1982
• Mircea Nedelciu : Jenny avagy a szépséges irodistalány balladája (elbeszélés, Borsi-Kálmán Bélával ) [Jenny, or the ballad of the very beautiful office girl (story, together with Béla Borsi-Kálmán)], 1996

Web links

• Géza Szávais website