During the 4th Türk World Literature and Book Festival, a Hungarian Day was held on May 26, during which Hungarian literature was presented and two Hungarian poets received awards.
Each day of the festival presents the literature, artists and culture of one country – Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus – to the festival audience and schoolchildren. Hungary has been an active participant in the festival since its beginning, writes Magyar Nemzet.
The panel discussion for Hungary presented the richness and diversity of 19th-20th century Hungarian literature, including poems by János Arany, Sándor Petőfi, Ágnes Nemes Nagy, Miklós Radnóti, and Attila József. Hungarian-Azerbaijani literary relations were also discussed.
The roundtable discussion was held with the participation of poet, translator and university professor Ramil Ahmed, as well as translator Rena Jahangirli, who recently completed her doctoral dissertation on Azerbaijani-Hungarian literary relations and is currently translating the works of Magda Szabó, writes the portal.
Azerbaijani poets, including Arzu Nehremli, Metanet Ulu Şirvanli, Aybeniz Eliyar, and Sevinc Memmedova, performed poems translated into Azerbaijani by Ágnes Nemes Nagy, as well as their own poems inspired by one of the most important Hungarian poets of the second half of the 20th century.
Dániel Levente Pál, whose poems were also read, noted: “There is often a language barrier to understanding each other and reading each other, but as soon as we find a common language, we question each other with a curiosity that stretches into the night.
“This year, I was surprised again by how fondly they speak about Hungary, their experiences there, the Hungarian authors they have met, and how thirsty they are for new translations and works,” he added.
Pál was also surprised that 75 percent of those invited to speak were women. “This overrode all my previous perceived or real prejudices,” he said.
In his welcoming speech at the opening of the festival, poet Attila F. Balázs emphasized the great importance of developing cultural relations between the two countries and the existence of mutual literary exchange translations, which is why he suggested that a joint anthology be created and published before next year’s festival.
Uzbek scholar Jumaygul Suvanova, Altinay Topdamatova (Kyrgyzstan), Bakutgul Kuzanova (Kazakhstan), and Attila F. Balázs and Dániel Levente Pál received a TÜRKSOY award, a prestigious medal named after the 18th century Azerbaijani poet Molla Penah Vagif.
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