A more relaxed treatment of Csurka's oeuvre is slowly beginning, it seems that there is already a need to treat István Csurka from an appropriate distance and with appropriate scholarship. Now we can get to know the excellent playwright and divisive politician in a new volume.
István Csurka was a much-discussed, sometimes celebrated, sometimes criticized personality of the literary life of the Kádár system, and then of the public and political world of the regime change. Many praised him for his great talent and great talent, while others criticized him for his radical or even extreme political views. Csurka considers himself mostly a XX. he thought of him as the "must-Hercules" of the 20th century, whose mission, both as a writer and a politician, is to raise his voice against the soul-destroying system of the dictatorship, to raise his voice for his nation, across the border here and beyond, and to shake Hungarian society out of the Sleeping Beauty dream of Kádárism.
So far, only one monograph has been published about the talented playwright and divisive politician after his death in 2012, so the István Csurka, published this week - A few studies to understand a career path , whose authors are Zsuzsanna Borvendég, László Domonkos, Zsolt Pozsgai, Erika Vasvári and Péter Farkas Zárug, the latter is also the dreamer of the volume. They did not write complete monographs about Csurka, but their studies – as the subtitle of this book indicates – are all important additions to the understanding of István Csurka's career.
An interview about the book with its editor, political scientist Péter Farkas, assistant professor at the University of Miskolc.
The volume was published with the subtitle István Csurka - A few studies to understand a life path . Why was it important to immediately refer with the title to one of Csurka's most influential political studies, A few thoughts about the two years of the regime change and the MDF's new program?
The goal was precisely the cross-hearing, as one of the most iconic works of his writing and political work is Some Thoughts . Last year, on August 20, 1992, it was exactly thirty years since the effective, thought-provoking, but extremely divisive study was published. The subtitle very precisely expresses the intention of all the authors of the volume, according to which we want to show mosaics that make Csurka's life even more understandable.
How is the volume structured? To what extent can we get to know the politician and the playwright, and perhaps the influence of these careers on each other?
Together with the authors, we tried to focus on orienting the reader in such a way that it would not be boring. Each of us unfolds one moment of Csurka's life. At the same time, I did the editing itself in such a way that after finishing the book, the reader will have a didactic way of developing a complex view of my brother Pista. It is no coincidence that the old Csurka is not on the cover either, but the young playwright in full force.
Which period of Csurka's life do the authors of the studies recall?
Borvendég Zsuzsanna has the first part, which she gave a very good title. From Raskolnikov to Zhoke, which divinely sums up Churka's relationship with the Kádár secret services in two words. Zsuzsa is an excellent researcher of the era and provides very important, unique archival data. All the way from what was Churka's role in the '56 revolution, how he was taken to Kistarcsa, interned, and then finally how he signed with 3/3 and became an agent under the name Raskolnikov.
After a while, the state party and the secret service dismissed him as a conniving anti-communist, anti-establishment, who refused to inform.
After that, he doesn't get a workbook, but he becomes a celebrated figure in playwriting. Here we arrive at Zsoké, which is his observed name, as he is found dangerous. He has various scandals, drunkenly insulting socialist authors. A figure acting like a real Hungarian nabob.
After that, Erika Vasvári has a good literary study, which puts order in the oeuvre of Czurka from the point of view of both fiction and non-fiction. Although his public writings are not necessarily an undivided success, it is certain that his work as a playwright and fiction writer of the 20th century. ranks István Csurka among the greatest writers of the 20th century. Director Zsolt Pozsgai, who worked together with István at the Újszínház, brilliantly portrays the great playwright, who presented the tyrant of the Kádár system in his plays in such a way that everyone in the audience understood what and how Csurka was pulling back the veil.
Journalist László Domonkos was also mentioned in our volume, as he was the only one who wrote and published a monograph after Csurka's death.
Now he summarizes the mosaics that were prominent milestones in Csurka's life. The last one is my study, which is a little subjective, since I worked with him for quite a long time as a political consultant, and also admired him. In my article, I scrutinize some of the debates that arose around Csurka's ideas, up to the time MDF breaks with Csurka.
"Then a calmer age will appreciate him more calmly than we are capable of now. We greatly appreciate his importance, influence, strength of personality, and special intuition," literary historian Zsuzsanna Körmendy wrote in her obituary about István Csurka in February 2012. Why do you think it is that Csurka's judgment has still not been rectified?
Because the contemporaries are still here. This always makes it difficult to evaluate pros and cons. In the case of Csurka, the relationship between people and contemporaries is extreme. Either they deify him and do not see his faults, or they hate him and consider him politically harmful. I am convinced that the memory of István Csurka will remain to some extent as a political thinker, especially on the national side, but in agreement with the co-authors, I see that twenty or thirty years from now the XX. He will be considered one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century.
István Csurka - A few studies to understand a life path will be featured as a volume at L'Harmattan Kiadó during the festive book week in June . For me, this means that a more relaxed treatment of the Churka oeuvre will slowly begin. It seems that there is already a demand for István Csurka to be treated from a proper distance and with proper scientific knowledge, and this is already evident from the number of pre-orders.
Ultimately, what does the book reveal about István Csurka that has been hidden from the public until now? Is Viktor Orbán in the book?
I don't want to spoil that much, but there are divine stories. Wine guest Zsuzsanna, for example, sensationally tells how
at the writers' camp, how Csurka insults socialist writers after several bottles of wine, for which he is reprimanded by the state party.
Viktor Orbán appears several times in the stories, for example once on the twenty-year anniversary of the meeting at the apartment complex, then at the bedside of the seriously ill Csurka.
Presentation:
June 7, 2023 (Wednesday), 5:30 p.m. Kossuth Club (1088 Budapest, Múzeum u. 7.)
Signings at the 94th Festive Book Week:
June 10, 2023 (Saturday), 1:00 p.m. – pavilion 11, Vigadó tér – Duna-korzó
June 11, 2023 (Sunday), 10:00 a.m. – pavilion 11, Vigadó tér – Duna-korzó drawing compass
