The Debrecen Literary Days, which go back more than half a century, have rich traditions, and fulfill an important public cultural function, will be held between November 7-9 – the organizers announced at their Friday press conference held in the local Méliusz Library.
István Puskás, deputy mayor for culture in Debrecen, said that the “literary calendar” of the year ends with the literary days, which began in the spring with the poetry festival, then continued with the festive book week and the Térey book festival.
He called the literary days a cult event of Hungarian literature, which for decades was a meeting place and discussion forum for actors of cultural life, literature, and public life, and its importance even today goes beyond the city’s borders.
At the same time, it is also a forum for local literature: this year, three important figures of recent literature from Debrecen, Anikó Várkonyi, Sándor Tar, and Miklós Tóth-Máthé – indicated István Puskás, noting that in the spirit of strengthening international relations, the Belgian writer Jeroen Olyslaegers will be the guest of the event.
Péter Szirák, the curator of the event, added: the main topic of this year’s event is the lecture, that is, the situation, role, and nature of the so-called “readable” literature.
Among other things, they are looking for answers to such questions as whether it is a suitable definition of a reading that meets the expectations of the wider readership, or how to separate these readings from the tarpaulin on the one hand, and from quality literature on the other, or is it true that the ” “high literature” is being read – the specialist listed.
Péter Szirák indicated: since 2010, their endeavor has been to strengthen the cultural function of the literary days and to make the meeting more like a festival. In the spirit of this, film screenings, a fine art exhibition, a book presentation, and podium discussions will add color to the program this year.
He added that the three outstanding authors publishing in the magazine, poet Katalin Ladik, performer, literary historian Eszter Ureczky, and poet, editor, and literary historian Gábor Mezei, can receive the Alföld Prize during the literary days. Between 1978 and 2021, the award has been presented 44 times, during which 126 artists received 133 Alföld awards – Péter Szirák said.
