On Thursday Deputy Prime Minister Tibor Navracsics opened the Warsaw International Book Fair. Hungarian writers are attending the Fair, among them György Spiró, Ottó Tolna, Gábor Zsille and Márton Falusi.

In a speech which was also made available to the Hungarian press agency MTI, Mr. Navracsics looked back on the historical relationships between the Polish and Hungarian peoples. The Deputy Prime Minister talked of the two peoples’ shared cultural eras, when they were in contact with each other, saying that ‘Though at times we also moved apart, changes in the history of culture affected our two peoples equally, and thus strong bonds and common denominators were created, with a convergence even in our thought frequencies – if one may use that phrase in a literal sense.’ He went on to say that ‘Polish and Hungarian literature meet here at the Warsaw International Book Fair with the product of their multiple influences on each other.’

Mr. Navracsics spoke of the Hungarian writer Sándor Márai’s popularity in Poland, proved by the twenty-one volumes of his work published in Polish. He said that ‘If we are unable to strengthen the foundations of our communities and make them an enduring part of our lives, we will also be unable to pass on hope and encouragement to the generations that follow us,’ and called Márai’s literary world a ‘common denominator’ which binds Central Europe together. He added that ‘Márai entrusts us with the kind of treasures that we hope can be declared foundations for our shared intellectual heritage, and which influence the way we think today.’ The Deputy Prime Minister drew attention to the fact that the book fair – taking place in the impressive Warsaw National Stadium, which was completed last year – is ‘giving the world of Hungarian literature the opportunity to present its achievements’.

The Warsaw Book Fair is open until Sunday. Hungarian-related events include: Spiró György talking about the Polish release of his book Az Ikszek (‘The Xs’) with the critic Maciej Nowak at the Zbigniew Raszewski Theatre Institute; Gábor Zsille and Márton Falusi attending the Hungarian stand on Friday as the authors of the anthology Még közelebb ( ‘Even Closer’), published by Akcent magazine and publishers; and on Saturday a discussion on the National Stadium’s main stage between all of Márai’s Polish translators, linked to presentation of the book ‘Márai Mystery’. The Balassi Institute informed MTI that at the Fair’s graphic novel festival the Hungarian Institute in Warsaw will pay tribute to Polish literature with an exhibition of graphic novels. At the exhibition visitors will be able to see three works based on Polish literary classics by three of Hungary’s three most renowned graphic novelists: Imre Sebők, Pál Korcsmáros and Ernő Zórád.

(Ministry of Public Administration and Justice)