(…) „within contemporary domestic avant-garde endeavours (…) the workshop writers’ [1] word ‘only’ is at least as arbitrary and terroristic as a folksy ‘only’ or an urban ‘only’. The truly modern – consciously avant-garde – gesture today is the uninhibited roaming across all fields, the modern eclecticism bravely and with dignity assumed (for it is the result of thorough investigations and experiments). The replacement of ‘only’ by ‘also’ may well be the most important moment of transformation.”[2]
The already successful Tibor Zalán, recipient of the József Attila Prize, contributes in this quoted essay to a then current debate while weighing artistic–methodological principles, yet this ars poetica is applicable to his entire creative career. The word ‘modern eclecticism’ later becomes ‘radical eclecticism’, a formulation that is also taken up by the critical reception. It is therefore of particular interest how, when this term returns to the spotlight in connection with his admission to the Academy, its usage shifts either in the artist’s own discourse or in that of his eulogists.
This is what we heard in his inaugural address to the Academy: “The fact that, as a poet, I became a theatre man, and even immersed myself in dramatic-theatrical studies, had the advantage that I do not consider the dramatic and/or theatrical rules pertaining to dramatists binding on myself. Some twenty-five years ago I devised for myself a category, radical eclecticism, starting from the premise that even in poetry I was never willing to observe the various genre boundaries (…) Its most vivid theatrical realisation, well known to many, is A rettentő görög vitéz (lit. The Fearsome Greek Hero). And what, in it, constitutes eclecticism? Among many other things, the fact that in its plot structure, language and humour it speaks equally to the small child, to his adult father, and to the aged grand- or great-grandparent.” [3] The concept, employed here primarily in relation to genre-switching and genre-blending, reappears in similar fashion when he characterises his novel Papírváros (lit. Paper Town): “And what does a poet do who has no exciting, or at least interesting life histories suitable for a novel? He writes the sort of novel that the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first permits, indeed enables, or perhaps even demands: he sets about applying radical eclecticism to the utmost.” [4] This reflection already regards the rejection of traditional categories as a requirement of the age.
Our author opens the scope of the concept even further in his commentary accompanying the cycle of half-sonnets in his most recent volume of poetry: “For me the half-sonnet was not only a form affording vast thematic and intellectual or emotional spaces, but a contrivance allowing for anything whatsoever. (…) I have filled the expression radical eclecticism with content. Well, the half-sonnets are its pinnacle realisations. They are sonnets that display practically only a single parameter of the sonnet form: the poem consists of fourteen lines.” [5]
Thus, to the transgressions of generic and genre boundaries, the heterogeneity of the target audience, and the disregard for genre-poetic traditions is added the programmatic rejection of thematic, emotional–intellectual and formal homogeneity – even when applied to a more organically cohesive group of works. If, however, we seek to grasp the fuller meaning of this ars poetica as rooted in personality, it is worth quoting the relevant passage from the Academy’s life-work interview: “When I embarked on my career, Mihály Ilia, then editor-in-chief of Tiszatáj, told me that if I wanted to become a great poet (…) I would have to apply the same traits throughout my life. And I, with conceit and conviction, replied: ‘Professor, I shall become a great poet by always writing what comes into my head and always writing as I please.’ (…) I realised that I must write poems that break with all tendencies and yet encompass all tendencies. (…) That is why radical eclecticism has become characteristic of my works (…) I allow myself whatever my material demands, whatever the intention-to-be-written requires.” [6] In this train of thought the key Zalánian concept attains its broadest meaning and most comprehensive synthesis, now embracing even the extremes: within a single text the unpredictably yet immanently multicoloured mobilisation of all possible components of the creative toolkit is the essence, that is, the self-induced and free operation of language, inspiration and material solely in accordance with their inner imperatives.
Alongside the shifts of genre and literary mode, and the inexhaustible stylistic as well as poetic–methodological diversity, the full spectrum of activity likewise presents a similar profile. Leaving aside the proportional distribution of publications and volumes across the different literary modes, and the varying weight of Zalán’s presence in different fields of literary life, his oeuvre as a whole reflects an organic multifacetedness: as a lyric poet he has published volumes’ worth of children’s poems and translations, and has written song lyrics; within his epic oeuvre we find short stories and feuilleton stories, a considerable quantity of fairy tales, and the Papírváros (lit. Paper Town) novel pentalogy; his theatrical activities comprise live performances with adaptations of his own works, radio plays, original dramas, theatrical rewritings, interludes and adaptations for both adults and children. Activities falling on the borderlands of literature must also be mentioned for the sake of completeness: literary journalism, the editing of cultural television programmes (Gong), criticism and essay writing, literary organisation (e.g. JAK, FISz, Csokonai Society); journal and anthology editing (Kortárs, Szivárvány, Kelet; Ver/s/ziók, NEM mind egy, etc.); the representation of creative communities (e.g. the leadership of JAK, the board of the Writers’ Union, prize and scholarship juries), as well as literary pedagogy (university, theatre and creative writing courses).
As a student at the University of Szeged, Tibor Zalán first published as a creative writer at the age of twenty [7], and had already formulated his ars poetica of continual and autonomous change and transformation, even though he could not yet have imagined that his activity would extend to all literary modes, and that there would come a time when he would even argue for the legitimacy of an experimental literary mode. [8] The reception also linked this multi-modality with the generational existential and world-view-related sense of deficiency, while the contemporary difficulties of literary advancement likewise impelled the talented towards this direction (e.g. János Géczi, László Garaczi, Lajos Parti Nagy, Zsuzsa Rakovszky).
Although Zalán began his career as a poet, epic and dramatic works were already present among his early writings. His first volume of poems appeared in 1980 (Földfogyatkozás [lit. Earth Eclipse]), and in the same year his first short story was published [9], and likewise his first drama publication. [10] Later the oeuvre expanded in phases or in parallel, with works belonging to the different literary modes. That the radical programme was realised at a substantial level is evidenced by the fact that he has received major professional awards in every field: as a lyric poet he received the Radnóti, Graves and József Attila Prizes; for his dramatic work he was awarded the Szép Ernő Lifetime Achievement Prize; and his prose publications were recognised with the Artisjus and Kortárs Prizes.
According to our historical traditions, we may with due justification place Tibor Zalán among our literary leaders (e.g. Vörösmarty, Petőfi, Babits and Illyés), although in spite of the versatility of his creative and literary-organisational activity he cannot be regarded as a generational leader, since conscious separation was a defining element of his programme from the outset. Nevertheless, the critics frequently referred to him as a leader without an army, since on the basis of his notorious study Arctalan nemzedék (lit. Faceless Generation) [11] he may indeed be called the spokesperson of his generation. Zalán’s true, demonstrative and expressly declared withdrawal – his departure from writers’ organisations, and his independence from literary factions and canons – took place around the time of the regime change, a process well illustrated not only by his public statements but also by his volume of poetry Kívül (lit. Outside, 1993). If we consider the eclecticism between and within literary modes and genres, or the stylistic eclecticism between works, the oeuvre appears difficult to periodise; yet this volume nevertheless marks a boundary. Until its appearance, his volumes of poetry and children’s books had followed one another in such rapid succession that the dynamic alternation of different inspirations and poetic ambitions naturally produced eclecticism, at times even within a single volume.
From a linguistic–formal–generic perspective, two volumes from this period constitute a homogeneous corpus – the still best-known és néhány akvarell (lit. and a few watercolours, 1986; romantic–elegiac love elegies) and Borús reggeli üzenetek (lit. Messages of a Gloomy Morning, 1989; apostrophic free verse of existential and philosophical orientation) – both being cycle-volumes. Földfogyatkozás (folk-surrealist strophic and free verse), whose division into thematic cycles already signals internal variability and a multi-year period of composition, and the volume OPUS N3: KOGA (1982), which forms text-groups all bearing the marks of neo-avant-garde poetic methods (linguistic-critical text handling, the use of graphic elements, the manipulation of spatiality in linguistic elements), nevertheless present differing applications of linguistic and visual tools – even within a single work – with varied methodologies (long poems, picture poems, concrete poetry, collage) and formal as well as generic differentiation. Even more striking is the heterogeneous character of Álom a 403-as demokráciában (lit. Dream in Democracy 403, 1984) and Hagyj még, Idő! (lit. Spare Me a Little Longer, Time!, 1988). The structure of the former illustrates that the period of composition was marked by polyphonic ambitions both generically and stylistically: five short cycles present different excerpts from compositions built upon avant-garde and romantic, visual or auditory emphases, with linear or mirror structures. The large repertoire of Hagyj még, Idő! exhibits a synthesis-like cycle and volume structure. It opens with a mission-conscious ars poetica evoking the spirit of József Attila (Alkalmi Versezet Hajdan Élt Költőhöz [lit. Occasional Poem to a Poet Long Departed]), whose key notions are free existence and free creation, the completion of the unattainable plan of writing everything. The volume as a whole displays the settled traits of Zalán’s poetry: elegiac–somber existential outlook and atmosphere, the primacy of amorous and philosophical themes, an openness towards cross-artistic inspiration, a striving for the most purposeful linguistic expressivity, and a command of diverse forms. Separate cycles are likewise given to long poems similar to the Énekek (lit. Songs) of the OPUS volume (e.g. Kísérletek Síva háta mögött [lit. Experiments Behind Shiva’s Back]), to photo–text collages (Fénylapok [lit. Light Sheets]), and to oneiric meditations showing the reworking of early surrealist aspirations (A láz tévelygései [lit. The Errancies of Fever]).
By the time the ‘epoch-shifting’ Kívül appears, the prose writer Zalán is already somewhat better known, for in addition to short-story publications and children’s books [12], his volume of essays connected to his journey to America had also been completed. [13] Through domestic and foreign theatrical premières [14], Zalán now also emerges as a dramatist, and his work gains true momentum when, through collaboration with Stúdió K Theatre, followed by a scholarship at Vígszínház (Comedy Theatre of Budapest) and later a dramaturg position at Kolibri Theatre, the theatre becomes a defining part of his life. At the same time, the principal phase of the writing and production of his radio plays (1985–1997) is almost completed; however, this part of the oeuvre only becomes genuinely accessible at the close of his active career, when the most important radio plays are also published in a collected volume. [15]
The significance of Kívül is indicated by the longer preparatory period preceding its publication. Its sixty-six (!) unsectioned, yet formally and thematically well-contoured pieces enrich the existing repertoire with important new verse types. Here we encounter for the first time the haiku, [16] later to become recurrent (Hét haiku [lit. Seven Haiku Poems]), along with a more substantial quantity of short poems, and here we see for the first time Zalán’s verses reflecting upon current social and public processes (e.g. “even fat we can be fine patriots whoring also as leading / statesmen and party men even withered proud Europeans (…) the house of the nation is still standing on the Danube bank and in gilded rooms / worn-faith ladies and bored gentlemen stage a national talk show” – Szilveszter esti dünnyögések 1989-re (lit. New Year’s Eve Murmurings for 1989); “this new course with the postmodern / and beyond all those demonstrators climbers demon-climbers this is / the age of new heroes and phalluses” – 120). A world-view level summative reflection may be read in the poem Epiktétosz körül (cf. the title of the bilingual 1995 volume: aversion), which testifies to a stoic–sceptical existential and philosophical exteriority: “They passed the / bowl around and I did not take from it. / I do not move, I do not wish to get / anywhere.”
In the ensuing period the existentialist conception of being becomes increasingly recognisable in Zalán’s works, across all three literary modes. To reinforce this, he invokes Emil Cioran, for example in the epigraph to the volume A szürrealista balkon (lit. The Surrealist Balcony, 2004): “The beauty of the world saddens me more than its ugliness. Whence this heap of loveliness masking the cruel passing away, and all this wedding-like revelry in the intermission of the eternal knell inherent in existence?” After the generational, mood-based and situational crisis poems [17], the slogan-like, gnomic articulation of the existential low point may be found in Kölcsey-like fashion at the opening of the volume Fénykorlátozás (lit. Light Restriction, 1996): “I send you four little words, carve them well into your bosom and leave them / as inheritance to your son when you die: TO BE A MOST SAD / PERSON” (Emléklapra [lit. For the Memorial Page]). The synthesis of existentialist perspective and self-apprehension may be located in the volume Fáradt kadenciák (lit. Tired Cadences, 2012), where fifteen compositions are constructed with framing devices, yet behave within the structure as independent elements employing regular stanzas. To define both individual and ontological states of being, the poet repeatedly employs the notion of ‘veszteglés’ (lit. ‘standstill’) as a key term, which also appears in the titles of lyric and dramatic works. [18] The protagonist of the novel Papírváros (lit. Paper Town), reminiscent of the author’s figure and story, likewise finds himself in the condition of stasis, of the emptying out of existence – a character we encounter in the earliest volume published in 1998.
To honour the poet at forty, the first selected volumes are issued. [19] These are inherently eclectic, juxtaposing texts from different volumes in demonstrative fashion. Among the jubilee publications, the most important and most thoroughly considered is Zalán Tibor legszebb versei (lit. The Most Beautiful Poems of Tibor Zalán, 2014), in which the chronological order of the texts is preserved and the internal structure remains undivided, allowing the lyrical process of change to be readily traced, although visual works and long poems could not be included for technical and spatial reasons. It is worth citing the characteristics identified by the editor, for they describe well the typical features of Zalán’s diversity and eclecticism: great technical mastery, significant cultural experience, command of language, an impressively rich linguistic and imagistic imagination, capacity for (verse) technical bravura, varied modes of composition, experimental zest, variety that itself engenders continuity, fluent movement within the worlds of conservative, neo-avant-garde and postmodern poetry; next to classical genres, letter poems, visual poems and free verse; antique forms applied with validity to modern conditions; the capacity to create the liberating experience afforded by artistic freedom; and, through intertextual openness, the opening of a broader horizon alongside the grandiose lyric of the self. József Jankovics also points to the characteristic keywords of Zalán’s tragic sense of life (love, ecstasy, sin, blood, death, God, snow, silence, solitude, sky, sea). [20]
Among the publications linked to the author’s age milestones, we should also mention the concise monograph surveying the first twenty years of his career, and the volume of studies paying tribute to the complex oeuvre. [21]
Almost every volume of poetry appearing after Kívül (“Outside”) revives some earlier Zalánian genre or form, and at the same time adds something to the lyric oeuvre for which there had been no precedent, thus further deepening and enriching the eclecticism. In Fénykorlátozás we find the eight-part cycle Kopszohiladész elégiák (lit. Elegies of Kopszohiladész). These, motivated by existential and theological philosophy of destiny and faith, present the lyric self as ‘beyond everything’, confronted by emptiness and experiencing the paradox of a being without existence. The final piece of the cycle, justified to the right margin, is more corpulent than the maximally fragmented poem veszteglés (lit. ‘standstill’) (see above), yet considerably slimmer than the ‘watercolour texts’, and may therefore imply a more broken state of mind and existential diagnosis. The choice of genre and format in the volume Átszivárgások (lit. Seepings Across), 1997) can be considered unexpected, for its one-movement long-poem composition draws upon the neo-avant-garde extralinguistic devices of the Énekek (lit. Songs) in the OPUS volume. Manipulated visual effects later reappear only in more modest formats, and as isolated items. [22] That the avant-garde experimental apparatus constitutes an important part of Zalán’s lyric is confirmed by a specialist monograph. [23]
After the short poems and haiku of Kívül (lit. Outside), we observe the increasingly frequent presence of brief, undeveloped forms in the subsequent volumes. Lassú halált játszik (lit. Plays a Slow Death, 2000) is composed of such poems, except for the closing cycle entitled szonett (lit. sonnet), which opens a new horizon for the use of the classical verse type – after the experimental micro-cycle of OPUS N3: KOGA – through the creation of Mesterszonett-kópiák (lit. Master-sonnet copies) (texts constructed by merging the second, third, fourth, etc. lines of the pre-texts into new poems equal in rank to the original master sonnet). Further short forms appear in more recent volumes, such as the metrically regular two-, four- or six-line texts emerging from reflective spontaneity in dünnyögés félhangokra (lit. Muttering for Half-Voices, 2006) – a volume employing József Attila intertexts in the spirit of centenary homage and intellectual affinity, with extreme stylistic tonalities – and in Fáradt kadenciák (lit. Tired Cadences), where rhymed quatrain micro-elegies function as the building blocks of the already described textual mass.
As a title, A szürrealista balkon (lit. The Surrealist Balcony) partly designates a position of observation and comparison, which may be linked to the first volume characterised as broadly folk-surrealist; here, however, no generalised stylistic effect is being identified. The material is heterogeneous, and at times realist features dominate, whereas in the longer texts the principal poetic device is often the free associative technique of automatic writing. A text type appears under the aegis of the ‘perfect number’ (9), producing fixed line- and stanza-schemata—forms that will constitute the spine of the volume A lovak reggelije (lit. The Horses’ Breakfast, 2021) with 51 poems. Likewise, the closing chapter (poetic ‘translations’) contains persona poems giving voice to various figures from world literature. Persona poetry is rare in Zalán’s work, yet for Kései Berzsenyi-esték (lit. Late Evenings of Berzsenyi) he was awarded the Quasimodo Memorial Prize (2013). A different kind of allusion and formally faithful emulation is introduced as a novelty in Szállás rossz ágyon (lit. Lodging on a Bad Bed) through role-like enunciation and an ironically period-evocative tone (A névtelen velszi bárd, lit. The Anonymous Welsh Bard; Családi kűr).
Each of the final volumes of poetry exhibits a dominant group of poems that is unique within the oeuvre—that is, each brings the eclecticism to completion. There is a numerological element in the fact that the ‘late juvenilia’ of Holdfénytől megvakult kutya (lit. Dog Blinded by Moonlight, 2013) number precisely 54 (Zalán’s year of birth, which also appears in the number of poems in Földfogyatkozás). In A lovak reggelije the closing chapter Az idő sakktáblája (lit. The Chessboard of Time), comprising two-thirds of the volume, extends numerology so that every line has 9 syllables, every stanza 9 lines, and every poem 9 stanzas. This can only be achieved through word-breaks at line-ends that disregard syllable boundaries, producing neologised stems that multiply the possibilities of semantic generation and interpretation. The cycle title points to the fact that the philosophy of time is also an important component of Zalán’s thematic horizon.
The volume intended as his final book of poems, A nehéz léptű ember (lit. The Heavy-Footed Man, 2024), indicates in its subtitle that the reader may expect a novel generic form: Felezőszonettek (lit. Half-sonnets). Just as earlier akvarell (lit. watercolour), dünnyögés (lit. muttering) and fáradt kadencia (lit. tired cadence) designated unique genres, the half-sonnet is likewise unique among them, and the only one to suggest information about the method of composition. These works differ from the sonnets in OPUS… and Lassú halált játszik, yet resemble avant-garde poems employing mechanical internal reflections of text segments [24], while their methodological precedent may be found in the Tükörszonett (lit. Mirror-sonnet) of the Holdfény (Moonlight) volume, where in two blocks of 14 lines a variant texture reversal is performed relative to the textual midpoint. These texts too are experimental in nature: they display the virtually infinite possibilities of re-ordering and re-lexicalising—hence re-interpreting—through mirrored word order and vocabulary. [25]
As noted in connection with the eclecticism of the play A rettentő görög vitéz and the overview of his multi-modal activities, Zalán’s unique ambitions also play a defining role within the field of theatre. As a professional, he has worked for almost thirty years as a dramaturg, has had over one hundred premières, and the proportion of his drama and radio-drama volumes [26] among his publications is likewise substantial.
The stylistic world of Zalán’s original dramas differs sharply from that of his lyric oeuvre: his plays are dominated by irony, absurdity and sarcasm, and exhibit a kind of Beckettian or post-Beckettian bitter grotesque. The line begins with Sakk-bástya (lit. Chess-Rook) and Azután megdöglünk (lit. Afterwards We Will Die), and continues, among others, with the scandal-provoking Bevíz úr hazamegy (lit. Mr Bevíz Goes Home), the ‘almost drama’ Veszteglés (lit. Standstill), Szása i Szása and Vakkacsatojások, and from the radio plays with Szavak, kék alkony, szavak (lit. Words, Blue Twilight, Words) and AnyÁtokföldje (lit. YourMother’s-Land). Nor in his dramas is there any question of rule- or tradition-following; the principal hallmark is the creation of unique situations and unique languages, both of which emerge in the process of composition so as to follow from the invention and from the characters themselves. Zalán does not believe in the eventfulness of modern drama, nor in the now speculative and reality-alien classical dramatic structure; [27] instead, he realises the programme of continuous forward movement by means of sentence formation, even if in the given voice the content itself is not captivating. This holds particularly true of the radio dramas, for the linguistic and situational foundations of which he has also published his basic principles in his most recent volume alongside the dramatic texts. [28]
The dramaturgical role of action is taken over by the internal system of tensions within situations, by the acuteness of situational dialogues, and by reliance on complex audience responses, allowing emotional–intellectual release only in delayed fashion and thus provoking the audience who hope for resolution of the conflicts. He creates with free inspiration, does not shy away from linguistic–stylistic extremes, voices sociolects with authentic rawness and vulgarity, and in character-formation is an adept behaviourist. He shows particular interest and a bleak prognostic outlook in those works that present disillusioned visions—mostly parabolic, at times with satirical elements—of the degradation of human culture, the erosion of personality, the distortion of human essence, destruction, and existential hopelessness (Azután megdöglünk, Ószeresek, Katonák, Ne lőj a fecskére, Patt Lenn, Papageno a metróban, unferlédi, Übü mama, Szavak, kék alkony, szavak, Romokon emelkedő ragyogás). Alongside pamphlet-like historical paraphrases (AnyÁtokföldje, A vak, Vereségképek), two historical dramas are also known which he composed successfully for theatrical competitions (Midőn halni készült (lit. When He Was About to Die), Karaffa). [29]
Owing to his dramaturgical work, some of Zalán’s interventionist activities amount to independent creative work. In the case of rewritings only linguistic modernisation and abridgement take place (e.g. Bánk bán), whereas in the numerous adaptations it is not only a matter of rendering epic or lyric material stageable, but of converting all essential original content—through character and situation creation—into dialogues. This requires invention in addition to intention, and therefore, as a co-creator, he designates himself as joint author upon the première of such works, in the spirit of assuming responsibility (e.g. Egri csillagok [Eclipse of the Crescent Moon], Toldi, Revizorr, Köpönyeg [The Overcoat], /Mario és/ a varázsló [lit. /Mario and/ the Magician]).
Just as in his exposition of the radio-play ars poetica, so too in the interview given upon the publication of the second volume of Papírváros (lit. Paper Town) did Zalán approach his prose-method not from the tradition of classical plot construction: “I am not a prose writer; in every work of mine I am first and foremost a poet. This means that I have no (…) pre-planned direction of development, no pre-designed character outline, virtually no structural sketch. (…) Thus my attention need no longer be directed to the unfolding of the plot, but to the psychological motions, moments and vibrations aroused by it.” [30]
Zalán has been present in contemporary Hungarian prose since the earliest years of his career, yet his epic oeuvre is dominated by the novel pentalogy. Essays [31], sporadic short-story publications [32], and the feuilleton stories published in the 2006 volume of Élet és Irodalom, as well as the Artisjus Prize-winning prose volume largely based on these, refine the overall picture with high-quality writing. The pieces of the first cycle of Göncölszekér (lit. Great Wain) (Téglagyári történetek [lit. Stories from the Brickworks]) process the author’s childhood anecdotes through first-person narration. These are rare exceptions within the epic oeuvre in which chronological, linear, plot-based construction functions. They are texts of only a few pages, mostly characterised by raw humour, the naturalistic portrayal of the child’s instinctual world, or by striking dramatic force. This child-psychological portrait, subtly enriched with period-colouring, is a worthy relative of the representational modes of Csáth, Kosztolányi and Ottlik.
Papírváros has been in the making for more than a quarter of a century. The ‘slowness’ signalled by the title is not a generic indication, though it is nevertheless related to genre. Twenty-eight years elapse between the appearance of the first volume and the planned final, fifth volume; given its psychological, consciousness-novel character, the basic plot likewise unfolds slowly, for the work primarily accommodates mental and mnemonic events. Slowness also characterises the legibility of the text and the construction of embedded plot-lines and voices, since the texture is organised through continuous fragmentation, insertion, and mosaic–montage techniques. A consistent concomitant of this is the variability of the visual disposition of the text (variation of scripts, at times verse-like lineation or drama-format), and punctuation that is sometimes regular, sometimes partial, and sometimes omitted. Because of these ‘externalities’ and the associative mode of composition, affinities may be traced with Zalán’s earlier long poems; genuinely experimental solutions are at issue here, and, remaining with generic classification, it is worth raising the affinity with Ulysses in respect of the consciousness-novel character and the free incorporation of lyric and dramatic parts.
Since without knowledge of the final part it is still not precisely identifiable who the protagonist is (if indeed there is such a figure), it would be difficult to attach the consciousness-novel character to the consciousness of a single individual. Most readily identifiable would be the terrain of authorial consciousness and associations, and several autobiographical elements could support this, though it is evident that Zalán does not model the main character – identifiable as an architect – upon himself. (To the differentiation of the structural units belongs, beyond the formal shifts, the variation of subjectivity; and the problem itself is discussed already halfway through the first volume in a separate chapter.) [33] Thus we cannot speak of a process of development; rather, one might employ the expression stagnation-novel, or – given the passion-narrative dimension – the degeneration-novel, terms that allow the most important events and internal processes of the work to be described (cf. the state-designating keywords of the Thomas Mann epigraph, which also serve as each volume’s catchwords: ‘exhausted, lost, devastated, torn apart, ill’). Among the states of consciousness we frequently encounter delirium, oneirism, dream-visions and the existential situation at the verge of fainting. The generic character of the text is further nuanced by the presence in each volume of incorporated passages from the earlier short prose output, and at points expressly anecdotal short stories enter into the novelistic flow without describable regularity or consistency. In the first two volumes these early short stories [34] are organically integrated, varied by interruptions, interpolated story-fragments or reflections.
The multiplicity already surveyed at the level of literary mode, genre and structure naturally complicates the author’s work with respect to language. Can the linguistic material be harmonised, unified in such a complex textual stream? Zalán’s answer lies in a logical and consistent linguistic outlook and ars poetica: he had to develop a mode of language use in which the weaving of the texture yields to the proper self-legality of the inner cohesion requirement, with extraordinary attention and fastidiousness—even when, for stylistic reasons, vulgarity or linguistic degradation becomes necessary—imparting astonishing intensity and propulsion to the seemingly self-exciting yet intensely sharpened linguistic material, which through the use of extreme sentence-forms (paragraph- or chapter-sentences) is capable of simultaneously producing the impression of slowness and dynamism, achieving a peak performance of immanent linguistic expressivity and realising the maximum of incorporation and synthesising.
In terms of motifs, regardless of the psychological–conscious state of the characters, their social status or the prevailing subject-position, references to alcohol and sexuality recur frequently, and the novel is rich in recollective or reflective passages that sketch period details spanning several decades. The characteristic feature of these existential depictions and subjective world-views is a gravitation towards emptiness, an ontological pessimism. It is conceivable – and may indeed be projected – that the black female figure appearing at the beginning of the textual stream, who is present at the end of each volume with the same utterance (“so it still was not enough?”), will also appear in the final volume in similar function, perhaps as an angel of death, becoming at both narrative and conceptual levels the bearer of the culmination.
“The tree of knowledge has been pluck’d – all’s known” [35] – we read the Byron epigraph at the opening of every volume of Papírváros, which primarily characterises the protagonist’s disillusioned, beyond-all state and outlook, though its meaning may also be applied, in an ars poetica sense, to the novel sequence itself. For here indeed all of the author’s ars poetica knowledge, purposes and worldview are summed up and made contemplable. The novel is capable, in its own right, of displaying and rendering visible the kind of global synthesis—the genuinely radical eclecticism—that is present throughout the oeuvre, both at the level of literary mode and genre and at the level of style, incorporating and at the same time concluding and delivering to its conscious endpoint the creative ambitions of Tibor Zalán and their realisation.
Notes
[1] The reference concerns the Párizsi Magyar Műhely (Paris Hungarian Workshop) creative group of the 1970s and 1980s – A. J.
[2] Tibor Zalán: “Vázlatos gondolatok – Pontatlan kapcsolódások Láng Gusztáv okos fejtegetéseihez” (lit. “Sketchy Thoughts – Inaccurate Connections to Gusztáv Láng’s Intelligent Elaborations”), Életünk, 1987/3, pp. 238–239.
[3] Tibor Zalán: “A sokműfajúság mint antinómia, avagy a csak befelé tartó labirintus” (lit. “Multi-genre Competence as Antinomy, or the Labyrinth Leading Only Inward”), Bárka, XXXI, 2024/4, p. 64.
[4] Ibid., p. 65.
[5] Attila Szabados: “Költői életem gyakorlatilag megszűnt” – Beszélgetés Zalán Tiborral (lit. “My Poetic Life Has Practically Ended” – Conversation with Tibor Zalán), Bárka, XXXI, 2024/4, p. 74.
[6] See the transcript in Tibor Zalán’s Academy archive.
[7] “A fiú indulása, A mítosz születése” (lit. “The Boy’s Departure, The Birth of the Myth”), Tiszatáj, XXVIII, 1974/10, pp. 21–22.
[8] Tibor Zalán: “1 (és) más között a Bujdosó Alpárról elnevezett hídon” (“1 (and) Among Others on the Bridge Named after Alpár Bujdosó”), Életünk, XIX, 1981/6, pp. 567–568.
[9] Tibor Zalán: Blue Dolphin, Mozgó Világ, 1980/5.
[10] Tibor Zalán: Sakk-bástya (lit. “Chess-Rook”), Életünk, XVII, 1979/9, pp. 737–741; also performed in Veszprém, 1980.
[11] Tibor Zalán: Arctalan nemzedék (lit. Faceless Generation), Életünk, XVII, 1979/11, pp. 957–968.
[12] Kék cserepek (lit. Blue Shards), Palócföld, 1980/5; A tanktípusú nő (lit. The Tank-Type Woman), Alföld, 1980/11; Úton, sehová (lit. On the Road, Nowhere), Tiszatáj, 1991/2; Mos, főz, vasal, takarít, iszik, ledől (lit. Washes, Cooks, Irons, Cleans, Drinks, Collapses), Forrás, 1991/7; Sz. Simon szégyene (lit. The Shame of Sz. Simon), Kortárs, 1988/6; Hi-szen, a guruló madár (lit. Hi-szen, the Rolling Bird), Móra Publishing House, 1988; Bongóc a tavaszban (lit. Bongóc in Spring), Bongóc a nyárban (lit. Bongóc in Summer), Vario, 1990 and 1991.
[13] Amerika, körülírás, munkapad (lit. America, Definition, Workbench), Új Forrás Könyvek, 1992.
[14] Ószeresek (Stúdió K, 1987); Azután megdöglünk (lit. Afterwards We Will Die), productions in Debrecen and Rimavská Sobota (1988), and Novi Sad (1990).
[15] T. Z.: Reménytelenek (lit. The Hopeless), (Fekete Sas, 2023); the following plays not included in the collection were broadcast: A vád szavait hallgatta (lit. He Listened to the Words of the Accusation, 1985); Amíg hajnalodik (lit. While It Dawns, 1989); Ördögkerék (lit. Devil’s Wheel, 1989); Huszárok, hej, gyászhuszárok (lit. Hussars, Hey, Mourning Hussars, 1992); A kis rohadék (lit. The Little Bastard, 1993).
[16] The first independent haiku cycle appears in Lassú halált játszik (30 haiku, 2000); haiku in the hundreds are published in A szürrealista balkon (2004) and Szállás rossz ágyon (2005). These are selected, with new texts, in the purely haiku-and-waka volume Váz (lit. Frame) (2008), and the sequence is closed by another uniform genre offering, és néhány haiku (lit. and some haiku poems) (2015), altogether comprising roughly five hundred pieces of the Japanese-derived, often title-bearing poem type.
[17] See e.g. the volume Borús reggeli üzenetek (lit. Messages of a Gloomy Morning).
[18] The poem appears at the opening of A szürrealista balkon; the drama Veszteglés – amikor a látótávolság a kritikus szint alá csökken. Szürrealista dráma (“Stasis – When the Visibility Drops Below Critical Level. Surrealist Drama”) appears in the volume Azután megdöglünk (Napkút Publishing, 2004).
[19] Seregszámla. Tizenöt év verseiből (lit. Roll-Call. From Fifteen Years of Poems), Pesti Szalon, 1994; Áttűnések – áttüntetések. álom a napon felejtett demokráciáról (lit. Transitions – Transfigurations. Dream of a Democracy Left in the Sun), Ecotrend, 1994.
[20] The elements of the list appear in the afterword of the poetry volume (pp. 275–280); see J. J.: Zalán Tibor legszebb versei? (lit. The Most Beautiful Poems of Tibor Zalán?).
[21] Attila Juhász: Zalán-verziók. Z. T. három évtizede (lit. Zalán Versions. Three Decades of T. Z.), Kortárs, 2004; ed. Zoltán Virág: Hintázni a lét peremén. Írások Zalán Tibor tiszteletére (lit. Swinging on the Edge of Existence. Writings in Honour of Tibor Zalán), Tiszatáj Könyvek, 2014.
[22] See e.g. Egy múlhatatlan nosztalgia forgácsai (lit. Splinters of an Imperishable Nostalgia) in A szürrealista balkon, or Tűnődések az öngyilkosság előnyeiről és hátrányairól (lit. Reflections on the Advantages and Disadvantages of Suicide) in Szállás rossz ágyon (2005).
[23] Péter H. Nagy: Orpheusz feldarabolva. Zalán Tibor költészete és az avantgárd hagyomány (lit. Orpheus Dissected. The Poetry of Tibor Zalán and the Avant-Garde Tradition), Ráció Publishing House, 2003.
[24] See the closing-cycle poems of Álom a 403-as demokráciában
[25] For the author’s analytical presentation of this, see Attila Szabados: “Költői életem gyakorlatilag megszűnt” – Beszélgetés Zalán Tiborral, Bárka, XXXI, 2024/4, p. 75.
[26] Hal, vér, festék (lit. Fish, Blood, Paint), Nap Publishing House, 2000; Azután megdöglünk, Napkút Publishing, 2004; Szín-hang-báb (lit. Colour-Sound-Puppet), Kortárs Publishing House, 2009; Szín-játékok (lit. Stage-Plays), Jókai Theatre of Békéscsaba, 2014; Két színpadi játék (lit. Two Stage Plays), Fekete Sas Publishing House, 2016; Revizorr, (Tiszatáj Könyvek, 2017; Ruhatárban felejtett kabátok (lit. Coats Left in the Cloakroom), Fekete Sas Publishing House, 2019; Reménytelenek (lit. The Hopeless), Fekete Sas Publishing, 2023.
[27] His theatre and drama-theory essays may be read in the volume of the same title arising from the B2 Box feuilleton series of Napút magazine (2017), and in several cycles of Istenek az árokparton (2022).
[28] See: “Tűnődések a hangjátékról” (lit. “Reflections on the Radio Play”) in Tibor Zalán: Reménytelenek, pp. 7–10.
[29] The drama on Janus Pannonius was one of the winners of the competition ‘The Renaissance in the Mirror of Today’s Theatre’ announced by the Jókai Theatre in Békés County; its premiere was on 1 December 2008. For the Petőfi bicentenary a competition was announced by the Pannon Várszínház (Pannon Castle Theatre, Veszprém) and Pesti Kalligram Publishing House for contemporary completions of Petőfi’s unfinished drama; Zalán’s Karaffa – augmented with fictional elements and generically retuned – appeared in the collective volume; see: ed. János Géczi: Karaffa, 2022.
[30] See: https://kultura.hu/irodalom-archivum-zalan-marad/
[31] In addition to those cited above (notes 12–13), see also: Halva feküdni ott / Curriculum vitae (lit. To Lie There Dead / Curriculum Vitae), Kortárs, 1995/5.
[32] In addition to those cited above (notes 12–13), see also: Ács Feri öt napja (lit. Five Days of Feri Ács), Kortárs, 2008/6; this does not include the eight short stories later incorporated into different parts of the pentalogy.
[33] See pp. 185–187.
[34] Blue Dolphin; Sz. Simon szégyene (lit. The Shame of Sz. Simon).
[35] Orig.: “Letépve a tudás gyümölcse már” (lit. “The fruit of knowledge is now pluck’d”), Byron: Don Juan, Part I, Canto I, Stanza 127, trans. Emil Ábrányi; see: https://mek.oszk.hu/10700/10767/10767.htm#4
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