András Petõcz
A Change of Guard in Writing
Notes on the Poetry of the 1980s
[...]
The 80s are therefore eminently important in the literature of the recent
past, for the changes that took place at that time laid the foundations
for the literary life of our day. Very typically, one of the first such
initiatives was taken at the University of Budapest, where some of us started
a literary and art review, Jelenlét (Presence). The political powers
classified it as a student paper and as such they did not ban it; indeed,
they could not have done so easily at a time when strikes were common in
Poland. One of the first privately initiated periodicals, Jelenlét
presented the latest distinctive literary, artistic and, if only covertly,
political endeavours. The period was far from being uneventful--we participated
in the student movements demanding an autonomous student forum and independent
teaching, and created the "independent peace movement" which,
unlike the official peace movement, urged disarmament not only for the
US but also for the Soviet Union. The first "samizdat boutiques"
opened around 1981, and quite a number of illegal publications were available
at the University. We were aware of the tragedy the untimely death of László
Nagy meant. His was a peasant background and he had grown into a great
poet, and we felt that a period had come to an end. As the giants of the
older generation, Illyés, Pilinszky, Weöres, all died, something
new was soon to start. And all the while the great poets of the century
were looming over us; we were very much aware of the genius of Endre Ady
and Attila József and the weight of the review Nyugat (1908-1941),
whose influence is felt to this day. We also descried the rebellious avant-garde
at the beginning of the century and in it Kassák's persistent innovative
work. We perceived the significance of the poetry of the American beat
generation, Ginsberg, Corso, Ferlinghetti, who became known in the 70s;
we knew about rock and pop as a way of life and Woodstock as a symbol,
even though very little of the latter had filtered through to us. The 80s,
we should not forget, brought great changes which inevitably left their
mark on our views. The strikes in Poland made an impact on us; students
at the time walked around with Solidarity badges pinned on their lapels,
and we travelled to Warsaw and Cracow to get the feel of things. This was
the time when we bought our samizdat papers and magazines at László
Rajk's apartment in central Budapest, and we heard Allen Ginsberg at the
Faculty of Arts. He spoke to us about rock, free verse, the breath of free
poetry. It was a time when the József Attila Circle, the youth section
of the Writers' Association, was the forum for free political debate, and
the idea of a series of publications by its members was being discussed
on a growing number of occasions.
[...]
