SEARCHING FOR A KIND OF SHORT STORY IN LETTERS

Is it a “genre” Iván Mándy was not interested in?

Abstract

Iván Mándy’s selected letters were published for the 100^th anniversary of his birth, which is a volume of “literary genres” the author himself was less interested in. “Selected” is in inverted comas because it does not mean that the letters were selected, but rather refers to the ones not yet found, that is, to the problem of the collection being incomplete. The study primarily focuses on the relationship between Mándy’s texts and their context in relation to the letters, as well as the communication network which developed between the writer and his pen mates. A number of literary historical and cultural policy moments can be found in these letters sent and received. Condensed statements woven into the texts often induce literary and cultural discourse, including those that disregard the stereotypes associated with the Mándy opus. Ferenc Darvasi attained and edited the letters he had sent, dedications, pictures and illustrations attained from private and public collections.