Micro-stories and empathy in literature

At the 9th edition of the pulzArt contemporary arts festival Vida Gábor was interviewed in the packed foyer of the theater by fellow writer István Miklóssi Szabó about his latest novel “Senkiháza. Erdélyi lektűr” (“No One’s Land. Transylvanian Dime Novel”). He spoke about the micro-communities that unfold in this novel, the personal experiences, culture and literature that unfold through the characters. Micro histories of Romania between 1920 and 1940 reveal whole worlds where, for example, there is a parade but no boots. But every soldier has a handkerchief. From which we emigrate not when it’s at its worst, but when we can. 

A special treat was meeting the writer Mihai Radu, who spoke to us about the cruelty of reality in Romania, the political dimension of humor, about the capacity of irony and sarcasm to exaggerate and amplify the small cracks in our society or even to cut the ties of nostalgia and sentimentality. Moderated by literary translator Szőcs Imre, the discussion, full of deep reflections but essentially light and humorous, also touched on the charm of small towns, the love of football, fans, his collaboration with director Radu Afrim, the transformation of his latest novel into a theatrical performance, the inscrutable gaps between generations and the impossibility of reading literature without empathy.

The aim of Sugár János’s initiative “Time Patrol” at last year’s pulzArt was to listen to what passers-by have to say, record their personal stories and publish them in a book. The book, containing 53 stories, was presented at this year’s festival. The at-times shocking document, which records word-for-word traumatic life stories, including pronunciation, is a unique example of how the poorest become part of high culture, how a stream of thoughts becomes a place-specific, random, yet universal community creation, a performance, how art is put into a space without boundaries.