Hungarian Literature will be presented through a variety of literary translations of János Lackfi with his humorous book “What Else Are Hungarians Like?”, one of Lackfi’s most popular volumes in an easygoing and charming style to give a colorful description of Hungarians with their habits and traditions; Ferenc Molnár (1878-1952), one of Hungary’s great literary figures through the first half of the 20th century with his youth novel “The Pál Street Boys” about the schoolboys in Józsefváros neighborhood of Budapest; Géza Gárdonyi’s (1863-1922) “The Stars of Eger”, a well constructed historical novel detailing the 1552 Siege of Eger; Albert-László Barabási, a network scientist with his work “Linked” which unveils the hidden order behind various complex systems using the quantitative tools of network science; András Cserna-Szabó and Benedek Darida who have an excellent understanding of gastronomy in “The Big Book of Macskajaj” with glasses of wine and delicious meals.

Speakers of the event are well-known Vietnamese writer, blogger, and journalist Di Li; Assoc. Prof. Dr. habil. Vu Hoang Linh, Rector of the VNU University of Science; and Dr. Gyöngyi Heltai, theatre historian, Hungarian visiting professor at the VNU University of Humanities and Social Sciences. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

János Lackfi was born in 1971 in Budapest. He works as a writer, poet, translator, and editor. He is the author of more than 30 books,  for adults, and for children, and has translated 35 books from French. He won several literary awards. His humorous book "Milyenek a magyarok?" (Who Are the Hungarians?), is one of Lackfi’s most popular volumes which sold ten thousand copies within the first two months of its publication. The collection is written in an easygoing and charming style and intends to give a colorful description of Hungarians with their habits and traditions.

Ferenc Molnár (1878-1952) was one of Hungary’s great literary figures through the first half of the 20th century. His 42 plays include “The Guardsman,” “The Play’s the Thing” and “Liliom,” which was adapted on Broadway as “Carousel.” His youth novel “The Pál Street Boys” (1907) is about schoolboys in Józsefváros neighborhood of Budapest and is set in 1889. The Paul Street Boys spend their free time at the “grund”, an empty lot that they regard as their "Fatherland".  “The Pal Street Boys” is one of the most famous Hungarian novels outside the country. It has been translated into many languages, and in several countries, it is a mandatory or recommended reading in schools.

Géza Gárdonyi (1863-1922) was a Hungarian writer and journalist. Though his principal works were published early in the 20th century, they belonged to the 19th century. “The Stars of Eger” published in 1901 is a well constructed historical novel. Géza Gárdonyi set his Hungarian children's classic in the 16th century during the 150-year Ottoman occupation. Besides the tales of several battles, the novel details the 1552 Siege of Eger, during which Captain István Dobó's 2,000 Hungarian men, women, and children inside the county's castle, defeated a Turkish force of 80,000 men. The publication of  The Stars of Eger and the huge success of his play The Wine at the National Theatre (1901) made him one of the most widely read writers in Hungary. Gárdonyi was buried in the Eger Castle. His former house in Eger is a memorial museum.

Albert-László Barabási is a network scientist. A Hungarian-born native of Transylvania, Romania, he received his MA in Theoretical Physics at the Eötvös University in Budapest, Hungary, and Ph.D. three years later at Boston University. His work has helped unveil the hidden order behind various complex systems using the quantitative tools of network science, a research field that he pioneered, and led to the discovery of scale-free networks, helping explain the emergence of many natural, technological and social networks. His books have been translated into over twenty languages. 

András Cserna-Szabó and Benedek Darida are authors who have an excellent understanding of gastronomy. They wrote an interesting cultural history book that has a point of view associated with glasses of wine and delicious meals. The authors have written a fictional handbook on hangovers, and at the same time created the science of katzenjammerologia. In the original Hungarian katzenjammerologia, a homemade word based on the German slang word katzenjammer (meaning cat) for drunkenness. 40 essays describe the greatest booze artists and their immortal works, which gives us the suspicion that the majority of these masterpieces were created by good-for-nothing drunks. The authors do it all with a thorough knowledge of the subject, enthusiasm, a great plot, and fine language. We are also given 66 recipes to help us effectively fight the katzenjammer

Judit Polgár earned the (men’s) International Master chess title at the age of 12 and set a new record by becoming the youngest (men’s) International Grandmaster in history at the age of 15. Polgár defeated former world chess champion Boris Spassky in a match in 1993. By far the strongest female player of all time, she also became the only woman ever to be ranked in the top 10 chess players of the world, reaching No. 8 in 2005. Following her retirement from competitive chess in 2014, her Judit Polgar Chess Foundation developed educational programs. The Chess Playground is for pre-school children. The aim is to improve various skills (problem-solving, strategical thinking, etc.) with the help of chess.