Dear Readers,
For this issue of Folyosó—and our fifth international contest—we received an unprecedented number of strong pieces—from the Árpád Vezér Gimnázium in Sárospatak, Hungary; the Varga Katalin Gimnázium in Szolnok, Hungary; and the Lycée Sainte Pulchérie in Istanbul, Turkey. Students responded to the following prompt: “Write a piece (a poem, story, dialogue, essay, letter or other written work) that has to do with one of these animals: bird, cat, bear, fish, horse. It may involve more than one kind of animal, but please be sure to indicate the main animal in the subject line. The piece may be about the animal, evoke the animal, or speak from the animal’s perspective.”
There were poems, essays, stories, diary entries, and a letter: pieces with wit, feeling, and imagination. A poem that begins “And the snapping of their jaws wreck the earth” (“And Their Flesh Ached for the Sea” by Elif Yavuz) has me hooked. Eszter Forvith’s “Urban Dove,” with its slightly delirious narration, sets me up to be surprised later. Dominik Karajos’s “The Bench“—which did not fit any of the contest categories but is published in the poetry section—ponders the meaning of life whimsically and playfully.
Many thanks to my colleagues Anikó Bánhegyesi and Judit Kassainé Mrena, who served with me on the jury. Selecting winners is a largely subjective process; while it was difficult to assign rankings, we were delighted with the pieces overall and tried to recognize some of the ones that stood out for us. Instead of calculating the averages of our individual rankings, we each judged one category independently, and together judged the “bear” category and selected the overall winners.
The contest had a few anomalies. The two pieces that did not meet the contest requirements are published in the poetry section. Also, I inadvertently neglected to enter Dominik Nemcsok’s “Sour Bear Dream” in the contest; I recognized the error only after the winners had been announced. In recognition of its merit, it has received a special honor.
Aside from the contest, this issue of Folyosó has a new bilingual feature. In the past, we have included select pieces in Hungarian. This time, we present three stories by Boldizsár Berényi (a student at the Varga Katalin Gimnázium) along with my English translation of each. I hope that this feature continues! These stories are singular, daring, and dark; I enjoyed translating them.
Our spring issue will appear in May 2025; the deadline for submissions is April 1. (Anything submitted late will be considered for the Autumn 2025 issue.) In the meantime, we hope you enjoy reading the pieces here.
Best wishes,
Diana Senechal
Founder and Editor of Folyosó