Another year, another autumn, another Folyosó—but this is much more than repetition. This issue stands out for the sheer abundance and quality of international contest entries, the plethora of forms and styles throughout, the students’ eagerness to revise and perfect their work. More than any other time, students have rethought and rewritten their work independently, sending me one new version after another. This is part of the joy of editing Folyosó: watching the writing take off in so many different ways.
This autumn, many Hungarians and others around the world have been commemorating the 100th anniversary of the poet János Pilinszky’s birth. At the Varga Katalin Gimnázium, on November 25 at 7:55 a.m., three students, all of them contributors to at least four issues of Folyosó, read four Pilinszky poems over the loudspeaker. You can hear their reading here. It is not directly connected to the journal, but we here at Folyosó appreciate a worthy tangent, which sometimes turns out to be the essence of things, not a tangent at all.
A lot goes into preparing and releasing each issue of Folyosó—there’s the typical last-minute rush and hubbub—but we also recognize that thinking, writing, and editing take time. So we often save pieces for future issues. One such piece is “Kumkapı” by Nerses Boztaş, a finalist in the Autumn 2021 international contest, which we will feature in the Winter 2021–2022 issue. We look forward to publishing it!
As for the current issue, where to begin? Start anywhere—maybe at the top, with Roza Kaplan’s startling and moving “Raindrops in the Darkness.” Or perhaps you’re in the mood for an absurdist story-play about two cats with a grand plan. In that case, “How to Become Rich” by Fanni Korpás will be just right. Or perhaps you would like to read a poem that takes visual risks. Zeynep Cicimen’s and-but-so: Simply Written “Eternal Solitude” (accepted) does that and much more. Maybe Áron Antal’s conscience-shaking piece “A Contradiction in Itself” will be one of your first selections, or Borbála Sós’s playful “Dog’s Dream,” or Ecem Göksenin Aday’s eerie yet joyous story “The Reflection,” or Aurelia Wiggins’s bracing poem “On the World.” Wherever you start, we hope that you will continue!
The contest brought in an unprecedented number of submissions, this time from three countries. I would like to thank my fellow jury members, Marianna Jeneiné Fekete and Anikó Bánhegyesi. It was difficult to select the winners, but we enjoyed the task, since the pieces were so interesting.
The next issue will come out in mid-February. In the meantime, we wish you happy reading, or rather, readings of many colors and moods!
Sincerely,
Diana Senechal
Founder and Editor of Folyosó