László F. Földényi

László Földényi F. Hungarian critic, essayist and art theorist signs a book. Ünnepi Könyvhét (bookfest), Budapest, June 2023.

László F. Földényi (born 19 April 1952 in Debrecen)[1] is a Hungarian critic, essayist and art theorist.[2] He lives in Budapest where he is Professor of Art Theory at the University of Theatre, Film and Television.[3] He has been a member of the German Academy for Language and Literature since 2009.[4]

Works

Having published over 15 books, Földényi is a prolific writer. However only three collections of essays have been translated and published in English.

Melancholy

Melancholy, a cultural history of the concept, was published in Hungarian in 1984 and not translated into English until 2016. In an essay on melancholia, noted writer Péter Nádas suggests that as a practicing melancholic, Földényi has written a book that ‘provides a realization [about melancholy] similar to the one modern astronomy reaches about black holes’.[5] Földényi posits that eminent artists are often melancholic as they are aware of their mortality.[6]

Dostoyevsky Reads Hegel in Siberia and Bursts into Tears

Dostoyevsky Reads Hegel in Siberia and Bursts into Tears is a collection of Földényi’s essays spanning the two decades to 2015. The book is considered by some critics to be a critique with religious undertones[7] of an overly rational Enlightenment tradition. Writing in The New Yorker, James Wood labelled the book's depiction of the Enlightenment a 'grievous caricature.'[8] In spite of these criticisms, the essays can be considered a demonstration of the author's erudition and knowledge of intellectual history.[9]

Prizes

• Blue Salon Prize of the Literaturhaus Frankfurt (2002)[1]
• Friedrich-Gundolf Prize of the German Academy of Language and Literature (2005)[1]
• Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding (2020)[10]
• Darmstadt Jury Literature Prize (2020)[11]

Bibliography

• Melancholy, translated by Tim Wilkinson, Yale University Press, 2016, ISBN 9780300167481
• Dostoyevsky Reads Hegel in Siberia and Bursts into Tears, translated by Ottilie Mulzet, Yale University Press, 2020, ISBN 9780300167498
• The Glance of the Medusa: The Physiognomy of Mysticism, translated by Jozefina Komporaly, University of Chicago Press, 2021, ISBN 9780857426086

Critical studies and reviews of Földényi's work

Dostoyevsky reads Hegel in Siberia and bursts into tears

• Wood, James (June 1, 2020). "In from the cold : a Hungarian essayist struggles against Enlightenment". The Critics. Books. The New Yorker. Vol. 96, no. 15. pp. 64–67.[12]

References

1. "Leipzig Bookfair Program - LAUDATIO TO LÁSZLÓ FÖLDÉNYI" (PDF). 26 May 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
2. Newport, Jason (13 April 2017). "Toward Horizontal Thought: An Interview with László Földényi". Three Percent. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
3. "LÁSZLÓ F. FÖLDÉNYI". PEN America. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
4. "Members - László F. Földényi". Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
5. Nádas, Péter (2007). Fire and Knowledge. New York: Farrer, Strauss and Giroux. p. 245.
6. Loomis, Nicky (20 July 2016). "Happy with Tears: On Melancholy as a Hungarian Condition". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
7. Haas, Felix. "Dostoyevsky Reads Hegel in Siberia and Bursts into Tears by László F. Földényi". World Literature Today. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
8. Wood, James (25 May 2020). "The Scholar Starting Brawls with the Enlightenment". The New Yorker. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
9. Halla, Barbara (17 February 2020). "What's New in Translation: February 2020". Asymptote. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
10. "László F. Földényi wins Leipzig Book Prize for European Understanding". Hungarian Literature Online. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
11. "László F. Földényi Wins New Literary Prize in Darmstadt". Hungarian Literature Online. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
12. Online version is titled "The scholar starting brawls with the Enlightenment".