Marginalia on Casanova
By including the first volume of Szentkuthy’s St. Orpheus Breviary, the Marginalia on Casanova, or, as we take it, Apropos Casanova, into our ambitious literary programme, we intend to introduce a yet unknown Hungarian author to a wider German public.
Die Andere Bibliothek – founded in 1985 by the German writer and literary authority Hans Magnus Enzensberger and the publisher, book designer, and icon of typesetting Franz Greno – is renowned for its literary and aesthetic quality. Ever since the first release in January 1985, Die Andere Bibliothek has been publishing a book every month, reaching its 421st volume in January 2020. If there has been a criterion for the editing practice of Die Andere Bibliothek, for the shape of its program and the decision, which projects to include into its series of books, it has been sheer quality. It has published classics of world literature as well as forgotten masterpieces by unrecognized and infamous authors of the past. Within the 421 volumes of an “contrary canon” we find accounts of journeys, novels, non-fiction works. In the German public, Die Andere Bibliothek is praised for being the “most splendid book series in the world” and for its literary revelations. Its publications are unique.
In continuing our tradition of excellent and widely acknowledged editions of foreign language books, in the summer of 2020 we are happy to present Miklós Szentkuthy’s Apropos Casanova, translated by Timea Tankó, with whom the German public is already familiar with thanks to her praised translations of György Dragomán, Andor Endre Gelléri, Antal Szerb and others. We hope very much that our project will win your recognition and support.
Miklós Szentkuthy (born Miklós Pfisterer; 2 June 1908 – 18 July 1988) was one of the most prolific Hungarian writers of the 20th century.
His works include numerous novels, essays, translations, and a voluminous diary spanning the years 1930–1988. As the author of masterpieces such as Prae, the epic 10-volume St. Orpheus Breviary, Chapter on Love and Towards the One and Only Metaphor, he is recognized as one of the most significant Hungarian writers of the 20th century.
To date, his works have been translated into English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, and Turkish.