It is a highly peculiar phenomenon in Hungarian – and perhaps in East and Central
European – literature of the early 20th century that Avant-Garde tendencies started
to gain some (weak) position parallel with the first wave of Modernism, and when
they received – understandably – a rather hostile reaction on the part of Conservative
(nationalistic, traditional, anti-Western) literary circles, their reception on the
part of the evolving Modernist literature was not much more friendly either.
Strangely enough, besides some signals of solidarity and sympathy, the criticisms of
Modernism turned against Avant-Garde were in harmony with those formulated by
the Conservative circles. However, as the Latin saying goes, “duo cum faciunt idem,
non est idem” (that is, when two do the same thing, it is not the same thing) – despite
the apparent interference of Modernist and Conservative criticism aimed against
Avant-Garde tendencies, the position of the actors in question was radically different.
In what follows, I give a short account of the Avant-Gardists’ debate with their
Modernist contemporaries and an even shorter account of their debate with Conservative
adversaries
