07. 01. 2021

ALTER-TANTERV – A NEW CULTURAL SERIES ON ERDÉLY TV, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE HUNGARIAN THEATRE OF CLUJ AND THE HUNGARIAN WRITERS’ LEAGUES OF TRANSYLVANIA (EMIL)

A new cultural series entitled ALTER-TANTERV is launched on Erdély TV. Within the framework of this programme well-known poets, writers, literary historians and literary critics approach the different eras of Hungarian literature in an exciting journey through time, reviving both the well-known and the undeservedly shunned masterpieces of the great representatives of Hungarian literature. As its title suggests, the series attempts to provide a wider space for approaching the high school level curricula of Hungarian literature, from a broader, novel perspective, with the aim of encouraging younger and older generations to read poetry, prose, drama, and thus receive all the riches that Hungarian literature has gifted us throughout the centuries.

Each episode of the 13 part series might focus on a single writer or literary work, but might also broach  a larger era. The conversation representing the series-opening is already a large-scale exploration of the  beginnings of Hungarian literature, from the Lamentations of Mary (Ómagyar Mária-siralom) to the poetry of Mihály Csokonai Vitéz, however, the lyrical works of János Arany or Imre Madách’s masterpiece The Tragedy of Man, will be showcased in separate episodes.

The conversations are enriched by the performances of the artists of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj, who will recite poems and act out dramatic excerpts.

The ALTER-TANTERV has been implemented within a wide-ranging cooperative effort, being co-produced by the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj, the Hungarian Writers' League of Transylvania and Erdély TV, with the Hungarian Teacher’s Association of Romania as its key partner. The main sponsor of the project is the Communitas Foundation.

The first part of the series is broadcast by Erdély TV on January 10, at 3.30 pm. Within this initial episode, Béla Markó and Gábor Tompa examine the beginnings of Hungarian literature, accompanied on their journey by actors Csilla Albert, Csaba Marosán, Júlia Laczó, and Loránd Farkas.

The ALTER-TANTERV episodes will be released every other week, and after its TV premiere the programme will be available on Erdély TV’s YouTube channel.