The new semester has begun, bringing with it that peculiar rhythm in which the calendar hides not only dates but also stories. I have already finished my reviews – one of a university textbook and one of a conference volume – and now I return to my lecture notes: rereading, revising, patching them, as if each year they acquired a new colour, a new emphasis. To reread is always also to rewrite: the old lines speak differently to new students, and differently to me as well.
In the background, the volume from our most recent conference (Minority Languages and Education in Slovakia: Present, Past, and Future) is nearly ready to hold in hand – thanks to the contributors and to my co-editor, Krisztina Laczkó. The organisation of the conference The Legacy of Jókai – Historical Perspective and National Identity in Jókai’s Oeuvre is already in its final phase: the list of talks is complete, only the fine-tuning of the schedule remains. Distinguished speakers are lined up (thanks also to my colleague Tibor Gintli), and I trust we will be able to revive the vibrant atmosphere of the 2023 Grendel 75 conference.
Meanwhile, with my students the period is equally busy: several of them will be completing their theses in October, I am discussing new research directions with colleagues, and on my desk lies the manuscript of my university textbook, with which I am still patiently tinkering, searching for the exact rhythm of the sentences. My three-year project on reading comprehension and text production is nearing its end, but I am already preparing two new grant proposals. And next year, the Erasmus BIP programme will begin: students from Eger and Oradea will arrive in Prešov. The programme plan is ready – it only needs to come alive.
The autumn months are also full of public appearances: on 16 October in Prešov (The Art of Word and Food – Jókai’s Gastronomic Universe), the next day in Budapest at ELTE TÓK, where I will lecture on critical thinking and the pedagogical potential of digital escape rooms. On 5 November I will once again stand before an audience in Prešov, at the invitation of the National Institute for Education and Youth (NIVaM), where I will speak about the training and challenges of future teachers of Hungarian.
And in the midst of all the organising, reviewing, note-taking, and grant-writing, I also write poems. Small fragments, shreds grown from words, that may one day become a collection – or may not. But writing is indispensable: without it, everything else is mere administration. Writing is what gives heart to the texts, the courses, the conferences – and to me as well.