The ELTE Savaria University Centre honoured the memory of Gábor Devecseri (1917–1971) with a commemoration ceremony on the occasion of the Hungarian Poetry Day and presented the first volume of the latest publication series of the Department of Literature, Petőfi and Madách 200.
The ceremony, held in the Savaria Library and Archives, was opened by Ibolya Czetter, Professor of Literature and Head of the Department of Literature, who in her introductory remarks drew attention to the literary man's ties to Szombathely and his valuable legacy at the University. He recalled that Gábor Devecseri and his wife Klára Huszár spent their summers in Szombathely in the 1960s and early 1970s as creative artists of the Iseum Games.
Part of his library, which contains almost 4000 volumes, was transferred to the predecessor institution of ELTE ULA Savaria Library and Archives in 1982.
The intellectual heritage was followed by the recent gift of a table and four chairs, a gift from the poet's son János Devecseri, which evoke the atmosphere of the author's home. "Objects have a soul," said Ibolya Czetter, referring to the many people who have sat at this table – from Zoltán Kodály to Ferenc Karinthy, István Örkény and Iván Boldizsár to Tibor Déry – and the many translations that have been made in the company of these objects.
Students gave a taste of the poetry of the literary translator: Máté Goda recited the poem "Letter", Evelin Ádám recited "To Poets", and then Balázs Barták, assistant professor, shared his thoughts with the audience based on his own experiences of Devecseri.
The Gábor Devecseri Library as a special collection is located in the Council Chamber, while the memorial corner is next to the Ágoston Pável Room on the second floor of the library.
In the second part of the event, the moderator of the ceremony, Viktória Málics, talked to Ibolya Czetter and András Szemerics, authors of the book published by the department.
The book contains essays by teachers and students, which were presented at a symposium and other events organised by the Department in 2023 on the occasion of the Petőfi and Madách Bicentenaries at the ELTE Savaria University Centre.
At the commemorative event, teachers and students of the Department of Music Education performed poems set to music.
