#fearlesspoems (2022)
An unconventional initiative launched on Hungarian Poetry Day on April 11, 2022 aims to inspire people to overcome their fear of power and express their opinions freely through the performance of timeless poems. Six young actors fearfully recite six poems that are traditionally performed with courage and pride. However, at a certain point, the audience is given a choice: they can decide to see and hear the fearless version. All they have to do is click.
Freedom, courage, taking a stance—recitation has always been an important means of expression. A poem recited with passion can evoke emotion, change minds, inspire action—as we have seen so many times throughout history. But what would a world be like where the fear of power paralyzed the performing arts? This question is at the heart of the Fearless Poems initiative.
Audiences can watch two performances of six classic and contemporary Hungarian poems that express strong ideas and emphasize the value of taking a stance courageously. János Arany's The Bards of Wales, Endre Ady's Song of the Hungarian Jacobin, Attila József's A Breath of Air!, István Kemény's At the King's, Ottó Orbán's Sweet Homeland and Ágnes Gergely's poem To Miklós Zrínyi will be brought to life in an unusual video series. Each poem starts with a fearful performance, devoid of courage and a sense of freedom. But the viewer has a choice at one point: by clicking, they can switch to the fearless version of the poems.
The literary consultant for the project was Péter Závada. The actors involved are Ági Bartos, István Szacsvai, Janka Veszelovszki, Gergely Váradi, Jakab Sebestény and Orsolya Fodor. They are all early-career talents who, in recent years, have all personally experienced how liberating it can be to act without fear. But this is not the only reason why they took part in the project; they participated also to promote the power of poetry and poems in this unusual way and to a wider audience on the occasion of Hungarian Poetry Day.
The aim of Fearless Poems is to highlight the importance of free expression—regardless of the times, the situation or the powers that be—, so that people may both dare to and want to say what they feel is true, whether through poetry or other forms of self-expression.
The project is part of the Blinken OSA Archivum’ fearless program series, the main idea of which is: be the voice that call for the truth!
