English-language literary magazine gets "lovely" launch party

On this quintessential holiday about love, all too often known for consumer greeting cards, Matt Ellis, an eight-year Budapest resident will be sharing his heart with word lovers of another sort, those who love a good magazine full of sexy literary words. His is a fatherly love, of sorts, for the party is centered on the fifth volume of his literary magazine, Pilvax, which highlights work from writers and artists in the region. While every new issue of the journal has been debuted with a party, the newest Pilvax will be launched in conjunction with an installment of the Budapest Bardroom, literary Budapest's best-known regular event. And given the date, there will be drinks and Pilvax chocolates alongside the traditional brow-scratching Bardroom readings and quizzes.

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Hungry for good literature: Pilvax editor (and Chew.hu contributor) Matt Ellis, and some of the "literary" chocolates to be had at tonight's launch of the magazine's latest issue.

Pilvax began in 2005 when Ellis, who hails from Chicago via New York, decided it was time to launch a platform for writers in the region to publish their works in English, locally.

"I believe in literature, I believe in the arts, and we filled a niche," says Ellis, who also works as a teacher and editor, and is a regular contributor to Caboodle's sister site, Chew.hu.

The journal was named after a street in Budapest which in turn was named for a café that was once the haunt of Sándor Petőfi, Hungary's national poet. But Ellis says that it wasn't until the publication of the first edition that he discovered the name's literary legacy, and that he simply "liked the sound" of the word. "If I had known I probably would have named it something else, [becauses] with this history there is almost too much expectation of greatness," he says.

Pilvax, however, has lived up to its name. For one thing, unlike some publications in the genre, the magazine is professionally published. Even though Ellis delivered the first editions from his home printer in 2005 with co-editor Aaron Hunter hand-stapling the pages together. The magazine is distributed locally in Budapest and globally at City Lights in San Francisco, Shakespeare & Co in Paris, and Quimby's Bookstore in Chicago, among others. Among the notable names that have appeared in its pages are playwright György Spiró, poet György Faludi and, in this issue, Nobel Prize-winner Imre Kertész.

Because everyone who works on the magazine is a volunteer - writers get to take home a few free magazines - the publication schedule is "flexible," with issues coming out as submissions and donations roll in. (The American Embassy is among past benefactors.) While the magazine is not currently looking for help, Ellis says that anyone who is fluent in Hungarian and English and can help do research on available grants would be a welcome addition to the team.

To get a copy of the latest issue and a chance to win one of the aforementioned Pilvax chocolates, head to the Bardroom's "threesome" event this evening.

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