Essay It!

is an international essay-writing contest organized by A2 kulturní týdeník (the Czech Republic), Magyar Lettre Internationale (Hungary), Tygodnik Powszechny (Poland) and Revue K&S (Slovakia). The first contest was organized in 2007 under the theme of "Central European City". Among the topics suggested by the organizers were ghettos, cycling in the city, children of the street, squats, walls and fences, hypermarkets, suburbs, suburbanization, new architecture, ecology, former factories, homelessness, industrial zones, the "nouveau riche", graffiti, etc.

The international jury selected 12 finalists from V4 countries (their essays translated into English and the original versions follow below). Out of the 12, the three following essayists won the contest: Jan Štolba (Czech Republic) with his essay The Absent City (Sentimental Improvisations) won the first prize, the Polish finalist Kamil Kruszewski received the second prize for his essay Where Is the City that Does Not Exist? and Transitional Places (or Bars in ruins, retro-gardens and nostalgia cafes in Budapest at the dawn of the 21st century) by Márk Áron Éber (Hungary) received the third prize.

Author/Essay (in English):		Original language:
Márk Éber & Dora Szego: Transitional Places
Ágnes & Gábor Kapitány: Our City
Kamil Kruszewski: Where Is the City that Does Not Exist?
Maria Lipnicka: The Warsaw Tango
Radoslav Passia: Mukachevo Rain
Sylva Poláková: Freedom as a Side-Product
Levente Polyak: Coherent Fragmentation
Jan Štolba: The Absent City
Tamás Tofalvy: When Is a City a Central European City?
Alexander Tölle: The Gdansk Shipyard
Radoslav Tomáš: Nonexistent Cities
Martin Vlachynský: Genius Loci

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© 2007, Márk Éber and Dora Szego, Ágnes Kapitány and Gábor Kapitány, Kamil Kruszewski, Maria Lipnicka, Radoslav Passia, Sylva Poláková, Levente Polyak, Jan Štolba, Tamás Tofalvy, Alexander Tölle, Radoslav Tomáš, Martin Vlachynský.

© 2007, A2 kulturní týdeník (Czech Republic), Magyar Lettre International (Hungary), Tygodnik Powszechny (Poland) and Revue K&S (Slovakia).