Konvália - Zakázaná láska Rudolfa Dilonga – Fulmeková Denisa (2022)

Love that is not favored by the surroundings or the times. A thousand and one such stories have been told or written, often based on real patterns. Yet it is always interesting to observe how personal and historical dramas unfold. For example, in the Slovak town of Malacky before World War II, where a Jewish girl, Valérie Reiszová, fell in love with a Franciscan monk, priest, and one of the most talented Slovak poets of that time: Rudolf Dilong. A relationship that produced a number of poems, whether hers or his, and also a daughter, Dagmar. What was the outcome of the fateful confrontation with the anti-Jewish laws of the then Slovak state, of which Dilong was a cultural and political celebrity? What were the fates of this trio after the war? All of this is conveyed in her book Konvalia. The Forbidden Love of Rudolf Dilong, using period documents, personal memories, and verses from both lovers, by their granddaughter, Slovak writer Denisa Fulmeková. With undisguised emotional engagement, but without sentimentality, with narrative bravura, lightness, and creativity. The scheme applied a thousand times and once has resulted in a unique reading experience. – Published with the support of the Slolia Commission, Literary Information Center Bratislava.