Sándor Kányádi (; 10 May 1929 – 20 June 2018) was a
Hungarian poet and translator from the region of
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
. He was one of the most famous and beloved contemporary
Hungarian poets. He was a major contributor to Hungarian children's literature. His works have been translated into English, Finnish, Estonian, Swedish, German, French, Romanian and Portuguese.
Biography
He was born in
Porumbenii Mari (Hungarian: ''Nagygalambfalva''), a small Hungarian village in the region of Transylvania, to a family of Hungarian farmers. He was educated in the nearby town of
Odorheiu-Secuiesc (Hungarian: ''Székelyudvarhely''). Present-day
Tamási Áron Gimnázium was his ''alma mater. ''He moved to
Cluj
; hu, kincses város)
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, subdivision_name1 = Cluj County
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, le ...
in 1950. Nowadays, he split his time between
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
and his cottage in the Transylvanian countryside.
Kányádi graduated from
Bolyai University (before Bolyai University was forced to merge with the Romanian university to form present-day Babes-Bolyai University) with a teacher's qualification and degree in
Hungarian language
Hungarian () is an Uralic language spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighbouring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Outside Hungary, it is also spoken by Hungarian ...
and
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
. He published his first volume of poetry in 1955 while an assistant editor and frequent contributor to several literary magazines, including poems in children's magazines that are still very popular today. His translations are also very popular and include
Saxon and
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
folk poetry, contemporary
Romanian poetry
Romanian literature () is literature written by Romanian authors, although the term may also be used to refer to all literature written in the Romanian language.
History
The development of the Romanian literature took place in parallel with that ...
, and major
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
and
French poets. He also gave several literary talks abroad during the 1960s and 1970s to Hungarian communities in Western Europe, Scandinavia, North America, and South America.
He was active in political issues throughout the years, as shown in his numerous works relating to the oppression of the
Transylvanian Hungarian minority. In 1987, the
Romanian Communist government refused him a passport to visit an international poets' conference in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...
, which resulted in his resignation from the
Romanian Writers' Union out of protest.
Awards
He garnered more than 30 awards and honors, among others:
*
Kossuth Prize
The Kossuth Prize ( hu, Kossuth-díj) is a state-sponsored award in Hungary, named after the Hungarian politician and revolutionist Lajos Kossuth. The Prize was established in 1948 (on occasion of the centenary of the March 15th revolution, the ...
, Budapest, 1993
* Poetry Prize of the Romanian Writers' Union
*
Herder Prize in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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in 1995,
* Central European Time Millennium Prize, 2000
References
External links
*
Dancing Embers', a selection of poetry in English translation
Travis Jeppesen on Kanyadi's ''Dancing Embers''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanyadi, Sandor
1929 births
2018 deaths
20th-century Hungarian poets
Babeș-Bolyai University alumni
People from Harghita County
20th-century Romanian poets
Hungarian translators
Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 5th Class
Hungarian children's writers
20th-century translators
Hungarian male poets
Herder Prize recipients
20th-century Romanian male writers
20th-century Hungarian male writers
Romanian people of Hungarian descent