Poet Kányádi laid to rest in Szeklerland

Poet, writer and translator Sándor Kányádi was buried in Porumbenii Mari/Nagygalambfalva (Szeklerland), his home village, on Saturday.

As we wrote, Kossuth Prize-winning poet Sándor Kányádi died at age 89 in the early hours of Wednesday, 20 June 2018, in Budapest.

Hungarian President János Áder, government and church officials as well as politicians and literary celebrities attended the event.

In his eulogy, Áder said that Kányádi’s life and calling was the Hungarian language.

“He healed with verse and brought Hungarian communities closer to each other,” he said.

Nagygalambfalva, Romania. Poet Kányádi laid to rest in Szeklerland, photo: MTI

A message from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was read out before the ceremony. In the letter, Orbán said that Kányádi’s work

“opened up the innermost landscapes of Hungarian culture … We are grateful that young and old, those living in the home country and those far away can all draw strength from his poetry,”

he said.

Nagygalambfalva, Romania. Poet Kányádi laid to rest in Szeklerland, photo: MTI

Kányádi graduated from the University of Cluj (Kolozsvár) in 1954. His poetry focused on faithfulness to his ethnic Hungarian community and presenting the social conflicts of Ceausescu’s Romania. His poetry was a synthesis of traditional and modern lyric components.

Kányádi was honoured with a number of awards, including the prestigious Kossuth Prize (1993), the Herder Prize 1994), and two Orders of Merit of Hungary: Middle Cross (2004) and Grand Cross (2009).

Nagygalambfalva, Romania. Poet Kányádi laid to rest in Szeklerland, photo: MTI

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI