A GREETING CARD FROM MIKLÓS RADNÓTI TO IMRE TRENCSÉNYI-WALDAPFEL / András Imre Trencsényi
The Trencsényi family cherishes the postcards sent by the great Hungarian poet, Miklós Radnóti, who was killed in World War II, to his friend, Imre Trencsényi-Waldapfel, the future renowned scholar of literary history, which also include greetings to the child Imre András. One of the cards asks the friend and classical scholar to proofread Radnóti’s translation of a poem by Anacreon. Other cards refer to an appointment that had to be renounced. “I’ve been conscripted; unfortunately, our meeting is cancelled.”
Whenever Imre Trencsényi-Waldapfel and his wife had guests with literary topics to discuss, the parents always invited their son, the five or six-year-old Imre András to join them for a brief time. The child remembered their parents saying what an excellent poet Radnóti was, so he wanted to kiss his hand when they were first introduced. The gesture embarrassed everyone, and the child was explained that men’s hands were not supposed to be kissed.
Another time, János György Szilágyi, an acknowledged historian and museologist entertained the child by faking to be a polar bear from the zoo. Imre András believed his words so he started to ask around the other guests what kind of animals they were. When he reached Radnóti, he got the following answer: “My son, I am a human.”
