For the past three years, Michael Pedretti has honored Frank Shatz with a poem in honor of his birthday.
Pedretti, a longtime friend of Shatz’s, is a former theater professor as well as an author, poet and founder of an international movement theater organization. The three poems appear together in Pedretti’s latest book of poetry, “Nonpareils.”
“Frank’s story is one of courage, resilience and quiet brilliance,” Pedretti said. “His presence has shaped this community in ways that cannot be measured, and it has been an honor to mark these milestones with words.”
On his 98th birthday
He holds courtAt his salon.Wise for his ageWe listen
Tales of survival,Wrong turns,Influence,Chances taken.
His column defines WednesdayBringing us to poetsAnd international leadersFiltered through hope and optimism.
Making sunshineNo matter the sorrowClouding our visionOr tears shed for barbarity.
Now at ninety-seven,He scurries across campusPouring out wordsOf trust, history, and awe.
He mutters,“Seventy-four years —Married —I was a lucky man.”
Eyes sparklingWe pause before Reves Center —Silence says it allAs he remembers
Before and with Jarka —Emery Reves, Madeleine Albright,Hungary, the Rivera, YugoslaviaLake Placid, Williamsburg and more.
“Happy Birthday,” we thunder,“Ninety-eight at last!”We want to hear about the past —He talks of one hundred.
Looking Back @ 99
Out of ParkanCame George,A printer, poet, forger, andFrank, sporting a LeventeDecorated with a Fire Cross,
Carrying forged passportsFresh off George’s printerConcealed in a bag filledWith a kilo of white flour andHalf a dozen NapoleonsAs ready bribes.
He made some generals a little richerThousands of refugees saferA few less hungry.
Once deliveringA suitcase of goldTo Adolf EichmannRansoming hundredsEarmarked for his gas chambers.
He married wise,Escaped,Wrote three thousand columns,Interviewed the finestAnd the brightest,
Made the case for kindnessAnd understanding.
Some will remember himFor outwitting the Arrow Cross,Escaping from a slave-labor camp,Navigating throughStalin’s paranoia playground —
Escaping his home country —Once upon a time a democracy —With little more thanThe clothes on his backAnd a stole away copyOf his bible,“The Anatomy of Peace,”
Persisting solely on witIngenuity and instinct.
Others for his ubiquitous beret,The Reves Center at William and Mary,Originating the Frank Shatz Award,
Writing “Reports from a Distant Place,”Appearing on PBS.
No doubt, there are someWho will wax overThe catalogue of thePowerful and famousHe befriended and interviewed:
Winston Churchill,Henry Kissinger,Madeleine Albright,Margaret Thatcher,Among the hundreds.
Looking back,Frank wrote,
“I think deliveringthose fake IDsto people in hidingis the most enduring legacy I will leave behind.”
Looking Forward @ 100
A monarchsoared among us today,
Fluttered from you to meFlew off only to return
To grace our day.We gather to listen.
“I’m ready to fill my wings,Mirror the sunshine,
Leave disapprovalIn the cocoon,
Propel against the flow,Elude the squall,
Flutter before danger,Take a chance.
Peace, fairness, and kindnessAre in our power.
As I begin year one hundred and oneThe future seeks me and you,
Follow, if you care.”
A monarchsoared among us today,holding our eye,bewitching regret.
For a momentreleasing us from our cocoonof conceit, greed and fearmoving us to flap our wings,
Reflect the sun,Construct majesty,Soar to alight tenderly,Embrace joy.
It takes a centuryand the loss of sightto sip the nectar spurbent toward the sun.
Follow, if you dare.
https://www.pilotonline.com/2026/02/25/a-tribute-to-frank-shatz/
