He was born in Kaposvár on 14 March 1952. He spent his childhood in Balatonszemes, where his mother, who hailed from Transylvania, worked as a teacher. Margit Mihály, a cantor-teacher, with her literary cultivation, respect for tradition, and strongly formative personality, played a decisive role in shaping the child’s character, intellectual interests, and cultural horizons. In his book Szarvasösvényen (lit. On the Deer Path), he reflects on her as follows:
