Antun Branko Šimic
Encyclopedia
Antun Branko Šimić was a Herzegovinian Croat expressionist poet
.
near Grude
on November 18, 1898, in the family of Vida and Martin Šimić. He attended primary school in his native village, and then the first three forms of the Franciscan
classical grammar school
in Široki Brijeg
. He decided to change school in the fourth form and went to Mostar
and afterwards to Vinkovci
. His unruly spirit made him change his surroundings again and so he continued his education in Zagreb
, in the upper town grammar school.
In 1917 he started the journal for art and culture, Vijavica (Whirlwind), which forced him to leave school. This is when he lost his parents' support and it also meant a hard life overpowered by many illnesses. After four issues of Vijavica, taking the example of German journal Der Sturm, he also launched another journal, Juriš (Attack), which likewise had a short life of three issues only. He went on writing poems, literary and art critiques and also translating. He often had to live in straitened circumstances which caused many illnesses, so he went back to Drinovci and made up with his father.
When he returned to Zagreb he launched his third journal, Književnik (Writer). At the Faculty of Philosophy he met Tatjana Marinić to whom he dedicated his one and only collection, Preobraženja (Metamorphoses) in 1920. He contracted tuberculosis
and died on May 2, 1925 in a hospital
in Zagreb
.
He would also sometimes recourse to the decasyllabic line and the folk
lament. His topics are the man
, pain
, poverty
, star
s, Herzegovina
, the poor, life
and death
("death is something quite human"). When he turns to the man he warns him: Be careful not to go, small as thou are, under the stars, man, (from the poem Warning). When he writes about the mystery and perseverance, he says: We watch each other silently. Mountain and man. I'll never know where our different meanings meet- (Poem to a mountain).
The image of A.B. Šimić can be seen on 20 KM banknote
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.
Life
He was born in DrinovciDrinovci
Drinovci is a village in municipality of Grude, Bosnia and Herzegovina.- Famous people :* Antun Branko Šimić * Stanislav Šimić * fra Radoslav Andrija Glavaš * fra Andrija Glavaš...
near Grude
Grude
Grude is a town and municipality in western Bosnia and Herzegovina.- Geography :Grude is 49 kilometers from Mostar,19 kilometers from Imotski, and 100 km from Split....
on November 18, 1898, in the family of Vida and Martin Šimić. He attended primary school in his native village, and then the first three forms of the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
classical grammar school
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in Široki Brijeg
Široki Brijeg
-Name:The name of the city means "the wide hill" in Croatian . The city is also sometime referred to as "Široki Brig" and among the inhabitants of Herzegovina simply as "Široki" . Between 1945 and 1990, the name was officially Lištica, after the river that flows through it.-Geography:The river...
. He decided to change school in the fourth form and went to Mostar
Mostar
Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...
and afterwards to Vinkovci
Vinkovci
Vinkovci is a city in Croatia, in the Vukovar-Syrmia County. In the 2011 census, the total population of the city was 35,375, making it the largest town of the county...
. His unruly spirit made him change his surroundings again and so he continued his education in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, in the upper town grammar school.
In 1917 he started the journal for art and culture, Vijavica (Whirlwind), which forced him to leave school. This is when he lost his parents' support and it also meant a hard life overpowered by many illnesses. After four issues of Vijavica, taking the example of German journal Der Sturm, he also launched another journal, Juriš (Attack), which likewise had a short life of three issues only. He went on writing poems, literary and art critiques and also translating. He often had to live in straitened circumstances which caused many illnesses, so he went back to Drinovci and made up with his father.
When he returned to Zagreb he launched his third journal, Književnik (Writer). At the Faculty of Philosophy he met Tatjana Marinić to whom he dedicated his one and only collection, Preobraženja (Metamorphoses) in 1920. He contracted tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and died on May 2, 1925 in a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
.
Works
Šimić did not write a large literary opus during his lifetime. However, some of his poems could be called anthological, like Pjesnici (Poets), Veče i ja (The Evening and I), Opomena (Warning), Ručak siromaha (The Poor Man's Dinner), Žene pred uredima (Women in Front of Offices), Smrt i ja (Death and I), Pjesma jednom brijegu (Poem to a Mountain), Smrt (Death), and some others. After writing under the influence of Matoš, Kranjčević, Vidrić and Domjanić, he bore down on the traditionalists and started favouring an unrestrained expression and expressionist spirit. In his collection Preobraženja (Metamorphoses), using a free verse, he wrote tersely, rhythmically, gnomically and logically.He would also sometimes recourse to the decasyllabic line and the folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
lament. His topics are the man
Man
The term man is used for an adult human male . However, man is sometimes used to refer to humanity as a whole...
, pain
Pain
Pain is an unpleasant sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli such as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone."...
, poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
s, Herzegovina
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
, the poor, life
Life
Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...
and death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
("death is something quite human"). When he turns to the man he warns him: Be careful not to go, small as thou are, under the stars, man, (from the poem Warning). When he writes about the mystery and perseverance, he says: We watch each other silently. Mountain and man. I'll never know where our different meanings meet- (Poem to a mountain).
The image of A.B. Šimić can be seen on 20 KM banknote
Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark
The Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark is the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is divided into 100 fenings...
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
External links
- A. B. Šimić (Archived 2009-10-25)
- http://www.hrt.hr/index.php?id=76&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=37128&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=90&cHash=692364cf86
- http://www.maratoncafe.com/Iluzije/poezija/simic.html
- http://povijest.net/sadrzaj/zivotopisi/hrvatske-licnosti/302-antun-branko-simic.html
- http://povijest.net/sadrzaj/zivotopisi/hrvatske-licnosti/302-antun-branko-simic.html