Dane Zajc
Encyclopedia
Dane Zajc (26 October 1929 – 20 October 2005) was a Slovenia
n poet
and playwright
. He served as president of the Slovene Writers' Association
(1991–1995), and was awarded the prestigious Prešeren Award
for lifetime achievement (1981). Together with Edvard Kocbek
and Gregor Strniša
, he is considered as the most important Slovenian poet of the second half of the 20th century.
n village of Zgornja Javoršica
near Moravče
, in a relatively wealthy peasant family. He was traumatized by the experience of World War II
. At the age of 13, he witnessed the brutal death of his father, when the Nazis burned his native house, throwing his father in the flames. Two of his brothers fell in the partisan resistance. During the war years, he dropped out of school. He continued his education after 1945, first in a special course for young war victims in Domžale
, and then in Kamnik
and Gornja Radgona
.
In 1947, he enrolled to the Poljane Grammar School in Ljubljana
. During this time, he befriended several young writers and poets. Together with Lojze Kovačič
, Viktor Blažič
in Janez Menart
, he founded the youth literary magazine called Mi, mladi (We, the Young), where he published his first poems.
In 1951, he was arrested by the Communist authorities, and sentenced to three months in prison. He was expelled from the Poljane grammar school. After release from prison, he was drafted to the Yugoslav People's Army
. Bad experiences with the Yugoslav Communist regime affirmed his skepticism against the Communist ideology, turning him into a lifelong anti-Communist.
Between 1953 and 1955, he worked as a clerk at the post office. In 1955, he got a job at the City Library of Ljubljana, where he worked until retirement in 1989. In 1958, he completed his high school with external exams, but was not allowed to enroll to the university.
In the mid 1950s, Zajc became part of a circle of critical Slovene intellectuals, known as the Critical generation. The group was formed by poets (besides Zajc, also Gregor Strniša
and Veno Taufer
), writers (Lojze Kovačič
, Marjan Rožanc
, Rudi Šeligo
), playwrights (Dominik Smole
, Primož Kozak
), and theoreticians (Taras Kermauner
, Veljko Rus
, Janko Kos
, Jože Pučnik
). They introduced contemporary existentialist currents in Slovenia, opening a series of discussions regarding philosophical, cultural and political issues of the time. Zajc was member of the editorial board of the alternative journal Revija 57, the first independent journal in Slovenia after 1945, and of the journal Perspektive.
After both journals were banned by the Communist regime, Zajc withdrew from public life, but continued writing and publishing his poetry and plays. He again returned to the public scene in the late 1980s, during the Slovenian Spring, becoming a vocal supporter of the Slovenian Democratic Opposition. During the 1990s, he served as president of the Slovenian Writers' Association.
He died in Ljubljana
.
The American singer and songwriter Chris Eckman released a CD in 2008 called "The Last Side of the Mountain". It contains more than 10 adaptations of poems by Dane Zajc, translated into English by Eckman's Slovenian wife Anda Eckman.
poems about irresolution and fear of contemporary man (Požgana trava, Ubijavci kač), poetical dramas based on Slovenian folklore (Mlada Breda, Voranc, Jaga baba, antique and other motifs (Otroka reke. Paris: Les Éditions de l'Amandier, 2003. Traduit par Jana Pavlič).
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n poet
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...
and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. He served as president of the Slovene Writers' Association
Slovene Writers' Association
The Slovene Writers' Association is a non-profit association of Slovene writers based in Ljubljana.The Association was founded on 21 April 1872 in Ljubljana at the initiative of Davorin Trstenjak who also became its first president. It operated under various names over the years and re-adopted its...
(1991–1995), and was awarded the prestigious Prešeren Award
Prešeren Award
Prešeren Award is the highest decoration in the field of artistic and in the past also scientific creation in Slovenia awarded each year to one or two eminent Slovene artists...
for lifetime achievement (1981). Together with Edvard Kocbek
Edvard Kocbek
Edvard Kocbek was a Slovenian poet, writer, essayist, translator, political activist, and resistance fighter. He is considered as one of the best authors who have written in Slovene, and one of the best Slovene poets after Prešeren...
and Gregor Strniša
Gregor Strniša
Gregor Strniša was a Slovenian poet, playwright, and songwriter. He is considered as one of the most important Slovene language poet of the second half of the 20th century...
, he is considered as the most important Slovenian poet of the second half of the 20th century.
Life
He was born as Danijel Zajc in the Upper CarniolaUpper Carniola
Upper Carniola is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jesenice, Tržič, Škofja Loka, Kamnik, and Domžale.- Historical background :...
n village of Zgornja Javoršica
Zgornja Javoršica
Zgornja Javoršica is a village in the Moravče municipality in central Slovenia. Traditionally the area was part of Upper Carniola. It is now included with the rest of the municipality into the Central Slovenia statistical region....
near Moravče
Moravce
Moravče is a settlement and a municipality in central Slovenia. Traditionally the area was part of the Upper Carniola region. The entire municipality is now included in the Central Slovenia statistical region...
, in a relatively wealthy peasant family. He was traumatized by the experience of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. At the age of 13, he witnessed the brutal death of his father, when the Nazis burned his native house, throwing his father in the flames. Two of his brothers fell in the partisan resistance. During the war years, he dropped out of school. He continued his education after 1945, first in a special course for young war victims in Domžale
Domžale
Domžale is a municipality and city Slovenia. Domžale is known today for its flourishing small businesses, agriculture, and light industry . It is the site of the renaissance Krumperk Castle...
, and then in Kamnik
Kamnik
Kamnik is the name of a municipality in Slovenia as well as the town that serves as its administrative, cultural, economic, and educational center. The municipality is in north central Slovenia. It encompasses a large part of the Kamnik Alps and the surrounding area...
and Gornja Radgona
Gornja Radgona
Gornja Radgona is one of the municipalities and a town in Slovenia. Once it was a defensive stronghold for today's regional centre and its twin city, Bad Radkersburg, on the other side of the river Mura in Austria. The towns were split in 1919 when the state of Styria was divided between Austria...
.
In 1947, he enrolled to the Poljane Grammar School in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
. During this time, he befriended several young writers and poets. Together with Lojze Kovačič
Lojze Kovačič
Lojze Kovačič was a Slovene writer. His novel The Newcomers is often considered one of the most important Slovene novels of the 20th century and has been translated into German, French, Spanish and Dutch....
, Viktor Blažič
Viktor Blažič
Viktor Blažič is a Slovenian journalist, essayist, translator and former anti-Communist dissident.He was born in the village of Smolenja vas near Novo Mesto in south-eastern Slovenia, then part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In 1944, he joined the partisan resistance. After World...
in Janez Menart
Janez Menart
Janez Menart has been one of the most influential and most widely sold Slovenian poets, translators and screenwriters from the first post-war generation...
, he founded the youth literary magazine called Mi, mladi (We, the Young), where he published his first poems.
In 1951, he was arrested by the Communist authorities, and sentenced to three months in prison. He was expelled from the Poljane grammar school. After release from prison, he was drafted to the Yugoslav People's Army
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
. Bad experiences with the Yugoslav Communist regime affirmed his skepticism against the Communist ideology, turning him into a lifelong anti-Communist.
Between 1953 and 1955, he worked as a clerk at the post office. In 1955, he got a job at the City Library of Ljubljana, where he worked until retirement in 1989. In 1958, he completed his high school with external exams, but was not allowed to enroll to the university.
In the mid 1950s, Zajc became part of a circle of critical Slovene intellectuals, known as the Critical generation. The group was formed by poets (besides Zajc, also Gregor Strniša
Gregor Strniša
Gregor Strniša was a Slovenian poet, playwright, and songwriter. He is considered as one of the most important Slovene language poet of the second half of the 20th century...
and Veno Taufer
Veno Taufer
Veno Taufer is a Slovenian poet, essayist, translator and playwright. Together with Dane Zajc and Gregor Strniša, he is considered one of the foremost Slovenian modernist poets of the postwar era...
), writers (Lojze Kovačič
Lojze Kovačič
Lojze Kovačič was a Slovene writer. His novel The Newcomers is often considered one of the most important Slovene novels of the 20th century and has been translated into German, French, Spanish and Dutch....
, Marjan Rožanc
Marjan Rožanc
Marjan Rožanc was a Slovenian author, playwright and journalist. He is mostly known for his essays, and is considered one of the foremost essayists in the Slovene language, along with Ivan Cankar, Jože Javoršek and Drago Jančar, and as a great master of style.He was born in a working-class suborb...
, Rudi Šeligo
Rudi Šeligo
Rudi Šeligo was a Slovenian writer, playwright, essayist and politician. Together with Lojze Kovačič and Drago Jančar, he is considered as one of the foremost Slovenian modernist writers of the post-World War II period.- Life :...
), playwrights (Dominik Smole
Dominik Smole
Dominik Smole was a Slovenian writer and playwright.-Biography:Smole was born in Ljubljana in what was then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia...
, Primož Kozak
Primož Kozak
Primož Kozak was a Slovenian playwright and essayist. He was, together with Dominik Smole, Dane Zajc and Taras Kermauner, the most visible representative of the so-called Critical generation, a group of Slovenian authors and intellectuals that reflected on the paradoxes of the Communist regime,...
), and theoreticians (Taras Kermauner
Taras Kermauner
Taras Kermauner was a Slovenian literary historian, critic, philosopher, essayist, playwright and translator.- Life :...
, Veljko Rus
Veljko Rus
Veljko Rus is a Slovenian sociologist, writer and academic.He was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia to a prominent upper middle class family...
, Janko Kos
Janko Kos
Janko Kos is a Slovenian literary historian, theoretician and critic.He was born in Ljubljana in what was then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as the son of the painter and sculptor Tine Kos...
, Jože Pučnik
Jože Pucnik
Jože Pučnik was a Slovenian public intellectual, sociologist and politician. During the Communist regime of Josip Broz Tito, Pučnik was one of the most outspoken Slovenian critics of dictatorship and lack of civil liberties in former Yugoslavia. He was imprisoned for a total of 7 years, and later...
). They introduced contemporary existentialist currents in Slovenia, opening a series of discussions regarding philosophical, cultural and political issues of the time. Zajc was member of the editorial board of the alternative journal Revija 57, the first independent journal in Slovenia after 1945, and of the journal Perspektive.
After both journals were banned by the Communist regime, Zajc withdrew from public life, but continued writing and publishing his poetry and plays. He again returned to the public scene in the late 1980s, during the Slovenian Spring, becoming a vocal supporter of the Slovenian Democratic Opposition. During the 1990s, he served as president of the Slovenian Writers' Association.
He died in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
.
The American singer and songwriter Chris Eckman released a CD in 2008 called "The Last Side of the Mountain". It contains more than 10 adaptations of poems by Dane Zajc, translated into English by Eckman's Slovenian wife Anda Eckman.
Work
He was an author of neo-expressionistNeo-expressionism
Neo-expressionism is a style of modern painting and sculpture that emerged in the late 1970s and dominated the art market until the mid-1980s...
poems about irresolution and fear of contemporary man (Požgana trava, Ubijavci kač), poetical dramas based on Slovenian folklore (Mlada Breda, Voranc, Jaga baba, antique and other motifs (Otroka reke. Paris: Les Éditions de l'Amandier, 2003. Traduit par Jana Pavlič).