Igo Gruden was a Slovene 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 translator.

He was born as Ignacij Gruden in the small fishermen village of Nabrežina

Nabrežina

Nabrežina is a village in the karst part of the comune of Duino-Aurisina near Trieste in a region of Slovene minority in Italy. It lies 15 kilometres north-west from Trieste and has a total of 2406 inhabitants , according to the census 60% of them Slovenes.-Overview:The village of Nabrežina was...

  near Trieste

Trieste

Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...

, then part of the Austro-Hungarian County of Gorizia and Gradisca (now in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

) as first of ten children of Franc Gruden and Justina Košuta. He attended high schools in Trieste and Gorizia

Gorizia

Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin...

, and then studied law in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 and Graz

Graz

The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...

. During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he served in the Austro-Hungarian Army

Austro-Hungarian Army

The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...

 and fought in the Battles of the Isonzo

Battles of the Isonzo

The Battles of the Isonzo were a series of 12 battles between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I. They were fought along the Soča River on the eastern sector of the Italian Front between June 1915 and November 1917...

, where he was seriously injured. After the war, he continued his studies in Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

, graduating in 1921. The same year, he moved to 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...

, then part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, where he practiced law.

In the 1920s and 1930s, he was active in spreading the anti-Fascist sentiment among Slovene intellectuals. In 1922, he was arrested by the Italian authorities while visiting his native village, which was then under Italian jurisdiction. He was released after the intervention of the Yugoslav authorities. In Ljubljana, Gruden soon became part of the local left liberal intellectual circles. He collaborated with renowned journals such as Ljubljanski zvon

Ljubljanski zvon

Ljubljanski zvon was a journal published in Ljubljana in Slovene between 1881 and 1941. It was considered one of the most prestigious literary and cultural magazines in Slovenia.- Early period :...

and Sodobnost

Sodobnost

Sodobnost is a Slovenian literary and cultural magazine, established in 1933. It is considered the oldest of currently existing literary magazines in Slovenia. Although Sodobnost has traditionally been a magazine focused on cultural and literary issues, it nowadays covers a wide range of current...

, and frequented authors such as Josip Vidmar

Josip Vidmar

Josip Vidmar was a prominent Slovenian literary critic and essayist. Vidmar is remembered because of his role in the Slovenian resistance during World War II, and for his influence in the cultural policies of the Titoist regime in Slovenia from the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s.He was born in...

, Juš Kozak

Juš Kozak

Juš Kozak , also known under the pseudonym Jalanov, was a Slovenian writer, playwright and editor. He is most famous for his autobiographic novels, such as "The Cell" on his experience as political prisoner, and "Wooden Spoon" on life during World War II.He was born in a wealthy middle class...

, Ferdo Kozak

Ferdo Kozak

Ferdo Kozak was a Slovenian author, playwright, editor and politician.He was born as Ferdinand Kozak in an upper middle class family in Ljubljana, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire...

, Fran Albreht

Fran Albreht

Fran Albreht was a Slovenian poet, editor, politician and partisan. He also published under the pseudonym Rusmir....

, Stanko Leben, Lojze Ude

Lojze Ude

Lojze Ude was Slovenian lawyer, journalist and historian.- Honours :* Golden Obilić Medal * Order of Merit with silvery rays...

 and Anton Vodnik

Anton Vodnik

Anton Vodnik was a Slovenian poet, art historian, and critic. He was one of the most notable representatives of Slovene Catholic expressionism in the interwar period....

.

During 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...

, he collaborated with the Liberation Front of the Slovenian People

Liberation Front of the Slovenian People

On 26 April 1941 in Ljubljana the Anti-Imperialist Front was established. It was to promote "an international massive movement" to "liberate the Slovenian nation" whose "hope and example was the Soviet Union"...

, and was interned by the Italian occupation forces to the Rab concentration camp

Rab concentration camp

The Rab concentration camp was an Italian concentration and internment camp on the Adriatic island of Rab, now part of the Republic of Croatia, during World War II. The camp was located at...

. After the Italian armistice, he joined the partisan resistance. After the war, he worked at the Slovenian section of the Yugoslav

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

 Radio in Belgrade

Belgrade

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

, together with Matej Bor

Matej Bor

Matej Bor was the pen name of Vladimir Pavšič , who was a Slovene poet, translator, playwright, journalist and partisan.-Biography:...

 and Anton Ingolič

Anton Ingolič

Anton Ingolič was a Slovene writer, playwright and editor.He is best known for his novels and youth literature....

. He died in Ljubljana and was buried in the Žale

Žale

Žale Central cemetery , often abbreviated to Žale, is the largest and the central cemetery in Ljubljana. It is located in the Bežigrad district and operated by the Žale Public Company.- History :...

 cemetery.

Gruden's poetry was influenced mostly by the so-called "Slovene Modernity" , particularly Oton Župančič

Oton Župancic

Oton Župančič was a Slovene poet, translator and playwright.Župančič is regarded, alongside Ivan Cankar, Dragotin Kette and Josip Murn, as the beginner of modernism in Slovenian literature...

 and Dragotin Kette

Dragotin Kette

Dragotin Kette was a Slovene Impressionist and Neo-Romantic poet. Together with Josip Murn, Ivan Cankar and Oton Župančič, he is considered as the beginner of modernism in Slovene literature.-Life:...

. He was also heavily influenced by Gabriele D'Annunzio

Gabriele D'Annunzio

Gabriele D'Annunzio or d'Annunzio was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist, and dramatist...

 and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson

Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson

Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was a Norwegian writer and the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. Bjørnson is considered as one of The Four Greats Norwegian writers; the others being Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland...

. Initially, he followed the vitalist trend, but later moved to more reflexive poetry. During World War II, he published many poems describing the daily life in concentration camps.

External links

• Slovenski pesnik - IGO GRUDEN at users.volja.net (page is in Slovene language)