Miran Jarc
Encyclopedia
Miran Jarc was a Slovene writer
, poet
, playwright
and essayist
.
Jarc was born in the town of Črnomelj
in White Carniola
, in what was then Austria-Hungary
in 1900. He was sent to school in Novo Mesto
, and between 1918 and 1922 studied Slavic
philology in Zagreb
and Ljubljana
, though he never completed his studies. From 1923, he worked as a bank clerk
in Ljubljana. He started writing whilst still a student and published his first poem in the journal Ljubljanski zvon
in 1918. In the 1930s, he also worked as an actor and violinist in the Slovenian Marionette Theater in Ljubljana.
In 1942, during World War II
, he was arrested by the occupying Fascist Italian authorities
and sent to the internment camp
at Gonars
, but the train transporting the prisoners was attacked by partisans near Verd
and the detainees freed. Jarc joined the partisans and was killed in fight by the Italian Army two months later in Pugeld near Stari Log
in Kočevski Rog
.
The public library
in Novo Mesto
and a primary school in Črnomelj
are named after Jarc.
, which emerged at the time as an important literary center. As a young student, he joined the literary-artistic circle around the painter Božidar Jakac
and poet Anton Podbevšek
. Together, they organized a cultural-artistic manifestation, known as the Novo Mesto Spring. During this period, Jarc became interested in antroposophy and developed an interest in Buddhism
. However, he later grew closer to Christianity
, remaining a member of the Roman Catholic Church
.
In the 1920s, Jarc emerged as one of the most prominent expressionist
poets in Slovenia
. Recurrent themes in his poetry were the search of an exit from a sinking civilization. To the crisis of European civilization and the mechanization of man, he juxtaposed to an ecstatic and lyrical personal reflection. In the 1930s, he grew closer to Social Realism
.
One of his most important works is the autobiographical novel Novo Mesto (1932), in which he described the intellectual and artistic turmoil in the small Lower Carniola
n town in the first years after World War One.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, 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...
, 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...
and essayist
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
.
Jarc was born in the town of Črnomelj
Crnomelj
Črnomelj is a town and municipality in southeastern Slovenia. It lies on the left bank of the Lahinja and Dobličica rivers. The municipality is at the heart of the area of White Carniola, the southeastern part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola...
in White Carniola
White Carniola
White Carniola is a traditional region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia and is the most southern part of the historical and traditional region of Lower Carniola. Its major towns are Metlika, Črnomelj, and Semič, and the principal river is the Kolpa, which also forms part of the...
, in what was then Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
in 1900. He was sent to school in Novo Mesto
Novo Mesto
Novo Mesto is a city and municipality in southeastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The town is traditionally considered the economic and cultural centre of the historic Lower Carniola region.-Geography:...
, and between 1918 and 1922 studied Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
philology 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...
and 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...
, though he never completed his studies. From 1923, he worked as a bank clerk
Bank teller
A teller is an employee of a bank who deals directly with most customers. In some places, this employee is known as a cashier. Most teller jobs require cash handling experience and a high school diploma. Most banks provide on the job training....
in Ljubljana. He started writing whilst still a student and published his first poem in the journal 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 :...
in 1918. In the 1930s, he also worked as an actor and violinist in the Slovenian Marionette Theater in Ljubljana.
In 1942, 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 was arrested by the occupying Fascist Italian authorities
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
and sent to the internment camp
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
at Gonars
Gonars concentration camp
On February 23, 1942 the Italian fascist regime established a concentration camp in Gonars, a town with approx. 4,600 inhabitants near Palmanova in the Province of Udine in northeastern Italy.Most of the prisoners were from present day Slovenia and Croatia...
, but the train transporting the prisoners was attacked by partisans near Verd
Verd
Verd is a settlement to the south of Vrhnika in the Inner Carniola region of Slovenia. The Verd viaduct on the A1 motorway from Ljubljana to Koper runs above the settlement....
and the detainees freed. Jarc joined the partisans and was killed in fight by the Italian Army two months later in Pugeld near Stari Log
Stari Log, Kočevje
Stari Log is a settlement in the hills to the north of the town of Kočevje in southern Slovenia. It was a village settled by Gottschee Germans. At the start of the Second World War its original population was expelled...
in Kočevski Rog
Kocevski Rog
The Kočevski Rog or Kočevje Rog or simply Rog is a karstified plateau in the Kočevje Highlands above the Črmošnjice Valley. The plateau is part of the traditional Lower Carniola region of Slovenia and of the Dinaric Alps. The highest area is the central part, with the 1099 meter high peak Veliki...
.
The public library
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
in Novo Mesto
Novo Mesto
Novo Mesto is a city and municipality in southeastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The town is traditionally considered the economic and cultural centre of the historic Lower Carniola region.-Geography:...
and a primary school in Črnomelj
Crnomelj
Črnomelj is a town and municipality in southeastern Slovenia. It lies on the left bank of the Lahinja and Dobličica rivers. The municipality is at the heart of the area of White Carniola, the southeastern part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola...
are named after Jarc.
Personality and work
Jarc started his literary career in the late 1910s in Novo MestoNovo Mesto
Novo Mesto is a city and municipality in southeastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The town is traditionally considered the economic and cultural centre of the historic Lower Carniola region.-Geography:...
, which emerged at the time as an important literary center. As a young student, he joined the literary-artistic circle around the painter Božidar Jakac
Božidar Jakac
Božidar Jakac was a Slovene Expressionist, Realist and Symbolist painter, graphic artist, art teacher, photographer and filmmaker. He produced one of the most extensive oeuvres of pastels and oil paintings , drawings and, above all, graphics in Slovenia...
and poet Anton Podbevšek
Anton Podbevšek
Anton Podbevšek was a Slovenian avant-garde poet. He was an important influence to the poet Srečko Kosovel. He was one of the participants of the artistic activity known as the Novo Mesto Spring in 1920, which marked the beginning of Slovenian modernism...
. Together, they organized a cultural-artistic manifestation, known as the Novo Mesto Spring. During this period, Jarc became interested in antroposophy and developed an interest in Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
. However, he later grew closer to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, remaining a member of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
.
In the 1920s, Jarc emerged as one of the most prominent expressionist
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
poets in Slovenia
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...
. Recurrent themes in his poetry were the search of an exit from a sinking civilization. To the crisis of European civilization and the mechanization of man, he juxtaposed to an ecstatic and lyrical personal reflection. In the 1930s, he grew closer to Social Realism
Social realism
Social Realism, also known as Socio-Realism, is an artistic movement, expressed in the visual and other realist arts, which depicts social and racial injustice, economic hardship, through unvarnished pictures of life's struggles; often depicting working class activities as heroic...
.
One of his most important works is the autobiographical novel Novo Mesto (1932), in which he described the intellectual and artistic turmoil in the small Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola
Lower Carniola was a kreis of the historical Habsburg crown land of Carniola from 1849 till 1919 and is nowadays a traditional region of Slovenia. Its center is Novo Mesto, while other urban centers include Kočevje, Grosuplje, Krško, Trebnje, Mirna, Črnomelj, Semič, and Metlika.-See also:* Upper...
n town in the first years after World War One.
Selected works
- Človek in noč, "Man and the Night", poems (1927)
- Novembrske pesmi, "November Poems", poems (1936)
- Lirika, "Lyrics", poems, (1940)
- Novo mesto, autobiographical novel (1932)