Ciril Kosmač (28 September 1910 – 28 January 1980) was a

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

and screenwriter.

Life

He was born in a Slovene family in the village of Slap ob Idrijci near Sveta Lucija (now

Most na Soči Most na Soči (; formerly ''Sveta Lucija'' or ''Sveta Lucija na Mostu'', german: Sankt Luzia) is a town in the Municipality of Tolmin in the Littoral region of Slovenia. It is located on a rocky crest above the confluence of Soča and Idrijca riv ...

), in what was then the Austro-Hungarian

County of Gorizia and Gradisca The Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca (german: Gefürstete Grafschaft Görz und Gradisca; it, Principesca Contea di Gorizia e Gradisca; sl, Poknežena grofija Goriška in Gradiščanska), historically sometimes shortened to and spelled " ...

(now in

). He attended high school in

Tolmin Tolmin (; it, Tolmino,trilingual name ''Tolmein, Tolmino, Tolmin'' inGemeindelexikon, der im Reichsrate Vertretenen Königreiche und Länder. Bearbeit auf Grund der Ergebnisse der Volkszählung vom 31. Dezember 1900. Herausgegeben von der K.K. ...

and

Gorizia Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gori ...

. In the late 1920s, when his native region was part of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, Kosmač joined the militant anti-fascist organization

TIGR TIGR, an abbreviation for ''Trst'', ''Istra'', ''Gorica'', and ''Reka'', full name Revolutionary Organization of the Julian March T.I.G.R. ( sl, Revolucionarna organizacija Julijske krajine T.I.G.R.), was a militant anti-fascist and insurgent or ...

. In 1930, he was arrested by the Italian Fascist authorities, but released the next year. He fled to the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

, and settled in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...

. In 1938, he was granted a scholarship by the French government, and he moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, where he worked for the Yugoslav embassy. In 1940, he fled to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where he worked at the BBC World Service. In 1943, he went to

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

, and in 1944 to

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

-occupied

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, where he joined the

Yugoslav partisan The Yugoslav Partisans, Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...

resistance. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he worked as a reporter and a screenplayer for the emerging Slovenian film production industry. Among other, he wrote the screenplay for the film '' On Our Own Land''. In 1956, he settled in the coastal resort town of

Portorož Portorož (; it, Portorose) is a Slovenian Adriatic seaside resort and spa town located in the Municipality of Piran in southwestern Slovenia. Its modern development began in the late 19th century with the vogue for the first health resorts. In ...

, where he spent the rest of his life. In 1961, he became a member of the

Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( sl, Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti (SAZU)) is the national academy of Slovenia, which encompasses science and the arts and brings together the top Slovene researchers and artists as members ...

. He died in Ljubljana, and was buried in his native village. In 1980, he was

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...

ly granted the

Prešeren Award The Prešeren Award ( sl, Prešernova nagrada), also called the Grand Prešeren Award ( sl, Velika Prešernova nagrada), is the highest decoration in the field of artistic and in the past also scientific creation in Slovenia. It is awarded each yea ...

, the highest award for artistic achievement in Slovenia.

Work

Kosmač is renowned mostly for his short stories, which are frequently praised for their subtle psychological depth. He started writing in the late 1930s, publishing short stories in the literary journal ''

Sodobnost ''Sodobnost'' ( Slovene for ''Modernity'' or ''Contemporary Time'') 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 tr ...

'', edited by the literary critic

Josip Vidmar Josip Vidmar (October 14, 1895 – April 11, 1992) was a notable Slovenian literary critic, essayist, and politician. From 1944 to 1946 he was speaker of the Slovenian People's Liberation Council (Slovenian Parliament). From 1952 to 1976 was pr ...

. His early works show an affinity to other contemporary Slovene authors who embraced a style known as

social realism Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...

: Prežihov Voranc, Miško Kranjec, Anton Ingolič, Tone Seliškar,

Mile Klopčič Mile Klopčič (16 November 1905 - 19 March 1984) was a Slovenian poet and translator. Together with Tone Seliškar, he is considered as the foremost representative of Slovenian literature, Slovene social realist poetry of the 1930s and 1940s. He ...

Bratko Kreft Bratko Kreft ( Maribor, 11 February 1905 – 17 July 1996, Ljubljana) was a Slovenian playwright, writer, literary and theater historian and director. Biography He grew up in Prlekija. He studied Slavic Studies in Vienna and Ljubljana. In Ljub ...

, Ivan Potrč and others. After World War II, he gradually turned away from social realism, and was among the first Slovene authors to include modernist features in his prose, especially surrealism. His later prose, which he is most renowned for, has frequently been considered a type of

magical realism Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to: * Magical (horse) Magical (foaled 18 May 2015) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who excelled over middle distances and was rated in the top twenty racehorses in the world in 2018 and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kosmac, Ciril Slovenian writers People from the Municipality of Tolmin Yugoslav Partisans members Members of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Prešeren Award laureates 1910 births 1980 deaths Presidents of the Slovene Writers' Association Ethnic Slovene people