Croatian Writers' Association ( hr, Društvo hrvatskih književnika; abbreviated DHK) is the official association of
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
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n writers. It was founded in 1900 in
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...
with the goal "to unite writers and help them support one another, and promote
Croatian literature
Croatian literature refers to literary works attributed to the medieval and modern culture of the Croats, Croatia, and Croatian. Besides the modern language whose shape and orthography was standardized in the late 19th century, it also covers t ...
regardless of political objectives", "to protect the interests and increase the reputation of writers" and "supports its members and their orphans." The DHK's president is Zlatko Krilić, while Boris Domagoj Biletić and Mirko Ćurić are vice-presidents.
History
In 1897 the Croatian Writers' Club (''Klub hrvatskih književnika'') unofficially operated as part of the Association of Croatian Artists (''Društvo hrvatskih umjetnika ''), and was led by Milivoj Dežman. In 1898 the first informal agreement on the establishment of the Croatian Writers' Association was held, and a regulatory proposal was written. Matica hrvatska in 1899 approved the establishment of a separate Association, and on March 17, 1900 the government approved its rules. Rules established four categories of members: real members (''pravi članovi''), association founders (''zakladnici''), founders (''utemeljitelji'') and associate members (''izvanredni članovi''). The association was established by the so called ''Mladi'' (Young) writers contrary to ''Stari'' (Old) writers gathered in Matica hrvatska and it's journal Vienac.
At the inaugural meeting on April 2, 1900, held in the presence of 103 writers,
Ivan Trnski
Ivan Trnski (1 May 1819 – 30 June 1910) was a Croatian writer, translator and puzzle designer. Glorified by his contemporaries as a great poet and patriot, he is now considered a skillful poet and a prolific author of occasional verse.
Life
T ...
was elected for the first president of the Association. In 1906 a monthly Contemporary (''Savremenik'') was launched. At the end of the 1908 the series Modern Croatian Writers (''Suvremeni hrvatski pisci'') was established, which was particularly prominent under the editorship of Julije Benešić (1909–1920). It was in that series that the famous anthology Croatian Young Lyric (''Hrvatska mlada lirika '') was published in 1914.
The association's first years were marked by convergent efforts towards Matica Hrvatska – the association's publications of the Modern Croatian Writers series and the magazine ''Contemporary'' were supported by Matica hrvatska as possibly jointly published. At the same time the association advocated literary unity of
Croats
The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...
and
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
, and proposals were made to issue a common literary magazine. In 1914 the association was temporarily suspended by a government decision due to the
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The postwar efforts of the association were marked by a support to
linguistic
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
and orthographic unification of Croats and Serbs.
Due to failed agreements with Matica hrvatska, financial deficit and a fierce competition of the newly established magazines, the ''Contemporary'' ceased to be published in 1922, and after being temporarily issued in 1923 it was resuspended in 1924–1926. The topic of the establishment of the Yugoslav Writers' Association was actively discussed, and after a proposal of the Association of Writers in Belgrade "for all writers of our country be united in one association", the Committee of the Croatian Writers' Association replied in 1927 that it such initiatives are still premature, and has proposed an alliance of autonomous associations instead.
The death of Stjepan Radić all the more strengthened the Croatian national spirit of the association. The Association operated during the period of
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...
as well. In 1945 the Association was renamed the Association of Writers of Croatia (''Društvo književnika Hrvatske''), new rules were approved and a new board was elected with Luka Perković as the president. A few dozen writers were punished by prohibiting their public work and a temporary suspension of having their works published.
In 1949 the Second Congress of the Writers' Union of Yugoslavia was held in Zagreb, in which the new administration was elected with
Ivo Andrić
Ivo Andrić ( sr-Cyrl, Иво Андрић, ; born Ivan Andrić; 9 October 1892 – 13 March 1975) was a Yugoslav novelist, poet and short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961. His writings dealt mainly with life in ...
as the President, and the board consisting of
Miroslav Krleža
Miroslav Krleža (; 7 July 1893 – 29 December 1981) was a Yugoslav and Croatian writer who is widely considered to be the greatest Croatian writer of the 20th century. He wrote notable works in all the literary genres, including poetry (''Ba ...
Declaration on the Status and Name of the Croatian Literary Language
The Declaration on the Name and Status of the Croatian Literary Language ( hr, Deklaracija o nazivu i položaju hrvatskog književnog jezika) is the statement adopted by Croatian scholars in 1967 arguing for the equal treatment of the Serbian, Cro ...
, and during the Croatian Spring the association stood with Matica hrvatska in support the movement. In the 1980s, especially after the last congress of the Writers' Union of Yugoslavia in Novi Sad in 1985, the association was more actively involved in political life, usually by writing
open letter
An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally.
Open letters usually take the form of a letter addressed to an indiv ...
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
of individual writers. In 1990 the original name of the Association was restored.
In 2002 several former members, dissatisfied with the state of the association, founded the Croatian Writers' Society (''Hrvatsko društvo pisaca'').
Association today
The association has regional chapters in Pula, Rijeka,
Zadar
Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ser ...
,
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, entertai ...
Čakovec
Čakovec (; hu, Csáktornya; la, Aquama; german: Tschakathurn) is a city in northern Croatia, located around north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital. Čakovec is both the county seat and the largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmost, s ...
. It issues several magazines: Bridge (''Most''), Republic (''Republika'') and ''Korabljica''. The series Contemporary Croatian Writers has been renewed under the name Library of the Croatian Writers' Association (''Knjižnica Društva hrvatskih književnika''). Several literary awards have been established.
Natko Nodilo Natko Nodilo (31 August 1834 – 21 May 1912) was a Croatian politician, historian, journalist, university professor, and chancellor of the University of Zagreb.
Born in Split, he studied theology in Zadar until 1856, when he dropped out of colleg ...
*
Ksaver Šandor Gjalski
Ksaver Šandor Gjalski (26 October 1854 – 6 February 1935) was a Croatian writer and civil servant.
He was born Ljubomil Babić at Gredice, near Klanjec in Hrvatsko Zagorje into a minor aristocratic family. He finished high school in Varaž ...
Dobriša Cesarić
Dobriša Cesarić (; 10 January 1902 – 18 December 1980) was a Croatian poet and translator born in Požega. Cesarić is considered one of the greatest Croatian poets of the 20th century.Dragutin Tadijanović (1963)
* Gustav Krklec (1964, 1974–1976)
*
Vlatko Pavletić
Vlatko Pavletić (; 2 December 1930 – 19 September 2007) was a Croatian politician, university professor, literary critic and essayist who served as acting President of Croatia from 1999 to 2000, as well as he served as Speaker of the Croatian ...
(1965–1968)
*
Ivo Frangeš
Ivo is a masculine given name, in use in various European languages. The name used in western European languages originates as a Normannic name recorded since the High Middle Ages, and the French name Yves is a variant of it. The unrelated So ...