Drago Gervais (April 18, 1904 – July 3, 1957) was a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...

n poet and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, and one of the most prominent poets writing in the

Chakavian dialect Chakavian or Čakavian (, , , sh-Latn, čakavski proper name: or own name: ''čokovski, čakavski, čekavski'') is a South Slavic regiolect or language spoken primarily by Croats along the Adriatic coast, in the historical regions of Dalmat ...

of Croatian. Drago Gervais was born in 1904 in

Opatija Opatija (; it, Abbazia; german: Sankt Jakobi) is a town and a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in western Croatia. The traditional seaside resort on the Kvarner Gulf is known for its Mediterranean climate and its historic buildings r ...

. His father Artur, a descendant of a French soldier in

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's army, was a music teacher born in

Severin na Kupi Severin na Kupi is a village in Croatia. It is part of Vrbovsko in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Primorje-Gorski Kotar County ( hr, Primorsko-goranska županija, ) is a county in western Croatia that includes the Bay of Kvarner, the surrounding ...

in the Gorski Kotar region of Croatia, then part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. His mother Klementina was from Opatija. In 1918 during the Italian annexation of

, he moved with his family to

Bakar Bakar ( it, Buccari; hu, Szádrév) is a town in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in western Croatia. The population of the town was 8,279 according to the 2011 Croatian census, including 1,473 in the titular settlement. Ninety percent of the ...

. In 1922 he graduated from high school in Sušak and attended Zagreb Law School. During his studies he started to collaborate with the

Triestine The Triestine dialect ( it, triestino, Triestine: ) is a dialect of Venetian spoken in the city of Trieste. Many words in Triestine are taken from other languages. As Trieste borders with Slovenia and was under the Habsburg monarchy for almost ...

magazine ''Naš Glas'', in which his first two poems, ''Iz Improvizacija'' and ''Mi'', were published. Soon after graduating he moved to

Crikvenica Crikvenica () is a city in Croatia, located on the Adriatic in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. Names The names of the town in various languages include: * la, Ad Turres * it, Cirquenizza * hu, Cirkvenica, Cirkvenicza, Czirkvenicza, Czirkweni ...

where he worked at a local law firm. The next year he published his first collection of poems ''Čakavski stihovi''. Later he worked in

Bjelovar Bjelovar ( hu, Belovár, german: Bellowar, Kajkavian: ''Belovar'') is a city in central Croatia. It is the administrative centre of Bjelovar-Bilogora County. At the 2021 census, there were 36,433 inhabitants, of whom 93.06% were Croats. History ...

and

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

during the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

. In Belgrade he eventually worked for the Yugoslavian state news agency,

Tanjug Tanjug (/'tʌnjʊg/) ( sr-cyr, Танјуг; sometimes stylized as TANJUG) was a Serbian state news agency based in Belgrade, which officially ceased to exist in March 2021. Since then, Belgrade based private company Tanjug Tačno, acquired the r ...

, and the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

, but soon returned to

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

where he became the director of Rijeka's Croatian National Theater. He worked there until he tragically fell from a balcony in

Sežana Sežana (; it, Sesana) is a town in the Slovenian Littoral region of Slovenia, near the border with Italy. It is the seat of the Municipality of Sežana. Sežana is located on the Karst Plateau, from Trieste, Italy, and from Ljubljana, the cap ...

at the age of 53. He was included with

Mate Balota Mijo Mirković (; 28 September 1898 – 17 February 1963), also known by his pen names Miho and Mate Balota, was a prominent Croatian poet, novelist and economist. Considered one of the most prominent Croatian poets of the 20th century and of ...

in the edition ''Five Centuries of Croatian Literature'', published posthumously in 1973.

Collection of poems

*''Čakavski stihovi'' ''(1929)'' *''Istarski katun'' ''(1951)''

Comedies

* ''Radi se o stanu'' ''(1951)'' * ''Karolina Riječka'' ''(1952)'' * ''Duhi'' ''(1953)'' * ''Reakcionari'' * ''Brod je otplovio'' * ''Čudo od djevice Ivane'' * ''Palmin List'' * ''Ujak iz Amerike''

Filmography

* ''Barba Žvane'' ''(1949)''

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gervais, Drago 1904 births 1957 deaths 20th-century Croatian people 20th-century Croatian poets People from Istria Croatian male poets Croatian people of French descent Road incident deaths in Slovenia Road incident deaths in Yugoslavia People from Opatija 20th-century male writers