Fran Roš (, 14 January 1898 – 22 August 1976) was a Slovene writer, poet, and playwright.

Life

Fran Roš was born in Kranj."Roš Fran." 1960. ''Slovenski biografski leksikon'', vol. 9: Raab–Schmid. Ljubljana: Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti. In 1902, when he was three years old, his family moved to Celje. He attended the local boys' school, where he was on the honor roll. He then enrolled in the lower secondary school and continued his education at the German-language upper secondary school. After the First World War he joined militants that sought to include parts of

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

in the newly formed

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

. He then studied law in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, but was more attracted by teaching schoolchildren. He served as a schoolteacher in

Prebold Prebold () is a settlement in central Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Prebold. It lies on the edge of the lower Savinja Valley at the northern edge of the Sava Hills west of Celje. The area is part of the traditional region of Styri ...

from 1919 to 1925 and then in Celje from 1925 to 1941. During the Second World War he and his family were exiled to

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

by the German authorities because of his political views. He returned to Celje after four years in exile. He became a school principal during the first academic year after the war, and then taught at a high school and teacher training school. He retired at age 55 and then further developed as a poet. During his retirement he was invited to schools to read his poetry and prose. Roš received a number of Yugoslav awards for his work, including the Order of Labor (Third Class), Order of Service to the Nation with Silver Rays, and Order of Brotherhood and Unity with a Silver Wreath. He was also honored by Celje by being named an honorary citizen of the town.

Work

Roš started writing poetry while still a schoolchild and published his poems in the student newsletter ''Savinja''. His poetry had an anti-Austrian character, and so during the First World War he was persecuted by the Austrian educational and military authorities. While teaching in Prebold he became familiar with conditions in industrial centers, and he published a number of works in the left-oriented magazines ''Svoboda'' and ''Domači prijatelj''. During his exile in Serbia he wrote ''Pesmi iz ječe in pregnanstva'' (Poems of Prison and Exile), which he published soon after returning to Celje. Another noteworthy work was his book ''Slovenski izseljenci v Srbiji 1941–1945'' (Slovene Emigrants in Serbia 1941–1945), in which he described the memories and testimonies of those that were exiled. Roš also wrote a considerable body of narrative work expressing goodness, nobility, ethnic consciousness, and connections to justice. ''Zvesta četa'' (The Faithful Company, 1933) is an autobiographical description of his generation. He also published many novellas, sketches, and serial stories in various periodicals based on his memories from his childhood and early years. Some of these also appeared in his book ''Korporal Huš in druge zgodbe'' (Corporal Huš and Other Stories). Roš also contributed journalism about

Rudolf Maister Rudolf Maister (pen name: Vojanov; 29 March 1874 – 26 July 1934) was a Slovene military officer, poet and political activist. The soldiers who fought under Maister's command in northern Slovenia became known as "Maister's fighters" ( sl ...

Franjo Malgaj Franjo Malgaj (November 10, 1894 – May 6, 1919) was a Slovenian soldier, military leader and poet. He was an officer of the Austro-Hungarian Army. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I, he became one of the comm ...

, Srečko Puncer, the Šlander family, and the 1938 and 1939 Celje culture weeks to ''Celjski zbornik'', and about the rebel Boštjan Natek and the composer Risto Savin to ''Savinjski zbornik''. Roš wrote most of his children's poetry while his children were young and while engaged with schoolchildren and later his own grandchildren. He published his poetry and sketches for children in the magazines ''Zvonček'', ''Vrtec'', and ''Naš rod'' during the interwar period, and after the war in the Trieste magazine ''Galeb'' and in ''Kurirček''. In addition to the stories that he published in children's magazines, he also published the books ''Medvedek Rjavček'' (The Little Brown Bear, 1929, 1931), ''Juretovo potovanje'' (George's Trip, 1939), ''Letalec Nejček'' (Bart the Pilot, 1972), and ''Vid Nikdarsit'' (Vitus Neverfull, 1976). He also wrote two plays for children, which were staged in Celje: ''Ušesa carja Kozmijana'' (Tsar Cosmian's Ears, 1948) and ''Desetnica Alenčica'' (Magda the Tenth-Born, 1951). For adults, he wrote the comedy ''Mokrodolci'' (The People of Mokri Dol), staged in 1946. He also collaborated with the composer Risto Savin, for whom he wrote librettos for the operas ''Gosposvetski sen'' (Maria Saal Dream, 1921) and ''Matija Gubec'' (1923).

Bibliography

Poetry

* ''Gosposvetski sen'', 1923 * ''Pesmi iz ječe in pregnanstva'', 1947 * ''Ljubil sem te, življenje'', 1990 * ''Čarovnije'', 1992

Adult prose

* ''Zvesta četa'', 1933 * ''Korporal Huš in druge zgodbe'', 1971 * ''Srečko Puncer njegovo življenje, delo in boj'', 1972 * ''Halo, halo! Tukaj Mokri dol!'', 1991 * ''Ne bodo nas!'', Osnovna šola Fran Roš, Celje, 1991

Children's prose

* ''Medvedek Rjavček'', 1929 * ''Juretovo potovanje in še kaj'', 1930 * ''Dija'', 1939 * ''Medvedek Dija'', 1962 * ''Letalec Nejček'', 1972 * ''Vid Nikdarsit'', 1976 * ''Tinca brez mezinca'', 1977 * ''Žaba na golem vrhu'', 1990

Plays

* ''Mokrodolci'', 1946 * ''Desetnica Alenčica'', 1951 * ''Car Trojan ima kozja ušesa'', 1990 * ''Čarobna piščalka'', 195?

Historical documentaries

* ''Resevna 1941-1961'', 1961 * ''Slovenski izgnanci v Srbiji 1941–1945'', 1967

Selected bibliography

* ''Medvedek rjavček: povesti za mladino'', 1929 * ''Mokrodolci: komedija v treh dejanjih'', 1946 * ''Pesmi iz ječe in pregnanstva (poezije)'', 1947 * ''Desetnica Alenčica: igra za otroke v treh dejanjih'', 1951 * ''Medvedek dija (pravljice)'', 1962 * ''Korporal Huš in druge zgodbe (kratka proza)'', 1971 * ''Letalec Nječek (pravljice)'', 1972 * ''Tinca brez mezinca (kratka proza)'', 1977 * ''Car Trojan ima kozja ušesa: radijska igra: po srbski narodni pripovedki'', 1990 * ''Žaba na golem vrhu : zbirka otroške proze (kratka proza)'', 1990 * ''Halo, halo! Tukaj Mokri dol! humoreske, satire in še kaj'', 1991 * ''Ne bodo nas! zbirka proze iz narodnoosvobodilne vojne'', 1991 * ''Čarovnije (pojezija)'', 1992 * ''Čarobna piščalka: (pravljica v treh dejanjih)'', 195?

Prizes and awards

In 1960 Roš received the Šlander Award (a municipal prize), and two years before his death he received the Žagar Award as recognition of his work in education.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ros, Fran 20th-century Slovenian writers Slovenian poets Slovenian male poets Slovenian dramatists and playwrights 1898 births 1976 deaths 20th-century poets 20th-century dramatists and playwrights Writers from Kranj