France Bevk () (17 September 1890 – 17 September 1970) was a Slovene writer, poet and translator. He also wrote under the pseudonym Pavle Sedmak.

Biography

Bevk was born in the mountain village of Zakojca (Coizza during Italian rule, now part of the

Municipality of Cerkno The Municipality of Cerkno ( sl, Občina Cerkno) is a municipality in the Slovenian Littoral, Littoral region of Slovenia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Cerkno. The municipality has around 5,000 people. History Historically, the Ce ...

) in the

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 " ...

of what was then 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 ...

, now in

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 ...

. He was the oldest of eight children born to the tenant farmer and shoemaker Ivan Bevk and his wife Katarina (née Čufer).Information display at the France Bevk home in Zakojca. Bevk attended school in

Bukovo Bukovo ( mk, Буково, pronounced ) is a village in the Bitola municipality approximately three kilometers' distance from the city of Bitola in North Macedonia. Not unlike most other larger villages in the country, locals typically distingu ...

until 1904, and then in

Kranj Kranj (, german: Krainburg) is the third-largest city in Slovenia, with a population of 37,941 (2020). It is located approximately northwest of Ljubljana. The centre of the City Municipality of Kranj and of the traditional region of Upper Carniol ...

(1905),

Koper Koper (; it, Capodistria, hr, Kopar) is the fifth largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, approximately five kilometres () south of the border with Italy and 20 kilometres () from Triest ...

(1908), 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 ''Gorit ...

(1909), and became a teacher in the

Slovene Littoral The Slovene Littoral ( sl, Primorska, ; it, Litorale; german: Küstenland) is one of the five traditional regions of Slovenia. Its name recalls the former Austrian Littoral (''Avstrijsko Primorje''), the Habsburg possessions on the upper Adria ...

. His first teaching position was in the village of Orehek. During the

First World War 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 ...

he was a soldier on the Eastern Front and for a while at a

military school A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. After the war he worked for various newspapers 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 ar ...

. In 1920 he moved to

dedicating himself to cultural and political activism in the

, then under

Ital Ital, also spelled I-tal (), is food often celebrated by those in the Rastafari movement. It is compulsory in the Bobo Ashanti and Nyabinghi mansions, though not in the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The word derives from the English word "vital", w ...

ian rule. He was frequently prosecuted by Italian Fascist authorities and interned for his activities. In 1935 he had to leave the

Julian March Venezia Giulia, traditionally called Julian March (Serbo-Croatian, Slovene: ''Julijska krajina'') or Julian Venetia ( it, Venezia Giulia; vec, Venesia Julia; fur, Vignesie Julie; german: Julisch Venetien) is an area of southeastern Europe wh ...

and moved to Ljubljana, in the

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 ...

. There, he came in contact with the vibrant cultural life of the Slovenian capital, becoming friends with figures such as the painter

Zoran Mušič Zoran Mušič (12 February 1909 – 25 May 2005), baptised as Anton Zoran Musič, was a Slovene painter, printmaker, and draughtsman. He was the only painter of Slovene descent who managed to establish himself in the elite cultural circles of ...

, writer

Vladimir Bartol Vladimir Bartol (24 February 1903 – 12 September 1967) was a writer from the Slovene minority in Italy. He is best known for his 1938 novel '' Alamut'', the most popular work of Slovene literature around the world, which has been translated int ...

, political activist and author

Lavo Čermelj Lavo Čermelj, Italianized in ''Lavo Cermeli'' (10 October 1889 – 26 January 1980) was a Slovene physicist, political activist, publicist and author. In the 1930s, he was one of the foremost representatives of Slovene anti-Fascist émigrés ...

, 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 pre ...

and art historian France Stele. After the

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, or ''Projekt 25'' was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was p ...

in April 1941, he was imprisoned by the Italian occupation authorities due to his public

Anti-Fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

stance. In 1943, he escaped from prison and joined the

Slovene Partisans The Slovene Partisans, formally the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Slovenia, (NOV in POS) were part of Europe's most effective anti-Nazi resistance movement Jeffreys-Jones, R. (2013): ''In Spies We Trust: The Story of Western ...

. After the end of

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 opposin ...

, he moved to

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

and later back to Ljubljana. In 1953 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 o ...

. He received 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 most prestigious award for artistic achievements in Slovenia, twice, in 1949 and in 1954. He died in Ljubljana on his 80th birthday.

Work

Bevk started writing at the age of sixteen with encouragement from the influential

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

editor

Zofka Kveder Zofka Kveder (22 April 1878 – 21 November 1926) was a writer, playwright, translator and journalist who wrote in Slovene and later in life also in Croatian. She is considered one of the first Slovene women writers and feminists. Kveder was b ...

. In his early poems, Bevk was influenced by the vitalist poetry of

Oton Župančič Oton Župančič (January 23, 1878 – June 11, 1949, pseudonym ''Gojko'') was a Slovene poet, translator, and playwright. He is regarded, alongside Ivan Cankar, Dragotin Kette and Josip Murn, as the beginner of modernism in Slovene literature. ...

and

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...

. After the experience of

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 ...

, he came under the influence of Christian

expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

which represented a strong literary and artistic current in interwar Slovenia. Some of its most talented representatives, such as the poet Joža Lovrenčič and Ivan Pregelj, came from Bevk's native region of

Goriška Goriška is a historical region in western Slovenia on the border with Italy. It comprises the northern part of the wider traditional region of the Slovenian Littoral (''Primorska''). The name ''Goriška'' is an adjective referring to the city of ...

. At first, he followed their examples, but later moved to

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 ...

. He became known in the 1930s with his novels describing the struggle of the

Slovene people The Slovenes, also known as Slovenians ( sl, Slovenci ), are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Slovenia, and adjacent regions in Italy, Austria and Hungary. Slovenes share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovene as their n ...

from the

to maintain their identity against the

Fascist Italianization Italianization ( it, italianizzazione; hr, talijanizacija; french: italianisation; sl, poitaljančevanje; german: Italianisierung; el, Ιταλοποίηση) is the spread of Italian culture, language and identity by way of integration or ass ...

. His best-known work was the novel ''Kaplan Martin Čedermac'' (The Vicar Martin Čedermac), in which he described the inner struggles of a Roman Catholic priest in the westernmost Slovene ethnic region known as

Venetian Slovenia Slavia Friulana, which means Friulian Slavia ( sl, Beneška Slovenija), is a small mountainous region in northeastern Italy and it is so called because of its Slavic population which settled here in the 8th century AD. The territory is located in ...

. The novel was published under a pseudonym by the publishing house ''

Slovenska matica The Slovene Society ( sl, Slovenska matica,The name Matica can be literally translated into English as the "Queen Bee," which is a metaphor meaning "the parent body of the Slovenes." also ) is the second-oldest publishing house in Slovenia, found ...

'' in 1938 and soon became a best-seller. The term ''Čedermac'' is still used in Slovene to refer to the Roman Catholic clergy in the Slovene Littoral that struggled to defend the Slovene identity of their flock under the Italian

Fascist regime Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

. His realist literature pay attention to topics of land ownership, arranged marriage, alcoholism and conservativism in rural settings. Later in his life, Bevk devoted himself largely to children's literature. He was a very prolific author: when a complete bibliography was made on the occasion of his 70th birthday, it was determined that Bevk had written over 100 books.

Legacy

Although Bevk is still revered as the author of the popular novel ''The Vicar Martin Čedermac'', he is mostly remembered as an author of children's literature. The regional library in

Nova Gorica A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

is named after him, as well as the central square in the town.

Essential Bibliography

Poetry

* ''Pesmi'' (Poems) (1921) * ''Smeh skozi solze'' (Laughter Through Tears) (1959)

Adult works

* ''Faraon'' (Pharaoh) (1922) * ''Rablji'' (Executioners) (1923) * ''Suženj demona'' (Slave of the Demon) (1925) * ''Kajn'' (Cain) (1925) (drama) * ''Smrt pred hišo'' (Death in Front of the House) (1925), re-published with major changes in 1934 under the title ''Ljudje pod Osojnikom'' (People under Osojnik) * ''Muka gospe Vere'' (Mrs. Vera's Torment) (1925) * ''Julijan Sever'' (1926) * ''Beg pred senco'' (Fleeing Before the Shadow) (1926) * ''Hiša v strugi'' (The House in the Riverbed) (1927) * ''Jakec in njegova ljubezen'' (Jakec and His Love) (1927) * ''Kresna noč'' (Bonfire Night) f the Summer Solstice(1927) (a historical novel) *''Krvavi jezdeci'' (Bloody Riders), (1927), part 1 of the ''Znamenja na nebu'' (Signs in the Sky) trilogy * ''Vihar'' (Storm) (1928) * ''Krivda'' (Blame) (1929) *''Škorpijoni zemlje'' (Scorpions of the Earth), (1929), part 2 of the ''Znamenja na nebu'' (Signs in the Sky) trilogy * ''V zablodah'' (In Delusions) (1929; rewritten with new title ''Zablode'' (Delusions) in 1963) * ''Mati'' (Mother) (1929) *''Črni bratje in sestre'' (Black Brothers and Sisters), (1929), part 3 of the ''Znamenja na nebu'' (Signs in the Sky) trilogy * ''Gospodična Irma'' (Miss Irma) (1930) * ''Mrtvi se vračajo'' (The Dead Return) (1930) * ''Kamnarjev Jurij'' (Jurij from the Kamnar Farm) (1930) * ''Vedomec'' (Spirit) (1930) * ''Človek proti človeku'' (Man Against Man) (1930) * ''Umirajoči bog Triglav'' (The Dying God Triglav) (1930, 1960, 2018) * ''Burkež gospoda Viterga'' (Sir Viterg's Jester) (1931) * ''Stražni ognji'' (Guard Fires) (1931) * ''In sonce je obstalo'' (And The Sun Stopped) (1931, published in book form in 1963) * ''Železna kača'' (Iron Snake) (1932) * ''Žerjavi'' (Cranes) (1932) * ''Veliki Tomaž'' (Big Thomas) (1932) * ''Dedič'' (Heir) (1933) * ''Gmajna'' (Woods) (1933) * ''Človek brez krinke'' (Man without a Mask) (1934; reissued with the title ''Brez krinke'' (Without a Mask) in 1960) * ''Huda ura'' (Heavy Weather) (1934) * ''Ubogi zlodej'' (Poor Devil) (1934) * ''Samote'' (Lonelinesses) (1935) * ''V mestu gorijo luči'' (The Lights are on in Town) (1936) * ''Srebrniki'' (Silver Coins) (1936) * ''Začudene oči'' (Surprised Eyes) (1936) * ''Kaplan Martin Čedermac'' (The Vicar Martin Čedermac) (1938) * ''Pravica do življenja'' (Right to Life) (1939) * ''Dan se je nagibal'' (The Day Is Coming) (1939) * ''Domačija'' (Homestead) (1939; published as a book in 1960) * ''Mlada njiva'' (New Field) (1940) * ''Med dvema vojnama'' (Between Two Wars) (1946) * ''Novele'' (Short Stories) (1947) * ''Obračun'' (Settlement) (1950) * ''Še bo kdaj pomlad'' (Spring Will Come Again) (1950) (film script) * ''Pot v svobodo'' (Road into Freedom) (1953) * ''Tuja kri'' (Foreign Blood) (1954) * ''Krivi računi'' (Wrong Dealings) (1956) * ''Črna srajca'' (Blackshirt) (1956) * ''Iskra pod pepelom'' (A Spark in the Ashes)(1956) * ''Viharnik'' (Storm-Weathered Tree) (1957) * ''Mrak za rešetkami'' (Darkness Behind Bars) (1958) * ''Slepa ulica'' (Blind Alley) (1961)

Juvenile Fiction

* ''Tatič'' (The Little Thief) (1916–1917) * ''Jagoda'' (Strawberry) (1930) * ''Lukec in njegov škorec'' (Little Luka and His Starling) (1931) * ''Lukec išče očeta'' (Little Luka Looks for Father) (1932) * ''Kozorog'' (The Ibex) (1933) * ''Tovariša'' (Two Comrades) (1934) * ''Pastirci'' (Shepherds) (1935) * ''Pestrna'' (The Nanny) (1939) * ''Tonček'' (1948) * ''Mali upornik'' (The Little Rebel) (1951) * ''Črni bratje'' (Black Brothers) (1952) * ''Razbojnik Saladin'' (The Bandit Saladin) (1959) * ''Učiteljica Breda'' (Breda the Teacher) (1963) * ''Iz iskre požar'' (Conflagration from a Spark) (1963)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bevk, France 1890 births 1970 deaths People from the Municipality of Cerkno Slovenian poets Slovenian male poets Slovenian translators Italian–Slovene translators Members of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Prešeren Award laureates Yugoslav Partisans members Presidents of the Slovene Writers' Association Levstik Award laureates Ethnic Slovene people Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I Yugoslav writers 20th-century male writers 20th-century translators 20th-century poets