Janez Jalen (26 May 1891 – 12 April 1966) was a Slovene

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

Life

Janez Jalen was born into a rural family in the Upper Carniolan village of

Rodine Rodine may refer to: Places * Rodine, Črnomelj, a settlement in the Municipality of Črnomelj, Slovenia * Rodine pri Trebnjem, a settlement in the Municipality of Trebnje, Slovenia *Rodine, Žirovnica, a settlement in the Municipality of Žirovni ...

. His father awakened in him a great interest in nature early on in his life. After finishing secondary school 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 ...

he studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

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 ...

. His first pastoral appointment was to Srednja vas near Bohinj. The beauty of the surrounding area, which he came to love and admire, was what encouraged him to begin writing. 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 mobilised into the Austrian Army and served as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

in the Lebring Army Camp near

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

. After the war he served as a priest in a number of places around Slovenia: Črnomelj,

Stara Loka Stara Loka (; german: Altlack''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 62.) is a settlement in the Municipality of Škofja Loka in the Upper Car ...

, Trnovo,

Notranje Gorice Notranje Gorice (; german: Innergoritz)''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 104. is a settlement in the Municipality of Brezovica in centr ...

and

where he took early retirement in 1933. After the Second World War he re-entered service and was priest in Grahovo and finally

Ljubno Ljubno ob Savinji (; german: Laufen''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 4: ''Štajersko''. 1904. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 44.) is the largest town and the centre of the Municipality of Lj ...

where he died. He is buried in Rodine.

Work

In his early period Jalen dedicated most of his time to writing plays depicting rural life at the time of the First World War. Among these are ''Dom'' (Home, 1923), ''Srenja'' (The Common, 1924), and ''Bratje'' (Brothers, 1931). Later he began writing prose, in which he also deals with rural life, albeit in a slightly idyllic way. His first novel, ''Ovčar Marko'' (Shepherd Marko), was originally published in installments in the magazine ''Mladika'' in 1928, the book only being published a year later. In 1958, it was re-published as the first part of ''Vozarji'', an intended quartet about rural life. Jalen died before publishing any further volumes. His best-known work is a tale of a prehistoric people living in the marsh south of Ljubljana, titled ''Bobri'' (Beavers) which was published in three parts (''Sam, Rod, Vrh''; 1942–43). At his death a number of works remained unfinished and unpublished. ;Other works: * ''Nevesta'' (The Bride, play, 1936) * ''Grobovi'' (Graves, play, 1936) * ''Lesena peč'' (The Wooden Stove, play, 1937) * ''Cilka Cvetko'' (novel, 1939) * ''Previsi'' (Cliffs, collection of tales and short stories, 1940) * ''Trop brez zvoncev'' (The Bell-Less Herd, novel, 1941) * ''Ograd'' (The Fence, novel, 1961) * ''Razpotja'' (Crossroads, novel, not published until 2003)

References

External links

*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jalen, Janez 1891 births 1966 deaths People from the Municipality of Žirovnica 20th-century Slovenian Roman Catholic priests Slovenian dramatists and playwrights Slovenian novelists 20th-century novelists 20th-century dramatists and playwrights Yugoslav Roman Catholic priests