Mile Klopčič (16 November 1905 - 19 March 1984) was a

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 ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

. Together with

Tone Seliškar Anton "Tone" Seliškar (1 April 1900 – 10 August 1969) was a Slovene writer, poet, journalist and teacher. He published poetry, short stories and novels and is also known for his young adult fiction. Together with Mile Klopčič, he is conside ...

, he is considered as the foremost representative of Slovene

social realist 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 ...

poetry of the 1930s and 1940s. He was born in the town of L'Hôpital (german: Spittel),

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, then part of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

province of Alsace-Lorraine, where his father worked as industrial workers. At the outbreak 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 ...

, the family moved to the industrial town of

Zagorje ob Savi Zagorje ob Savi (; german: Sagor,''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 96. ''Seger an der Sau'') is a town in the Central Sava Valley in ce ...

. He attended high school 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 joined the

Communist Party of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...

. During the reign of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia, he was imprisoned as a political opponent of the regime. During

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 joined the partisan resistance, and became the chairman of the Commission for Culture in the

Slovenian National Liberation Council The Slovene National Liberation Committee (SNOS) ( sl, Slovenski narodnoosvobodilni svet; sh, Slovensko narodnooslobodilačko vijeće, Словеначко народноослободилачко веће) was formed as the highest governing organ ...

(SNOS). After the war, he worked mostly as a translator. Among other, he translated works of

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...

Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

, Lermontov and Korney Chukovsky into Slovene. Klopčič is most renowned for his pre-World War II poetry, consisting of dry yet highly descriptions of the daily life of minors and industrial workers. He was the brother of the Communist activist and historian

France Klopčič France Klopčič (25 October 1903 - 25 April 1984) was a Slovenian historian, writer, translator and Communist political activist. He was born in the town of L'Hôpital (german: Spittel), France, then part of the German province of Alsace-Lorra ...

, and father of the film director

Matjaž Klopčič Matjaž Klopčič (4 December 1934 – 15 December 2007) was a Slovenian film director and screenwriter. He directed 28 films between 1959 and 2005. His film ''Heritage'' ( sl, Dediščina) was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at ...

and the violinist Rok Klopčič.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klopcic, Mile 1905 births 1984 deaths People from Moselle (department) Slovenian male poets Slovenian translators German–Slovene translators Russian–Slovene translators Prešeren Award laureates Yugoslav Partisans members Yugoslav communists Members of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Presidents of the Slovene Writers' Association Ethnic Slovene people 20th-century translators 20th-century Slovenian poets