Simon Gregorčič (15 October 1844 – 24 November 1906) was a Slovene

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

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

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 ...

. He is considered the first

lyric poet Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...

of the Slovene realist poetry and the most melodical Slovene poet.

Biography

Gregorčič (October 15, 1844 – November 24, 1906) was born in the small mountain village of Vrsno above the

Soča The Soča ( in Slovene) or Isonzo ( in Italian; other names fur, Lusinç, german: Sontig, la, Aesontius or ') is a long river that flows through western Slovenia () and northeastern Italy (). An Alpine river in character, its source lies in ...

river 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 " ...

as a second son of a small farmer Jernej Gregorčič and his wife Katarina (maiden name Gaberšček). He had seven siblings. As a young boy he was a shepherd. In 1851, he attended primary school in

Libušnje Libušnje (; it, Libussina) is a small village in the Municipality of Kobarid in the Littoral region of Slovenia. Churches The local church, dedicated to the Holy Spirit, was originally built in 1753, and rebuilt in the second half of the 19th ...

, but was sent to school in

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 ...

in 1852. After finishing high school he entered the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

in Gorizia. He was ordained on October 27, 1867 and became a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

Kobarid Kobarid (; it, Caporetto, fur, Cjaurêt, german: Karfreit) is a settlement in Slovenia, the administrative centre of the Municipality of Kobarid. Kobarid is known for the 1917 Battle of Caporetto, where the Italian retreat was documented by Erne ...

in September 1868. There he continued with his literary work and together with his friend Ignacij Gruntar in 1871 founded a public

reading room Reading room may refer to: * Reference library * British Museum Reading Room * Christian Science Reading Room image:5054_christian-science-reading-room-e.jpg, 400px, A typical storefront Christian Science Reading Room on the main street of a subu ...

. Actually, Ignacij Gruntar was not only very good friend to Simon, but also his patron; in fact, the first poem book by Simon has been published thanks to the financial support of Dr. Ignacij Gruntar, notary in Kobarid and Logatec. In 1872, Dragojila Milek came to Kobarid as a teacher. She was a poet as well. She led the local female choir and she became a secretary of the reading room founded by Gregorčič. His affection to Milek was deemed the reason for his transfer in the spring of 1873. His romantic experience had a great effect on the content of the poet's writing. In 1873 he was transferred to Rihemberk in the

Vipava Valley The Vipava Valley (; sl, Vipavska dolina, german: Wippachtal, it, Valle del Vipacco) is a valley in the Slovenian Littoral, roughly between the village of Podnanos to the east and the border with Italy to the west. The main towns are Ajdovš ...

. After that he was transferred a few more times before retiring in 1903, selling his house and moving into an apartment in Gorizia where he died on November 24, 1906.

Work

As a student he began writing

lyrical poetry Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...

which was published in many literary magazines ( Slovenski glasnik, Zgodnja Danica, Zvon,

Ljubljanski zvon ''Ljubljanski zvon'' (The Ljubljana Bell) was a journal published in Ljubljana in Slovene between 1881 and 1941. It was considered one of the most prestigious literary and cultural magazines in Slovenia. Early period The journal was founded in ...

). It is apparent from his work that he was inspired by Romantic poetic forms. Mostly he was writing love, patriotic, life narrative poems and even some epic poems. His poems, such as the

ode An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...

"'' Soči''" ("To the

"), were patriotic in nature, but he also wrote love poems, such as '' Kropiti te ne smem'' ("I am not allowed to bless you"), and worked in other poetic genres. His most important works were '' Človeka nikar'', '' Ujetega ptiča tožba ("The Snared Bird's Lament")'', '' Moj črni plašč'', '' Veseli pastir'', '' Nazaj v planinski raj'', '' Oljki''. He succeeded with his first collection '' Prvi zvezek Poezij'' (1882) and after six years he released his second collection '' Četrti_zvezek_Poezij''_(1908)_was_released. Influences:_ Četrti_zvezek_Poezij''_(1908)_was_released. Influences:_Francesco_Petrarca">Petrarca_ Francesco_Petrarca_(;_20_July_1304_–_18/19_July_1374),_commonly_anglicized_as_Petrarch_(),_was_a_scholar_and_poet_of_early_Renaissance_Italy,_and_one_of_the_earliest_humanists. Petrarch's_rediscovery_of_Cicero's_letters_is_often_credited_w_...

Biography

Work

Bibliography

See also

References

External links