Svetozar Ćorović (29 May 1875 – 17 April 1919) was a

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

novelist.HOUSE MUSEUMS: Birthplace of Svetozar Ċoroviċ (1875–1919)
comune.fi.it In his books, he often wrote of life in Herzegovina and, more specifically, the city of

Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...

.City of Mostar
Turizam.mostar.ba. Retrieved on 2 August 2014. His brother was

Vladimir Ćorović Vladimir Ćorović ( sr-cyrl, Владимир Ћоровић; 27 October 1885 – 12 April 1941) was a Serbian historian, university professor, author, and academic. His bibliography consists of more than 1000 works. Several of his books on the ...

, a distinguished Serbian historian who was killed in 1941 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 opposing ...

in Greece.

Biography

Svetozar Ćorović was born on 29 May 1875 in

, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was then a part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, in

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

family, where he completed elementary school and trade school. From 1887 he published various works in many newspapers and magazines such as ''Golub'' (The Pigeon), ''Neven'', ''Bosanska Vila'' (Bosnian Fairy), Luča, ''Otadžbina'' (Fatherland) and ''Brankovo Kolo''. He was an active member of the Society of Mostar called ''"Gusle"''. He also participated in other Serbian literary and cultural activities. He was the editor of ''Neretljanin'' calendar (1894, 1895), the initiator and editor of the first three issues of ''Zora'' (Dawn) magazine (1896–1901), member of the editorial board and associate of the ''Narod'' (People) newspaper (1907). His friends and peers in the field of culture at the time were

Jovan Dučić Jovan Dučić ( sr-cyr, Јован Дучић, ; 17 February 1871 – 7 April 1943) was a Herzegovinian Serb poet-diplomat and academic. He is one of the most influential Serbian lyricists and modernist poets. Dučić published his first collec ...

and

Aleksa Šantić Aleksa Šantić ( sr-Cyrl, Алекса Шантић, (); 27 May 1868 – 2 February 1924) was a poet from Bosnia and Herzegovina. His poetry reflecting both the urban culture of the region. The most common themes of his poems are social inju ...

. One of Šantić's sisters, Radojka (Persa) became Ćorović's wife. During the annexation crisis of 1908 he fled to Italy from where he offered his services to the government of Kingdom of Serbia, but was subsequently elected as the delegate by The Bosnian Parliament in 1910. Prior to the first Balkan war of 1912, he combined patriotic themes with folkloric elements to produce, ''Zulumćar'' (The Despot), his best-known play. Upon the outbreak of war in 1914 Ćorović was arrested and sent to the notorious

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

of Boldogason in Hungary where he developed the disease that eventually caused his premature death. Seriously ill he returned to Mostar in 1917. His two remaining years were a constant fight against

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

that ravaged his body. In "''Serbia's Great War, 1914–1918''" by

Andrej Mitrović Andrej Mitrović ( sr-cyr, Андреј Митровић; 17 April 1937 – 25 August 2013) was a Serbian historian, professor and author. A specialist of the contemporary history of Serbia and Yugoslavia, Mitrović served as head of the Contemp ...

on page 77, we read how he was mistreated as a prisoner-of-war: "''

Josip Smodlaka Josip Smodlaka (; 9 November 1869 – 31 May 1956) was an Austrian, Yugoslav and Croatian politician who served two brief terms as Mayor of Split The Mayor of the City of Split ( hr, Gradonačelnik Grada Splita), colloquially the ''Potešta ...

later recalled 'furious Hungarian soldiers wanted to massacre' him and his comrades in Budapest, and the prominent writer Svetozar Ćorović was forced by guards to run without food or water beside the railway transport carrying prisoners''". Svetozar Ćorović died in Mostar on 17 April 1919. He died after sustaining brutal punishment and succumbing to disease transmitted in internment camps, where he spent the first three years of World War I.Svetozar Corovic (in Serbian)
Serbian Forum. Retrieved on 2 August 2014. It cannot be denied that the patriotism exhibited by Ćorović and his brothers-at-arms was unquestionable, for little mercy was shown by the Hungarians to all those who fell into their hands. The severity of reprisal is itself the best testimony to the fear and anxiety inspired by the presence of active Serb soldiers from Bosnia and Herzegovina on the flanks and in rear of the invaders.

Works

These circumstances of Ćorović's life, and the affection which he inspired in all those who knew him, added to something essentially romantic in the true sense in the man himself, have tended to surround Ćorović and his work with an aura of sentiment which has somewhat obscured the character of his actual achievement. Svetozar Corovic House

He published a dozen collections of short stories and almost as many novels and several plays. Works that particularly stand out include a novel ''Majčina Sultanija'' (1906) with an unusual figure of a provincial woman in the center of the story, ''Stojan MutikašaIMDB: Svetozar Ćorović (1875–1919)
/ref>'' (1907) which tells the story of a man who transforms from the poor peasant boy into a great merchant and villain, and ''Jarani'' (Buddies, 1911), which portrays the Muslim population of Herzegovina in times of unrest ahead of the termination of the Turkish authorities. ;Selected works include: *''Ženidba Pere Karantana'' (Pero Karantan's Marriage, 1905) *''Majčina Sultanija'' (1906) *''Stojan Mutikaša'' (1907) *''U ćelijama'' (In The Cells, 1908) * ''U Mraku'' (In the Dark, 1909) *''Jarani'' (1911 ) *''Zulumćar'' (1912) *''Kao vihor'' (Like a Whirlwind, 1918)

Biography

Works

References

Further reading