Andrej Blatnik
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Andrej Blatnik (born 22 May 1963) is a Slovene writer, editor, and
university professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
.


Biography

Blatnik was born 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 1963. He received a master's in American literature at the
University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students. History Beginnings Although certain ...
's Faculty of Arts, and a PhD (on the influence of popular culture on American postmodernist novels) at the University of Ljubljana's Faculty of Social Sciences in
communication studies Communication studies or communication science is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differen ...
in 2004. He worked as a freelance writer before becoming the fiction editor for the Slovenian publisher Cankarjeva založba. He has been an associate professor at the
University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana ( sl, Univerza v Ljubljani, , la, Universitas Labacensis), often referred to as UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 39,000 enrolled students. History Beginnings Although certain ...
's Faculty of Arts since 2009, and was the president of the jury for th
Vilenica
Central European Literary Prize between 2007 and 2015. Blatnik travels a lot, especially in India and Southeast Asia, which occasionally reflects in his writing.


Awards

In 1984 he won the Zlata Ptica award for his first book of short stories, ''Šopki za Adama venijo'', in 1991 the Župančič Award of the City of Ljubljana for his book of short stories ''Menjave kož'', and in 2002 the highest Slovene cultural award, the Prešeren Foundation Award, for his book of short stories ''Zakon želje''. His novel ''Spremeni me'' was shortlisted for best novel of the year (the Kresnik Award) in 2009, and his book of essays and literary studies ''Neonski pečati'' for the best book of essays (the Rožanc Award) in 2006.


Publications

Blatnik's first book, ''Šopki za Adama venijo'', is regarded in Slovenia as the first independent book of the generation of the 1980s. His popular topic is "the relations between the sexes, which he treats with sophistication, good humour, and irony. Chance encounters, fleeting relationships, resigned farewells, misunderstandings, and reconciliations are the stuff of many of his short stories. In view of his travels, especially in the United States, the human landscape is frequently cosmopolitan. His style is direct and laconic, in both prose narration and dialogue." His short stories have been translated into about 30 languages and he has published around 40 books in other countries, including four in English—''Skinswaps'' (Northwestern University Press, 1988), ''You Do Understand'' (Dalkey Archive Press, 2010), ''Law of Desire'' (Dalkey Archive Press, 2014) and ''Change Me'' (Dalkey Archive Press, 2019)—eight in Macedonian, seven in Croatian, four in German, three in Serbian and Turkish, two in Spanish, Italian and Czech, and also books in Russian, French, Slovak, Odia, Malayalam, Tamil and Hungarian.


Reviews

''Skinswaps'' received favorable reviews in ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'' ("The recognizably Central European characters mix philosophy, eroticism and everyday grit, returning repeatedly to themes of music, death, betrayal and the fragility of the individual's hold on reality. Blatnik's craftsmanship and modern flair direct our attention repeatedly to what is small, strange and essential in the world around us."), ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' ("This debut collection ... shows that after the opening of the former Eastern bloc, modern alienation travels faster than social and political change."), Kirkus Review ("Superlative short fiction from an exciting new writer."), and elsewhere. ''You Do Understand'' received an equally positive response in ''Publishers Weekly'' ("Each of these short bursts (most are barely a page long) bubbles with a droll, dry humor handily captured by Soban's dead-on, deadpan translation."), Kirkus Review ("Blatnik has a knack for wringing insight and meaning out of such concision, and he occasionally places stories with similar themes next to each other to exploit their resonances."), and
Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...
("Readers who actively participate in Blatnik's imaginative process will be richly rewarded."). ''Publishers Weekly'' noted that in ''Law of Desire'' "some stories delve into darkly profound territory, like 'A Thin Red Line,' in which a former terrorist chooses a humanitarian suicide, sacrificing himself for a tribe's rain ritual" and "some pieces are wonderfully humorous." ''Kirkus'' gave ''Change me'' a starred review: "With some echoes of Kafka and Vonnegut, this novel looks for the soul of the 21st century and finds an abyss."


Books

* ''Šopki za Adama venijo'' (Bouquets for Adam Fade), short stories, (1983) * ''Plamenice in solze'' (Torches and Tears), novel, (1987) * ''Biografije brezimenih'' (Biographies of the Nameless), short stories, (1989) * ''Menjave kož'' (Skinswaps) short stories, (1990) * ''Labirinti iz papirja'' (Paper Labyrinths), essays, (1994) * ''Gledanje čez ramo'' (Looking over the Shoulder), essays, (1996) * ''Tao ljubezni'' (Tao of Love), novel, (1996) * ''Zakon želje'' (Law of Desire), short stories, (2000) * ''Neonski pečati'' (Neon Seals), essays & literary studies, (2005) * ''Spremeni me'' (Change Me), novel, (2008) * ''Saj razumeš?'' (You Do Understand), short stories, (2009) * ''Pisanje kratke zgodbe'' (Writing a Short Story), reference book, (2010) * ''Ugrizi'' (Bites), short stories, (2018) * ''Izdati in obstati'' (To Publish and not to Perish), publishing studies, (2018) * ''Nezbrano delo'' (Uncollected work), cultural commentaries, (2020) * ''Luknje'' (Holes), novel, (2020) * ''Trg osvoboditve'' (Liberation Square), novel, (2021) * ''Knjige na poti'' (Books on the Way), essays, (2023)


References


External links


Andrej Blatnik web page

Presentation in Transcript Magazine

Words Without Borders

Review at Books in the Kitchen

Review at Carpe Libris



Colum McCann, Aleksandar Hemon, Iulian Ciocan, Frode Grytten, and Andrej Blatnik. Best European Fiction in New York (video)
May 2011
Review in Bomblog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blatnik, Andrej Living people Academic staff of the University of Ljubljana University of Ljubljana alumni Slovenian male short story writers Slovenian short story writers 1963 births International Writing Program alumni