Dane Zajc () (26 October 1929 – 20 October 2005) 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 wri ...

and playwright. He served as president of the Slovene Writers' Association (1991–1995), and was awarded the prestigious

Prešeren Award The Prešeren Award ( sl, Prešernova nagrada), also called the Grand Prešeren Award ( sl, Velika Prešernova nagrada), is the highest decoration in the field of artistic and in the past also scientific creation in Slovenia. It is awarded each yea ...

for lifetime achievement (1981). Together with

Edvard Kocbek Edvard Kocbek () (27 September 1904 – 3 November 1981) was a Slovenian poet, writer, essayist, translator, member of Christian Socialists in the Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation and Slovene Partisans. He is considered one of the best au ...

and

Gregor Strniša Gregor Strniša (18 November 1930 – 23 January 1987) was a Slovenian poet, playwright, and songwriter. He is considered one of the most important Slovene-language poet of the second half of the 20th century. He spent most of his life away from ...

, he is considered as the most important Slovenian poet of the second half of the 20th century.

Life

He was born as Danijel Zajc in the

Upper Carniola Upper Carniola ( sl, Gorenjska; it, Alta Carniola; german: Oberkrain) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jeseni ...

n village of Zgornja Javoršica near Moravče, in a relatively wealthy peasant family. He was traumatized by the experience of

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 ...

. At the age of 13, he witnessed the brutal death of his father, when the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s burned his native house, throwing his father in the flames. Two of his brothers fell in the partisan resistance. During the war years, he dropped out of school. He continued his education after 1945, first in a special course for young war victims in

Domžale Domžale (; german: Domschale)''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 24. is a town and the seat of Municipality of Domžale. The town lies ...

, and then in

Kamnik Kamnik (; german: Stein''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 26–27. or ''Stein in Oberkrain'') is a town in northern Slovenia. It is t ...

and

Gornja Radgona Gornja Radgona (; german: Oberradkersburg, hu, Felsőregede) is a town in Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Gornja Radgona. Once it was a defensive stronghold for today's regional centre and its twin city, Bad Radkersburg, on the ...

. In 1947, he enrolled in the

Poljane Grammar School The Poljane Upper Secondary School () is located in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It is a coeducational nondenominational state secondary general education school for students aged between 15 and 19. It prepares them for university, which 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 are ...

. During this time, he befriended several young writers and poets. Together with Lojze Kovačič, Viktor Blažič in

Janez Menart Janez Menart () (29 September 1929 – 22 January 2004) was a Slovene poet, best known for his Intimist poetry. He translated a number of classic French and English poetry and drama works into Slovene, including Shakespeare' ...

, he founded the youth literary magazine called ''Mi, mladi'' (We, the Young); where he published his first poems. In 1951, he was arrested by the Communist authorities, and sentenced to three months in prison. As a result, he was expelled from the Poljane grammar school. After his release from prison, he was drafted to the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska ar ...

. Bad experiences with the Yugoslav Communist regime affirmed his skepticism against the Communist ideology, turning him into a lifelong anti-Communist. Between 1953 and 1955, he worked as a clerk at the post office. In 1955, he got a job at the City Library of Ljubljana, where he worked until retirement in 1989. In 1958, he completed his high school with external exams, but was not allowed to enroll to the university. In the mid 1950s, Zajc became part of a circle of critical Slovene intellectuals, known as the '' Critical generation''. The group was formed by poets (besides Zajc, also

and Veno Taufer), writers ( Lojze Kovačič, Marjan Rožanc,

Rudi Šeligo Rudi Šeligo (14 May 1935 – 22 January 2004) was a Slovenian writer, playwright, essayist and politician. Together with Lojze Kovačič and Drago Jančar, he is considered one of the foremost Slovenian modernist writers of the post-World War ...

), playwrights ( Dominik Smole,

Primož Kozak Primož Kozak (11 September 1929 – 22 December 1981) was a Slovenian playwright and essayist. Together with Dominik Smole, Dane Zajc and Taras Kermauner, he was the most visible representative of the so-called Critical generation, a group o ...

), and theoreticians (

Taras Kermauner Taras Kermauner (13 April 1930 – 11 June 2008) was a Slovenian literary history, literary historian, critic, philosopher, essayist, playwright and translator. Life Taras Kermauner was born in Ljubljana as the son of the Communist Party of Slove ...

, Veljko Rus,

Janko Kos Janko Kos (born 9 March 1931) is a Slovenian literary historian, theoretician, and critic. He was born in Ljubljana in what was then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as the son of the painter and sculptor Tine Kos. His father was a liberal and freethi ...

Jože Pučnik Jože Pučnik (9 March 1932 – 11 January 2003) was a Slovenian public intellectual, sociologist and politician. During the communist regime of Josip Broz Tito, Pučnik was one of the most outspoken Slovenian critics of dictatorship and la ...

). They introduced contemporary existentialist currents in Slovenia, opening a series of discussions regarding philosophical, cultural and political issues of the time. Zajc was member of the editorial board of the alternative journal '' Revija 57'', the first independent journal in Slovenia after 1945, and of the journal '' Perspektive''. After both journals were banned by the Communist regime, Zajc withdrew from public life, but continued writing and publishing his poetry and plays. He again returned to the public scene in the late 1980s, during the

Slovenian Spring The history of Slovenia chronicles the period of the Slovenian territory from the 5th century BC to the present. In the Early Bronze Age, Proto- Illyrian tribes settled an area stretching from present-day Albania to the city of Trieste. The Slo ...

, becoming a vocal supporter of the Slovenian Democratic Opposition. During the 1990s, he served as president of the Slovenian Writers' Association. He died in

. The American singer and songwriter

Chris Eckman The Walkabouts were an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984. The core members were vocalist Carla Torgerson and vocalist and songwriter Chris Eckman. Although the rest of the line-up changed occasionally, for most of the time ...

released a CD in 2008 called "The Last Side of the Mountain". It contains more than 10 adaptations of poems by Dane Zajc, translated into English by Eckman's Slovenian wife Anda Eckman.

Work

He was an author of neo-expressionist poems about irresolution and fear of contemporary man (''Požgana trava'', ''Ubijavci kač''), poetical dramas based on Slovenian folklore (''Mlada Breda'', ''Voranc'', ''Jaga baba'', antique and other motifs (''Otroka reke''. Paris: Les Éditions de l'Amandier, 2003. Traduit par Jana Pavlič).

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zajc, Dane 1929 births 2005 deaths People from the Municipality of Moravče Slovenian poets Slovenian male poets Members of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Prešeren Award laureates Presidents of the Slovene Writers' Association Levstik Award laureates Deaths from cancer in Slovenia 20th-century poets