Drago Jančar (born 13 April 1948) is 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, and ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and

essayist An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal ...

. Jančar is one of the most well-known contemporary Slovene writers. In Slovenia, he is also famous for his political commentaries and civic engagement. Jančar's novels, essays and short stories have been translated into 21 languages and published in Europe,

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and the United States. The most numerous translations are into German, followed by Czech and Croatian translations. His dramas have also been staged by a number of foreign theatres, while back home they are frequently considered the highlights of the Slovenian theatrical season. He lives and works in Ljubljana.

Life

He was born in

Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, the seat of the Drava sta ...

, an industrial center in what was then the Yugoslav

Socialist Republic of Slovenia The Socialist Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Socialistična republika Slovenija, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Slovenija, Социјалистичка Република Словенија), commonly referred to as Sociali ...

. His father, originally from the

Prekmurje Prekmurje (; dialectically: ''Prèkmürsko'' or ''Prèkmüre''; hu, Muravidék) is a geographically, linguistically, culturally and ethnically defined region of Slovenia, settled by Slovenes and a Hungarian minority, lying between the Mur R ...

region, joined Slovene Partisans 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Jančar studied law in his home town. While a student, he became chief editor of the student journal ''Katedra''; he soon came in conflict with the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

establishment because he published some articles critical of the ruling regime. He had to leave the journal. He soon found a job as an assistant at the Maribor daily newspaper '' Večer''. In 1974 he was arrested by Yugoslav authorities for bringing to Yugoslavia a booklet entitled ''V Rogu ležimo pobiti'' (''We Lie Killed in the Rog Forest''), which he had bought in nearby Austria and lent to some friends. The booklet was a survivor's account of the Kočevski Rog massacres of the Slovene Home Guard war prisoners perpetrated by

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his death ...

's regime in May 1945. He was sentenced to a year's imprisonment for "spreading hostile propaganda" but was released after three months. Immediately after his release he was called up for military service in southern

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

, where he was subjected to systematic harassment by his superiors due to his "criminal file". After completing military service, Jančar briefly returned to ''Večer'', but he was allowed to perform only administrative work. He decided to move to

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 ...

, where he came into contact with several influential artists and intellectuals who were also critical of the cultural policies of the Communist establishment, among them

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 ...

Ivan Urbančič Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

Alenka Puhar Alenka Puhar (born 4 February 1945) is a Slovenian journalist, author, translator, and historian. In 1982, she wrote a groundbreaking psychohistory-inspired book ''"The Primal Text of Life"'' (in Slovene: ''Prvotno besedilo življenja'') about ...

Marjan Rožanc Marjan Rožanc (21 November 1930 – 18 September 1990) was a Slovenian author, playwright, and journalist. He is mostly known for his essays, and is considered one of the foremost essayists in Slovene, along with Ivan Cankar, Jože Javoršek ...

, and Rudi Šeligo. Between 1978 and 1980, he worked as a screenwriter in the film studio Viba Film, but he quit because his adaptation of

Vitomil Zupan Vitomil Zupan (18 January 1914 – 14 May 1987) was a post-World War II modernist Slovene writer#Modernism, Slovene writer and Gonars concentration camp survivor. Because of his detailed descriptions of sex and violence, he was dubbed the Slovene ...

's script for Živojin Pavlović's movie ''

See You in the Next War ''See You in the Next War'' ( sr, Довиђења у следећем рату, transliterated: ''Doviđenja u sledećem ratu'', sl, Nasvidenje v naslednji vojni) is a 1980 Yugoslav war film directed by Živojin Pavlović. It competed in the ...

'' was censored. In 1981, he worked as a secretary for the '' Slovenska matica'' publishing house, where he is now an editor. In 1982, he was among the co-founders of the journal '' Nova revija'', which soon emerged as the major alternative and opposition voice in Socialist Slovenia. He also befriended Boris Pahor, the Slovene writer from

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...

who wrote about his experience in the

Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as con ...

. Jančar has frequently pointed out Pahor's profound influence on him, especially in the essay "The Man Who Said No" (1990), one of the first comprehensive assessments of Pahor's literary and moral role in the post-

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

era in Slovenia. Early in his career, Jančar was not allowed to publish his works, but when

Kardelj Edvard Kardelj (; 27 January 1910 – 10 February 1979), also known by the pseudonyms Bevc, Sperans and Krištof, was a Yugoslav politician and economist. He was one of the leading members of the Communist Party of Slovenia before World War II. ...

's and Tito's deaths in the late 1970s led to gradual liberalisation, he was able to work as a screenwriter and playwright. In the mid-1980s, he gained initial success with his novels and short stories, while his plays earned recognition throughout

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

. From the late 1980s on, his fame began to grow outside the country, especially in

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

. Since the early 1990s, he has worked as an editor at the '' Slovenska matica'' publishing house in Ljubljana.

Work

Jančar started writing as a teenager. His first short novels were published by the magazine '' Mladina''. Jančar's prose is influenced by

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

models. One of the central themes of his works is the conflict between individuals and repressive institutions, such as prisons,

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be u ...

s, psychiatric hospitals and military barracks. He is famous for his laconic and highly

ironic Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into d ...

style, which often makes use of tragicomic twists. Most of his novels explore concrete events and circumstances in

an history, which he sees as an exemplification of the

human condition The human condition is all of the characteristics and key events of human life, including birth, learning, emotion, aspiration, morality, conflict, and death. This is a very broad topic that has been and continues to be pondered and analyzed f ...

. He also writes

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

s and

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression (physical), compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column i ...

s on the current political and cultural situation. During the war in Bosnia, he voiced his support for the Bosnian cause and personally visited the besieged Sarajevo to take supplies collected by the Slovene Writers' Association to the civilian population. In his essay "Short Report from a City Long Besieged" (''Kratko poročilo iz dolgo obleganega mesta''), he reflected on the war in Yugoslavia and the more general question of the ambiguous role of

intellectuals An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or ...

in ethnic, national and political conflicts. Throughout the 1990s, he engaged in

polemics Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...

with the Austrian writer

Peter Handke Peter Handke (; born 6 December 1942) is an Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored t ...

regarding the dissolution of Yugoslavia.

The public intellectual

Between 1987 and 1991 Jančar served as president of the Slovene PEN Center and through this role also actively supported the emergence of Slovenian democracy. In 1987, he was among the authors of the

Contributions to the Slovenian National Program Contributions to the Slovene National Program ( sl, Prispevki za slovenski nacionalni program), also known as Nova revija 57 or 57th edition of Nova revija ( sl, 57. številka Nove revije) was a special issue of the Slovene opposition intellectua ...

, a manifesto calling for a democratic, pluralistic and sovereign Slovenian state. During the Ljubljana trial in spring and summer 1988, he was one of the organizers of the first opposition political rally in Slovenia since 1945, which was held on the central

Congress Square Congress Square ( sl, Kongresni trg) is one of the central squares in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. History The square was built in 1821 at the site of the ruins of a medieval Capuchin monastery, which had been abolished during the rei ...

in Ljubljana. In the run-up to the first democratic elections in April 1990, Jančar actively campaigned for the oppositional presidential candidate Jože Pučnik. During the Slovenian War of Independence, he and several other writers helped rally international support for Slovenia's independence. Since 1995, he has been a member of the

Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( sl, Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti (SAZU)) is the national academy of Slovenia, which encompasses science and the arts and brings together the top Slovene researchers and artists as members ...

. In 2000, Slovenia's most widely read daily newspaper, ''

Delo ''Delo'' (russian: Дело) is a business oriented online media in Ukraine, belonging to ekonomika+ media holding. ''Delo'' was the first daily in Ukraine, publishing its real print circulation (13.000 - 15.000) and trying to introduce Western e ...

'', published his controversial essay "Xenos and Xenophobia", which accused the Slovenian liberal media of inciting

xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...

and

Anti-Catholicism Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics or opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and/or its adherents. At various points after the Reformation, some majority Protestant states, including England, Prussia, Scotland, and the Uni ...

(Jančar himself is an

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficien ...

). He had been accusing the liberal media of similar attitudes since 1994, when his essay "The Fleshpots of Egypt" blamed the media for having helped the rise of the

chauvinist Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotism ...

Slovenian National Party The Slovenian National Party ( sl, Slovenska Nacionalna Stranka, SNS) is a nationalist political party in Slovenia led by Zmago Jelinčič Plemeniti. The party is known for its Euroscepticism and opposes Slovenia's membership in NATO.Krupnick, ...

. Although Jančar has never actively participated in politics, he publicly supported the

Slovenian Democratic Party The Slovenian Democratic Party ( sl, Slovenska demokratska stranka, SDS), formerly the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia ( sl, Socialdemokratska stranka Slovenije, SDSS), is a conservative political party in Slovenia. It has been described as ...

during the general elections of

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

. In 2004, he was among the co-founders of the

liberal conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by li ...

civic platform

Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic (french: Rassemblement pour la République ; RPR ), was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 a ...

( sl, Zbor za republiko).

Awards and honors

* 1993: Prešeren Award (1993) for his narratives, plays and essays * 1994: European Short Story Award (

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

) * 1999:

Kresnik Award Kresnik is a literary award in Slovenia awarded each year for the best novel in Slovene language, Slovene of the previous year. It has been bestowed since 1991 at summer solstice by the national newspaper house Delo (newspaper), Delo. The awards c ...

for best novel of the year (for "Ringing In The Head", ''Zvenenje v glavi'') * 2001: Kresnik Award for best novel of the year (for "Catherine, The Peacock And The Jesuit", ''Katarina, pav in jezuit'') * 2003:

Herder Prize The Herder Prize (german: Gottfried-von-Herder-Preis), named after the German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), was a prestigious international prize awarded every year from 1964 to 2006 to scholars and artists from Central and So ...

for literature * 2011: Kresnik Award for best novel of the year (for "I Saw Her That Night," ''To noč sem jo videl'') * 2011:

European Prize for Literature European Prize for Literature (Prix Européen de Littérature) is a European-wide literary award sponsored by the city of Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin ...

* 2021:

Honorary Doctor An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

of the University of Maribor

Selected bibliography

Novels * ''Petintrideset stopinj'' (1974). ''Thirty-Five Degrees'' * ''Galjot'' (1978). ''The Galley Slave'', trans. Michael Biggins (2011). * ''Severni sij'' (1984). ''Northern Lights'', trans. Michael Biggins (2001). * ''Pogled angela'' (1992). ''Angel's Gaze'' * ''Posmehljivo poželenje'' (1993). ''Mocking Desire'', trans. Michael Biggins (1998). * ''Zvenenje v glavi'' (1998). ''Ringing in the Head'' * ''Katarina, pav in jezuit'' (2000). ''Katarina, the Peacock and the Jesuit'' * ''Graditelj'' (2006). ''The Builder'' * ''Drevo brez imena'' (2008). ''The Tree with No Name'', trans. Michael Biggins (2014). * ''To noč sem jo videl'' (2010). ''I Saw Her That Night'', trans. Michael Biggins (2016). *'' In ljubezen tudi'' (2017). ''And Love Itself'' *''Ob nastanku sveta'' (2022). ''At the Creation of the World'' Short story collections * ''Romanje gospoda Houžvičke'' (1971). ''The Pilgrimage of Houžvičke'' * ''O bledem hudodelcu'' (1978). ''About a Pale Criminal'' * ''Smrt pri Mariji Snežni'' (1985). ''Death at Mary of the Snows'' * ''Pogled angela'' (1992). ''The Look of an Angel'' * ''Augsburg in druge resnične pripovedi'' (1994). ''Augsburg and Other True Stories'' * ''Ultima kreatura'' (1995) * ''Prikazen iz Rovenske'' (1998). ''The Specter from Rovenska'' * ''Človek, ki je pogledal v tolmun'' (2004). ''The Man Who Looked into a Tarn'' * ''Joyce's Pupil'' (2006). Trans. Alasdair MacKinnon, Lili Potpara and Andrew Baruch Wachtel. Selections from ''Smrt pri Mariji Snežni'', ''Pogled angela'', ''Augsburg'', ''Ultima kreatura'', and others. * ''The Prophecy and Other Stories'' (2009). Trans. Andrew Baruch Wachtel. Selections from ''Smrt pri Mariji Snežni'', ''Prikazen iz Rovenske'', and ''Človek'', ''ki je pogledal v tolmun''. Plays * ''Disident Arnož in njegovi'' (1982). ''Dissident Arnož and His Band'' * ''Veliki briljantni valček'' (1985). ''The Great Brilliant Waltz'' * ''Vsi tirani mameluki so hud konec vzeli ...'' (1986). ''All Mameluk Tyrants Had a Bad End...'' * ''Daedalus'' (1988) * ''Klementov padec'' (1988). ''Klement's Fall'' * ''Zalezujoč Godota'' (1988). ''Stakeout at Godot's'', trans. Anne Čeh (1997). * ''Halštat'' (1994) * ''Severni sij'' (2005). ''Northern Lights'' * ''Niha ura tiha'' (2007). ''The Silently Oscillating Clock'' Essays * ''Razbiti vrč'' (1992). ''The Broken Jug'' * ''Egiptovski lonci mesa'' (1994). ''The Fleshpots of Egypt'' * ''Brioni'' (2002) * ''Duša Evrope'' (2006). ''Europe's Soul''

References

External links

Jean Améry-Prize to Drago Jančar

"Drago Jančar: Critical Observer of Society" (Article in Slovenia News)

Short Biography in the Journal Transcript (with picture)
*
dB, or a Brief History of Noise, essai by Drago Jančar
January 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jancar, Drago Writers from Maribor Slovenian dramatists and playwrights Slovenian novelists Slovenian male short story writers Slovenian short story writers Slovenian essayists Members of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts 1948 births Living people Prešeren Award laureates Kresnik Award laureates University of Maribor alumni Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Herder Prize recipients 20th-century Slovenian writers 21st-century Slovenian writers 20th-century male writers