Lojze Kovačič (9 November 1928 – 1 May 2004) was a Slovene writer. His novel ''The Newcomers'' ( sl, Prišleki) is often considered one of the most important Slovene novels of the 20th century and has been translated into German, French, Spanish, English and

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

. Kovačič was born to a Slovene father and a German mother in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

, Switzerland in 1928. When his patriotic father refused Swiss citizenship, his family was expelled from Switzerland in 1938 and moved first to rural

Lower Carniola Lower Carniola ( sl, Dolenjska; german: Unterkrain) is a traditional region in Slovenia, the southeastern part of the historical Carniola region. Geography Lower Carniola is delineated by the Ljubljana Basin with the city of Ljubljana to the n ...

and then 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 are ...

, just at the outbreak of the Second World War. His father's death in 1944 shifted the burden of supporting the family onto Lojze. At the end of the war, the mere fact that they were half German made them suspicious and the whole family apart from Lojze were deported. Lojze remained despite frequent confrontations with the authorities. In 1962 he graduated in Slavic and

Germanic Studies Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary te ...

from the Faculty of Education of 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 ...

. He found employment as an art and puppetry teacher in Ljubljana, and from 1978 to his retirement in 1989 he was also involved in literary education. Literary recognition did not come until the 1970s.Gašper Troha, Sebastijan Pregelj: ''Ljubljana Literary Trail'', Beletrina, 2011, Many of his novels are highly autobiographical. He received a number of awards, including the

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 ...

in 1973 and the

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 in 1991 and 2004. In addition to his opus of adult fiction, he also published a number of books for children and young readers. He died in Ljubljana in 2004.

List of works

Adult fiction * ''Ljubljanske razglednice'', Postcards from Ljubljana, short stories (1956) * ''Ključi mesta'', Keys to the City, short stories (1967) * ''Deček in smrt'', A Boy and Death, novel (1968) * ''Sporočila v spanju – Resničnost'', Messages in Dreams: Reality (1972) * ''Pet fragmentov'', Five Fragments (1981) * ''Prišleki'', The Newcomers (trilogy), novel (1983–1985) * ''Basel'' (1986) * ''Prah'', Dust, novel (1988) * ''Kristalni čas'', Crystal Time, novel (1990) * ''Zgodbe s panjskih končnic'', Stories from Beehive Panels (1992) * ''Vzemljohod'', The Descent (1993) * ''Književna delavnica – šola pisanja'', The Workshop: A School of Writing (1997) * ''Otroške stvari'', Things of Childhood, novel (2003) * ''Zrele reči'', Things of Maturity, novel (published posthumously 2009) Juvenile literature * ''Novoletna zgodba'', A New Year's Tale (1958) * ''Zgodbe iz mesta Rič-Rač'', Tales from the Town of Rič-Rač (1962) * ''Fantek na oblaku'', A Boy on a Cloud (1969) * ''Potovanje za nosom'', Following your Nose (1972) * ''Možiček med dimniki'', A Man among the Chimneys (1974) * ''Najmočnejši fantek na svetu'', The Strongest Boy in the World (1977) * ''Dva zmerjalca'', A Pair of Scolders (1979) * ''Rdeča kapica'', Little Red Riding Hood (1979) * ''Zgodba o levih in levčku'', The Tale of the Lions and the Lion Cub (1983) * ''Zgodbe iz mesta Rič-Rač in od drugod'', Tales from the Town of Rič-Rač and Elsewhere (1994)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovacic, Lojze 1928 births 2004 deaths Slovenian writers Prešeren Award laureates Kresnik Award laureates Members of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Slovenian children's writers University of Ljubljana alumni Writers from Basel-Stadt