Matija Bećković ( sr-cyr, Матија Бећковић, ; born 29 November 1939) is a Serbian poet, writer and

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

Life

Bećković was born in

Senta Senta ( sr-cyrl, Сента, ; Hungarian: ''Zenta'', ; Romanian: ''Zenta'') is a town and municipality located in the North Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the bank of the Tisa river in the g ...

, in the multiethnic province of

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

(then Danube Banate,

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

), to a military family of

Montenegrin Serbs Serbs of Montenegro ( sr, / ) or Montenegrin Serbs ( sr, / ),, meaning "Montenegrin Serbs", and meaning "Serbs Montenegrins". Specifically, Their regional autonym is simply , literal meaning "Montenegrins",Charles Seignobos, Political Histo ...

. Bećković's father Vuk was an officer in the

Royal Yugoslav Army The Yugoslav Army ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslovenska vojska, JV, Југословенска војска, ЈВ), commonly the Royal Yugoslav Army, was the land warfare military service branch of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (originally Kingdom of Serbs, ...

, and 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 ...

the commander of the Rovci Chetnik Battalion and as such, one of the commanders of the leader of the Montenegrin Chetniks,

Pavle Đurišić Pavle Đurišić ( sr-cyr, Павле Ђуришић, ; 9 July 1909 – April 1945) was a Montenegrin Serb regular officer of the Royal Yugoslav Army who became a Chetnik commander ('' vojvoda'') and led a significant proportion of the Chetniks ...

. His father was killed in 1945. He graduated from the Valjevo Gymnasium in

Valjevo Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the administrative area of Valjevo had 90,312 inhabitants, 59,073 of whom were urban dwell ...

in 1958. It was during his gymnasium years in Valjevo that he published his first poem, in the journal 'Mlada Kultura'. Furthermore, it was also in Valjevo that Bećković met Vera Pavladoljska, to whom the poem of the same name, published in 1960, was dedicated. Bećković went on to marry Pavladoljska, and he remained married to her until her death. Upon graduating from the Valjevo gymnasium, he entered the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public university in Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-ba ...

, graduating with a degree in Yugoslav and world literature. He became a corresponding member of the

Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...

in 1983, becoming a full member in 1991. Bećković is a close friend of Serbian former Prime Minister

Vojislav Koštunica Vojislav Koštunica ( sr-cyrl, Војислав Коштуница, ; born 24 March 1944) is a Serbian former politician who served as the last president of FR Yugoslavia from 2000 to 2003 and as the prime minister of Serbia from 2004 to 2008. ...

, and an active supporter of his

Democratic Party of Serbia The New Democratic Party of Serbia ( sr, Нова демократска странка Србије, Nova demokratska stranka Srbije, , NDSS or New DSS) is a national-conservative political party in Serbia. Initially known and formed as Democ ...

. He has been living in Belgrade since 1960. On the

Montenegrin independence referendum, 2006 An independence referendum was held in Montenegro on 21 May 2006. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1372 It was approved by 55.5% of voters, narrowly passing the 55% threshold. By 23 May, preliminary refere ...

, Bećković did not have a right to vote since he lives in Serbia. However, as a prominent Serb nationalist he fiercely advocated against Montenegrin independence, actively supporting the

State Union A political union is a type of political entity which is composed of, or created from, smaller polities, or the process which achieves this. These smaller polities are usually called federated states and federal territories in a federal governm ...

during the pre-referendum campaign. In April 2022, Bećković signed a petition calling for Serbia not to impose sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine.

Poetic style

A distinguishing feature of Bećković's poetry is its regionalism. Distinctly Serbian archaic dialect and phraseology permeate his work. This aspect of his work is most often lost when one reads it in translation.

Awards and recognitions

* Grand Cross of the Order of the White Eagle, 2007 *

Order of Saint Sava The Royal Order of St. Sava is an Order of merit, first awarded by the Kingdom of Serbia in 1883 and later by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was awarded to nationals and foreigners for meritorious ach ...

* Order of Marko Daković *

Radoje Domanović Radoje Domanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Радоје Домановић; February 16, 1873 – August 17, 1908) was a Serbian writer and teacher, most famous for his satirical short stories. His adult years were a constant fight against tuberculosis. ...

Award *

Marko Miljanov Marko Miljanov Popović ( sr-Cyrl, Марко Миљанов Поповић, ; 25 April 1833 – 2 February 1901) was a Brda chieftain and Montenegrin general and writer. He entered the service of Danilo I, the first secular Prince of Monteneg ...

Award, Montenegro *

Milan Rakić Milan Rakić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Ракић; 18 September 1876 – 30 June 1938) was a Serbian poet-diplomat and academic. He focused on dodecasyllable and hendecasyllable verse, which allowed him to achieve beautiful rhythm and rhyme ...

Award *

Desanka Maksimović Desanka Maksimović ( sr-Cyrl, Десанка Максимовић; 16 May 1898 – 11 February 1993) was a Serbian poet, writer and translator. Her first works were published in the literary journal ''Misao'' in 1920, while she was studying at th ...

Award * Njegoš's Award *

Award,

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

* Felix Romuliana Award * Honorary citizen of Subotica * October Award * 7 July Award * Prosveta Award * Duško Trifunović Award * Vinaver's wreath * Velika povelja Brankovog kola

Works

*''Vera Pavladoljska'' *''Metak Lutalica'' *''Tako je govorio Matija'' *''Dr. Janez Paćuka o međuvremenu'' *''O međuvremenu'' *''ČE: Tragedija koja traje'' (Published in English as ''CHE: Permanent Tragedy'') *''Reče mi jedan čoek'' *''Međa Vuka Manitoga'' *''Lele i kuku'' *''Dva sveta'' *''Poeme'' *''Služba Svetom Savi'' *''O Njegošu'' *''Kaža'' *''Čiji si ti Mali?'' *''Nadkokot'' *''Služba'' *''Sabrane pesme'' *''Kosovo najskuplja srpska reč'' *''Ćeraćemo se još'' *''Kad budem mlađi'' (Published in English as: ''When I'm Younger'') *''Misli'' *''Bez niđe nikoga'' *''Put kojeg nema'' *''Služba pustinjaku cetinskom'' *''Besede'' *''Tri poeme'' *''Prahu oca poezije'' *''Sto mojih portreta'' *''Mojih 80'' *''Crna Gora - ime jedne vere''

References

* Bećković, Matija. ''Izabrane Pesme i Poeme.'' Belgrade: Bigz, 1990. * Petković, Novica. "Twentieth century literature". ''Essays on Modern Serbian Bards.'' Ralph Bogert, Ed. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006.

External links

Bećković's poems at the South Slavic Library
- Mostly in Serbo-Croat, one English translation.
Translated works by Matija Bećković

MATIJA BECKOVIC
at royalfamily.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckovic, Matija 1939 births Living people People from Senta Serbian male poets Serbian monarchists Serbian nationalists Serbian people of Montenegrin descent Members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia Christian writers Serbian writers University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology alumni Recipients of the Order of St. Sava Poets laureate