Mirko Kovač (26 December 1938 – 19 August 2013) was a Yugoslav writer. In his rich career he wrote novels, short stories, essays, film scripts, TV and radio plays. Among his best known works are the novels ''Gubilište'', ''Životopis Malvine Trifković'', ''Vrata od utrobe'', ''Grad u zrcalu'', the short story collection ''Ruže za Nives Koen'', the book of essays ''Europska trulež'' and the scripts for some of the most successful films of Yugoslav cinema like '' Handcuffs'', '' Playing Soldiers'' and ''

Occupation in 26 Pictures ''Occupation in 26 Pictures'' ( sh, Okupacija u 26 slika; also distributed internationally as ''Occupation in 26 Tableaux'') is a 1978 Yugoslavian war film directed by Lordan Zafranović. It was entered into the 1979 Cannes Film Festival. The f ...

'' among others. He was one quarter of the infamous Belgrade quartet, the other three being

Danilo Kiš Danilo Kiš (; born Dániel Kiss; 22 February 1935 – 15 October 1989) was a Yugoslav novelist, short story writer, essayist and translator. His best known works include ''Hourglass'', ''A Tomb for Boris Davidovich'' and '' The Encyclopedia of ...

Borislav Pekić Borislav Pekić ( sr-cyr, Борислав Пекић, ; 4 February 1930 – 2 July 1992) was a Serbian and Yugoslav writer and political activist. He was born in 1930, to a prominent family in Montenegro, at that time part of the Kingdom of Yugo ...

and Filip David.

Biography

Kovač was born to a

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

father and a

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

mother in the village of Petrovići in Banjani region near

Nikšić Nikšić ( cnr, Никшић, italic=no, sr-cyrl, Никшић, italic=no; ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 56,970 located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot ...

, Montenegro. He went to elementary school in

Trebinje Trebinje ( sr-Cyrl, Требиње, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated on the banks of Trebišnjica river in the r ...

but after leaving his family at the age of 16 he went to

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 ...

where he finished high school in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...

. During that time he discovered the works of poet

Tin Ujević Augustin Josip "Tin" Ujević (; 5 July 1891 – 12 November 1955) was a Croatian poet, considered by many to be the greatest poet in 20th century Croatian literature. From 1921, he ceased to sign his name as Augustin, thereafter using the sig ...

and became interested in literature. He went on to study the works of other notable Croatian authors like Ranko Marinković, Vladan Desnica, Antun Branko Šimić and Vjekoslav Kaleb. After finishing school he published his first essay called ''Tri pesnika'' (''Three Poets'') about the works of Tin Ujević, Branko Miljković and

Oskar Davičo Oskar Davičo ( sr-cyr, Оскар Давичо; 18 January 1909 — 30 September 1989) was a Serbian and Yugoslavian novelist and poet. A leading literary figure of his generation, he was one of the most acclaimed Serbian surrealist writers, but ...

. His first book ''Gubilište'' was published in 1962 and caused a big bang on the Yugoslav literature scene. The communist authorities declared the book inappropriate because of its dark portrayal of life and started a campaign against Kovač which resulted in a year long polemic. Many authors including

Predrag Matvejević Predrag Matvejević (7 October 1932 – 2 February 2017) was a Bosnian and Croatian writer and scholar. A literature scholar who taught at universities in Zagreb, Paris and Rome, he is best known for his 1987 non-fiction book ''Mediterranean: A ...

and

wrote in Kovač's defence. He received: Serbian ''

NIN Prize The ''NIN'' Award ( sr, Ninova nagrada, italics=yes, Нинова награда), officially the Award for Best Novel of the Year, is a prestigious Serbian (and previously Yugoslavian) literary award established in 1954 by the ''NIN'' weekly an ...

'' 1978 and ''Andrić Award'' 1979, Swedish PEN ''Tucholsky Award'' (1993), German Herder Prize (1995), Montenegrin ''Njegoš Award'' (2009) and ''13th July award'' (2004), Slovenian ''Vilenica Award'' (2003), Croatian ''

Vladimir Nazor Award The Vladimir Nazor Award ( hr, Nagrada Vladimir Nazor) is a Croatian prize for arts and culture established in 1959 and awarded every year by the Ministry of Culture. Named after the writer Vladimir Nazor (1876–1949), the prize is awarded to C ...

'' (2008) etc. He lived in Belgrade, but moved to

Rovinj Rovinj (; it, Rovigno; Istriot: or ; grc, Ρυγίνιον, Rygínion; la, Ruginium) is a city in Croatia situated on the north Adriatic Sea with a population of 14,294 (2011). Located on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, it is a p ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, his wife's hometown, after Slobodan Milošević came to power. An annual award in his name is given to authors from the Balkans in four categories.

Bibliography

* Gubilište (1962), novel * Moja sestra Elida (1965), novel * Malvina (1971), novella * Rane Luke Meštrevića (1971), short story collection * Ruganje sa dušom (1976), novel * Vrata od utrobe (1978), novel (NIN award) * Uvod u drugi život (1983), novel * Evropska trulež (1986), essays * Nebeski zaručnici (1987), short story collection * Okupacija u 26 slika i drugi scenariji (1990), film scripts * Evropska trulež i drugi eseji (1994), essays * Bodež u srcu (1995), publicist texts * Kristalne rešetke (1995), novel * Rastresen život (1996), novel * Cvjetanje mase (1997), essays * Knjiga pisama 1992-1995 (1998), correspondence with Filip David * Isus na koži (2003), dramas * Grad u zrcalu (2007), novel * Pisanje ili nostalgija (2008), essays * Ruže za Nives Koen (2009), short story collection * Vrijeme koje se udaljava (2013), memoir Screenplays: * Playing Soldiers * Lisice * Passion According to Matthew *

The Fall of Italy ''The Fall of Italy'' ( hr, Pad Italije), is a 1981 Yugoslav war film directed by Lordan Zafranović. It won the Big Golden Arena for Best Film at the 1981 Pula Film Festival Pula Film Festival ( hr, Pulski filmski festival) is an annual Croa ...

* Evening Bells * Tetoviranje *

Libertas Libertas (Latin for 'liberty' or 'freedom', ) is the Roman goddess and personification of liberty. She became a politicised figure in the Late Republic, featured on coins supporting the populares faction, and later those of the assassins of ...

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovac, Mirko Croatian novelists Croatian male writers Male novelists Croatian screenwriters 1938 births 2013 deaths Writers from Nikšić Vladimir Nazor Award winners Montenegrin novelists 20th-century Serbian novelists Herder Prize recipients Yugoslav writers Serbian writers Serbian novelists 20th-century male writers Croatian people of Serbian descent Montenegrin people of Serbian descent Montenegrin people of Croatian descent Serbian people of Croatian descent