Nevin Birsa (August 25, 1947 – October 1, 2003) was a Slovene

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 ...

. Birsa was born in the village of

Branik Branik (; it, Rifembergo, german: Reifenberg) is a village in western Slovenia in the Municipality of Nova Gorica. Until 2011, Pedrovo was a hamlet of Branik. Name The name of the settlement was changed from Rihemberk (earlier ''Rifenberg'', fr ...

(then known as Rihemberk) in the

Vipava Valley The Vipava Valley (; sl, Vipavska dolina, german: Wippachtal, it, Valle del Vipacco) is a valley in the Slovenian Littoral, roughly between the village of Podnanos to the east and the border with Italy to the west. The main towns are Ajdovš ...

, in western

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 ...

. He studied at the Pedagogic Academy 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 published numerous poetry collections, which gained widespread recognition, especially after his talent was pointed out by the poet and author Ciril Zlobec. Birsa lived in his home village most of his life, leading a simple lifestyle. His highly sophisticated poetry, which showed the influence of

Georg Trakl Georg Trakl (3 February 1887 – 3 November 1914) was an Austrian poet and the brother of the pianist Grete Trakl. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists. He is perhaps best known for his poem " Grodek", which he wr ...

, Rainer Maria Rilke, and

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 ...

, attracted considerable interest regarding his personality. Birsa was a quite prolific author. During his lifetime, he published 16 poetry collection and a posthumous collection of his unedited poetry was published in 2004. Birsa died in his home village in 2003 and is buried at the local cemetery. In 2006, the local authorities created memorial spot in the local library. His birthplace is nearby.

Volumes of poetry

*Elektronke v oče, 1970 *Rihemberk, 1974 *Jelen cvete med debli, 1975 *Pesniški list, 1977 *Nove ljubezenske pesmi, 1979 *Poskus maga, 1987 *Kdo ima žareči ključ, 1990 *Prva svetloba, 1992 *Samotni napis mavrice, 1994 *Skat širokega jutra, 1996 *Kresnice in pesnik (izbor iz prejšnjih zbirk), 1997 *Živali in rože, 1999 *Skice krvi in zvezd, 2001 *Boj za rdeče bleščanje, 2001 *Modrijan ali klovn, 2003 *To pomlad sem odšel v neznano (Collected works), 2004

Literature

*Andrej Lutman, "Postaja na brezpotju, Spis o pesnjenju Nevina Birse", ''Mentor'' 25, no. 1–2 (2004).

References

*Bojan Bratina, "Nevin Birsa" in ''Kronika Rihemberka - Branika II'' (Nova Gorica: KS Branik, 2006) *Eva Lušina, "Nevin Birsa" in Nevin Birsa, ''Skice krvi in zvezd'' (Nova Gorica: Založba Branko, 2001) *

Matija Ogrin Matija is a South Slavic masculine and feminine given name, a variant of Matthew. Notable people with the name include: * Matija Ahacel (1779–1845), Carinthian Slovene philologist, publicist, and collector of folk songs * Matija Antun Relković ...

, "Nevin Birsa: Prva svetloba" in ''Literatura'', yr. 4,n. 17 (1992), 91 *

Josip Osti Josip Osti (19 March 1945 – 26 June 2021) was a Bosnians, Bosnian and Slovenes, Slovenian poet, prose writer and essayist, literary critic, anthologist and translator. Biography Osti was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He graduated fro ...

, "Pesniška ozemlja in ozvezdja. Nevin Birsa: Skice krvi in zvezd" in ''

Sodobnost ''Sodobnost'' ( Slovene for ''Modernity'' or ''Contemporary Time'') is a Slovenian literary and cultural magazine, established in 1933. It is considered the oldest of currently existing literary magazines in Slovenia. Although ''Sodobnost'' has tr ...

'', yr. 65, n. 20 (October 2001) *Radivoj Pahor, "Nevinu" in ''Primorska srečanja'', n. 269/270 (2003), 78 Slovenian poets Slovenian male poets People from the City Municipality of Nova Gorica 1947 births 2003 deaths University of Ljubljana alumni 20th-century poets {{slovenia-poet-stub