Antun Šoljan (1 December 1932, Belgrade - 12 July 1993,

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Sl ...

) was a

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 ...

n writer in a period of Cold War who appeared as a part of the literary magazine ''Krugovi'' (Circles, from 1952 onwards). Šoljan was active as a

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 wr ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while othe ...

, short story

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, pla ...

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 an ...

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

and

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

. He wrote four novels: ''Izdajice'' (1961, Traitors), ''Kratki izlet'' (1965, A Brief Excursion), ''Luka'' (1976, The Harbour) and ''Drugi ljudi na mjesecu'' (1978, Other People on the Moon), as well as short stories, theatre and radio plays and poems. He began under the influence of

existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning Meaning most comm ...

, in the vein of

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature The 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded the French writer Alb ...

, about the alienation of modern man, embracing postmodernist concepts later in his career. He is one of the most prominent Croatian authors of what was dubbed the "jeans prose" ( hr, proza u trapericama), an off-beat prose genre modeled on the

J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger (; January 1, 1919 January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel ''The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger got his start in 1940, before serving in World War II, by publishing several short stories in ''S ...

's ''

The Catcher in the Rye ''The Catcher in the Rye'' is an American novel by J. D. Salinger that was partially published in serial form from 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its themes of angs ...

''., cited in __NOTOC__

Works

Poetry collections

* ''Na rubu svijeta'' (1956) * ''Izvan fokusa'' (1957) * ''Gartlic za čas kratiti'' (1965) * ''Gazela i druge pjesme'' (1970) * ''Bacač kamena'' (1985)

Novels

* ''Izdajice'' (1961) * ''Kratki izlet'' (1965) * ''Luka'' (1976) * ''Drugi ljudi na mjesecu'' (1978)

Short story collections

* ''Deset kratkih priča za moju generaciju'' (1966) * ''Obiteljska večera i druge priče'' (1975)

Essay collections

* ''Prošlo nesvršeno vrijeme'' (1992)

References

Bibliography

* * * Helena Peričić, 'Isprepletanje igre/svečanosti u Šoljanovoj ''Romanci o tri ljubavi'' ', ''Dani hvarskog kazališta (Igra i svečanost u hrvatskoj književnosti i kazalištu)'', ed. by N. Batušić et al., Zagreb-Split, HAZU-Književni krug, 31, 2005., 406–415. * Helena Peričić, 'Između stvaralačkog egzila i poticaja domaće književne tradicije (Slamnig, Šoljan, Paljetak)', in: ''Dani hvarskog kazališta (Prostor i granice hrvatske književnosti i kazališta)'', ed.by N. Batušić et al., Zagreb-Split, HAZU-Književni krug, 32, 2006, 346–359. * Helena Peričić, 'Multiculturalism and the Return to Tradition. Elements of the Literatures in English in the Works of Some Postmodern Croatian Playwrights: Slamnig - Šoljan - Paljetak', ''Identities in Transition in the English-Speaking World'', ed. by Nicoletta V′′asta et al., Udine, Forum, 2011, 251–260.
Obituary: Antun Soljan

Umro Antun Šoljan
* ''Vodič kroz lektire za srednju školu'', Školska knjiga, Zagreb, 1997. {{DEFAULTSORT:Soljan, Antun 1932 births 1993 deaths Military personnel from Belgrade Croatian novelists Male novelists Vladimir Nazor Award winners Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery 20th-century novelists Croatian short story writers Croatian male short story writers 20th-century Croatian poets Croatian dramatists and playwrights Croatian translators Croatian essayists Croatian literary critics Croatian male poets 20th-century male writers 20th-century translators 20th-century essayists