Branko Ćopić ( sr-Cyrl, Бранко Ћопић, ; 1 January 1915 – 26 March 1984) was a Yugoslav writer. He wrote poetry, short stories, and novels, and became famous for his stories for children and young adults, often set during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in revolutionary Yugoslavia, written with characteristic humor in the form of ridicule, satire, and irony.
As a professional writer, Ćopić was very popular and was able to sell large numbers of copies. This allowed him to live solely from his writings, which was rare for novelists in Yugoslavia at the time. However, the quality of his writings brought him inclusion into
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
curricula, which meant that some of his stories found their way into textbooks, and some novels became compulsory reading.
In the early 1950s, he also wrote satirical stories, criticizing social and political anomalies and personalities from the country's political life of the time, for which he was considered a dissident and "heretic", and had to explain himself to the
party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...
hierarchy.
Biography
Ćopić was born into a
Bosnian Serb
The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби Босне и Херцеговине, Srbi Bosne i Hercegovine), often referred to as Bosnian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, босански Срби, bosanski Srbi) or Herzegovinian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, � ...
family on 1 January 1915 in the village of
Hašani
Hašani ( sr-cyrl, Хашани) is a village in the municipality of Krupa na Uni, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the birthplace of writer Branko Ćopić.
Before the Bosnian War, the entire town of Hašani was part of the Bos ...
, near
Bosanska Krupa
Bosanska Krupa ( sr-cyrl, Босанска Крупа) is a city located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 29,659 inhabitants.
It is situat ...
in the
Bosanska Krajina
Bosanska Krajina ( sr-Cyrl, Босанска Крајина, , ) is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is enclosed by several rivers, namely the Sava (north), Glina (northwest), Vrbanja and Vrba ...
region of western
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
.
[ He attended the junior gymnasium in ]Bihać
Bihać is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una (Sava), Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, in th ...
, and teacher's colleges in Banja Luka
Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...
, Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
, and Karlovac
Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377.
Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...
before moving to Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
to study at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy until his graduation in 1940. He admitted that after arriving in Belgrade in 1936, he was "afraid of the big city" and was especially concerned he might get lost.
During the uprising in Bosanska Krajina in 1941, he joined the Partisans and remained in their ranks until the end of World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. He was his detachment's political commissar, war correspondent for the '' Borba'' newspaper, and a cultural proletarian.[ That period of his life influenced much of his literary work, as can be seen by the themes he later wrote about. He received the ]Commemorative Medal of the Partisans of 1941
The Commemorative Medal of the Partisans of 1941 (Macedonian language, Macedonian, Slovene language, Slovene and sh-Latn-Cyrl, Partizanska spomenica 1941., Партизанска споменица 1941., separator=" / ") is a commemorative Soci ...
. At the end of the war he returned to Belgrade where he worked as an editor for several magazines until 1949, including the children's magazine ''Pionir'' ("Pioneer").[
On 16 December 1965 he became an associate member of the ]Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , SANU) is a national academy and the most prominent academic institution in Serbia, founded in 1841 as Society of Serbian Letters (, DSS).
The Academy's membership has included Nobel Prize, Nobel la ...
and was elected to full membership 7 March 1968, and a member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina (; ) is the national academy of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Academy, based in the capital city of Sarajevo, is the leading non-university public research institution in the country. The ...
.
Many of his novels and stories were included in primary school curricula and textbooks.[ His works have been translated into more than thirty languages,] including English, German, French, Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
, Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
, Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus
*Czech (surnam ...
, Dutch, Italian, Macedonian, Chinese, Polish, Romanian, Turkish, Slovak, and Slovene, and some of them have been turned into TV series.
He was featured on the 0.50 Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark
The convertible mark ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, konvertibilna marka, конвертибилна марка, separator=" / "; sign: KM; code: BAM) is the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is divided into 100 pfenig or fening ( sh-Cyrl, пфениг or � ...
bill, which has been withdrawn from circulation and replaced with coins.
Ćopić's biographer and close friend was Enes Čengić, a fellow Bosnian-Herzegovinian journalist and writer, who lived and worked in Zagreb, and was also biographer and sole beneficiary of Miroslav Krleža
Miroslav Krleža (; 7 July 1893 – 29 December 1981) was a Croatian writer who is widely considered to be the greatest Croatian writer of the 20th century. He wrote notable works in all the literary genres, including poetry ('' The Ballads o ...
will regarding his entire opus, including significant portion of copyrights. Čengić has written three books (in several volumes) on Ćopić, namely ''Branko Ćopić i njegovi junaci u slici i prilici'' (), ''Ćopićev humor i zbilja'' (1 i 2) ( 1 and 2), ''Ćopić kroz svjetla i pomrčine'' (), one publication ''Šesdeset godina života i šest miliona knjiga Branka Ćopića: prigodna publikacija'' (), while his daughter published one more from an unpublished manuscript, titled ''Branko Ćopić: Treba sanjati'' (), after her father died.
Literary career
From at least 1951 until his death Branko Ćopić was a professional writer who lived solely of his writings as, due to his popularity, his books sold millions of copies, both in Yugoslavia and abroad.[
His first published ]short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
was ''Smrtno ruvo Soje Čubrilove'' ("Death robe of Soja Čubrilova"), printed in 1936 in the Belgrade daily Politika
( sr-Cyrl, Политика, lit=Politics) is a Serbian daily newspaper, published in Belgrade. Founded in 1904 by Vladislav F. Ribnikar, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in the Balkans.
Publishing and ownership
is publ ...
. Politika's editor, Žika Milićević, was known for his strictness and he initially rejected many of Ćopić's stories, but he persisted and Milićević eventually printed them in the newspapers. Milićević promised to publish two of his stories each month, if they are good. Before 1941 and the outbreak of World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in Yugoslavia, Politika published 125 of his stories. Ćopić considered this collaboration with Politika as a "great stimulus" and the "beginning of the serious literary affirmation".
His first short stories collection Ćopić published in 1938, and continued to write throughout the war.[ He dedicated the first two published collection, entitled ''Pod Grmečom'' (, 1938) and ''Borci i bjegunci'' (, 1939), to his homeland Bosnia and Herzegovina.]
These collection of short stories proved his gift for storytelling and were followed by others, including ''Planinci'' (, 1940). In 1939 he was recipient of '' Milan Rakić Award'', with 1,000 dinars
The dinar () is the name of the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, with a more widespread historical use. The English word "dinar" is the transliteration of the Arabic دينار (''dīnār''), which was bor ...
money prize, which led him to proclaim "I was richer than the emperor". He was editor of the ''Pionir'' () magazine from 1944 to 1949 and also a member of the editorial board of ''Savremenik'' ().
Regional mark of his prose can be recognized in the characters, locations, themes, and language of his home region, Bosnian Krajina. His pre-war prose was predominantly lyrical (collections like ''Rosa na bajonetima'' (, 1946), ''Sveti magarac i druge priče'' (), ''Surova škola'' (, 1948) but after the war, he subordinated the lyrical to the ideological and socially engaged. His short stories were often described as the "stories of a dreamer boy".
He published collections of poems ''Ognjeno rađanje domovine'' (, 1944) and ''Ratnikovo proljeće'' (, 1947). Other short story collections ''Ljubav i smrt'' (, 1953).[ Ćopić enriched the war short stories with humor and comical elements while in the novels ''Prolom'' (, 1952) and ''Gluvi barut'' (, 1957), he gave a broad prose fresco of the first war years in Bosnian Krajina. The turning point in his post-war development was ''Doživljaji Nikoletine Bursaća'' (). Novels ''Ne tuguj, bronzana stražo'' (, 1958) and ''Osma ofanziva'' (, 1966) deal with the state organized colonization of the Krajina's population into the province of ]Vojvodina
Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...
.[
The collection ''Bašta sljezove boje'' (, 1970) opens with a letter which Ćopić wrote to his late friend Zija Dizdarević (1916–42). In it, Ćopić sets the frame of the writing as a salvation from death and dark visions of the horsemen of the apocalypse. He perceives the world from the off-perspective of the good "fools", but despite the quixotic fervor and humor, the sense of sorrow, anxiety, disappointment, and anti-utopian situations breaks through. In the follow-up, ''Dani crvenog sljeza'' (), it all evolves into the collapse of the social ideals as expensively paid illusions.][
He was also writing children's poetry and prose. Best known works include ''Priče partizanke'' (), ''Nasmejana sveska'' (),][ ''U carstvu leptirova i medveda'' (), ''Vratolomne priče'' (), ''Ježeva kućica'' (), ''Doživljaji mačka Toše'' (), ''Orlovi rano lete'' (" Eagles Fly Early"; 1957).][
]
Social criticism
In the early 1950s, he also wrote satirical stories, criticizing anomalies and personalities from the country's political life of the time, corrupted by the materialism of the "comrades", blossomed bureaucracy and sycophancy
In modern English, sycophant denotes an "insincere flatterer" and is used to refer to someone practising sycophancy (i.e., insincere flattery to gain advantage).
The word has its origin in the legal system of Classical Athens, where it had a d ...
, which he despised, and for which he was considered a dissident and "heretic" who had to explain himself to the party ranks.
Using humor and satire, Ćopić targeted what he perceived to be social ills of the fledgling Yugoslav communist society. In 1950, he published ''Jeretička priča'' (), mocking the new phenomena he observed around him such as state-owned company managers, Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...
(JNA) generals, government ministers, as well as their families and in-laws, misusing publicly funded resources including specific instances of government-provided luxury cars being used by individuals from the above groups in order to be chauffeured to university lectures at faculties they recently enrolled in.[ In the story, state funds were also used by high state dignitaries to travel to expensive sea resorts, with a complete lack of willingness to throw away the benefits and privileges they obtained after the war. He was immediately attacked by his war compatriot Skender Kulenović in the next edition of the literary magazine ''Književne novine''.]
This was enough for the state security agency UDBA
The State Security Service, also known by its original name as the Directorate for State Security, was the secret police organization of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Communist Yugoslavia. It was at all times best known by the acrony ...
to open a file on him. Ćopić's harsh words against the political elite were conveyed to the secret police by one of his friends, who unbeknownst to Ćopić, was an UDBA agent with the code name Remington, after the typewriter
A typewriter is a Machine, mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of Button (control), keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an i ...
. Ćopić's file was placed together with those of other authors, who at the time were being scrutinized by the state for similar reasons: Mira Alečković, Desanka Maksimović, Sava Nikolić, , and Zuko Džumhur
Zulfikar "Zuko" Džumhur (24 September 1920 – 27 November 1989) was a prominent Bosnian writer, painter and Caricature, caricaturist. His bohemian nature, versatility of a polymath and extremely creative personality have made him a unique f ...
.[ Ćopić then published another critical work, ''Ko s đavolom priče piše'' (). He was reprimanded by the Yugoslav Communist Party (''KPJ''), while the country's leader ]Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...
publicly criticized the writer in 1950: "He �opićpresented our entire society, top to bottom, as a negative one, thus advocating its termination. Such satire we will not allow and we won't let this go without an answer. He deserves a public response and to say, once for all, that we will not allow enemy satire that works towards breaking our unity. It is up to him personally to own up to his mistakes and to follow the road of our other socialist writers".[
At one of the meetings of the Women's Antifascist Front of Yugoslavia (''AFŽ''), Tito angrily said of Ćopić: "He lies! He is not telling the truth!". Ćopić's mother Stoja, who attended the meeting, said to Tito "My Branko never lies". After continuous attacks from Tito personally, Ćopić hanged on his door a page from newspapers where Tito stated that he will not arrest him.][
Ćopić was later accused of being an adherent of ]Milovan Đilas
Milovan Djilas (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Милован Ђилас, Milovan Đilas, ; 12 June 1911 – 20 April 1995) was a Yugoslav communist politician, theorist and author. He was a key figure in the Partisan movement during World War II, as well ...
. In the autumn of 1953, defending himself from the "new class" (as Đilas labeled the Communist ''nouveau riche
; ), new rich, or new money (in contrast to old money; ) is a social class of the rich whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. These people previously had belonged to a lower social cla ...
''), in a letter to Veljko Vlahović
Veljko Vlahović ( Cyrillic: Вељко Влаховић; 2 September 1914 – 7 March 1975) was a Montenegrin politician and career army officer. He was one of the prominent members of the Montenegrin branch of the Yugoslav Communist Party from ...
, Ćopić wrote: "A massive number of sycophants, slimes, and invertebrates who are milling around the party, occupying all positions and imposing themselves like horse flies. This is especially visible among public and cultural figures, among those who should be the conscience of the people and engineers of the souls". In the late 1954, Ćopić's statement at the University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, 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 me ...
Civil Engineering Faculty's forum that things still didn't change since he published ''Heretic Story'', was followed by the publishing of the obvious police-informant's pamphlet in the student's magazine ''Student'' which declared Ćopić an enemy of the socialism.[ The irony was that Đilas himself was one of the leaders of the public "show trial" against Ćopić few years before.][
Because of the story ''Izbor druga Sokrata'' (), published in the NIN magazine, and the novel ''Gluvi barut'' () printed in 1957, he was denounced again. Defending himself in front of the party commission, he stated: "I showed some of our people who were a bit dehumanized under the harsh conditions of the arbattles, living in belief that they do what's best for the revolution." Though he said he will "fight to stay in the party, cause its nice to be there", he was expelled from it. He opposed the writing of the foreign and right-wing press, which used his criticism of the new system in ''Silent Gunpowder''.][ Especially affirmative analyses of anti-Communism and leftist errors in ''Silent Gunpowder'' were published in West Germany's press.] In 1966, Živojin Pavlović
Živojin "Žika" Pavlović (15 April 1933 – 29 November 1998) was a Yugoslav and Serbian film director, writer, painter and professor. In his films and novels, Pavlović depicted the cruel reality of small, poor and abandoned people living ...
wanted to film a movie ''Silent Gunpowder'', but the production house, Avala Film, backed off, because of the "politically unacceptable ideas in the script which depicts leftist errors". The film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
, to a great success, was made only in 1990, by Bato Čengić.
His contemporary comedy ''Odumiranje medveda'' () from 1958 caused him further problems with the political establishment. After only several rehearsals of the play, dramatized by Soja Jovanović, it was banned from the Belgrade Drama Theatre, as "ordered from the top". It was played later, but never in Belgrade.[ During all this time when he was criticized and ignored by the authorities, he was regularly visited by author ]Ivo Andrić
Ivo Andrić ( sr-Cyrl, Иво Андрић, ; born Ivan Andrić; 9 October 1892 – 13 March 1975) was a Yugoslav novelist, poet and short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1961. His writ ...
.[ When he was already considered too critical, no one wanted to sit next to him in the famous "Writer's Club" in Belgrade. One day Andrić sat next to him and advised him to switch to writing novels, as "no one reads them". Ćopić was stunned that Andrić even swore, as Andrić was regarded a personification of a diplomat and a gentleman. He accepted the suggestion, writing ''Silent Gunpowder'', but only made things worse. After a period of party harassment, he was expelled from the party in 1960. After his expulsion from the party, the cultural centers began to massively cancel hosting of his literary lectures, citing "house painting" as the reason for cancellation. He once asked his ormerparty comrades "how long is this painting going to last"?][
He explained what he was writing in his defense when he was interrogated by the party ]apparatchik
__NOTOC__
An '' apparatchik'' () was a full-time, professional functionary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union or the government of the Soviet Union, Soviet government ''apparat'' (Wiktionary:аппарат#Russian, аппарат, appar ...
s: "Before you start writing, imagine that 50 years has passed already, that you and those who interrogate you today are not alive anymore, and someone starts to dig in their archives. Write in such a manner that you don't feel ashamed in front of that unknown man from the future."[
Though he maintained for a while his jovial spirit, expulsion from the party was a major psychological blow. Apart from Tito, he was directly and publicly attacked and harassed by the party elite, including ]Moša Pijade
Moša Pijade (, alternate English transliteration Moshe Piade; – 15 March 1957), was a Serbian and Yugoslavia, Yugoslav painter, journalist, Communist Party of Yugoslavia, Communist Party politician, World War II participant, and a close ...
and Milovan Đilas
Milovan Djilas (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Милован Ђилас, Milovan Đilas, ; 12 June 1911 – 20 April 1995) was a Yugoslav communist politician, theorist and author. He was a key figure in the Partisan movement during World War II, as well ...
. He was much more hurt by the attacks from his colleague writers: , Skender Kulenović, Oto Bihalji-Merin, , Gustav Krklec. He suffered a lot, understanding this is a betrayal of the friends. In the years to come they avoided him, "as if he had a tuberculosis".[
About his social criticism, Ćopić once said: "And I, tired of all that satire regarding '']petite bourgeoisie
''Petite bourgeoisie'' (, ; also anglicised as petty bourgeoisie) is a term that refers to a social class composed of small business owners, shopkeepers, small-scale merchants, semi- autonomous peasants, and artisans. They are named as s ...
'', religion, priests, sextons and khawajas, didn't want to close my eyes on social and political issues in new Yugoslavia either".[
]
Personal life
His father and his uncle, nicknamed Nidžo (father's brother), were simultaneously engaged in WWI on the opposite sides, his father as a soldier of the Austro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...
, fighting in the Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...
, while his uncle was fighting as a volunteer in the Royal Serbian Army against the Austro-Hungarians. Both brothers survived and returned from the war. However, Branko's father died when he was four, and his uncle and his grandfather, alongside his mother, took care of him. His brother and sister were both killed in World War II. Brother Rajko was killed in 1942 and sister Smiljka (b. 1921) in 1943. Ćopić dedicated a poem to her, ''Grob u žitu'' ().[
Ćopić met his future wife Bogdanka Ilić, nicknamed Cica, in 1945. Bogdanka Ćopić later became a ]pediatrician
Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...
and the two were married in 1950 and remained together until his death. The final ten years of Ćopić's life they spent in the building across the Beograđanka
The Beograđanka ( sr-Cyrl, Београђанка; , lit. "Belgrade Lady"), officially ''Belgrade Palace'' (, ) is a modern high-rise building in the Belgrade downtown area.
A tall structure, it is one of the symbols of the city and represent ...
tower in downtown Belgrade.[
Ćopić was an avid reader, a painting lover and praised film and theatre, even penning several screenplays. He liked ]Italian neorealism
Italian neorealism (), also known as the Golden Age of Italian Cinema, was a national film movement characterized by stories set amongst the poor and the working class. They are filmed on location, frequently with non-professional actors. They p ...
, movies like '' The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'', '' The Wages of Fear'' and Disney's animated movies. He admired Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...
, Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an aut ...
, Miloš Crnjanski, Ivan Cankar, Miroslav Krleža
Miroslav Krleža (; 7 July 1893 – 29 December 1981) was a Croatian writer who is widely considered to be the greatest Croatian writer of the 20th century. He wrote notable works in all the literary genres, including poetry ('' The Ballads o ...
, Isidora Sekulić
Isidora Sekulić ( sr-cyr, Исидора Секулић, 16 February 1877 – 5 April 1958) was a Serbian writer, novelist, essayist, polyglot and art critic. She was "the first woman academic in the history of Serbia" after she joined the Serb ...
, Oskar Davičo, and Mihailo Lalić
Mihailo Lalić ( sr-cyr, Михаило Лалић, ; 7 October 1914 – 30 December 1992) was a Serbian writer.
Biography
He was born in Trepča ( Andrijevica municipality) village in north-eastern Montenegro in 1914. His most important nov ...
and called himself ''Lički Bosanac'' ("Lika
Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by t ...
's Bosnian"). Ćopić said that loneliness is hard and that life is short so it should be spent in love, concord, and understanding.[
]
Death
On Monday, 26 March 1984, Ćopić called his longtime close friend Momčilo Srećković to come from Obrenovac
Obrenovac ( sr-cyr, Обреновац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has a population of 68,882 inhabitants, while the urban area has 25,380 inhabitants. The old name for Obreno ...
to Belgrade. Srećković first met with Ćopić's wife, who told him that Branko had visited his doctor earlier that day and that he was depressed. Srećković found him around 16:00, sitting in Pioneers Park. They walked to Terazije
Terazije ( sr-Cyrl, Теразијe) is the central town square and the surrounding neighborhood of Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in the municipality of Stari Grad, Belgrade, Stari Grad.
Today, Terazije has primarily function of the main trans ...
, where they had Cockta drink in the summer garden of the Hotel Moskva with Ćopić "opening his soul". He said that for several years he had problems writing, naming ''The Mallow Color Garden'', ''The Adventures of Nikoletina Bursać'' and ''The Eighth Offensive'' as his favorites, and was sentimental about his childhood. According to Srećković, Ćopić was "talking a lot, more than I could memorize".[
They continued to Zeleni Venac and the Bridge of Brotherhood and Unity across the ]Sava
The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...
, today called Branko's Bridge. Ćopić recollected his arrival to Belgrade, when he slept under the bridge (at the time, it was King Alexander Bridge, which was demolished during the war), saying "''this bridge is my destiny''". While showing the bench under the bridge where he slept back in 1936, Ćopić's glasses fell down onto the pavement below. Srećković went down the stairs to retrieve it, but when he climbed back to the bridge, Ćopić had already crossed the river to the other, New Belgrade
New Belgrade (, ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade. It was a Planned community, planned city and now is the central business district of Serbia and South East Europe. Construction began in 1948 in a previously un ...
side. Srećković hurried to catch him, calling him, but when he got close, Ćopić threw himself over the metal fence, falling on the pavement on the Sava's left bank.[
Police initially held Srećković as a witness, but also suspecting him of pushing Ćopić from the bridge. He was cleared after Ćopić's widow Bogdanka came to the police, bringing his ]suicide letter
A suicide note or death note is a message written by a person who intends to die by suicide.
A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depend on ethnic ...
he left in the apartment. He ended the letter with "''Goodbye you beautiful and scary life''".[
The bridge in general gained an infamous reputation as a suicide bridge, as some 40 people try to commit suicide by jumping from it every year. As the bridge is an extension of the Brankova Street, named after ]Branko Radičević
Aleksije "Branko" Radičević ( sr-Cyrl, Алексије Бранко Радичевић, ; 28 March 1824 – 1 July 1853) was a Serbian poet who wrote in the period of Romanticism.
Biography
Branko Radičević was born in Slavonski Brod on 1 ...
, a Serbian romanticist poet, it was named after the street. However, an urban myth developed since then that the bridge was named after Ćopić's jump.
Ćopić repeated several times to his close friend and biographer Enes Čengić that he would kill himself, and the reason he gave was his inability to even remember or recognize the people or things around him, which he blamed on his advanced sclerosis, so that he could no longer write a letter.
Accolades
He received numerous awards from his early writing days: Academy of Seven Arts Award (1938), Rakić Award (1939), Serbian Royal Academy Award (1940), Culture and Arts Committee award (1947, 1948), FNRJ Government Award (1949), Trade Unions Award (1953), Award for the Children Literature (1956), City of Belgrade October Award (1956).[ In 1958 he received a NIN Award for the best novel for "Bronze guards, don't mourn".][
He is a recipient of several Yugoslav decorations. He received the Order of the Yugoslav Flag with Sash (I rank), Order of Merits for the People with Golden Star (I rank), Order of Brotherhood and Unity with a Golden Wreath (I rank), Order of the Republic with a Silver Wreath (II rank), Order of Merits for the People with Silver Rays (II rank) and the ]Commemorative Medal of the Partisans of 1941
The Commemorative Medal of the Partisans of 1941 (Macedonian language, Macedonian, Slovene language, Slovene and sh-Latn-Cyrl, Partizanska spomenica 1941., Партизанска споменица 1941., separator=" / ") is a commemorative Soci ...
.[
]
Assessment
Many of the characters he created were based on the real persons from his home region, on the slopes of the Grmeč mountain. Ćopić himself considered that his life works are three novels: ''The Mallow Color Garden'', ''The Adventures of Nikoletina Bursać'' and ''The Eighth Offensive''.[
Film director Puriša Đorđević made a documentary on Ćopić in 2016, titled ''Moja Mala iz Bosanske Krupe''.][ In 2023, a documentary ''Moj Branko ne laže'' () directed by Branko Lazić and written by Saša Berendika was made. It was titled after the words Ćopić's mother used to defend him from Tito.]
Author and literary critic wrote that, no matter whether he was writing poems, novels or stories, Ćopić was always a lyric poet
Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person.
The term for both modern lyric poetry and modern song lyrics derives from a form of Ancient Greek literature, t ...
. Pantić added that, standing on the shoulders of his predecessors like Petar Kočić
Petar Kočić ( sr-Cyrl, Петар Кочић; 29 June 1877 – 27 August 1916) was a Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Serb writer, activist and politician. Born in rural northwestern Bosnia (region), Bosnia in the final days of Ot ...
and nameless folk storytellers from his homeland, Ćopić was the constant of Serbian 20th century literature and its last authentic storyteller. Documentarist Dejan Petrović described Ćopić as "Serbian Tolkien".[
]
Works
Novels
*''Prolom'' – The Break-out (1952)
*''Gluvi barut'' – Silent Gunpowder (1957)
*''Ne tuguj, bronzana stražo'' – Bronze Guards, Don't Mourn (1958)
*''Osma ofanziva'' – The Eighth Offensive (1966)
Works for children
*''Orlovi rano lete'' – Eagles Fly Early (1957)
*''Slavno vojevanje'' – Glorious Combat (1960) and
*''Bitka u Zlatnoj dolini'' – The Battle of Golden Valley
(these three are known as ''„Pionirska trilogija“'' – The Pioneer Trilogy);
*''Magareće godine'' – "Donkey" Years (meaning: The Tough Teens)
*''Balada o ribaru i mačku'' – Ballad of the Fisherman and the Cat
*''Glava u klancu noge na vrancu'' – Head in the Col Legs on the Horse
*''Ježeva kućica'' – Hedgehog's House (1949)
*''Doživljaji mačka Toše'' – Adventures of Toscho the Cat
*''Bašta sljezove boje'' – The Mallow Color Garden
*''U carstvu medvjeda i leptirova'' – In the kingdom of bears and butterflies
*''Priče ispod zmajevih krila'' – The stories under the dragon's wings
Films and television series made after Ćopić's writings
*"Živjeće ovaj narod" (1947)
*"Major Bauk" (1951)
*"Grob u žitu" (1951)
*"Nikoletina Bursać (1964)
*'' Eagles Fly Early'' (1966)
*"Četrdeset prva" (1971)
*"Hajdučka vremena" (1977)
*"Mala moja iz Bosanske Krupe" (1978)
*"Osma ofanziva", TV-series (1979)
*"Bježaćemo čak u Liku" (1979)
*"Odumiranje međeda" (1982)
*"Smiješne i druge priče" TV-series (1986)
*"Razgovori stari" (1986)
*''Silent Gunpowder
''Silent Gunpowder'' () is a 1990 Yugoslav war film directed by Bato Čengić, starring Mustafa Nadarević, Branislav Lečić, Fabijan Šovagović, Mira Furlan, Boro Stjepanović and Josip Pejaković.
Plot
Based on a novel by Branko Ćopi ...
'' (1990)
*"Magareće godine" (1994)
* ''Ježeva kućica'' (2017)
See also
* Bosnia and Herzegovina literature
*Serbian literature
Serbian literature ( sr-Cyrl, Српска књижевност, ''Srpska književnost''), refers to literature written in Serbian language, Serbian and/or in Serbia and all other Serbian diaspora, lands where Serbs reside.
The history of Serbia ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Copic, Branko
1915 births
1984 suicides
1984 deaths
People from Krupa na Uni
Serb writers from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Serbian children's writers
20th-century Serbian novelists
20th-century Serbian poets
Bosnia and Herzegovina writers
Bosnia and Herzegovina novelists
Bosnia and Herzegovina poets
Yugoslav writers
Yugoslav Partisans members
Suicides by jumping in Serbia
University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy alumni
Members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
Members of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery
Suicides in Yugoslavia
Serbian male short story writers
Serbian short story writers