Croatian Writers' Association (; abbreviated DHK) is the official association of

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n writers. It was founded in 1900 in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

with the goal "to unite writers and help them support one another, and promote

Croatian literature Croatian literature refers to literary works attributed to the medieval and modern culture of the Croats, Croatia, and Croatian language, Croatian. Besides the modern language whose shape and orthography were standardized in the late 19th centu ...

regardless of political objectives", "to protect the interests and increase the reputation of writers" and "supports its members and their orphans." The DHK's president is Hrvojka Mihanović Salopek, while Željka Lovrenčić and Mirko Ćurić are vice-presidents.

History

In 1897 the Croatian Writers' Club (''Klub hrvatskih književnika'') unofficially operated as part of the Association of Croatian Artists (''Društvo hrvatskih umjetnika ''), and was led by

Milivoj Dežman Milivoj () is an old Slavic origin given name derived from elements: ''milo'' ("gracius, favour") + ''voj'' ("soldier, war"). Popular primarily in South Slavic states. The name may refer to: *Milivoj Ašner (1913–2011), a former police chief i ...

. In 1898 the first informal agreement on the establishment of the Croatian Writers' Association was held, and a regulatory proposal was written.

Matica hrvatska Matica hrvatska () is the oldest independent, non-profit and non-governmental Croatian national institution. It was founded on February 2, 1842 by the Croatian Count Janko Drašković and other prominent members of the Illyrian movement during ...

in 1899 approved the establishment of a separate Association, and on March 17, 1900 the government approved its rules. Rules established four categories of members: real members (''pravi članovi''), association founders (''zakladnici''), founders (''utemeljitelji'') and associate members (''izvanredni članovi''). The association was established by the so called ''Mladi'' (Young) writers contrary to ''Stari'' (Old) writers gathered in Matica hrvatska and it's journal Vienac. At the inaugural meeting on April 2, 1900, held in the presence of 103 writers,

Ivan Trnski Ivan Trnski (1 May 1819 – 30 June 1910) was a Croatian writer, translator and puzzle designer. Glorified by his contemporaries as a great poet and patriot, he is now considered a skillful poet and a prolific author of occasional verse. Life T ...

was elected for the first president of the Association. In 1906 a monthly Contemporary (''Savremenik'') was launched. At the end of the 1908 the series Modern Croatian Writers (''Suvremeni hrvatski pisci'') was established, which was particularly prominent under the editorship of

Julije Benešić Julije is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Julije Bajamonti (1744–1800), medical historian, writer, translator, encyclopedist, historian, philosopher, and musician from the Croatian city of Split *Julije Kempf (1864–1934), C ...

(1909–1920). It was in that series that the famous anthology Croatian Young Lyric (''Hrvatska mlada lirika '') was published in 1914. The association's first years were marked by convergent efforts towards Matica Hrvatska – the association's publications of the Modern Croatian Writers series and the magazine ''Contemporary'' were supported by Matica hrvatska as possibly jointly published. At the same time the association advocated literary unity of

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

and

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

, and proposals were made to issue a common literary magazine. In 1914 the association was temporarily suspended by a government decision due to the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The postwar efforts of the association were marked by a support to

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

and orthographic unification of Croats and Serbs. Due to failed agreements with Matica hrvatska, financial deficit and a fierce competition of the newly established magazines, the ''Contemporary'' ceased to be published in 1922, and after being temporarily issued in 1923 it was resuspended in 1924–1926. The topic of the establishment of the Yugoslav Writers' Association was actively discussed, and after a proposal of the Association of Writers in Belgrade "for all writers of our country be united in one association", the Committee of the Croatian Writers' Association replied in 1927 that it such initiatives are still premature, and has proposed an alliance of autonomous associations instead. The death of

Stjepan Radić Stjepan Radić (11 June 1871 – 8 August 1928) was a Croat politician and the co-founder of the Croatian People's Peasant Party (HPSS), active in Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. He is credited with galvanizin ...

all the more strengthened the Croatian national spirit of the association. The Association operated during the period of

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

as well. In 1945 the Association was renamed the Association of Writers of Croatia (''Društvo književnika Hrvatske''), new rules were approved and a new board was elected with

Luka Perković Luka Perković may refer to: * Luka Perković (gamer) (born 1998), Croatian League of Legends player best known as Perkz * (1900–1948), Croatian novelist and poet, one time president of the Croatian Writers' Association Croatian Writers' Asso ...

as the president. A few dozen writers were punished by prohibiting their public work and a temporary suspension of having their works published. In 1949 the Second Congress of the Writers' Union of Yugoslavia was held in Zagreb, in which the new administration was elected with

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 ...

as the President, and the board consisting 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 ...

, Marin Franičević, Josip Barković, Petar Šegedin,

Viktor Car Emin Viktor Car Emin (Kraj at Mošćenička Draga, 1 November 1870 – Opatija, 17 April 1963) was a prominent Croatian writer. He graduated from Teachers School in Kopar. He was expelled from the Italian controlled Istria first to settle in Sušak, a ...

and

Slavko Kolar Slavko Kolar (; 1 December 1891 - 15 September 1963) was a Croatian writer. Selected works * Nasmijane pripovijesti (1917) * Ili jesmo - ili nismo (1933) * Mi smo za pravicu (1936) * Svoga tijela gospodar (1942) * Natrag u naftalin (1946) * Glav ...

. In 1964 the association's plenum unanimously adopted the

Declaration on the Status and Name of the Croatian Literary Language Declaration may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Declaration'' (book), a self-published electronic pamphlet by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri * ''The Declaration'' (novel), a 2008 children's novel by Gemma Malley Music ...

, and during the

Croatian Spring The Croatian Spring (), or Maspok, was a political conflict that took place from 1967 to 1971 in the Socialist Republic of Croatia, at the time part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. As one of six republics comprising Yugoslavi ...

the association stood with Matica hrvatska in support the movement. In the 1980s, especially after the last congress of the Writers' Union of Yugoslavia in Novi Sad in 1985, the association was more actively involved in political life, usually by writing

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

s in defense of

Croatian language Croatian (; ) is the standard language, standardised Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian pluricentric language mainly used by Croats. It is the national official language and literary standard of Croatia, o ...

, or

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

of individual writers. In 1990 the original name of the Association was restored. In 2002 several former members, dissatisfied with the state of the association, founded the Croatian Association of Writers (''Hrvatsko društvo pisaca''). The first president of the new association, Velimir Visković, explains the necessity of secession by the dominance of the radical right-wing nationalist ideology in the DHK.

Association today

The association has regional chapters in

Pula Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

and

Čakovec Čakovec (; ; ; ) is a city in Northern Croatia, located around north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital, and close to the borders with Slovenia and Hungary. Čakovec is both the county seat and the largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmo ...

. It issues several magazines: Bridge (''Most''), Republic (''Republika'') and ''Korabljica''. The series Contemporary Croatian Writers has been renewed under the name Library of the Croatian Writers' Association (''Knjižnica Društva hrvatskih književnika''). Several literary awards have been established.

Presidents

Stjepan Miletić Stjepan Miletić (; 24 March 1868 8 September 1908) was a Croatian playwright, director, critic, and writer. Biography Stjepan Miletić Jr. was born in Zagreb in 1868 to the noble Miletić family. He studied philosophy in Vienna, later achi ...

Natko Nodilo Natko Nodilo (31 August 1834 – 21 May 1912) was a Croatian politician, historian, journalist, university professor, and chancellor of the University of Zagreb. Born in Split, he studied theology in Zadar until 1856, when he dropped out of colle ...

Ksaver Šandor Gjalski Ljubomil Tito Josip Franjo Babić, better known by his pen name Ksaver Šandor Gjalski, (also cited as Đalski, both ; 26 October 1854 – 6 February 1935) was a Croatian novelist and civil servant. Biography He was born in Gredice near Zabo ...

(twice) * Nikola Andrić (twice) * Branimir Livadić *

Mihovil Nikolić Mihovil is a Croatian given name. It is a variant of Michael. It may refer to * Mihovil Logar (1902–1998), Serbian composer * Mihovil Pavlek Miškina (1887–1942), Croatian writer and politician * Mihovil Nakić (born 1955), Croatian basketball p ...

* Milutin Cihlar Nehajev *

* Stjepan Trontl * Franjo Fancev *

Ilija Jakovljević Ilija may refer to: * Ilija, Iran, a village in Ardabil Province, Iran * Ilija, Slovakia, a village and municipality in the Banská Štiavnica District, in the Banská Bystrica Region * Ilija (given name), South Slavic given name People with the su ...

Mile Budak Mile Budak (30 August 1889 – 7 June 1945) was a Croatian politician and writer best known as one of the chief ideologists of the Croatian fascist Ustaša movement, which ruled the Independent State of Croatia during World War II in Yugoslavia ...

* Luka Perković (1945–1948) *

(1948–1952) * Ivan Dončević (1952) * Petar Šegedin (1953, 1968–1970) *

Mirko Božić Mirko (Cyrillic script: Мирко) is a masculine given name of South Slavic origin. By Slavic etymology, the name is composed of the root ''mir'' (meaning peace) and hypocoristic suffix ''-ko'' usual in South Slavic languages, which together mea ...

(1954, 1959–1960) * Miroslav Feldman (1955) *

Vjekoslav Kaleb Vjekoslav Kaleb (27 September 1905 – 13 April 1996) was a Croatian short story writer and novelist. Biography Kaleb was born in Tisno and educated in Zadar, Belgrade, Šibenik and Zagreb, where he attended Teacher’s Academy (today: Faculty ...

(1956) * Marijan Matković (1957–1958) * Jure Kaštelan (1961) *

Dobriša Cesarić Dobriša Cesarić (; 10 January 1902 – 18 December 1980) was a Croatian poet and translator. In 1951, he became a member of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts. Literary work His first appearance on the literary scene was when he was 14 ...

(1962) *

Dragutin Tadijanović Dragutin Tadijanović (4 November 1905 – 27 June 2007) was a Croatian poet, and in his native Croatia he is referred to as a "Bard." Tadijanović was born in the village of Rastušje close to Slavonski Brod in the region of Slavonia. He publ ...

(1963) *

Gustav Krklec Gustav Krklec (; 23 June 1899 – 30 October 1977) was a Croatian writer and translator. Krklec was born in 1899 in Udbinja near Karlovac. In 1900, he moved with his family to Maruševec, a village near Varaždin. He studied in Vienna and Zagr ...

(1964, 1974–1976) *

Vlatko Pavletić Vlatko Pavletić (; 2 December 1930 – 19 September 2007) was a Croatian politician, university professor, literary critic and essayist who served as acting President of Croatia from 1999 to 2000, as well as he served as Speaker of the Croatian ...

(1965–1968) *

Ivo Frangeš Ivo is a masculine given name, in use in various European languages. The name used in western European languages originates as a Normannic name recorded since the High Middle Ages, and the French name Yves is a variant of it. The unrelated So ...

(1970–1972) * Jure Franičević-Pločar (1972–1974) * Josip Barković (1976–1977) *

Milivoj Slaviček Milivoj () is an old Slavic origin given name derived from elements: ''milo'' ("gracius, favour") + ''voj'' ("soldier, war"). Popular primarily in South Slavic states. The name may refer to: * Milivoj Ašner (1913–2011), a former police chief ...

(1978–1979) * Šime Vučetić (1980–1981) * Pero Budak (1982–1984) * Marija Peakić Mikuljan (1985–1989) * Nedjeljko Fabrio (1989–1995) *

Ante Stamać Ante or Antes may refer to: * Ante (cards), an initial stake paid in a card game * Ante (poker), a forced bet in the game of poker * Ante (name), Croatian form of the given name Anthony * The Latin word ''ante'', meaning "before", which is used as ...

(1995–1999) * Slavko Mihalić (1999–2005) * Stjepan Čuić (2005–2008) * Borben Vladović (2008–2011) * Božidar Petrač (2011–2017) * Zlatko Krilić (2020–2023) * Hrvojka Mihanović Salopek (2023-)

References

{{Authority control Croatian language Cultural organizations based in Croatia 1900 establishments in Croatia Arts organizations established in 1900

History

Association today

Presidents

See also

References