Danica Marković (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Даница Марковић; 12 October 1879 – 9 July 1932) was the first modern Serbian woman

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 ...

. She was also important for her feminist writings. Her

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

was Zvezdanka.

Biography

Danica Marković wrote her first poem "Poslednje želje" ("Last Wishes") at the age of 18. It was published under her pseudonym Zvezdanka in the magazine ''Zvezda'' (''The Star'') in 1900. Her first poetry collection ''Trenuci'' (1904) was very well received by literary critics, including

Jovan Skerlić Jovan Skerlić (, ; 20 August 1877 – 15 May 1914) was a Serbian writer and literary critic.''Jovan Skerlić u srpskoj književnosti 1877–1977: Zbornik radova''. Posebna izdanja, Institut za knjizevnost i umetnost, Belgrade. He is seen as o ...

and Antun Gustav Matoš. After the acclaim which greeted her first volume of poetry, she was largely forgotten in the altered climate of cultural life following the

Great War 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 ...

. Her personal experience was harsh: three of her six children died and she was left by her husband to bring up the other three on her own. Neglected for more than 40 years, now after communism, her life story and writings are becoming better known. During the

, she volunteered as a

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

caring for the sick in military field hospitals along with her contemporaries.

Work

* ''Trenuci'' (1904) * ''Trenuci i raspoloženja'' (1928) * ''Elegije'' (reprint, 1973) * ''Pesme o alhemijskom pokušaju'' (reprint, 1989) * ''Kupačica i zmija'' (reprint, 2003) * ''Istorija jednog osećanja, sabrane pesme'' (reprint, 2006) * ''Savremena ispovest'' (1913)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danica Markovic 1879 births 1932 deaths Writers from Čačak People from Čačak Serbian women poets 20th-century Serbian poets 20th-century Serbian women writers Feminist writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers People from the Kingdom of Serbia Serbian poets