Duško Trifunović (, 13 September 1933 – 28 January 2006) was a Serbian and Yugoslav writer, poet and television author.

Life

Born in the small village of Sijekovac near Bosanski Brod (then part of the

Vrbas Banovina The Vrbas Banovina or Vrbas Banate ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Vrbaska banovina, Врбаска бановина), was a province (Banovinas of Yugoslavia, banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. It was named after the ...

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

), to father Vaso and illiterate mother Petra. His father died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1945. Trifunović did not have much formal schooling since he started working in a factory during his early teens. Working as a

locksmith Locksmithing is the work of creating and bypassing locks. Locksmithing is a traditional trade and in many countries requires completion of an apprenticeship. The level of formal education legally required varies by country, ranging from no formal ...

affixing train wagon doors, he eventually moved to

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 ...

in 1957 at the age of 24 to continue the same line of work. Parallel to his factory work, he also secretly wrote poetry and once in Sarajevo finally got a chance to pursue it in earnest. He published his first book in 1958, and over the next 48 years wrote 84 poetry books, four novels, and several dramas. He also wrote over 300 song lyrics, most notably for

Bijelo dugme () is a Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav Rock music, rock band, formed in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1974. is widely considered to have been the most popular and the best-selling band ever to exist in the former S ...

(nation-wide hits " Ne gledaj me tako i ne ljubi me više" " Šta bi dao da si na mom mjestu", "Doživjeti stotu", "Pristao sam biću sve što hoće", and "Ima neka tajna veza", as well as other tracks like "Glavni junak jedne knjige" and "Ništa mudro"), Indexi (hit "I pad je let"),

Zdravko Čolić Zdravko Čolić (, ; born 30 May 1951) is a Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian-Serbian Pop music, pop singer and widely considered one of the greatest vocalists and cultural icons of the former Yugoslavia. Favourably compared to Paul McCartney and T ...

(hit "Glavo luda"), Vajta (hit "Zlatna ribica"), Jadranka Stojaković, Neda Ukraden, and Željko Joksimović ("Ima nešto u tom što me nećeš"). Trifunović also authored several children's books and created several children programs for Televizija Sarajevo, the most prominent being ''Šta djeca znaju o zavičaju'' (''What children know about the homeland''). Since 1992, he divided his time between

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

and

Sremski Karlovci Sremski Karlovci ( sr-Cyrl, Сремски Карловци, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka Districtautonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Danube, from Novi Sad. According to the 202 ...

in Serbia, working on Radio Television Novi Sad (RTNS) until retirement. He received Branko's award, City of Sarajevo April 6 Award, Federal and many other acknowledgments. He died on 28 January 2006 in Novi Sad (at the time

Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

) at the age of 72, and was interred at the Čerat Cemetery in Sremski Karlovci where he had lived during the last years of his life.

Selected bibliography

*''Tajna veza'', selected poems (1994) *''Veliko otvorenje'' (2000) *''Gola seča'', novel (2002)

Filmography (screenplays)

*''Ram za sliku moje drage'' (1968) *''Život je masovna pojava'' (1970) *''Adam Ledolomac'' (1990)

References

External links

Article and interview in Ilustrovana Politika
(In Serbian)
''NIN'', 31. mart 2005
(In Serbian)
''Večernje novosti'', 23. mart 2005
(In Serbian) *
Translated works by Dragan Lukić
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trifunovic, Dusko 1933 births 2006 deaths People from Brod, Bosnia and Herzegovina History of Bosanski Brod Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina writers Serbian male poets 20th-century Serbian poets Recipients of the Sixth of April Sarajevo Award