Milan Komnenić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Комненић; 8 November 1940 – 24 July 2015) was a Serbian poet, translator, essayist and politician.

Biography

Komnenić was born on 8 November 1940 in the village of Pilatovci near

Nikšić Nikšić (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Никшић, ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 32,046 (2023 census) located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot of Trebjesa ...

in present-day

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. He edited the literary magazines ''Vidici'', ''Delo'', and ''Relation'', and also worked as an editor in the publishing house ''Prosveta''. He initiated three editions: ''Erotikon'', ''Prosveta'', and ''Hispanoamerički roman''. He translated works from Italian, French, Spanish and German with over fifty translated books. Komnenić was also involved in politics in the 1990s. Together with

Vuk Drašković Vuk Drašković ( sr-cyrl, Вук Драшковић, ; born 29 November 1946) is a Serbian writer and politician. He is the co-founder and former leader of the Serbian Renewal Movement, serving as president from 1990 to 2024. He also served as th ...

, he participated in the creation of the

Serbian Renewal Movement The Serbian Renewal Movement (, abbr. SPO) is a liberal and monarchist political party in Serbia. It was founded in 1990 by writer Vuk Drašković, who served as the party's president until 2024. Aleksandar Cvetković is the incumbent leader. ...

and participated in the

1991 protests in Belgrade The 1991 protests in Belgrade happened on the streets of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia and Yugoslavia when a protest rally turned into a riot featuring vicious clashes between the protesters and police. The initial mass rally that took place o ...

against the regime of

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...

. He later became Minister of Information of the

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 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 ...

on 18 January 1999, as a member of the party. He was Minister of Information during the events leading up to the proposed

Rambouillet Agreement The Rambouillet Agreement, formally the Interim Agreement for Peace and Self-Government in Kosovo, was a proposed peace agreement between the delegation of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia on the one hand and the del ...

and the beginning of the

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Serbia and Montenegro, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombing ...

until he resigned on 25 April 1999. He was briefly the

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organiza ...

of the

Republic of Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

in the transitional government of

Milomir Minić Milomir Minić ( sr-Cyrl, Миломир Минић; born 5 October 1950) is a Serbian professor, scientist and former politician who served as the prime minister of Serbia from 2000 to 2001. Political career A member of the Socialist Party of ...

from October 2000 to January 2001. In 2007, he joined the Democratic Party. As a poet, he published his first book in 1966. It was a poetry book titled ''Noć pisana noću''. His first poems tend to renew the unjustly neglected past, while later he turned to

anti-poetry Anti-poetry is a literary movement that advocates breaking the usual conventions of traditional poetry. Early proponents of anti-poetry include the Chilean Nicanor Parra and the Greek Elias Petropoulos. Parra, known as the father of anti-poetry, ...

. He composed a large number of songs according to the principles of critical neorealism. His poems have been included in several anthologies, and his poetry and essays have been translated into many languages (French, Italian, English, Russian, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, Slovenian and Macedonian). Among other things, he translated from the French original an extensive study by

Denis de Rougemont Denys Louis de Rougemont (September 8, 1906 – December 6, 1985), known as Denis de Rougemont (), was a Swiss writer and cultural theorist who wrote in French. One of the non-conformists of the 1930s, he addressed the perils of totalitaria ...

called ''Love in the Western World''. He published twenty-one collections of poems, four books of reviews, two anthologies and more than 200 articles. He was awarded the Mladost Award,

Isidora Sekulić Award The Isidora Sekulić Award (, sr-cyr, Награда Исидора Секулић) is a Serbian, and former Yugoslav, literary prize established by the Belgrade municipality of Savski venac in 1967 and awarded annually since 1968 in honor of th ...

(for his 1975 essay ''Eros i znak'') and the Milan Rakić Award. Komnenić died on 24 July 2015. He is interred in the

Alley of Distinguished Citizens The New Cemetery ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Ново гробље, Novo groblje) is a cemetery complex in Belgrade, Serbia, with a distinct history. It is located in Ruzveltova street in Zvezdara municipality. The cemetery was built in 1886 as the third C ...

in the

Belgrade New Cemetery The New Cemetery ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Ново гробље, Novo groblje) is a cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, ...

Published books

* ''Noć pisana noću'' (1966) * ''Gvozdena loza'' (1970) * ''Orionov put'' (1971) * ''Tapija o izvoru'' (1972) * ''Ti, riđokosa olujo'' (1974) * ''Antologija novijeg srpskog pesništva'' (1974) * ''Eros i znak'' (1975–76) * ''Svođenje računa'' (1980) * ''Mamuza za njene sapi'' (1980) * ''Ilinka'' (1984) * ''Izgon'' (1987) * ''Jona'' (1988) * ''Kosovski polom'' (1988) * ''Uznesenja'' (1990) * ''Opela'' (1990) * ''Jeka'' (1995) * ''Ždral na Bosforu'' (2001) * ''Tunika za kugu'' (2001) * ''Klopka u Rambujeu'' (2006)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Komnenic, Milan 1940 births 2015 deaths Writers from Nikšić Politicians from Nikšić Culture ministers of Serbia Serbs of Montenegro Serbian politicians Serbian translators Serbian male writers Serbian male poets Serbian male essayists Serbian Renewal Movement politicians Democratic Party (Serbia) politicians University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology alumni Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery