Mirko Kovač (26 December 1938 – 19 August 2013) was a Montenegrin writer. In his rich career he wrote novels, short stories, essays, film scripts, TV and radio plays. Among his best known works are the novella ''Životopis Malvine Trifković'', the novels ''Vrata od utrobe'', ''Grad u zrcalu'', the short story collection ''Ruže za Nives Koen'', the book of essays ''Europska trulež'' and the scripts for some of the most successful films of Yugoslav cinema like ''

Handcuffs Handcuffs are Physical restraint, restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a Link chain, chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm whi ...

'', '' Playing Soldiers'' and '' Occupation in 26 Pictures'' among others. He was one quarter of the infamous

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 ...

quartet, the other three being

Danilo Kiš Danilo Kiš (; born Dániel Kiss; 22 February 1935 – 15 October 1989) was a Yugoslav and Serbian novelist, short story writer, essayist and translator. His best known works include ''Hourglass'', '' A Tomb for Boris Davidovich'' and '' The En ...

Borislav Pekić Borislav Pekić ( sr-Cyrl, Борислав Пекић, ; 4 February 1930 – 2 July 1992) was a Serbian writer and political activist. He was born in 1930, to a prominent family in Montenegro, at that time part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. From ...

and

Filip David Filip David ( sr-cyr, Филип Давид; 4 July 1940 – 14 April 2025) was a Serbian writer and screenwriter, best known for penning essays, dramas, short stories and novels. In 1987, he was awarded the Andrić Prize for his short story coll ...

Biography

Kovač was born to a

Croat 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 ...

father and a

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

mother in the village of Petrovići in Banjani region 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 ...

, Montenegro. He went to elementary school in

Trebinje Trebinje ( sr-Cyrl, Требиње, ) is a city and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated on the banks of the Trebišnjica river in the region of East Her ...

but after leaving his family at the age of 16 he went to

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 ...

where he finished high school in

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 ...

. During that time he discovered the works of poet

Tin Ujević Augustin Josip "Tin" Ujević (; 5 July 1891 – 12 November 1955) was a Croatian poet, considered by many to be the greatest poet in 20th century Croatian literature. From 1921, he ceased to sign his name as Augustin, thereafter using the sig ...

and became interested in literature. He went on to study the works of other notable Croatian authors like Ranko Marinković, Vladan Desnica, Antun Branko Šimić and Vjekoslav Kaleb. After finishing school he published his first essay called ''Tri pesnika'' (''Three Poets'') about the works of Tin Ujević,

Branko Miljković Branko Miljković (Serbian Cyrillic: Бранко Миљковић; 29 January 1934 – 12 February 1961) was a Serbian poet. Biography Miljković was born in Niš to a Serb father Gligorije Miljković, who hails from Gadžin Han, and a Croat m ...

and Oskar Davičo. His first book ''Gubilište'' was published in 1962 and caused a big bang on the Yugoslav literature scene. The communist authorities declared the book inappropriate because of its dark portrayal of life and started a campaign against Kovač which resulted in a year long polemic. Many authors including

Predrag Matvejević Predrag Matvejević (7 October 1932 – 2 February 2017) was a Bosnian and Croatian writer and scholar. A literature scholar who taught at universities in Zagreb, Paris and Rome, he is best known for his 1987 non-fiction book ''Mediterranean: A ...

and

wrote in Kovač's defence. He received: the Serbian '' NIN Prize'' in 1978 and the

Andrić Prize The Andrić Prize () is a Serbian and formerly Yugoslav annual literary award for short stories and short story collections written in Serbian, granted by the ''Zadužbina Ive Andrića'' ("Ivo Andrić Foundation") since 1975. History The prize ...

in 1979, Swedish PEN ''Tucholsky Award'' (1993), German

Herder Prize The Herder Prize (), named after the German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), was a prestigious international prize awarded every year from 1964 to 2006 to scholars and artists from Central and Southeast Europe whose life and wor ...

(1995), Montenegrin ''Njegoš Award'' (2009) and ''13th July award'' (2004), Slovenian ''Vilenica Award'' (2003), Croatian ''

Vladimir Nazor Award The Vladimir Nazor Award () is a Croatian prize for arts and culture established in 1959, and awarded every year by the country's Ministry of Culture. Named after the writer Vladimir Nazor (1876–1949), the prize is awarded to Croatian artists ...

'' (2008) etc. He lived in

, but moved to

Rovinj Rovinj (; Venetian and ; Istriot: or ; ; ) is a city in west Croatia situated on the north Adriatic Sea with a population of 14,294 (2011). Located on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, it is a popular tourist resort and beach destin ...

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 ...

, his wife's hometown, after

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 ...

came to power. An annual award in his name is given to authors from the Balkans in four categories.

Bibliography

* Gubilište (1962), novel * Moja sestra Elida (1965), novel * Malvina (1970), novella * Rane Luke Meštrevića (1971), short story collection * Ruganje sa dušom (1976), novel * Vrata od utrobe (1978), novel (NIN award) * Uvod u drugi život (1983), novel * Evropska trulež (1986), essays * Nebeski zaručnici (1987), short story collection * Okupacija u 26 slika i drugi scenariji (1990), film scripts * Evropska trulež i drugi eseji (1994), essays * Bodež u srcu (1995), publicist texts * Kristalne rešetke (1995), novel * Na odru (1996), short stories * Rastresen život (1996), novel fragments * Cvjetanje mase (1997), publicist texts * Knjiga pisama 1992-1995 (1998), correspondence with

* Isus na koži (2003), plays * Grad u zrcalu (2007), novel * Pisanje ili nostalgija (2008), essays * Ruže za Nives Koen (2009), short story collection * Vrijeme koje se udaljava (2013), memoir Screenplays: * Playing Soldiers * Lisice * Passion According to Matthew * Occupation in 26 Pictures * The Fall of Italy * Evening Bells * Tetoviranje *

Libertas Libertas (Latin for 'liberty' or 'freedom', ) is the Roman goddess and personification of liberty. She became a politicised figure in the late republic. She sometimes also appeared on coins from the imperial period, such as Galba's "Freedom ...

References

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovac, Mirko Croatian novelists Croatian male writers Male novelists Croatian screenwriters 1938 births 2013 deaths Writers from Nikšić Vladimir Nazor Award winners Montenegrin novelists 20th-century Serbian novelists Herder Prize recipients Yugoslav writers 20th-century male writers Croatian people of Serbian descent Montenegrin people of Serbian descent Montenegrin people of Croatian descent Serbian people of Croatian descent