Oton Župančič (; January 23, 1878 – June 11, 1949; pseudonym ''Gojko'' ) was a Slovene poet, translator, and playwright. He is regarded, alongside Ivan Cankar, Dragotin Kette and Josip Murn, as the beginner of

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

Slovene literature Slovene literature is the literature written in Slovene. It spans across all literary genres with historically the Slovene historical fiction as the most widespread Slovene fiction genre. The Romantic 19th-century epic poetry written by the ...

. In the period following World War I, Župančič was frequently regarded as the greatest Slovenian poet after Prešeren, but in the last forty years his influence has been declining and his poetry has lost much of its initial appeal.

Biography

He was born Oton Zupančič in the village of Vinica in the Slovene region of

White Carniola White Carniola (; ; or ''Weiße Mark'') is a traditional region in southeastern Slovenia on the border with Croatia. Due to its smallness, it is often considered a subunit of the broader Lower Carniola region, although with distinctive cultural, l ...

near the border with

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 father Franc Zupančič was a wealthy village merchant, his mother Ana Malić was of Croatian origin. He attended high school in

Novo Mesto Novo Mesto (; ; also known by #Name, alternative names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, seventh-largest city of Slovenia. It is the economic and cultural centre of the traditional region of Lower Carniola (southeastern Slovenia) and ...

and in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

. In the

Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...

n capital, he initially frequented the circle of

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intellectuals around the social activist, author and politician

Janez Evangelist Krek Janez Evangelist Krek (27 November 1865 – 8 October 1917) was a Slovene Christian Socialist politician, priest, journalist, and author. Life and career He was born and baptized ''Johann Krek'' in a peasant family in the village of Sveti Greg ...

, but later turned to the

freethinking Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an unorthodox attitude or belief. A freethinker holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and should instead be reached by other meth ...

circle of young Slovene modernist artists, among whom were Ivan Cankar, Dragotin Kette and Josip Murn. In 1896, he went to study history and

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

. He stayed in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

until 1900, but never completed his studies. In the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

capital, he became acquainted with the contemporary currents in European art, especially the

Viennese Secession The Vienna Secession (; also known as the Union of Austrian Artists or ) is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austrian painters, graphic artists, sculptors and architects, including Josef Hof ...

and

fin de siècle "''Fin de siècle''" () is a French term meaning , a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom '' turn of the century'' and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without co ...

literature. He also met with

Ruthenia ''Ruthenia'' is an exonym, originally used in Medieval Latin, as one of several terms for Rus'. Originally, the term ''Rus' land'' referred to a triangular area, which mainly corresponds to the tribe of Polans in Dnieper Ukraine. ''Ruthenia' ...

n students from eastern Galicia who introduced him to Ukrainian

folk poetry Folk poetry (sometimes referred to as ''poetry in action'') is poetry that is part of a society's folklore, usually part of their oral tradition. When sung, folk poetry becomes a folk song. Description Folk poetry in general has several characteri ...

, which had an important influence on Župančič's future poetic development. In 1900, he returned to Ljubljana, where he taught as a substitute teacher at the Ljubljana Classical Gymnasium. He started to publish his poetry in the liberal literary magazine ''

Ljubljanski zvon ''Ljubljanski zvon'' (The Ljubljana Bell) was a Literary magazine, journal published in Ljubljana in Slovene language, Slovene between 1881 and 1941. It was considered one of the most prestigious literary and cultural magazines in Slovenia. Earl ...

'', where he clashed with one of its editors and the most influential Slovene author of that time,

Anton Aškerc Anton Aškerc (; 9 January 1856 – 10 June 1912) was a Slovenian poet and Roman Catholic priest who worked in Austria, best known for his epic poems. Aškerc was born into a peasant family near the town of Rimske Toplice in the Duchy of Styria, ...

. In 1905, he traveled to Paris and settled in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, where he worked as a private tutor until 1910. In 1910, he returned to Ljubljana and worked as a stage director at the Drama Theater of Ljubljana. In 1912, the

national liberal National liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal policies and issues with elements of nationalism. Historically, national liberalism has also been used in the same meaning as conservative liberalism (right-liberalism). A serie ...

mayor of Ljubljana

Ivan Tavčar Ivan Tavčar () (28 August 1851 – 19 February 1923) was a Slovenian writer, lawyer, and politician. Biography Tavčar was born into the poor peasant family of Janez and Neža née Perko in the Carniolan village of Poljane near Škofja Lo ...

employed him as the director of the City Archive, a post previously occupied by Župančič's former opponent, Anton Aškerc. The following year, 1913, he married Ana Kessler, daughter of the socialite

Marija Kessler Marija Kessler (April 24, 1860 – May 1, 1939), was a Slovene socialite. Her salon was the cultural center of artist life in Ljubljana in the late 19th century, and was regarded as the most notable example of a salon in Slovenia Slovenia, ...

and sister of the poet Vera Albreht, who was married to the author

Fran Albreht Fran Albreht (17 November 1889 – 11 February 1963) was a Slovenian poet, editor, politician and partisan. He also published under the pseudonym Rusmir. He was born as Franc Albrecht in the Upper Carniolan town of Kamnik in what was then the Aus ...

. In 1920, he returned to his previous job as a stage director and later manager of the Drama Theater. During the

Italian Fascist Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...

and

Nazi German Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

partition and annexation of Slovenia in World War II, Župančič sympathized with the

Liberation Front of the Slovenian People The Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation (), or simply Liberation Front (''Osvobodilna fronta'', OF), originally called the Anti-Imperialist Front (''Protiimperialistična fronta'', PIF), was a Slovene anti-fascist political party. The Anti-Imp ...

and wrote poems under different pseudonyms for underground

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

journals. After the end of the war in 1945, he was given several honorary positions and awards. During that period, he was dubbed "the people's poet." He died in Ljubljana on June 11, 1949, and was buried with full honours in

Žale Žale Central Cemetery (), often simply Žale, is the largest and the central cemetery in Ljubljana and Slovenia. It is located in the Bežigrad District and operated by the Žale Public Company. History The cemetery was built in 1906 behin ...

Cemetery on June 14, in the same grave as his friends from childhood Ivan Cankar, Dragotin Kette, and Josip Murn. His older son Marko Župančič was a renowned architect, and his younger son Andrej O. Župančič was a

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

, and author.

Work

Župančič published his first collection of poems in 1899 under the title ''Čaša opojnosti '' (The Goblet of Inebriation). The collection, published at the same time and by the same publisher as Cankar's controversial book ''Erotika'' (Eroticism), was a compendium of poems from Župančič's earlier periods, when he was strongly influenced by the

decadent movement The Decadent movement (from the French language, French ''décadence'', ) was a late 19th-century Art movement, artistic and literary movement, literary movement, centered in Western Europe, that followed an aesthetic ideology of excess and artif ...

. The two books marked the beginning of modernism in Slovenian literature and caused a controversy. All issues of Cankar's ''Erotika'' were bought by the Ljubljana Bishop

Anton Bonaventura Jeglič Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname), a list of people with the surname Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, ...

and destroyed, and Župančič's ''Čaša opojnosti'' was condemned by the most renowned Slovene conservative thinker of the time, the neo-thomist philosopher Aleš Ušeničnik. Župančič's later poems showed little influence of decadentism, but remained close to a

vitalist Vitalism is a belief that starts from the premise that "living organisms are fundamentally different from non-living entities because they contain some non-physical element or are governed by different principles than are inanimate things." Wher ...

and

pantheist Pantheism can refer to a number of philosophical and religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arisesAnn Thomson; Bodies ...

vision of the world and nature. He gradually turned from pure subjective issues to social, national, and political concerns. Already in 1900, he published the highly influential poem ''Pesem mladine'' (The Song of Youth), on the occasion of the centenary of Prešeren's birth, written as a battle song of his generation. In his masterpiece ''

Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

'' from 1908, the visions of an idyllic rural life and natural beauty are mixed with implicit images of social unrest, emigration, impoverishment, and economic decay of the contemporary agricultural society. The poems ''Kovaška'' (The Blacksmith's Song, 1910) and ''Žebljarska'' (The Nail Maker's Song, 1912) are a powerful lyrical glorification of the vital and moral strength of oppressed manual workers. The poetry collection that Župančič is best known for is the book of children's poetry ''Ciciban'', published in 1915. Župančič was also a prolific and talented translator. He is best known for his translations of the majority of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's plays into Slovene, but he also translated other important authors, including

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

, Calderón de la Barca,

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

, Balzac,

Stendhal Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, , ), was a French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' ('' The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de Parme'' ('' T ...

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

Anatole France (; born ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters.Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

Knut Hamsun Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to conscio ...

G. K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English author, philosopher, Christian apologist, journalist and magazine editor, and literary and art critic. Chesterton created the fictional priest-detective Father Brow ...

, and Rostand. Župančič also wrote two plays, ''Noč za verne duše'' (A Night for Faithful Souls, 1904) and ''Veronika Deseniška'' ( Veronika of Desenice, 1924), which were staged during the time when he headed the Drama Theater in Ljubljana. In 1940, Župančič collaborated in the production of the documentary ''

O, Vrba ''O, Vrba'' is a key Slovenes, Slovene wikt:pre-war, pre-war documentary film. It was commissioned by the Educational Union (), directed by and produced in 1941 under the auspice of the company Emona Film. Its first internal premiere took place ...

'', which presented the Prešeren House, where the Slovene national poet

France Prešeren France Prešeren () (3 December 1800 – 8 February 1849) was a 19th-century Romantic Slovene poet whose poems have been translated into many languages.

was born, and his home village of

Vrba Vrba ("willow" in several Slavic languages) may refer to: Places Austria * Velden am Wörther See () Bosnia and Herzegovina * Vrba (Glamoč), Bosnia and Herzegovina * Vrba (Gacko), Bosnia and Herzegovina Montenegro * Vrba, Pljevlja Ser ...

. The film was directed by and published after the war in 1945. The house was presented by

Fran Saleški Finžgar Fran Saleški Finžgar (February 9, 1871 – June 2, 1962) was perhaps the most popular Slovenes, Slovene folk writer. He is particularly known for his novels and short stories, although he also wrote poems and plays. Life Fran Saleški Finžgar ...

, who led its arrangement into a museum, and Župančič read Prešeren's poem " O Vrba". This is a rare preserved record of his voice.

Controversies

Already during his lifetime, Župančič was frequently accused of being excessively pragmatic and a political opportunist. In the 1920s, he was a staunch supporter of the cultural policies of the Yugoslav monarchy, which aimed to create a unified Yugoslav nation. After 1929, he supported the centralist dictatorship of

King Alexander of Yugoslavia Alexander I Karađorđević (, ; – 9 October 1934), also known as Alexander the Unifier ( / ), was King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes from 16 August 1921 to 3 October 1929 and King of Yugoslavia from 3 October 1929 until his assassinati ...

. In 1932, he published an article in the journal ''

'' entitled "

Louis Adamic Louis Adamic (; March 23, 1898 – September 4, 1951) was a Slovene American, Slovene-American author and translator, mostly known for writing about and advocating for ethnic diversity of the United States. Background Louis Adamic wa ...

and Slovene Identity", in which he claimed that the Slovenes should not be too preoccupied about their language because they can keep their identity even if they lose the language. The article, published in a period when the Yugoslav authorities were sponsoring the official use of

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...

in the Drava Province and when even the name ''Slovenia'' was officially banned, caused a huge controversy and a split in the journal ''Ljubljanski zvon''. The literary critic

Josip Vidmar Josip Vidmar (; October 14, 1895 – April 11, 1992) was a notable Slovenian literary critic, essayist, and politician. From 1944 to 1946 he was speaker of the Slovenian People's Liberation Council (Slovenian Parliament). From 1952 to 1976 was ...

rejected Župančič's views in his well-known polemic book ''The Cultural Problem of Slovene Identity''. Although Župančič remained a monarchist and Yugoslav nationalist until the

invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a Nazi Germany, German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put fo ...

in April 1941, he welcomed the new

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

after 1945. After 2000, several interpretations of his poem "Zlato jabolko" (The Golden Apple), written in September 1943, were used in the polemic about Župančič's political position during the war and after it, precisely if he knew about the killing of around 12,000 members of the

Slovenian Home Guard The Slovene Home Guard (, SD; ) was a Slovenes#World War II and aftermath, Slovene anti-Slovene Partisans, Partisan militia that was founded and supported by the Germans and fought alongside them against the Partisans. It operated during part of ...

, an

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

militia that collaborated with the

German army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

in the Summer 1945.

Influence and legacy

During most of his lifetime, Župančič was regarded as a great author. He enjoyed the status of the

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, to be distinguished ...

second only to

France Prešeren France Prešeren () (3 December 1800 – 8 February 1849) was a 19th-century Romantic Slovene poet whose poems have been translated into many languages.

. In 1931, the French linguist

Lucien Tesnière Lucien Tesnière (; May 13, 1893 – December 6, 1954) was a prominent and influential French linguist. He was born in Mont-Saint-Aignan on May 13, 1893. As a senior lecturer at the University of Strasbourg (1924) and later professor at the ...

published a book on Župančič (''Oton Joupantchhitch: poète slovène. L'homme et l'oeuvre''), which was important for the popularization of Župančič's poetry in France. During his lifetime, his works were only translated into French and

. Translations into German, English, Hungarian (by

Sándor Weöres Sándor Weöres (; 22 June 1913 – 22 January 1989) was a Hungarian poet and author. Born in Szombathely, Weöres was brought up in the nearby village of Csönge. His first poems were published when he was fourteen, in the influential jour ...

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

, Bulgarian,

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

, and Slovak have been published since. Slovene composer Breda Šček set Župančič's works to music. Župančič has had relatively little influence on the younger generations of Slovene authors. Nevertheless, many of his verses and utterances have become catchphrases or common cultural references. Today, he is still very popular as an author of children's literature. His collection of children's poetry called ''Ciciban'' (also known as ''Mehurčki'' 'Bubbles') has been published in more than 30 editions since it was first issued in 1915. Numerous streets, public buildings, and institutions in Slovenia, Serbia (mostly in Autonomous Province of Vojvodina) as well as in Slovene-inhabited areas of Italy and Austria are named after him.

Bibliography

Poetry collections: : ''Čaša opojnosti'' (The Goblet of Inebriation, 1899) : ''Čez plan'' (Over the Plain, 1904) : ''Samogovori'' (Monologues, 1908) : ''V zarje Vidove'' (In the Vitus Dawn, 1920) : ''Zimzelen pod snegom'' (The Evergreen beneath the Snow, 1945) Children's literature: : ''Pisanice'' (Easter Eggs, 1900) : ''Lahkih nog naokrog'' (Careless Wanderings, 1913) : ''Sto ugank'' (A Hundred Riddles, 1915) : ''Ciciban in še kaj'' (Ciciban and More, 1915) Plays: : ''Noč za verne duše'' (A Night for the Faithful Souls, 1904) : ''Veronika Deseniška'' ( Veronika of Desenice, 1924)

References

Sources

*Janez Mušič, ''Oton Župančič: življenje in delo'' (Ljubljana: Mladika, 2007) *Boštjan M. Turk, ''Recepcija bergsonizma na Slovenskem'' (Ljubljana: Filozofska fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani, 1995)