Petar Šegedin (, 8 July 1909 – 1 September 1998) was a Croatian writer. Šegedin was born in

Žrnovo Žrnovo is a village on the island of Korčula in Croatia. Korčula is an island on the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic Sea and administratively belongs to the Dubrovnik–Neretva County of Croatia. The village is situated four kilometers west of t ...

, on the island of

Korčula Korčula () is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk. The populat ...

. He finished elementary school education in Žrnovo, first grades of the high school in Korčula and teacher's college in

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

. He graduated from the

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences or the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb ( Croatian: ''Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu'') is one of the faculties of the University of Zagreb. History The Faculty of Philosophy is the oldes ...

. He worked as a professor and diplomat, and later as a professional writer. In 1964 he became a member of the

Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under the patronage of the Croatian bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer under the name Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (, JAZU) since its ...

. In the 1970s he was blacklisted due to his criticism of the

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 ...

authorities, and lived for a while in a self-imposed exile in Germany. From his

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

''Children of God'' (''Djeca božja''), published in 1946, Šegedin's work broke away from socialist realism and introduced

existentialism Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and valu ...

into

Croatian literature Croatian literature refers to literary works attributed to the medieval and modern culture of the Croats, Croatia, and Croatian language, Croatian. Besides the modern language whose shape and orthography were standardized in the late 19th centu ...

. He is also noted for his

essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

s and

travelogues Travelogue may refer to: Genres * Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling * Travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or web series, online series that describes travel in g ...

. Šegedin served as a president of

Matica hrvatska Matica hrvatska () is the oldest independent, non-profit and non-governmental Croatian national institution. It was founded on February 2, 1842 by the Croatian Count Janko Drašković and other prominent members of the Illyrian movement during ...

and the

Croatian Writers' Association Croatian Writers' Association (; abbreviated DHK) is the official association of Croatian writers. It was founded in 1900 in Zagreb with the goal "to unite writers and help them support one another, and promote Croatian literature regardless of po ...

. He was a full member of the

Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under the patronage of the Croatian bishop Josip Juraj Strossmayer under the name Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (, JAZU) since its ...

since 1963. Šegedin is the 1991 laureate of the

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 ...

for Life Achievement in Literature.

References

Sources

Umro Petar Šegedin

Petar Šegedin (1909 - 1998)

Deceased members

Ljetopis Petra Šegedina

Bibliografija

Šegedin, Petar
1909 births 1998 deaths Croatian male novelists Croatian essayists Croatian male essayists Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb alumni Members of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts Vladimir Nazor Award winners Existentialists 20th-century Croatian novelists 20th-century essayists Croatian expatriates in Germany 20th-century Croatian male writers Presidents of the Matica hrvatska Croatian Spring participants {{Croatia-writer-stub