Vladislav Petković Dis ( sr-cyr, Владислав Петковић Дис; 10 March 1880 – 30 May 1917) was a

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 ...

n impressionist poet. He died in 1917 on a boat on the Ionian Sea after being hit by a torpedo making him also remembered as a war poet.

Biography

Vladislav Petković was born in Zablaće, a village near Čačak, in the Principality of Serbia. He made his way to Čačak, graduating from the Gymnasium and Teacher's College in 1902. He was appointed temporary teacher at Prlita, a village near the town of

Zaječar Zaječar ( sr-Cyrl, Зајечар, ; or ) is a city and the administrative center of the Zaječar District in eastern Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city administrative area had a population of 48,621 inhabitants. Zaječar is widely ...

. He did not like teaching, and his small output of poetry brought him little income. In 1903, he moved to

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 ...

, and became prominent in the literary life there, when his poems appeared in ''Idila'', a literary magazine. Petković chose his appellation "Dis" as a repetition of the middle syllable of his first name (Vla-DIS-lav), but also as the name of the Roman god of the underworld. He was a frequent evening visitor to the Belgrade's ''kafanas'' in Skadarlija and elsewhere where he would drink and compose new verses at the same time. He obtained an appointment as a customs official with the municipal government, giving him a good income and leisure time to write. He was named co-editor, with Sima Pandurović, of ''Literary Week'' (Književna nedelja). Both Petković-Dis and Pandurović were considered the ''enfants terribles'' of their literary world (both being under the influence of

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...

and other French Symbolists, like Šantić, Dučić, Rakić, Ćorović, and even Skerlić before he abandoned the movement). After the demise of the magazine, he married Hristina-Tinka, with whom he had two children, Gordana and Mutimir. He wrote ''Spomenik'' (Monument) in anticipation of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

''And it still seems that,
as my soul dreams on,
the monument lives on,
ready for eternity,
reborn into new traditions,
tempering young ambitions
to erect the next monument.''

During the outbreak of the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

he was conscripted by the military as a journalist. He was the war correspondent covering battles of the Serbian Army in the

(1912), Second Balkan War (1913), and

that followed. In 1915 he joined the Serbian army in their retreat to

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

. From Corfu, Petković was sent to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to recuperate and write about the entire tragedy. He stayed in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionLes Petites Dalles, eager to return to the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

. In May 1917, via

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, he arrived in Gallipoli, Italy. At 9 pm on May 29, after two days of waiting, he boarded the French passenger steamship ''Italia'' destined to Corfu, from where he was supposed to join the Serbian army fighting on the Salonica front. At 5:51 am on May 30, ''Italia'' was sunk by torpedo by the

Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', ) was the navy, naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were designated ''SMS'', for ''Seiner Majestät Schiff'' (His Majes ...

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

U-4, 46 miles southeast of Santa Maria di Leuca, Italy.

Poetry

He introduced irrational and subconscious images into Serbian lyric poetry. Some of his most famous poems are ''Možda spava'' (''She May Be Sleeping'') and ''Spomenik'' (''Monument''). In ''Spomenik'', Dis dreamed of a monument:

''It has a long life,
Today it descends into new legends,
To prepare our descendants for the next monument.''

Petković Dis was writing in 1913, just after Serbia wrested

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and installed an obelisk on the site of the famous medieval battle when Kosovo was severed from Serbia by the Ottomans. Dis's poetry was not well received at the beginning by Jovan Skerlić, one of the most distinguished Serbian literary critics of that time, who did not care for the poems' morbid and sinister tone. His poem ''Cvetovi slave'' (''Flowers of Glory'') was translated into English by Djuradj Vujcic.

References

Sources

*
The Anthology of Serbian Literature Project

External links

Translated works by Vladislav Petković Dis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petkovic Dis, Vladislav 1880 births 1917 deaths Writers from Čačak Serbian male poets 20th-century Serbian poets 20th-century Serbian male writers War correspondents of the Balkan Wars Poètes maudits Serbian World War I poets Serbian casualties of World War I People who died at sea Burials at sea Civilians killed in World War I People from the Kingdom of Serbia Serbian poets