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{{short description|Croatian poet and writer}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name = Ivan Goran Kovačić
| name = Ivan Goran Kovačić
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| pseudonym = Goran
| pseudonym = Goran
| birth_date = {{birth date|1913|3|21|df=y}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1913|3|21|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Lukovdol]], [[Croatia-Slavonia]], [[Austria-Hungary]]<br>{{small|(now [[Lukovdol]], [[Croatia]])}}
| birth_place = [[Lukovdol]], [[Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia]], [[Austria-Hungary]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1943|7|13|1913|3|21|df=y}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1943|7|12|1913|3|21|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Vrbnica (Foča)|Vrbnica]], [[Independent State of Croatia|Croatia]]<br>{{small|(now [[Vrbnica (Foča)|Vrbnica]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]])}}
| death_place = [[Vrbnica (Foča)|Vrbnica]], [[Independent State of Croatia]]
| occupation = Writer, poet, soldier
| occupation = Writer, poet, soldier
| genre = Poetry
| genre = Poetry
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}}
}}


'''Ivan Goran Kovačić''' ({{IPA-sh|ǐʋan ɡǒran kǒʋatʃitɕ|pron}}; 21 March 1913 &ndash; 13 July 1943) was a Croatian poet and writer.
'''Ivan Goran Kovačić''' ({{IPA|sh|ǐʋan ɡǒran kǒʋatʃitɕ|pron}}; 21 March 1913 &ndash; 12 July 1943) was a Croatian poet and writer.


==Early life and background==
==Early life and background==
He was born in [[Lukovdol]] (part of [[Vrbovsko]]), a town in [[Gorski Kotar]], to a [[Croat]] father, Ivan Kovačić, and [[Transylvania]]n [[Jew]]ish mother Ruža ([[Married and maiden names|née]] Klein).<ref name="hakol">{{in lang|hr}} Ha-Kol (Glasilo Židovske zajednice u Hrvatskoj); Nataša Maksimović Subašić; Zora Dirnbach – Svjetionik s one strane nacionalizma; stranica 4; broj 110, lipanj/srpanj/kolovoz 2009.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/89793/tko-je-tko-i-odakle-strani-velikani-hrvatske-kulture|title=Tko je tko i odakle: strani velikani hrvatske kulture|publisher=[[Nacional (weekly)|Nacional]]|language=Croatian|trans-title=Who is who and where from: Giants of Croatian culture|date=24 August 2010|accessdate=24 July 2012|archivedate=24 July 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/69Ofh8L1k?url=http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/89793/tko-je-tko-i-odakle-strani-velikani-hrvatske-kulture|author=Predrag Matvejević}}</ref>
He was born in [[Lukovdol]] (part of [[Vrbovsko]]), a town in [[Gorski Kotar]], to a [[Croat]] father, Ivan Kovačić, and [[Transylvania]]n [[Jew]]ish mother Ruža ([[Married and maiden names|née]] Klein).<ref name="hakol">{{in lang|hr}} Ha-Kol (Glasilo Židovske zajednice u Hrvatskoj); Nataša Maksimović Subašić; Zora Dirnbach – Svjetionik s one strane nacionalizma; stranica 4; broj 110, lipanj/srpanj/kolovoz 2009.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/89793/tko-je-tko-i-odakle-strani-velikani-hrvatske-kulture|title=Tko je tko i odakle: strani velikani hrvatske kulture|publisher=[[Nacional (weekly)|Nacional]]|language=hr|trans-title=Who is who and where from: Giants of Croatian culture|date=24 August 2010|access-date=24 July 2012|archive-date=23 May 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523183731/http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/89793/tko-je-tko-i-odakle-strani-velikani-hrvatske-kulture|author=Predrag Matvejević}}</ref>


He attended the [[Gymnasium Karlovac]]. In his honour, the Karlovac city library, the city's oldest cultural institution founded in 1838, was renamed after him.<ref>[http://www.librarybuildings.info/croatia/city-library-ivan-goran-kovacic-karlovac Ivan Goran Kovačić profile], librarybuildings.info; accessed 25 March 2010.</ref>
He attended the [[Gymnasium Karlovac]]. In his honour, the Karlovac city library, the city's oldest cultural institution founded in 1838, was renamed after him.<ref>[http://www.librarybuildings.info/croatia/city-library-ivan-goran-kovacic-karlovac Ivan Goran Kovačić profile], librarybuildings.info; accessed 25 March 2010.</ref>


During World War II, in the harsh winter of 1942, Kovačić and [[Vladimir Nazor]] volunteered for the [[Partisans (Yugoslavia)|Partisan]] forces to set an anti-fascist example for the world. At that time, Goran was already ill with tuberculosis and Nazor was advanced in age, but they were motivated by their consciences. Kovačić was killed by Serbian [[Chetnik]] troops in an east-Bosnian village of Vrbica near [[Foča]] on 13 July 1943.{{cn|date=April 2018}}
During World War II, in the harsh winter of 1942, Kovačić and [[Vladimir Nazor]] volunteered for the [[Partisans (Yugoslavia)|Partisan]] forces to set an anti-fascist example for the world. At that time, Goran was already ill with tuberculosis and Nazor was advanced in age, but they were motivated by their consciences. Kovačić was killed by Serbian [[Chetnik]] troops in an east-Bosnian village of Vrbica near [[Foča]] on 13 July 1943.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}


His death is described as follows: “Like in an ancient tragedy, the one who is most opposed to evil will most cruelly die from evil. The poet who raised his voice against the Ustashian killing of Serbian people had his throat cut by Serbian Chetniks….A few reliable witnesses confirm that Goran survived the hell of the fifth offensive, but when he returned to help his ill, left-behind, friend, Dr Simo Milošević, the fascists killed both the Croatian poet and the Serbian scholar without distinction. Fascism did not look on poets or scientists anywhere in the world as being of value.”<ref>[[Predrag Matvejević|Matvejević, Predrag]], ''Goranov odlazak u partizane'', in: ''Život i djelo Ivana Gorana Kovačića'', ed. Anđelko Novaković (1989), Zagreb: Globus, pg. 134<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed -->{{in lang|hr}}</ref>
His death is described as follows: “Like in an ancient tragedy, the one who is most opposed to evil will most cruelly die from evil. The poet who raised his voice against the Croatian [[Ustaše]] massive killing and torturing of Serbian civilians (women and children mostly) had his throat cut by Serbian Chetniks….A few reliable witnesses confirm that Goran survived the hell of the fifth offensive, but when he returned to help his ill, left-behind, friend, Dr Simo Milošević, the fascists killed both the Croatian poet and the Serbian scholar without distinction. Fascism did not look on poets or scientists anywhere in the world as being of value.”<ref>[[Predrag Matvejević|Matvejević, Predrag]], ''Goranov odlazak u partizane'', in: ''Život i djelo Ivana Gorana Kovačića'', ed. Anđelko Novaković (1989), Zagreb: Globus, pg. 134<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed -->{{in lang|hr}}</ref>


==Works==
==Works==
[[File:Ivan Goran Kovačić 1 proleterska 1943.jpg|thumbnail|Ivan Goran Kovačić in partisans.]]
[[File:Ivan Goran Kovačić 1 proleterska 1943.jpg|thumbnail|Ivan Goran Kovačić in partisans.]]
Death is a central theme in much of Kovačić's poetry, however this is not a reflection on his life outlook. His melancholy subjects came from outside events—such as his own and his brother’s affliction with tuberculosis—rather than from an internal disposition toward the morose. Jure Kaštelan, one of Kovačić's contemporaries, expressed that Kovačić was inclined both toward romanticism and realism in his poetry, and that Kovačić had an intense perception of life.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pavletić|first=Vlatko|title=Goran: Njim Samim|year=1963|location=Beograd|pages=183, 213|chapter=U svijesti Drugih}}</ref>
Death is a central theme in much of Kovačić's poetry,<ref name="The pit">[https://allpoetry.com/The-Pit The pit Ivan Goran Kovacic]</ref> however this is not a reflection on his life outlook. His melancholy subjects came from outside events—such as his own and his brother's affliction with tuberculosis—rather than from an internal disposition toward the morose. Jure Kaštelan, one of Kovačić's contemporaries, expressed that Kovačić was inclined both toward romanticism and realism in his poetry, and that Kovačić had an intense perception of life.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pavletić|first=Vlatko|title=Goran: Njim Samim|year=1963|location=Beograd|pages=183, 213|chapter=U svijesti Drugih}}</ref>


His best known work is ''"Jama"'' (''"The Pit"'').<ref>A. Kroupa, Sto moderních básníků, pg. 158, Prague 1967</ref><ref>Dušan Karpatský, in: Sto moderních básníků, pg. 158, Prague 1967</ref> He penned it during the war, while in service near the town of [[Livno]]. The poem was written out of intellectual and ethical responsibility that condemns atrocities done by the [[Ustaše]]. It has been described as a metaphor about the sufferer, martyr, and victim: “The sufferer is when a person without fault suffers. The martyr is when nonhumans torture a person. The victim is when the whips of injustice extinguish life. That is Goran’s metaphor. And his life.”<ref>{{cite book|last=Milačić|first=Božo|title=Riječ i Svjetlost|year=1961|publisher=Izdavački zavod Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti|location=Zagreb|pages=8}}</ref> His work is an example of [[anti-war]] poetry with messages against torture, mass murders and war crimes. "Jama" was studied in elementary schools throughout the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]].{{cn|date=April 2018}}
His best known work is ''"Jama"'' (''"The Pit"'').<ref>A. Kroupa, Sto moderních básníků, pg. 158, Prague 1967</ref><ref>Dušan Karpatský, in: Sto moderních básníků, pg. 158, Prague 1967</ref> He penned it during the war, while in service near the town of [[Livno]]. The poem was written out of intellectual and ethical responsibility that condemns atrocities and massacres done by the Croatian [[Ustaše]]. It has been described as a metaphor about the sufferer, martyr, and victim: “The sufferer is when a person without fault suffers. The martyr is when nonhumans torture a person. The victim is when the whips of injustice extinguish life. That is Goran’s metaphor. And his life.”<ref>{{cite book|last=Milačić|first=Božo|title=Riječ i Svjetlost|year=1961|publisher=Izdavački zavod Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti|location=Zagreb|pages=8}}</ref> His work is an example of [[anti-war]] poetry with messages against torture, mass murders and war crimes. "Jama" was studied in elementary schools throughout the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]].{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}


==="Jama"===
==="Jama"===
[[File:Jasenovac Memorial Area - Спомен подручје Јасеновац 04.jpg|thumb|"Jama" at the [[Stone Flower (sculpture)|Stone Flower]] at the [[Jasenovac concentration camp]] memorial area]]
The poem starts with a striking metaphor of blood replacing both light and darkness as victim's eyes were plucked out with a knife. That common torture was probably a mere sadism, since the victims were mass-murdered after that anyway:
The poem starts with a striking metaphor of blood replacing both light and darkness as victim's eyes were plucked out with a knife. That common torture was probably a mere sadism, since the victims were mass-murdered by Croatian [[Ustaše]] after that anyway:


:''Blood is my daylight and darkness too.''
:''Blood is my daylight and darkness too.''
:''Blessing of night has been gouged from my cheeks''
:''Blessing of night has been gouged from my cheeks''
:''Bearing with it my more lucky sight.''
:''Bearing with it my more lucky sight.''
:''Within those holes, for tears, fierce fire inflamed
:''Within those holes, for tears, fierce fire inflamed''
:''The bleeding socket as if for brain a balm –
:''The bleeding socket as if for brain a balm –''
:''While my bright eyes died on my own palm''
:''While my bright eyes died on my own palm''


==In culture==
==In culture==
{{unsourced|section|date=April 2018}}
{{unreferenced section|date=April 2018}}
* Paul Éluard wrote a poem called ''The grave of Goran Kovačić''.
* Paul Éluard wrote a poem called ''The grave of Goran Kovačić''.
* A [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavian]] film ''[[Ivan Goran Kovačić (film)|Ivan Goran Kovačić]]'', was made in 1979, written and directed by Ljubiša Ristić. Croatian actor [[Rade Šerbedžija]] portrayed Kovačić.
* A [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavian]] film ''[[Ivan Goran Kovačić (film)|Ivan Goran Kovačić]]'', was made in 1979, written and directed by Ljubiša Ristić. Croatian actor [[Rade Šerbedžija]] portrayed Kovačić.
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[[Category:People from the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia]]
[[Category:Croatian Jews]]
[[Category:Croatian Jews]]
[[Category:Austro-Hungarian Jews]]
[[Category:Jews from Austria-Hungary]]
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[[Category:Croatian Austro-Hungarians]]
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[[Category:Croatian people of Romanian-Jewish descent]]
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[[Category:Yugoslav writers]]
[[Category:Yugoslav writers]]
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[[Category:Executed writers]]
[[Category:Croatian civilians killed in World War II]]
[[Category:Yugoslav military personnel killed in World War II]]
[[Category:Yugoslav military personnel killed in World War II]]
[[Category:People killed by Chetniks during World War II]]
[[Category:People killed by Chetniks during World War II]]
[[Category:20th-century poets]]
[[Category:20th-century poets]]
[[Category:Gorski Kotar]]

Latest revision as of 05:02, 10 September 2024

Ivan Goran Kovačić
Ivan Goran Kovačić
Ivan Goran Kovačić
BornIvan Kovačić
(1913-03-21)21 March 1913
Lukovdol, Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary
Died12 July 1943(1943-07-12) (aged 30)
Vrbnica, Independent State of Croatia
Pen nameGoran
OccupationWriter, poet, soldier
GenrePoetry
Notable worksJama (The Pit)

Ivan Goran Kovačić (pronounced [ǐʋan ɡǒran kǒʋatʃitɕ]; 21 March 1913 – 12 July 1943) was a Croatian poet and writer.

Early life and background

[edit]

He was born in Lukovdol (part of Vrbovsko), a town in Gorski Kotar, to a Croat father, Ivan Kovačić, and Transylvanian Jewish mother Ruža (née Klein).[1][2]

He attended the Gymnasium Karlovac. In his honour, the Karlovac city library, the city's oldest cultural institution founded in 1838, was renamed after him.[3]

During World War II, in the harsh winter of 1942, Kovačić and Vladimir Nazor volunteered for the Partisan forces to set an anti-fascist example for the world. At that time, Goran was already ill with tuberculosis and Nazor was advanced in age, but they were motivated by their consciences. Kovačić was killed by Serbian Chetnik troops in an east-Bosnian village of Vrbica near Foča on 13 July 1943.[citation needed]

His death is described as follows: “Like in an ancient tragedy, the one who is most opposed to evil will most cruelly die from evil. The poet who raised his voice against the Croatian Ustaše massive killing and torturing of Serbian civilians (women and children mostly) had his throat cut by Serbian Chetniks….A few reliable witnesses confirm that Goran survived the hell of the fifth offensive, but when he returned to help his ill, left-behind, friend, Dr Simo Milošević, the fascists killed both the Croatian poet and the Serbian scholar without distinction. Fascism did not look on poets or scientists anywhere in the world as being of value.”[4]

Works

[edit]
Ivan Goran Kovačić in partisans.

Death is a central theme in much of Kovačić's poetry,[5] however this is not a reflection on his life outlook. His melancholy subjects came from outside events—such as his own and his brother's affliction with tuberculosis—rather than from an internal disposition toward the morose. Jure Kaštelan, one of Kovačić's contemporaries, expressed that Kovačić was inclined both toward romanticism and realism in his poetry, and that Kovačić had an intense perception of life.[6]

His best known work is "Jama" ("The Pit").[7][8] He penned it during the war, while in service near the town of Livno. The poem was written out of intellectual and ethical responsibility that condemns atrocities and massacres done by the Croatian Ustaše. It has been described as a metaphor about the sufferer, martyr, and victim: “The sufferer is when a person without fault suffers. The martyr is when nonhumans torture a person. The victim is when the whips of injustice extinguish life. That is Goran’s metaphor. And his life.”[9] His work is an example of anti-war poetry with messages against torture, mass murders and war crimes. "Jama" was studied in elementary schools throughout the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.[citation needed]

"Jama"

[edit]
"Jama" at the Stone Flower at the Jasenovac concentration camp memorial area

The poem starts with a striking metaphor of blood replacing both light and darkness as victim's eyes were plucked out with a knife. That common torture was probably a mere sadism, since the victims were mass-murdered by Croatian Ustaše after that anyway:

Blood is my daylight and darkness too.
Blessing of night has been gouged from my cheeks
Bearing with it my more lucky sight.
Within those holes, for tears, fierce fire inflamed
The bleeding socket as if for brain a balm –
While my bright eyes died on my own palm

In culture

[edit]

References

[edit]
Croatian Wikisource has original text related to this article:
  1. ^ (in Croatian) Ha-Kol (Glasilo Židovske zajednice u Hrvatskoj); Nataša Maksimović Subašić; Zora Dirnbach – Svjetionik s one strane nacionalizma; stranica 4; broj 110, lipanj/srpanj/kolovoz 2009.
  2. ^ Predrag Matvejević (24 August 2010). "Tko je tko i odakle: strani velikani hrvatske kulture" [Who is who and where from: Giants of Croatian culture] (in Croatian). Nacional. Archived from the original on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  3. ^ Ivan Goran Kovačić profile, librarybuildings.info; accessed 25 March 2010.
  4. ^ Matvejević, Predrag, Goranov odlazak u partizane, in: Život i djelo Ivana Gorana Kovačića, ed. Anđelko Novaković (1989), Zagreb: Globus, pg. 134(in Croatian)
  5. ^ The pit Ivan Goran Kovacic
  6. ^ Pavletić, Vlatko (1963). "U svijesti Drugih". Goran: Njim Samim. Beograd. pp. 183, 213.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ A. Kroupa, Sto moderních básníků, pg. 158, Prague 1967
  8. ^ Dušan Karpatský, in: Sto moderních básníků, pg. 158, Prague 1967
  9. ^ Milačić, Božo (1961). Riječ i Svjetlost. Zagreb: Izdavački zavod Jugoslavenske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti. p. 8.
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