Drago Jančar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Drago Jančar
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| Born | 13 April 1948 Maribor, Yugoslavia (now in Slovenia) |
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| Literary movement | Postmodernism, Magical realism |
Drago Jančar (born on April 13, 1948) is a famous Slovenian writer, playwright (someone who writes plays), and essayist (someone who writes essays). He is known as one of the most important writers from Slovenia today.
Jančar is also famous in Slovenia for sharing his thoughts on politics and being active in his community. His novels, essays, and short stories have been translated into 21 languages. They have been published in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Many of his works are translated into German, Czech, and Croatian. His plays are often performed in other countries and are seen as highlights of the theater season in Slovenia. He lives and works in Ljubljana.
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Life of Drago Jančar
Drago Jančar was born in Maribor, a busy city in what was then Yugoslavia. His father was a Partisan during World War II.
Jančar studied law in his hometown. While he was a student, he became the chief editor of a student magazine called Katedra. He soon had problems with the government because he published articles that criticized the ruling system. He had to leave the magazine.
Later, he worked at the Maribor newspaper Večer. In 1974, the government arrested him. He had brought a booklet into Yugoslavia that talked about a sensitive historical event. He was sentenced to a year in prison for "sharing ideas the government didn't like," but he was released after three months. After he was released, he had to join the military in southern Serbia. There, his commanders treated him unfairly because of his past arrest.
After his military service, Jančar went back to Večer, but he was only allowed to do office work. He decided to move to Ljubljana. There, he met other artists and thinkers who also disagreed with the government's rules about art and culture.
Between 1978 and 1980, he worked as a screenwriter for a film studio. But he quit because a movie script he adapted was not allowed to be shown. In 1981, he started working for the Slovenska matica publishing house, where he is now an editor. In 1982, he helped start a magazine called Nova revija. This magazine quickly became a main voice for new ideas and different opinions in Slovenia.
He also became friends with Boris Pahor, a Slovene writer who wrote about his experiences in Nazi concentration camps. Jančar has often said that Pahor had a big influence on him.
Early in his career, Jančar was not allowed to publish his works. But in the late 1970s, things slowly became more open in Yugoslavia. This allowed him to work as a screenwriter and playwright. In the mid-1980s, his novels and short stories became successful. His plays also gained recognition across Yugoslavia. From the late 1980s, his fame began to grow outside the country, especially in Central Europe.
Since the early 1990s, he has worked as an editor at the Slovenska matica publishing house in Ljubljana.
What Drago Jančar Writes About
Jančar started writing when he was a teenager. His first short novels were published in the magazine Mladina.
Jančar's writing style is influenced by modern ideas. A main theme in his works is the struggle between individuals and strict systems. These systems can be like prisons, old ships where prisoners row (galleys), mental hospitals, or army barracks.
He is known for his simple and often funny writing style, which sometimes mixes sad and funny moments. Most of his novels explore real events and situations in Central European history. He uses these stories to show common human experiences.
He also writes essays and articles about current political and cultural events. During the war in Bosnia, he supported the people of Bosnia. He even visited the city of Sarajevo while it was under attack. He brought supplies collected by the Slovene Writers' Association to the people there. In one of his essays, he wrote about the war in Yugoslavia. He also thought about the role of smart people in conflicts between different groups or nations.
Drago Jančar as a Public Figure
Between 1987 and 1991, Jančar was the president of the Slovene PEN Center. In this role, he actively supported Slovenia's move towards democracy. In 1987, he helped write a document that asked for a democratic and independent Slovenian state.
During a famous trial in 1988, he helped organize the first public meeting in Slovenia since 1945 where people could express different political views. This meeting was held in Congress Square in Ljubljana. Before the first democratic elections in 1990, Jančar actively supported the candidate Jože Pučnik. During the Slovenian War of Independence, he and other writers helped gather international support for Slovenia's independence.
Since 1995, he has been a member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
In 2000, a major Slovenian newspaper published his essay "Xenos and Xenophobia." In this essay, he said that some media were encouraging negative feelings towards foreigners and Catholics. He had been saying similar things since 1994.
Even though Jančar has never been a politician, he publicly supported the Slovenian Democratic Party in the elections of 2000 and 2004.
In 2004, he helped start a group called Rally for the Republic.
Awards and Honors
- 1993: Prešeren Award for his stories, plays, and essays
- 1994: European Short Story Award (Augsburg)
- 1999: Kresnik Award for best novel of the year (for "Ringing In The Head")
- 2001: Kresnik Award for best novel of the year (for "Catherine, The Peacock And The Jesuit")
- 2003: Herder Prize for literature
- 2007: Jean Améry Prize for European essay-writing
- 2011: Kresnik Award for best novel of the year (for "I Saw Her That Night")
- 2011: European Prize for Literature
- 2021: Honorary Doctor of the University of Maribor
See also
In Spanish: Drago Jančar para niños
- List of Slovenian writers
- Slovenian literature
- Culture of Slovenia
- Simona Škrabec
