Ivan Minatti facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ivan Minatti
Born	(1924-03-22)22 March 1924 Slovenske Konjice, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (now in Slovenia)
Died	9 June 2012(2012-06-09) (aged 88) Ljubljana, Slovenia
Occupation	Poet translator editor
Nationality	Slovenian
Literary movement	Slovene Intimism
Notable works	You Have to Love Somebody (poem collection), The Pain of the Unexperienced (poem collection), I Listen to the Silence Inside Me (poem collection)
Notable awards	Prešeren Fund Award 1964 for the poem collection You Have to Love Somebody Sovre Award 1972 for the translations of Kočo Racin and Izet Sarajlić Prešeren Award 1985 for the poem collection I Listen to the Silence Inside Me Veronika Award 2009 for his life work

Ivan Minatti (born March 22, 1924 – died June 9, 2012) was a famous Slovenian poet, translator, and editor. He started writing poems before World War II. He is known as one of the best poets of a style called Slovene Intimism. This style focuses on personal feelings and experiences.

A Poet's Journey

Ivan Minatti was born in 1924 in a town called Slovenske Konjice in northeastern Slovenia. When he was a child, his family moved first to Slovenj Gradec and then to Ljubljana, which is the capital city.

He went to high school, called a Gymnasium, in Ljubljana. He finished school in 1943. He then started studying medicine. But in 1944, he joined the Partisans, who were fighters during World War II.

After the war, Ivan studied Slavic studies at the University of Ljubljana. He learned about Slavic languages and literature. He finished his studies in 1952. From 1947 until he retired in 1984, he worked as an editor at a publishing company called Mladinska Knjiga.

In 1991, he became a regular member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Ivan Minatti passed away at the age of 88. He was buried in Žale cemetery in Ljubljana.

Minatti's Poetry

Ivan Minatti's poems are very personal and often deal with feelings of sadness or quiet acceptance. His writing was influenced by the difficult times of the war.

According to poet Boris A. Novak, Minatti's work was a big change in Slovenian poetry. Before him, many poems focused on group ideas. Minatti started writing about personal feelings, making him a very important Slovenian poet of the 20th century.

Another poet, Veno Taufer, said Minatti was strong but also had a soft heart. He believed Minatti's success came from showing both human and social struggles after the war in Communist Slovenia.

Minatti was also known for writing a lot about nature. Poet Ciril Zlobec said that Minatti used nature to create deep symbols and metaphors. These helped him describe people and their lives.

Awards and Recognition

Ivan Minatti received many important awards for his poetry and translations.

• In 1964, he won the Prešeren Fund Award for his poetry collection called You Have to Love Somebody.
• In 1972, he won the Sovre Award. This award is given for the best translations into Slovene. He won it for translating poems by the Macedonian poet Kočo Racin and the Bosnian poet Izet Sarajlić.
• In 1985, he won the main Prešeren Award for his poetry collection titled I Listen to the Silence Inside Me.
• In 2009, he received the Veronika Award for his entire life's work in poetry.

Poetry Collections

Here are some of Ivan Minatti's poetry collections:

• Off-Trail (1947)
• And the Spring Will Come (1955)
• You Have to Love Somebody (1963)
• The Wind Sings (1963)
• The Pain of the Unexperienced (1964)
• Poems (1971)
• The Face (1972)
• When I Am Silent and Good (1973)
• The Poems (1977) - written with Janez Menart and Lojze Krakar
• I Eavesdrop on the Silence Within Me (1984)
• Behind the Closed Eyelids: Chosen Poems (1999)
• Minatti – Chosen Lyrical Poetry (2004)