Milan Crnković facts for kids
Milan Crnković (born February 15, 1925 – died 1998) was a Croatian professor and critic who loved children's books. He spent his life teaching about and studying literature written for young people.
His Life Story
Milan Crnković was born in a small village called Apatija, near Ludbreg in Croatia. His parents were Franjo and Jelka Crnković, and he was the oldest of their four children.
He went to elementary school in a nearby village. When he was ten, he started attending a special high school in Zagreb called a "classical gymnasium." Later, he went to The University of Zagreb. He studied the history of literature and also French and Croatian languages. He was a top student and graduated in 1949. His professor, Antun Barac, was so impressed that he offered Milan a job at the university. However, to get the job, Milan had to join the Communist Party. He refused because of sad events that had happened to his family.
After World War II, the Communist Party came to power in Yugoslavia. Milan's uncle, Matija Crnković, who was a priest, was arrested and died. In 1946, Milan's grandfather, Josip Crnković, also died after being beaten by members of the Communist Party. Another uncle, also named Josip Crnković and a priest, was sent to prison. These events deeply affected Milan, and he chose not to join the party.
In 1949, Milan started working at a technical high school in Rijeka. He married Anka Sutic in 1950, and they had three children: Marija, Berislav, and Nella. In 1960, Milan moved to the new Teacher's College of Rijeka, which later became part of the University of Rijeka. Besides teaching, Milan also served as a director and dean at the college.
He began publishing his writings and literary essays in a magazine called "Riječka revija" in 1954. He also helped edit this magazine for several years. From 1985 to 1993, he was an editor for another journal, "Dometi." Milan was involved with many literary groups and juries, helping to judge books for awards, especially children's literature. He helped start the journal "Rijec" in Rijeka.
Milan wrote about one hundred research papers and literary articles. He also translated many books from French, English, and Russian into Croatian. Some of the authors he translated include Honoré de Balzac, Daniel Defoe, and Shel Silverstein. He often reviewed books and attended many literary conferences and children's literary festivals. He even published his own collection of poems called "Godovi."
For a long time, he was the head of the Department of Children's Literature at the Teacher's College of Rijeka. He retired in 1990 but continued to work on his publications. The city of Rijeka honored him with awards in 1968, 1986, and for his lifetime achievements in 1997. Milan Crnković passed away in 1998.
His Private Life
Milan Crnković loved to invent stories for his children, like "The Adventures of Master Ivan." When he was writing his university thesis, he often asked his children what they thought about different books and poems. He even included some of their ideas in his own books! For his children and their friends, Milan would often translate the popular Italian children's cartoon "Toppo Gigio" into Croatian.
His Important Books
Here are some of the important books and papers Milan Crnković wrote:
- Children's Literature: This was a school textbook first printed in 1967. It explored the best works and main types of literature for children. It was printed many times, even in Italian.
- Problems and Criteria in the Evaluation of Children's Literature: Published in 1971, this paper looked at how to judge and understand children's books.
- Vocabulary of Cakavian songs of Dear Gervais: In 1975, he explored the poems of Drago Gervais, focusing on themes like childhood and homeland.
- The Narrative of Brlic Mazuranic: Published in 1975, this work discussed the stories of Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, a famous Croatian children's author. It was also published in Italian.
- Stories of Duro Turic: In 1977, he explored the works of an old Croatian children's author.
- Croatian Children's Literature to the End of the 19th Century: This school textbook from 1978 tells the history of Croatian children's literature from an early period. It talks about the first writers and important magazines for children.
- The Nonsense Grammar and Style of Zvonimir Balog: Published in 1979, this paper looked at the funny, "nonsense" poems of Zvonimir Balog.
- Society in Children's Literature: In 1980, he explored how social issues are shown in children's books.
- A Children's Story: Published in 1982, this work explored the idea that a "story" and a "narrative" are not always the same thing.
- Telegraphic or Epigrammatic fables of Gustav Krkleca: In 1983, he analyzed the children's songs of Gustav Krklec.
- Antun Barac and Croatian Children's Literature: This paper from 1984 discussed the connection between his former professor, Antun Barac, and Croatian children's literature.
- What Children's Stories: This was a collection of children's stories with his interpretations, published in 1987.
- Milan Nosic - Biography and Bibliography of Milan Crnkovic. Riječ. 2009, vol 4 p 8-33
