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Slobodan Novak

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Slobodan Novak
BornAnte Slobodan Novak
(1924-11-03)3 November 1924
Split, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Died25 July 2016(2016-07-25) (aged 91)
Zagreb, Croatia
NationalityCroatian
Alma materUniversity of Zagreb
GenreNarrative novels
Notable awardsVladimir Nazor Award
Order of Duke Trpimir
Order of Danica Hrvatska with character of Marko Marulić

Ante Slobodan Novak (3 November 1924 – 25 July 2016) was a Croatian writer and novelist.[1] He is best known for his novel Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh (1968), often listed as one of the best Croatian novels of the 20th century.[2]

Biography

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Novak was born in Split on 3 November 1924 to Duje and Marija (née Smoje) Novak. He was baptized in the local church as Ante Slobodan Novak. He finished elementary school in Rab, attended the Classical gymnasium in Split, then graduated in Sušak. During World War II he joined the Yugoslav Partisans, which he described in his autobiographical essays Digresije and Protimbe (2003).

He then attended the University of Zagreb and earned a degree in Croatian and Yugoslav literature in 1953. He worked as an instructor, proofreader, and playwright for the Croatian National Theatre in Split. Later he worked as a journalist and an editor in various publishing houses. In 1983 he became a member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. On 27 July 1999, Novak was declared an Honorary Citizen of Rab. He died in Zagreb on 25 July 2016.[3]

Literary work

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He started his career with songs full of painful memories from the war. Verses were gathered in his work Glasnice u oluji (English: Vocal Cords in a Storm) (1950). Soon he started to write fiction: he published Krugovima (English: Circles) and Republici (English: Republic). He gained the attention of critics and the public by publishing his autobiographical novel Izgubljeni zavičaj (English: Lost homeland) (1955), in which he dealt with his childhood on a lonely island.

The narrator appears in two characters: in infantile “I” where he observes, registers and absorbs everything around him; and the second character as today's “I” where he, with a sentimental and quiet dose of resignation, recreates his memories and images from youth. His novel Mirisi, zlato i tamjan (English: Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh) was published in 1968. This is a story about a retired middle-aged intellectual who lives with his wife on an isolated island; he lives his life and nurtures the very old Madona Markantunova, a former rich patrician woman and owner of half of the island. The story takes place in the 1960s. Novak follows the same thematic and poetic line in his short novel Izvanbrodski dnevnik (English: Outboard Diary) published in 1977.

Later, Novak published a collection of interviews with Jelena Hekman in Digresije (English: Digressions) in 2001. He later published Protimbe (English: Dissent) (2003) which he considered as an expansion of Digresije. Protimbe is one of the greatest works of Croatian autobiographical prose,[citation needed] rich with reminiscences and associations on youth, political and social life in SFR Yugoslavia, on the writer's experiences during the Croatian War of Independence, and on subsequent changes politically and socially.

Works

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In Croatian In English Publication
Glasnice u oluji Vocal Cords in a Storm Zagreb, 1950
Izgubljeni zavičaj Lost Homeland Split, 1954
Trofej Trophy Zagreb, 1960
Tvrdi grad Fortified Town Zagreb, 1961
Mirisi, zlato i tamjan Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh Zagreb, 1968
Dolutali metak Roamed Bullet Zagreb, 1969
Izvanbrodski dnevnik Outboard Diary Zagreb, 1977
Tri putovanja Three Travels Zagreb, 1977
Južne misli Southern Thoughts Zagreb, 1990
Digresije Digressions Zagreb, 2001
Protimbe Dissents Zagreb, 2003
Pristajanje Docking Zagreb, 2005

Awards and decorations

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Awards

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Award Awarded for Year of reception
Award of the City of Zagreb Novel: Lost Homeland 1955
Award of the City of Zagreb Novel: Said Town 1962
Award of Yugoslav Festival of Radio-Drama in Novi Sad For Best radio-drama work: Maestro, how are you doing? 1966
NIN Award For Best Yugoslav Novel of the Year: Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh 1968
Concours international du drame radiophonique Praha-Warszawa-Zagreb For radio-drama: Curved Space 1968
Vladimir Nazor Award Novel of the year: Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh 1969
Award of Matica hrvatska Novel of the year Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh 1969
Critics Award of Večernji list Book of the year:Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh 1969
Vladimir Nazor Award For lifetime achievement 1990
Award of Vjesnik Novel: Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh 1994
Miroslav Krleža Award of Croatian Writers' Association Not specified 2005
August Šenoa Award of Matica hrvatska Novel: Docking 2005
Emanuel Vidović Award of Slobodna Dalmacija For lifetime achievement 2005

Decorations

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Decoration Image
Order of Duke Trpimir
Order of Danica Hrvatska with the face of Marko Marulić

References

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  1. ^ "PREMINUO SLOBODAN NOVAK Odlazak pisca kultnog hrvatskog romana 'Mirisi, zlato i tamjan'". jutarnji.hr. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  2. ^ Visković 2006, p. 394.
  3. ^ "U Zagrebu umro književnik Slobodan Novak". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (in Serbo-Croatian). 26 July 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2024.

Sources

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