Ivan Vladislavic
Encyclopedia
Ivan Vladislaviċ is a South African short story
writer and novelist of Croatian origin. He lives in Johannesburg
where he also works as an editor
. In the eighties he worked as a fiction and social studies editor at Ravan Press. He was the assistant editor of Staffrider
magazine for several years and compiled the commemorative anthology Ten years of Staffrider with Andries Oliphant.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
writer and novelist of Croatian origin. He lives in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
where he also works as an editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
. In the eighties he worked as a fiction and social studies editor at Ravan Press. He was the assistant editor of Staffrider
Staffrider
Staffrider was a South African literary magazine.Staffrider was first published in 1977, and took its name from slang for people hanging outside or on the roof of overcrowded, racially segregated trains....
magazine for several years and compiled the commemorative anthology Ten years of Staffrider with Andries Oliphant.
List of works
Vladislavic's style is postmodern, intermingling fantasy with references to historic events, enabling them to signify with symbolic meanings both within a South African context and beyond. His is a distinctively individual voice.- Missing Persons [Collection of short stories, 1989]
- The Folly [Novel, 1993]
- The Folly, situated in an apparently recognisable world, describes the building of a house from string, but the relevance extends to considerations of the imagination and to a satire of the political notion of constructing a new world. The novel received the CNA Literary Award.
- Propaganda by Monuments [Collection of short stories, 1996]
- The Restless SupermarketThe Restless SupermarketThe Restless Supermarket is a novel by Croatian-South African author Ivan Vladislavic, which tracks the changes in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, during the 1990s, through the eyes of a grumpy, retired proof-reader who spends his life in one café. Though well reviewed, the novel is hard to find,...
[Novel, 2001]
- The Restless Supermarket is the etymologically dazzling story of Johannesburg suburb Hillbrow's makeover from frayed Euro-café society to shabby Afro-soul. Through the withering scorn of Aubrey Tearle, the novel's chief crank, we visit the dramatic moment - somewhere in the early 1990s - when these two worlds collide, often with hilarious results.
- The Exploded ViewThe Exploded ViewThe Exploded View is a quartet of stories by Ivan Vladislavic published in 2004. The stories revolve around four very different gauteng residents in Johannesburg: a statistician employed on the national census, an engineer out on the town with his council connections, an artist with an interest in...
[Sometimes referred to as a collection of short stories, Vladislavic himself considers this work to be a novel in four parts, set in and around Johannesburg, Random House, 2004]
- The Exploded View
- The Exploded View is composed of four interlinked stories that focus on artArtArt is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
and architectureArchitectureArchitecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
: the places people choose to live and the things they seek to create, while his skill at handling subtle social commentary and political satireSatireSatire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
is evident throughout.- Willem BoshoffWillem BoshoffWillem Boshoff is a South African artist known primarily for his conceptual installations. He is one of South Africa's foremost contemporary artists and regularly exhibits nationally and internationally....
[An extended essay on the work of this conceptual artist, David Krut Publishing, 2005] - Portrait with KeysPortrait with KeysA book about a city that has been described as the 'Venice of the South', Portrait with Keys is a portrait of life in Johannesburg – and ‘what-what’: home, habit, change, memory, mortality, friendship, ghosts, gardens, walking, falling, selling, stealing .....
was published in June 2006, and is an archive of writings on a small segment of Johannesburg that has been walked, observed and reflected upon over the years by the author. Portrait with Keys consists of 138 numbered short texts, each addressing life in Johannesburg. The time frame stretches from recollections of the late 1970s to the immediate present. The protagonist is, in most instances, Ivan Vladislavić himself, although there are dozens of other characters with whom he shares encounters and interactions. In June 2007 Vladislavic won the Sunday Times Alan Paton AwardAlan Paton AwardThe Alan Paton Award is a South African literary award that been conferred annually since 1989 for meritorious works of non-fiction. Sponsored by the Johannesburg weekly the Sunday Times, recipients represent the cream of contemporary South African writers who produce works that are judged to...
for Nonfiction for Portrait with Keys. The judges called it a masterpiece and found it indicative of a trend among South African nonfiction to look "inwards in order to examine the outwards." - Double Negative [Novel, 2011]
- Flashback Hotel: Early Stories [Collection of short stories, 2011]
- Willem Boshoff
Interviews
- De Kok, Ingrid. Ivan Vladislavić: The Restless Supermarket. World Literature Today - January 1, 2002.
- De Vries, Fred. Joburg’s ambiguity mirrored in Portrait, The Weekender, 9 September 2006 http://www.businessday.co.za/Articles/TarkArticle.aspx?ID=2221346
- Jooste, Pamela. In Conversation with Ivan Vladislavić. LitNet, March 2005 http://www.litnet.co.za/chain/pamela_jooste_vs_ivan_vladislavic.asp
- Warnes, Christopher. Interview with Ivan Vladislavić. Modern fiction studies, 46 (1) Spring, 2000: 280.
- Interview with Ivan Vladislavić on The Ledge, an independent platform for world literature. Includes excerpt and audio.
Awards
- Olive Schreiner PrizeOlive Schreiner PrizeThe Olive Schreiner Prize is an annual award to new and emergent talent administered by the English Academy of South Africa.-Award winners:*2010 Poetry Finuala Dowling Notes from the Dementia Ward*2009 Prose Michael Cawood Green For The Sake of Silence...
(1991) for Missing Persons - CNA Literary Award (1993) for The Folly
- Thomas Pringle Prize (1994) for two stories, Propaganda by Monuments and The WHITES ONLY Bench
- Noma Award for Publishing in AfricaNoma AwardThe Noma Award for Publishing in Africa is a $10,000 prize for outstanding African writers and scholars who publish in Africa. Established in 1979, the award is annual and given to any new book published in three categories: literature, juvenile and scholarly...
(1997): Honourable Mention for Propaganda by Monuments. - Sunday Times Fiction PrizeThe Sunday Times Fiction PrizeThe Sunday Times Fiction Prize has been awarded by the South African newspaper The Sunday Times since 2001 to accompany their Alan Paton Award for works of non-fiction...
(2002) for The Restless Supermarket. - Sunday Times Alan Paton Award for NonfictionAlan Paton AwardThe Alan Paton Award is a South African literary award that been conferred annually since 1989 for meritorious works of non-fiction. Sponsored by the Johannesburg weekly the Sunday Times, recipients represent the cream of contemporary South African writers who produce works that are judged to...
(2007) for Portrait with Keys: Joburg & What-What. - Warwick Prize for WritingWarwick Prize for WritingThe Warwick Prize for Writing is an international cross-disciplinary prize, worth £50,000, that will be given biennially for an excellent and substantial piece of writing in the English language, in any genre or form, on a theme that will change with every award. It was launched and sponsored by...
Portrait with Keys on the long list of that prize announced in November 2008.