Janko Veselinović (writer)
Encyclopedia
Janko Veselinović was a Serbia
n writer, influenced by Milovan Glišić
, Milan Milićević, Đura Jakšić, and Rusyn
writer Marija A. Markovič, who went under the assumed name of Marko Vovčuk.
he saw the fighting, and he inherited a militant Serbian tradition that went back five hundred years, if not more. His father was a parish priest and staff officer in the Serbian army. After graduating from a teacher's college in Belgrade
, he returned to the Serbian countryside, in Mačva, west of Belgrade, to teach in different towns and villeges (Svilajnac
, Glogovac
, Šabac
and Koceljeva
). Living close to his villagers, he began to write stories about their life and soon published his first collection of stories, Slike iz soeskog zivota (Pictures of Village Life, 1866). More were to follow; by the end of his relatively short career he had nonetheless written many stories about the latter half of the 19th century, rural life in Serbia. He moved to Belgrade and attempted to write about life in a city, but with little success. From 1893 he lived in Belgrade, where he was an associate editor of government-owned Srpskih Novina (Serbian News). Later, he was the editor of a competing, privately-owned newspaper called Zvezda (The Star), from 1898 till 1901. At one time he wrote plays for the National Theatre in Belgrade
, in collaboration with Serbian stage actor Čiča Ilija Stanojević. He died at Glogovac on the 14th of June 1905.
According to literary critic Jovan Skerlić
and others, Veselinović is best known for his description of the idyllic peasant life in Serbia. Veselinović, even though a realist, idealized his rural folk, adding poetic touches to his descriptions of them. He drew much from the native folklore as well. Even though he depicted the seamy side of rural life, he seemed to lean towards its idyllic aspect, as if trying to arrest the advance of civilization.
, who tinged their picaroon romances with the spirit of revolt against established moral and political arrangements. He wrote many novels and stories, which were about patriarchal society of the Serbian big family (zadruga
). His stories described the beauty and scenery of his homeland with much skill. The works were written with great attention to numerous ethnographically interesting details of the old Serbian peasant life. His most successful books are: a semi-historical novel entitled Hajduk Stanko (The Rebel Stanko, 1896), which describes with rich color and exciting action, the time of the First Serbian Uprising
against the Turks; and Seljanka (A Peasant Woman, 1893), a bleak picture of the life of a peasant woman in rural Serbia in the 19th century.
His works are:
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n writer, influenced by Milovan Glišić
Milovan Glišic
Milovan Glišić was a Serbian writer, dramatist, translator, and literary theorist. He is sometimes referred to as the Serbian Gogol.-Biography:...
, Milan Milićević, Đura Jakšić, and Rusyn
Rusyns
Carpatho-Rusyns are a primarily diasporic ethnic group who speak an Eastern Slavic language, or Ukrainian dialect, known as Rusyn. Carpatho-Rusyns descend from a minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt the use of the ethnonym "Ukrainian" in the early twentieth century...
writer Marija A. Markovič, who went under the assumed name of Marko Vovčuk.
Personal life
Janko Veselinović was too young to join in the Serbo-Turkish war; but as a teenager in MačvaMacva
Mačva is a geographical region in Serbia, mostly situated in the northwest of Central Serbia. It is located in a fertile plain between the Sava and Drina rivers. The chief town of this region is Šabac. The modern Mačva District of Serbia is named after the region, although the region of Mačva...
he saw the fighting, and he inherited a militant Serbian tradition that went back five hundred years, if not more. His father was a parish priest and staff officer in the Serbian army. After graduating from a teacher's college in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, he returned to the Serbian countryside, in Mačva, west of Belgrade, to teach in different towns and villeges (Svilajnac
Svilajnac
Svilajnac is a town and municipality located in central Serbia at 44.13° North, 21.12° East, south-east of Belgrade, on the banks of the river Resava, and bordering the river Morava. Its name stems from the word for silk in Serbian. It is the de facto administrative center of the Resava region...
, Glogovac
Glogovac
Glogovac is a town and municipality in the Pristina district of central Kosovo.-History:Before the Kosovo War of 1999, the Kosovo Liberation Army had a strong level of influence and controlled large areas of the municipality.-More about Glogovac:...
, Šabac
Šabac
Šabac is a city and municipality in western Serbia, along the Sava river, in the historic region of Mačva. It is the administrative center of the Mačva District. The city has a population of 52,822 , while population of the municipality is 115,347...
and Koceljeva
Koceljeva
Koceljeva is a village and municipality located in the Mačva District of Serbia. In 2011, the population of the village is 4,217, while population of the municipality is 13,155.-Municipality:...
). Living close to his villagers, he began to write stories about their life and soon published his first collection of stories, Slike iz soeskog zivota (Pictures of Village Life, 1866). More were to follow; by the end of his relatively short career he had nonetheless written many stories about the latter half of the 19th century, rural life in Serbia. He moved to Belgrade and attempted to write about life in a city, but with little success. From 1893 he lived in Belgrade, where he was an associate editor of government-owned Srpskih Novina (Serbian News). Later, he was the editor of a competing, privately-owned newspaper called Zvezda (The Star), from 1898 till 1901. At one time he wrote plays for the National Theatre in Belgrade
National Theatre in Belgrade
The National Theatre was founded in the latter half of the 19th century. It is located on Republic Square, in Belgrade, Serbia.The National Theatre was declared a Monument of Culture of Great Importance in 1983, and it is protected by the Republic of Serbia....
, in collaboration with Serbian stage actor Čiča Ilija Stanojević. He died at Glogovac on the 14th of June 1905.
According to literary critic Jovan Skerlić
Jovan Skerlić
Jovan Skerlić was a Serbian writer and critic. He is regarded as one of the most influential Serbian literary critics of the early 20th century, after Bogdan Popović.- Biography :...
and others, Veselinović is best known for his description of the idyllic peasant life in Serbia. Veselinović, even though a realist, idealized his rural folk, adding poetic touches to his descriptions of them. He drew much from the native folklore as well. Even though he depicted the seamy side of rural life, he seemed to lean towards its idyllic aspect, as if trying to arrest the advance of civilization.
Works
Janko M. Veselinović is in the same class as Svetolik RankovićSvetolik Rankovic
Svetolik Ranković was a Serbian author most prominent in the period of Realism. As a realist, he was the first Serbian author to take a significant step towards the emancipation of prose from the laws of event-centered narration...
, who tinged their picaroon romances with the spirit of revolt against established moral and political arrangements. He wrote many novels and stories, which were about patriarchal society of the Serbian big family (zadruga
Zadruga
A zadruga refers to a type of rural community historically common among South Slavs. The term has been used by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia to designate their attempt at collective farming after World War II....
). His stories described the beauty and scenery of his homeland with much skill. The works were written with great attention to numerous ethnographically interesting details of the old Serbian peasant life. His most successful books are: a semi-historical novel entitled Hajduk Stanko (The Rebel Stanko, 1896), which describes with rich color and exciting action, the time of the First Serbian Uprising
First Serbian Uprising
The First Serbian Uprising was the first stage of the Serbian Revolution , the successful wars of independence that lasted for 9 years and approximately 9 months , during which Serbia perceived itself as an independent state for the first time after more than three centuries of Ottoman rule and...
against the Turks; and Seljanka (A Peasant Woman, 1893), a bleak picture of the life of a peasant woman in rural Serbia in the 19th century.
His works are:
- Pastoral: Stories from Rural Life (Сељанка: приповетке из сеоског живота), novel 1888
- Pictures of Rural Life (Слике из сеоског живота), story, 2 volumes, 1886-88
- Wild Flowers (Пољско цвеце), story, 1890-1891
- Paradise of the Soul (Рајске душе), story, 1893
- Stari poznavitsi (Стари познавици), story, 1891-96
- Hajduk Stanko (Хајдук Станко), novel, 1896
- Fighters (Борци), stories
- Letters from the Village (Писма са села), stories
- Complete works (Целокупна дела) 9 volumes
- The Flute Player, story
- Poteru, play (in collaboration with Čiča Ilija Stanojević), 1895