Lili Novy
Encyclopedia
Lili Novy née Haumeder was a Slovene poet
and translator of poetry
. She is considered the first Slovene female lyric poet
as well as one of the most important Slovene female poets in general.
She was born in Graz
as Lili Haumeder to an ethnic German father and a Slovene mother. She was educated privately and began writing poetry in German
. In her mid twenties she began to include herself in the Slovene literary scene and began translating Prešeren's German poems into Slovene and vice versa and also began publishing in literary magazines. She also translated a lot of Goethe into Slovene. Gradually, under the influence of Alojz Gradnik
, she began writing her own poetry in Slovene. During her lifetime only one collection of her own poems was published: Temna vrata (Dark Door) (1941). After spending an entire life on the move with a husband in the military, Lili Novy eventually settled and died in Ljubljana
and her bust marks the house in the centre of the old town where she lived. One of the halls in the Cankar Hall
Cultural Centre in Ljubljana is also named after her.
In the 1970s, the essayist Jože Javoršek
published a monograph on Novy which led to a positive reassessment of her work.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and translator of poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. She is considered the first Slovene female lyric poet
Lyric poetry
Lyric poetry is a genre of poetry that expresses personal and emotional feelings. In the ancient world, lyric poems were those which were sung to the lyre. Lyric poems do not have to rhyme, and today do not need to be set to music or a beat...
as well as one of the most important Slovene female poets in general.
She was born in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
as Lili Haumeder to an ethnic German father and a Slovene mother. She was educated privately and began writing poetry in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. In her mid twenties she began to include herself in the Slovene literary scene and began translating Prešeren's German poems into Slovene and vice versa and also began publishing in literary magazines. She also translated a lot of Goethe into Slovene. Gradually, under the influence of Alojz Gradnik
Alojz Gradnik
Alojz Gradnik was a Slovenian poet and translator.-Life:Gradnik was born in the village of Medana in the Goriška Brda region, in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire and is today in the Goriška province of Slovenia. His father was a Slovene from Trieste who came from a poor working family...
, she began writing her own poetry in Slovene. During her lifetime only one collection of her own poems was published: Temna vrata (Dark Door) (1941). After spending an entire life on the move with a husband in the military, Lili Novy eventually settled and died in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
and her bust marks the house in the centre of the old town where she lived. One of the halls in the Cankar Hall
Cankar Hall
Cankar Hall is a cultural and congress center in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It stands on the central Republic Square , opposite the Parliament of Slovenia....
Cultural Centre in Ljubljana is also named after her.
In the 1970s, the essayist Jože Javoršek
Jože Javoršek
Jože Javoršek was the pen name of Jože Brejc , a Slovenian playwright, writer, poet, translator and essayist. He is regarded as one of the greatest masters of style and language among Slovene authors...
published a monograph on Novy which led to a positive reassessment of her work.
Published work
- Temna vrata (Dark Door) - poetry collection (1941)
- Oboki (Arches) - poetry collection (1959)
- Pikapoka - collection of children's poems (1968)
- Majhni ste na tem velikem svetu (You are Small in this Big World) - collection of children's poems (1973)