Ivo Andrić (1892-1975) was a writer of Serbo-Croatian novels and short stories whose literary career spanned some 60 years. He was awarded the awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1961. A Croat by birth, he became a Serb by choice. Ivo Andrić lived and died in the former Yugoslavia, and after his death and the collapse of Yugoslavia, a squabble developed about to whom Andrić belongs. Andrić was of Croatian origin and in young adulthood declared himself a Croat, and the bulk of his early work was written in Croatian. However, the majority of his later works were written in Serbian, and he was influenced by major Serbian cultural icons as Vuk Karadžić and Petar Njegoš. At any rate, Andrić's work is now in the official curricula of Croatian and Serbian literature programs.To post an ABC Wednesday photo, go to: http://mrsnesbittsplace.blogspot.com/
18 comments:
Do you know why he switched allegances? Was he a fan of Tito? What type of books did he write?
What an interestiing post! I'm ashamed to admit I've never heard of this Nobel Prize winner.
Nice photo with the flag nicely placed behind him.
A wonderfuul, Interesting and Informative post for ABC Wednesday-letter I.
Thank you.
Bear((( )))
Bonjour Bibi !
Merci pour le rappel historique. Je découvre de plus en plus ce pays...
Nice shot !
Ohhh.. I'm about to google himI would love to snuggle with one of his books by the fire!
Hi to all and an answer to Pja, or sort of. For detailed info about Ivo Andric, it's best to Google him, since it would take a lot of space to write about him here.
Andric, as I remember the feeling surrounding his works, was a man who always felt as being at kind of a "crossroad". To me, he's writing is something that carries deep sadness, nostalgy, and reassessment of the life itself.
This should be the official site
http://www.ivoandric.org.yu/index.htm
Bibi, thank you for introducing Ivo Andric to those of us who might not otherwise have heard of him!
I'm surprised that someone who lives in the Balkans would state a ridiculous notion that "Croatian" and "Serbian" are different languages.
You'd find more difference in language travelling from New Hampsire to Louisiana.
Furthermore, he was born in what's Bosnia today, not Croatia (actually born in the Ottoman Empire in a part currently controlled by the Austrians)
not to be excessively harsh... I do enjoy your blog fairly regularily
Danilo in Vancouver
* oops, I mean "at the time controlled by Austrians"
I read of him The "Bridge Over the Drina"(Na Drini ćuprija) and "Racconti di Sarajevo" (sorry, I don't know English title). They are two of the best books I've read of Balkan literature...
And reading them I can see how some of situations described in books are still present in modern times.
Hi, Anonymous Danilo, Ivan Andric was born in Bosnia of Croatian parents, which makes him a Bosnian Croat. I never said he was born in Croatia, if you reread my post. If you are familiar with the ethnic origins there, you'll understand. I personally don't think they're different languages, but try to tell a Croat that. There's about as much difference between Croatian and Serbian as there is between British and American English, mainly vocabulary and syntax, and if you read both, you'll see what I mean. The Croats have increasingly, since the break-up of Yugoslavia, replaced words that were in their opinion "too Serbian," with their own inventions. This is similar to what the French Acadeny tried to do with anglicisms, with little success. So, I never stated any "ridiculous notion" that the two languages are different--they are. Not entirely of course, but just different.
why ia it that men looked like real men long ago? thanks for all your nice words to me bibi.
I see you are having fun with anonymous comments. We try our best to impart a little knowledge... I shall be googling him too. At least he has united the school curriculum in two differing countires, and that really is a feat in todays world. Excellent post Bibi and I for one appreciate learning a little each day
from you.
contrived difference are, as you point out, recent innovations.
There could be no concept of "writing in Croatian" in your early years and then "writing in Serbian" in your later years in Andric's time.
But could be due to misunderstanding. I only speak Canadian and my American translator is out of the room.
Danilo in Vancouver
oh.... I see what you were trying to say... I looked it up.
More like he used western dialect and then an eastern, though it's incorrect to characterize this as serbian/croatian as both serbs and croats have these regional dialectical differences regardless of ethnicity. This is completely different from recent Croatian linguistic innovations.
D in V
I missed this post last week & I think it's excellent - a little learning is great for everyone even if it provokes some controversy. I bought a copy of "Na Drini Cuprija" in Serbo-Croatian years ago when back in YU. I've read about 1/5 of it, & promise myself I'll finish it every year. My coup was finding an English version at the used book sale in PV library. I plan to compare if I get the same meaning reading one vs the other.
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