Ivan Pregelj

Ivan Pregelj

Ivan Pregelj(27 October 1883 – 30 January 1960) was aSlovenewriter, playwright, poet, and critic.

Life

Pregelj was born to a tailor's family inMost na Soči(at that time called Sveta Lucija). His father died while Pregelj was still a child. He attended school with the help of the parish priest. After graduating from high school, he started studying theology but soon abandoned this. He then went toVienna,where he entered the programs inSlavic studiesandGerman studies.He wrote his dissertation on theCapuchinsermon-writerMihael Krammer(1667–1728). Pregelj taught as a secondary school instructor inGorizia,Pazin,Idrija,Kranj,andLjubljana.He intentionally stopped writing around age fifty. Pregelj died inLjubljanaon 30 January 1960.

Works

Pregelj primarily wrote poems, stories, and plays. He created an extensive body of literary criticism in the form of essays and translations of various works. His best-known works are the novelTolminci(The People from Tolmin) andMatkova Tina(Tina from the Matko Farm), both set during the Tolmin peasant revolt of 1713. Lesser-known works include hislibrettofor the operaTajdabyHugolin Sattner(1851–1934). He also wrote abiographical novelaboutSimon JenkotitledSimon iz Praš(Simon fromPraše). Other works by Pregelj include his poetry collectionRomantika(Romance, 1910) and the folk taleMlada Breda(Young Breda, 1913) about a wicked stepmother named Katra and a good bride named Anica, in which he realistically portrays a struggle over a farm in theTolminarea.

The novelTlačani(Serfs, published inDom in svet,1915–1916) is Pregel's most extensive work, published in book form under the titleTolminci(The People from Tolmin, 1927). He retitled his serialized storyZadnji upornik(The Last Rebel,Dom in svet,1918–1919) asŠtefan Golja in njegovi(Štefan Golja and Friends, 1928).

In many of his other stories and novels, Pregelj dealt with issues of ethnicity, faith, and world view, which he always resolved from a Catholic perspective. His last major work was the novellaThabiti Kumi(1933).

From 1918 to 1930, Pregelj was very popular among Catholic intellectuals because he addressed ethical issues, in particular, the divide between spiritual and everyday life.

Sources

• Janež, Stanko. 1978.Pregled Slovenske književnosti.Maribor: Obzorja.