Simon Gregorčič

Simon Gregorčič
Born	October 15, 1844 Vrsno, Austrian Littoral, Austrian Empire
Died	November 24, 1906 (aged 62) Gorizia, Austria-Hungary
Occupation	poet
Nationality	Slovene
Education	Gorizia seminary
Subject	patriotic and love poems

The house in which Simon Gregorčič was born

Gregorčič's funeral in Gorizia

Simon Gregorčič (15 October 1844 – 24 November 1906) was a Slovene poet and Roman Catholic priest. He is considered the first lyric poet of the Slovene realist poetry and the most melodical Slovene poet.^[1]

Biography

Gregorčič was born in the small mountain village of Vrsno above the river Soča in the County of Gorizia and Gradisca. In 1851, he attended primary school in Libušnje, but was in 1852 sent to school in Gorizia. After finishing high school he entered the seminary in Gorizia. He was ordained on 27 October 1867 and became a vicar in Kobarid in September 1868. There he continued with his literary work and together with his friend Ignacij Gruntar in 1871 founded a public reading room.^[2]

In 1873 he was transferred to Rihemberk in the Vipava Valley. After that he was transferred a few more times before retiring in 1903, selling his house and moving into a flat in Gorizia, where he died on 24 November 1906.

Work

As a student he began writing lyrical poetry which was published in many literary magazines (Slovenski glasnik, Zgodnja Danica, Zvon, Ljubljanski zvon). It is apparent from his work that he was inspired by Romantic poetic forms. Mostly he was writing love, patriotic, life narrative poems and even some epic poems.

His poems, such as the ode "Soči" ("To the Soča"), were patriotic in nature, but he also wrote love poems, such as Kropiti te ne smem ("I am not allowed to bless you"), and worked in other poetic genres. His most important works were Človeka nikar, Ujetega ptiča tožba ("The Snared Bird's Lament"), Moj črni plašč, Veseli pastir, Nazaj v planinski raj, Oljki.

He succeeded with his first collection Prvi zvezek Poezij (1882) and after six years he released his second collection Drugi zvezek Poezij (1888). In 1902 his third collection Tretji zvezek Poezij came out and then after his death the fourth collection Četrti zvezek Poezij (1908) was released.

Influences: Petrarca, Vodnik, Stritar, Prešeren.

Bibliography

• Poezije I (1882)
• Poezije II (1888)
• Poezije III (1902)
• Poezije IV (1908) - published after his death
• Izbrano delo I-IV (1947–1951)

See also

• Anton Aškerc
• Simon Rutar
• Slovene literature

References

1. Eiselt, Irena. "Poezije I–IV" [Poetry I–IV]. In Šmid Hribar, Mateja; Golež, Gregor; Podjed, Dan; Kladnik, Drago; Erhartič, Bojan; Pavlin, Primož; Ines, Jerele. Enciklopedija naravne in kulturne dediščine na Slovenskem – DEDI [Encyclopedia of Natural and Cultural Heritage in Slovenia] (in Slovenian). Retrieved 5 August 2014.
2. "Simon Gregorčič: Življenjepis" [Simon Gregorčič: A Biography] (in Slovenian). Tolmin Museum. Retrieved 4 August 2014.

External links

• Simon Gregorčič: Job in psalem 118 – Svetopisemska knjiga
• Simon Gregorčič: Poezije – izdaja Družbe sv. Mohorja v Celovcu – 1908
• Simon Gregorčič: Jeremijeve žalostinke
• Works by Simon Gregorčič at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)