FAMOUS CROATS, SLOBODAN NOVAK

SLOBODAN NOVAK (1924–2016), writer, is considered one of the most important prose authors of contemporary Croatian literature. He attended the general education secondary school in Split, graduated in 1943 in Sušak, and graduated in Yugoslav studies in 1953 at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb. He joined the Partisans in 1943 and was demobilized in 1945. He worked in Zagreb in the 1950s as a journalist and editor, then in Split as the director of Drama at the Croatian National Theater (HNK) and an editor at Slobodna Dalmacija. Returning to Zagreb, he worked as an editor in the literary department of Radio Zagreb and in publishing houses Lykos, Zora and Naprijed (retired in 1983). He initially entered literature with poetry but soon became a prose writer focused on exploring the relationship between the individual and society, masterfully utilizing modern narrative techniques. His debut novel, Izgubljeni zavičaj (1955), showcased his remarkable storytelling sensitivity and existentialist poetics, a style that would define his later works – especially Mirisi, zlato i tamjan (1968). Recognized by critics as one of the most significant achievements in 20th-century Croatian literature, the novel uses a monologue-driven narrative to explore social realities and their ideological forces, both political and religious. Through themes of death, illness and absurdity, it deals with fundamental questions of existential meaning, often using irony. Irony also permeates his prose collection Tvrdi grad (1961), in which the novellas Badessa madre Antonia, Južne misli and Treba umrijeti logično stand out for their anthology-worthy significance. The author is known for the notable three-part novel Izvanbrodski dnevnik (1976), which features prominent autoreferential and metafictional elements, as well as the novel Pristajanje (2005). In addition to novels and novellas, he wrote radio dramas, film scripts, reviews, polemics and critiques. He received the “Vladimir Nazor” Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1989. He has been a regular member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU) since 1991. dr. sc. Ljubica Josić, Lexicographer