Srečko Kosovel is a Slovenian poet, publicist and reviewer, who was born on 18th March 1904 in Sežana, died on 27th May 1926 in Tomaj. Srečko’s family moved to Pliskavica, in Dolenji Karst, soon after his birth, but not for long. In year 1908 they moved to Tomaj, where they lived in a school.
As 11 year old boy he published his essay for the first time in children’s paper Zvonček, in which he describes Trieste. He described the city because as a child he visited it often and he held a special place in his heart for it. Kosovel family was interested in art, as they went to Trieste in the theatre and to concerts. They were surrounded by friends and acquaintances of similar spirit, who they hosted several times in their home in Tomaj. After he finished grammar school he continued his studies in Ljubljana. He was part of the high school literary club and high school bulletins, he also started to publish high school bulletin Lepa Vida. Due to unpaid debts, he had to cancel its publishing. In year 1920 he met Ludvik Mrzel and he reacted to Italian fascistic policy, which caused the burning of National home in Trieste. After matura exam he continued to study Slavistics, Germanics and Pedagogics on Philosophical faculty of University of Ljubljana. He participated at avantgard magazine Trije labodi. The magazine began to be published in year 1921 in Novo mesto. In Zagorje and Ljubljana he organised literary-dramatic club, lectures and literary evenings. With his peers he took over the editing of magazine Mladina in year 1925.
He wrote first poems under the influence of modern, especially by Impressionism of J. Murn. These were dominant motives of Karst landscape, mother and death, usually with symbolic meaning. His most extensive part of poetry talks about Karst, and because of that he was named lyrist of Karst. Here we meet with impression, which often grows into metaphor of national jeopardy. These are motifs in which he depicts the love toward mother and girlfriend and confession where death speaks. After this Kosovel entered a new era, expressionism. He developed visionary, social and religious themes. Main idea is the idea about personal and collective apocalypse.
Many of his poems talk about social injustices and dark fate of Europe (Ecstasy of death), as well as about inevitability of revolutionary transformation of the world (Red atom). Major part of his work represents also the constructivist songs, collected and published in collection of poems Integrali. They represent the most modern type of Slovenian poetry.
In February 1926, while waiting for a train in Zagorje, he caught a strong cold. Soon after that he returned home to Tomaj, where he died at the young age of 22 years. Poet Srečko Kosovel died on 27th May 1926.
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