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{{Short description|Serbian writer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- For more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]]. -->
{{Infobox writer <!-- For more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]]. -->
| name = Simo Matavulj
| name = Simo Matavulj
| image = Simo Matavulj.jpg
| image = Simo Matavulj.jpg
| image_size = 220px
| image_size = 200px
| alt =
| alt =
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| birth_name =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1852|09|14}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1852|09|14}}
| birth_place = [[Šibenik]], [[Kingdom of Dalmatia|Dalmatia]], [[Austrian Empire]]
| birth_place = [[Šibenik]], [[Kingdom of Dalmatia]], [[Austrian Empire]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1908|02|20|1852|09|14}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1908|02|20|1852|09|14}}
| death_place = [[Belgrade]], [[Kingdom of Serbia]]
| death_place = [[Belgrade]], [[Kingdom of Serbia]]
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| subject = Dalmatian people
| subject = Dalmatian people
| movement =
| movement =
| notableworks = Bakonja fra-Brne, Pilipenda
| notableworks = Bakonja fra-Brne, Pilipenda, Biljeske Jednog Pisca
| spouse =
| spouse =
| partner =
| partner =
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}}
}}


'''Simo Matavulj''' ({{lang-sr|Симо Матавуљ}}, 14 September 1852 – 20 February 1908) was a Serbian writer.
'''Simo Matavulj''' ({{lang-sr|Симо Матавуљ}}, 14 September 1852 – 20 February 1908) was a Serbian writer.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-10-29|title=Родослов породице Матавуљ из Шибеника|url=https://www.poreklo.rs/2019/10/29/rodoslov-porodice-matavulj-iz-sibenika/|access-date=2021-01-04|website=Порекло|language=sr-RS}}</ref>


He was a representative of lyric [[Literary realism|realism]], especially in short prose. As a writer, he is best known for employing his skill in holding up to ridicule the peculiar foibles of the Dalmatian folk.
He was a representative of lyric [[Literary realism|realism]], especially in short prose. As a writer, he is best known for employing his skill in holding up to ridicule the peculiar foibles of the Dalmatian folk.


He was an honorary member of the [[Matica srpska]] of [[Novi Sad]], the first president of the [[Association of Writers of Serbia]], president of the Society of Artists of Serbia and a member of the [[Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts|Serbian Royal Academy]].
He was an honorary member of the [[Matica srpska]] of [[Novi Sad]], the first president of the [[Association of Writers of Serbia]], president of the Society of Artists of Serbia and a member of the [[Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts|Serbian Royal Academy]].

==Early life==
Simo Matavulj was born in [[Šibenik]] in [[Dalmatia]], [[Austrian Empire]] (now Croatia), on 14 September 1852, to a Serbian merchant family. He went to Italian and Serbian grammar schools and graduated from a Šibenik [[Gymnasium (school)|gymnasium]] (high school). After his father died he went to live and study with his uncle Seraphim, the abbot (''iguman'') of the Serbian Orthodox [[Krupa monastery]] in Dalmatia. He was initially educated for the church, but chose not to take orders, and after four years left for [[Zadar]]'s Illyric Teacher's College, from which he graduated in 1871. He was a considerable linguist by then and knew Serbian, Italian, Old Slavonic, and some Greek and Latin.

Thereafter he taught in Serbian villages and towns in northern Dalmatia, particularly in [[Đevrske]] and Islam Grčki, near the castle of the Janković family, built by [[Stojan Janković]], Serdar of Kotar. His descendant, polyglot Ilija "Deda" Janković, who lived in the castle with Jelena, his wife, took Matavulj as his personal secretary. Janković had a vast collection of books in his private library and gave Matavulj the freedom to use it at any time of day or night. When Matavulj's benefactor and language teacher suddenly died, Matavulj wrote a poem and gave a eulogy at Janković's funeral:

''I lost a valuable teacher who gave me his great wisdom, drop by drop, and opened my obscure soul, so that I may speak among honest people. He is the one I owe a debt to.''

Matavulj's friend, Lazar Tomanović (1845–1932), helped him find a new job in 1874 at the Serbian Naval Academy of ''Srbina'' in [[Herceg Novi]], teaching Italian. In ''Bilješke jednog pisca'' (Notes of a Writer), Matavulj wrote:

''In Herceg Novi I lived from 1874 until the end of 1881. The most beautiful period of my youth I spent in this magnificent part of the Serbian country, on the southern junction of three frontiers, in events and circumstances which can only be imagined for a young man who had longings and affection for story-telling.... I do not know if my stories are better than others but they certainly carry the spirit of what was most dear in my life – the spirit of youth.''


[[File:13 members of the Serbian poetic circle.jpg|thumb|Serbian poetic circle.]]
[[File:13 members of the Serbian poetic circle.jpg|thumb|Serbian poetic circle.]]

==Revolutionary involvement==
In 1875, he participated in the [[Herzegovina Uprising (1875-1878)|Herzegovina Uprising]], where he was the secretary of one of the leaders, Vojvoda [[Mićo Ljubibratić]] (the translator of the [[Koran]] in Serbian), and again in 1881 he participated in two short-lived revolts in [[Krivošije]] before they were suppressed by the Austrian army. In the Herzegovina rebellion he got to know a freedom-fighter named Petar Mrkonjić, afterwards King [[Peter I of Serbia]], with whom he was constantly connected in his journalistic ventures later on in life.

==Professional non-writing career==
From 1881 to 1882 he was superintendent of public schools and rector of a gymnasium at [[Cetinje]], where he met the likes of [[Pavle Rovinski]], [[Laza Kostić]], and [[Valtazar Bogišić]]. Till he had become a superintendent of public schools Matavulj had never left his native homeland; but his responsibilities as superintendent necessitated a journey to Paris, and he passed some four months of the year 1882 partly in the capital (studying the French school system) and partly in leisure rambles in the counties of France. In Paris he met [[Anatole France]], and embarked on translating some of the works of [[Guy de Maupassant]], [[Molière]], and [[Émile Zola|Zola]], of whom he was at this period of his career a faithful disciple.

In 1883 we find him acting as master of rhetoric to [[Danilo, Crown Prince of Montenegro]], a post which gave him admission to the court. In 1887 he left Cetinje for [[Zaječar]] where he taught at a high school for a short while before returning to Cetinje once again. In 1889 he was teaching at a Belgrade gymnasium, and later managing the Press Bureau of Serbia's Foreign Ministry. This latter post he held till his death, though offers of more lucrative positions were made to him. His duties were light, and he employed his leisure in writing more short stories and novels.

==Personal life and family==
He was twice married, once in 1892, and when his wife, Milica Stepanović, 16 years his junior, died a year later giving birth to a stillborn; he remarried seven years later (1900) to Ljubica Dimović, a childless widow.

He spent the last years of his life in Belgrade, where he died on 20 February 1908, survived by his second wife.

==Writing==
As a writer, he is best known for employing his skill in holding up to ridicule the peculiar foibles of the Dalmatian folk.

His main collections of short stories are: ''Iz Crne Gore i Primorja'' (From Montenegro and the Seacoast, 1888, 1889), ''Iz beogradskog života'' (From Life in Belgrade, 1891), and ''Iz raznijeh krajeva'' (From Various Cantons, 1893). His best short stories are ''Pilipenda'' and ''Povareta,'' depicting the moral strength of common village folk as they struggle through life's vicissitudes. His most acclaimed work, ''Bakonja Fra Brne'' (1892) depicts in a humorous, satirical tone the life in a Catholic cloister. His other novel, ''Uskok'' (Rebel, 1892), portrays the heroic struggle of Montenegrins against the Ottoman invaders.

Of significant interest is also Matavulj's autobiographical work ''Bilješke jednog pisca'' (Notes of a Writer, 1903), in which he recorded thoughts and views on life, literature, and art.

Like many writers of his generation, Matavulj is a strict realist. As a painter of nature he has much in common with the Russian [[Gogol]] in keeping his eye on the object, but adds, like Gogol, a visionary gleam. In his stories and novels he describes both peasants and city dwellers, depicting with cold objectivity the difficult, stifling life of sea fishermen and the middle-class malversations in Dalmatia, the heroic and hardy people of Montenegro, and the machinations of the movers and shakers in the bustling metropolis of Belgrade.

The [[Chakavian dialect]] used in dialogues of some of his short stories (of which ''Povareta'', for decades included in high school curriculum in most of former Yugoslavia is likely best known) is a rare example of that dialect, since the 1990s considered by most a part of only [[Croatian language|Croatian]], used in [[Serbian language|Serbian literary language]].

For many years Matavulj enjoyed the confidence of Cetinje and King [[Nicholas I of Montenegro]] himself, whose son he tutored. During his teaching tenure he had opportunities to be brought into close touch with the rural and urban folk of Montenegro, Dalmatia and Serbia, becoming familiar with their speech and manners. There he learnt to understand the ways and thoughts of the peasants, and laid up that rich store of scenes and characters which a marvellously retentive memory enabled him to draw upon at will. The progress of his intellect during these early years well deserved to be recorded. In 1880, Simo Matavulj became the most prolific and talented ''painter'' of the Montenegrin life. His novel ''Uskoks'' and others, were based on national anecdotes. Although these were early stories by Matavulj, through sharpness of perception and the power of shaping they represent the highest artistic attainment in the narrative prose on Montenegro before 1918.


==Legacy==
==Legacy==
Nobel prize winner Ivo Andrić called him "the master storyteller".<ref>https://www.rastko.rs/knjizevnost/umetnicka/proza/smatavulj-pripovetke/index.html#_Toc528226238</ref> Matavulj was awarded [[Order of the Cross of Takovo]] and he is included in [[The 100 most prominent Serbs]].
Nobel prize winner Ivo Andrić called him "the master storyteller".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rastko.rs/knjizevnost/umetnicka/proza/smatavulj-pripovetke/index.html#_Toc528226238|title = &#91;Projekat Rastko&#93; Simo Matavulj: Pripovetke}}</ref>


==Works==
==Works==
{{wikisource author}}
{{wikisource author}}
*''Noć uoči ivanja'', Zadar, 1873.
*''Noć uoči Ivanje'', Zadar, 1873.
*''Naši prosjaci'', Zadar, 1881.
*''Naši prosjaci'', Zadar, 1881.
*''Iz Crne Gore i Primorja I'', Novi Sad, 1888.
*''Iz Crne Gore i Primorja I'', Novi Sad, 1888.
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==References==
==References==
<references />
<references />
* Translated and adapted from [[Jovan Skerlić]]'s ''Istorija nove srpske književnosti'' / History of New Serbian Literature (Belgrade, 1921), pp.&nbsp;390–395.
* Translated and adapted from Serbian Wikipedia: [[:sh:Simo Matavulj|Simo Matavulj]]
* Tranaslated and adapted from [[Jovan Skerlić]]'s ''Istorija nove srpske književnosti'' / History of New Serbian Literature (Belgrade, 1921), pp.&nbsp;390–395.


==External links==
==External links==
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[[Category:1908 deaths]]
[[Category:1908 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Šibenik]]
[[Category:People from Šibenik]]
[[Category:People from the Kingdom of Dalmatia]]
[[Category:Writers from the Kingdom of Dalmatia]]
[[Category:Serbs of Croatia]]
[[Category:Serbs of Croatia]]
[[Category:Serbian novelists]]
[[Category:Serbian novelists]]
[[Category:Serbian writers]]
[[Category:Serbian writers]]
[[Category:19th-century novelists]]
[[Category:19th-century novelists]]
[[Category:Members of the Association of Writers of Serbia]]
[[Category:Writers from Austria-Hungary]]
[[Category:Immigrants to the Kingdom of Serbia]]

Latest revision as of 20:07, 8 March 2024

Simo Matavulj
Born(1852-09-14)14 September 1852
Šibenik, Kingdom of Dalmatia, Austrian Empire
Died20 February 1908(1908-02-20) (aged 55)
Belgrade, Kingdom of Serbia
OccupationNovelist
LanguageSerbian
PeriodRealism
GenreSatire
SubjectDalmatian people
Notable worksBakonja fra-Brne, Pilipenda, Biljeske Jednog Pisca

Simo Matavulj (Serbian: Симо Матавуљ, 14 September 1852 – 20 February 1908) was a Serbian writer.[1]

He was a representative of lyric realism, especially in short prose. As a writer, he is best known for employing his skill in holding up to ridicule the peculiar foibles of the Dalmatian folk.

He was an honorary member of the Matica srpska of Novi Sad, the first president of the Association of Writers of Serbia, president of the Society of Artists of Serbia and a member of the Serbian Royal Academy.

Serbian poetic circle.

Legacy[edit]

Nobel prize winner Ivo Andrić called him "the master storyteller".[2]

Works[edit]

  • Noć uoči Ivanje, Zadar, 1873.
  • Naši prosjaci, Zadar, 1881.
  • Iz Crne Gore i Primorja I, Novi Sad, 1888.
  • Iz Crne Gore i Primorja II, Cetinje, 1889.
  • Novo oružje, Belgrade, 1890.
  • Iz prіmorskog žіvota, Zagreb, 1890.
  • Sa Jadrana, Belgrade, 1891.
  • Iz beogradskog života, Belgrade, 1891.
  • Bakonja fra-Brne, Belgrade, 1892.
  • Uskok, Belgrade, 1893.
  • Iz raznijeh krajeva, Mostar, 1893.
  • Boka i Bokelji, Novi Sad, 1893.
  • Primorska obličja, Novi Sad, 1899.
  • Deset godina u Mavritaniji, Belgrade, 1899.
  • Tri pripovetke, Mostar, 1899.
  • Na pragu drugog života, Sremski Karlovci, 1899.
  • S mora i planine, Novi Sad, 1901.
  • Beogradske priče, Belgrade, 1902.
  • Pošljednji vitezovi i Svrzimantija, Mostar, 1903.
  • Život, Belgrade 1904.
  • Na slavi, Belgrade, 1904.
  • Zavjet, Belgrade, 1904.
  • Car Duklijan, Mostar, 1906.
  • Nemirne duše, Belgrade, 1908.
  • Bilješke jednoga pisca, Belgrade, 1923.
  • Golub Dobrašinović

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Родослов породице Матавуљ из Шибеника". Порекло (in Serbian). 29 October 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  2. ^ "[Projekat Rastko] Simo Matavulj: Pripovetke".
  • Translated and adapted from Jovan Skerlić's Istorija nove srpske književnosti / History of New Serbian Literature (Belgrade, 1921), pp. 390–395.

External links[edit]