Ivan Cankar

The writer never married. He spent several years living with his brother, which was a key inspiration for several of his novels and plays.On December 11, 1918, this iconic writer-playwright died of pneumonia in Ljubljana, Slovenia and his funeral was attended by a massive crowd.

In 1920, a collection of Cankar's short stories entitled 'Images from Dreams' was published posthumously.

Ivan Cankar was an extremely influential author during his own lifetime. He was the first author writing in the Slovene language who could make a full-time living from writing. His birthplace is now a national museum in Slovenia.

Ivan Cankar was born on May 10, 1876 in Vrhnika in the Duchy of Carniola, Austria-Hungary. His father soon abandoned the impoverished family, and Ivan was raised by his mother, Neza Cankar.

Ivan completed grammar school in Vrhnika but moved to Ljubjana to study at the ‘Technical High School’. He began to write in a wide variety of forms in this period.

Although Cankar began writing while still in high school, in 1893 the discovery of epic poetry written by Anton Askerc drastically changed Cankar's writing style.

In 1896, he enrolled at the University of Vienna. Focusing on Slavic philology, the aspiring writer began to immerse himself in the world of contemporary European literature.

In 1897, he began producing works that were positivistic in nature, following the influence of fellow Slovene writer Fran Govekar. Later that same year, he moved home to nurse his ailing mother. After she died a few months later, he briefly moved to the city of Pula.

In 1898, Cankar returned to Vienna. Rejecting his former focus on positivism, he became devoted to spiritualism and symbolism.

In 1899, this eminent writer published his first collection of poems, entitled 'Erotika'.

Ivan Cankar wrote over 30 books and several dozen poems, plays, short stories in the Slovenian language. His best-known works are ‘Serfs’- a dramatic play, ‘Scandal in St. Florian Valley’ - a satirical look at Slovenian society and ‘On the Hill’ - a deeply lyrical novella examining the life of the common Slovene. His works revolved around the plight of common man and aimed to preserve the native culture of his country.