Miroslav Krleža

In memoriam

Novelist, poet, essayist, short-story writer, and playwright. After World War I, Krleza returned to Zagreb and devoted himself to writing. He was also in constant conflict with freemasons, nationalists and clerics. Deeply impressed by the Soviet revolution he became attracted to Marxist ideas. Krleza was a member of the Communist Party from 1918 until 1939, when he was expelled. Krleza's importance as a leader of the socially oriented writers grew steadily between the two world wars. Krleza produced most of his best work during the period from the late 1920s to the mid-1930s. During World War II Krleza remained in Zagreb but did not join the partisans. As a writer he was silent but was still harassed by the pro-Nazi Croatian government. He supported the postwar Communist régime enthusiastically and was rehabilitated by Marshal Tito president of Yugoslavia from 1953. Krleza was elected in 1947 vice president of the Academy of Science and Art. In 1951 he became director of the Croatian Institute of Lexicography, he also was the editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia Yugoslavia. From 1958 to 1961 Krleza was president of the Writers' Union. Some of his famous novels include "Gospoda Glembajevi" (Glembay family), and "Povratak Filipa Latinovica" (The Return of Philip Latinovic).

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