Milorad Pavić | |
|---|---|
 Pavić at the 2007Belgrade Book Fair | |
| Born | (1929-10-15)15 October 1929 |
| Died | 30 November 2009(2009-11-30) (aged 80) |
| Resting place | New Cemetery, Belgrade |
| Occupation | Writer • poet •literary historian • translator |
| Language | Serbian |
| Nationality | Serbian |
| Alma mater | University of Belgrade |
| Genres | Experimental novel, Short story, playwright, poetry |
| Literary movement | Postmodernism |
| Notable works | Dictionary of the Khazars Landscape Painted with Tea The Inner Side of the Wind |
| Spouse | Jasmina Mihajlović |
| Children | Ivan Jelena |
| Website | |
| www | |
Milorad Pavić (Serbian Cyrillic:Милорад Павић,pronounced[mîloraːdpǎːʋitɕ]; 15 October 1929 – 30 November 2009) was aSerbian writer, university professor, translator, literary historian and academic. He published a number of poems, short stories and novels during his lifetime, the most famous of which was theDictionary of the Khazars (1984). Upon its release, it was hailed as "the first novel of the 21st century." Pavić's works have been translated into more than thirty languages. He was vastly popular in Europe and in South America, and was deemed "one of the most intriguing writers from the beginning of the 21st century." He won numerous prizes inSerbia and in the formerYugoslavia, and was mentioned several times as a potential candidate for theNobel Prize in Literature.
Milorad Pavić was born inBelgrade,Kingdom of Yugoslavia on 15 October 1929 to a distinguished family of intellectuals and writers[1] "that has produced well-known writers for six generations, since the 18th century".[2] He received a Bachelor of Arts in literature from theUniversity of Belgrade, and later obtained a PhD inliterary history at theUniversity of Zagreb.[3]
Pavić entered the literary scene with two collections of poetry titledPalimpsests (Palimpsesti), andMoon Stone (Mesečev kamen), published in 1969 and 1971, respectively. Pavić's poems were soon translated into English, and included in the anthology titledContemporary Yugoslav Poems. Soon after, Pavić dedicated himself to writing prose and several short story collections were published.[3] Pavić's first and most famous novel,Dictionary of the Khazars (Hazarski rečnik), was published in 1984. It received widespread critical acclaim upon release, and was hailed as "the first novel of the 21st century."[4] Written as a poeticdictionary, the book has been described as "a quasi-historical account of the semi-imaginary tribe of theKhazars."[3]
Pavić's second novel was titledLandscape Painted with Tea, and was published in 1988.[5] Organized as acrossword puzzle, it follows a failed architect from Belgrade as he travels to Greece to trace the fate of his father who disappeared there duringWorld War II. Pavić wrote many more novels, includingThe Inner Side of the Wind, or A Novel of Hero and Leander andLast Love in Constantinople: A Tarot Novel of Divination. Described as "highly imaginative", Pavić is said to have "[done] everything to disrupt the traditional models of fiction writing such as the development of story and the notions of beginning and end."[3] He was described as being "one of the most intriguing writers from the beginning of the 21st century."[6] As a result, he was mentioned several times as a potential candidate for theNobel Prize in Literature.[1]
Apart from writing, Pavić taught philosophy at theUniversity of Novi Sad before joining the University of Belgrade.[7] In 1991, he became a member of theSerbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU). During this time, he translated a number of works of Russian fiction into the Serbian language.[1] In 1993, he published his first play, titledTheatre Menu For Ever and a Day.[3]
Pavić died in Belgrade on 30 November 2009, at the age of 80. His death came as the result of a heart attack.[1] He was survived by his wife, Jasmina Mihajlović, and by his son Ivan. His daughter Jelena committed suicide the year prior. Pavić was buried in the "Alley of the Greats" at theNovo Groblje cemetery complex in Belgrade.[8]
Originally written in Serbian, Pavić's works have been translated into more than thirty languages.[7] Pavić was renowned for his highly imaginative fiction, and his novels diverged from traditional literary notions by means of an open-ended structure and the entwining of the mythic and historical.[9]
Dictionary of the Khazars was Pavić's first novel and it acquired international success. Written in 1984, it is alexicon-format novel which follows the story of theKhazars – a people occupying the territory north of theCaucasus and west and north of theCaspian Sea between the 6th and 11th centuries. In the book, the Great Khan of the Khazars has a dream that is nearly impossible to interpret. To shed some light on it, he summons representatives of the world's three great religions: a Christian, a Jew and a Muslim. He asks the three to explain the dream, promising that the entire Khazar tribe will convert to the religion which provides the most convincing explanation. In three dictionaries – one Christian, one Jewish and one Muslim – three different versions of the story are presented, and from these accounts the reader must try to confect a coherent novel.[9]
Academician Milorad Pavić was the winner of several literary awards:
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