Predrag Matvejević | |
|---|---|
 Predrag Matvejević giving an interview in 2010 | |
| Born | (1932-10-07)7 October 1932 |
| Died | 2 February 2017(2017-02-02) (aged 84) |
| Alma mater | University of Sarajevo University of Zagreb University of Paris[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Writer and scholar |
Predrag Matvejević (7 October 1932 – 2 February 2017) was aBosnian andCroatian writer and scholar. A literature scholar who taught at universities in Zagreb, Paris and Rome, he is best known for his 1987 non-fiction bookMediterranean: A Cultural Landscape, a seminal work ofcultural history of theMediterranean region which has been translated into more than 20 languages.[2]
Predrag Matvejević was born inMostar in 1932, at the time part of theKingdom of Yugoslavia, modernBosnia and Herzegovina, into a family of mixed ethnicity, to an ethnicRussian father, who had previously emigrated fromOdessa,[3] or in Matvejević's own words, father ofUkrainian ethnicity andRussian language and a nativeHerzegovinian Croat mother.[nb 1]
DuringWorld War II in Yugoslavia he briefly worked as a military messenger for thePartisans, and after the war he graduated from theMostar Gymnasium and then went on to study French language and literature, first at theUniversity of Sarajevo and then at theUniversity of Zagreb, where he eventually graduated from.[3] He then continued his studies in France, and in 1967 he earned a doctorate at theSorbonne with a thesis on socially engaged poetry.[3]
After returning to Yugoslavia he worked as a university professor at hisalma mater in Zagreb, where he taughtFrench literature at theFaculty of Humanities and Social Sciences until 1991. Following the breaking out of theCroatian War of Independence, he moved abroad again and taughtSlavic literature at theUniversity of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle from 1991 to 1994.[3] In 1994 he moved on to theSapienza University of Rome,[4] where he taughtCroatian andSerbian literatures and language until his retirement at the age of 75 in 2007.[3] He became an Italian citizen and was a candidate for theParty of Italian Communists for theEuropean Parliament, but was not elected.[citation needed]
In honour of his prolific writings on the history of literature and the social history of Yugoslavia and the Mediterranean, he was awardedhonorary doctorates from theUniversity of Perpignan, theUniversity of Genoa, theUniversity of Trieste and theUniversity of Mostar.[3] He was also made an honorary vice-president of the worldwide association of writersPEN International, and was a recipient of state decorations awarded by France, Croatia, Slovenia and Italy.[3]
He was a member of the advisory board of the left-wing magazineNovi Plamen.[5]
In November 2001, Matvejević published an essay-length article, "OurTaliban", inJutarnji list. In that article he accused some writers of war mongering during theYugoslav Wars, among themMile Pešorda, who filed a defamation lawsuit; the trial started in March 2003. On 2 November 2005, Matvejević was found guilty on the charge of defamation. He was sentenced to five months' probation and ordered to publish the verdict at his own cost inJutarnji list and to pay 5,000 kuna (circa$1000) in trial costs. Matvejević did not appeal. He stated that an appeal would be an acknowledgment of the verdict and the ones who issued it. On 20 December 2005, the verdict was upheld by an appeals court.[6]
(Most of his books have appeared in Serbo-Croatian, French and Italian editions)
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