Andjelko Krstić
Andjelko Krstić (Labuništa, 1 November 1871 – Labuništa, 6 May 1952), Serb writer and patriot.
Life
Krstić was born in the village of Labuništa, close to Struga (present day Republic of Macedonia, then in Ottoman Empire) in a family of pečalbari, families who went away from their homeland to earn for living but kept close connections to their homeland.
His father, Martin, worked as a milkman in Belgrade and Andjelko joined him at young age. Unhappy about this work, he wanted to get an education and enroll in an evening course in Saint Sava school for teachers. His father opposed his decision, took him back to native Labuništa and pressed him to marry, aged only 17.
However, Andjelko decided to oppose his father more resolutely when he wanted to take him to work with him in Romania. Instead, he returned to Belgrade and started working as a milkman assistant with his compatriot Marko Šumenković while in the evenings he attended school lessons. Professors soon noticed his diligence and helped him with a small stipend. He graduated in August 1889 with excellent grades. Despite an offer to stay in Belgrade Krstić decided to go back to his native village.
Back in Macedonia, despite many obstacles imposed by the Ottoman authorities and Bulgarians, he managed to open a school in the neighboring village of Podgorec. He was arrested for his patriotic work several times. In 1911 he became the principal of all the Serb schools Debar, Struga and Ohrid areas.
In 1924 he was offered by Bora Stanković a post in the Ministry of Education in Belgrade. Although he hesitated in 1940 he was appointed as an editor of Glas juga newspaper from Skopje, where he remained until the occupation in 1941. Krstić, modest as he was, spent the most of his life where he was born. He died in 1952 and was, by his own wish, buried on a hill underneath Mount Jablanica.
Works
His first writing, descriptions of local customs, appeared in 1904 in the Serb newspaper from Constantinople Carigradski glasnik. He wrote under pen name Drimkolac (Drimkol is the name of the Struga area). His first short story saw the light of day in 1903 in the same newspaper. It was called Pečalba – the theme that will preoccupy his opus.[1] Until 1914 he published ten stories, but was little noticed in literary circles.
The breakthrough came in 1932 when a collection of his short stories was published in Belgrade. In the same year he also published Trajan, a novel that a novel that includes many autobiographical elements. For both books he received praise and won several literary awards.
He also wrote a drama Zatočnici (1937) that was performed in Skopje that same year, as well as another book of short stories published in 1951. An autobiographical book entitled Sećanja appeared in the year 2000.
His books are written in the dialect of his native Drimkol.[2] In his style of writing Krstić was a strict realist.[3]
References
- ↑ Bečejski Mirjana, Pečalbarstvo kao opsedantna tema Anđelka Krstića u romanu Trajan, Baština 2006, br. 20, str. 45-59 http://scindeks.ceon.rs/article.aspx?artid=0353-90080620045B
- ↑ N. Tomić, Žal na Vuka, Večernje novosti, 28 March 2007 http://www.novosti.co.yu/code/navigate.php?Id=12&status=jedna&vest=101762&datum=2007-03-29
- ↑ Jovan Deretić, Kratka istorija srpske književnosti http://www.rastko.rs/knjizevnost/jderetic_knjiz/jderetic-knjiz_11.html
- Andjelko Krstić, Prosvetiteljski bard iz Labuništa http://www.srbi.org.mk/sr/drushtvo/20-istorija/71-andjelko-krstic
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