Branislav "Brana" Crnčević ( sr-cyr, Бранислав Брана Црнчевић, ; 8 February 1933 – 14 April 2011) was a Serbian writer and politician.
Throughout his decades-long career, he wrote novels, aphorisms, short stories, TV dramas, poems and children's literature.
Biography
Crnčević was born on 8 February 1933 in
Kovačica
Kovačica ( sr-cyrl, Ковачица, ; ; ; ) is a town and municipality located in the South Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the town has a population of 5,398, while the municipali ...
and was raised in
Ruma
Ruma (; ) is a town and municipality in the Srem District of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the town has a population of 27,747, while the municipality has a population of 48,621.
History
Traces of organized human life ...
. After the death of his father, he spent his childhood in orphanages and foster homes.
He graduated from the
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia.
Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...
Faculty of Philosophy
A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...
. He began his career as an employee of the
Zrenjanin
Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; ; ; ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city urban area has a population of 67,129 inh ...
brewery regional office in
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...
. He then worked as a journalist and editor in the newspapers ''Jež''
and ''
Duga'' along with the newspaper for children called ''Mali jež''. He also published columns in various newspapers and magazines such as ''
NIN'' and ''
Politika
( sr-Cyrl, Политика, lit=Politics) is a Serbian daily newspaper, published in Belgrade. Founded in 1904 by Vladislav F. Ribnikar, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in the Balkans.
Publishing and ownership
is publ ...
''. In the meantime, he published his first children's book ''Bosonogi i nebo'' and later his first collection of
aphorism
An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tra ...
s ''Piši kao što ćutiš''. He entered into the literary scene under the pseudonyms Vinon Rumski and Branislav BIP. He was also one of the screenwriters for the 1987 film ''
The Harms Case''.
In addition to his literary career, Crnčević was also engaged politically and was friends with
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...
. In 1990, he was elected president of the ''Matica iseljenika Srbije'' (Heritage Foundation of Serbia). He was a member of the
Serb Democratic Party, and an advocate of the innocence of
Radovan Karadžić
Radovan Karadžić ( sr-Cyrl, Радован Караџић, ; born 19 June 1945) is a Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Serb politician who was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal ...
before the
Hague Tribunal. After the departure of
Vojislav Šešelj
Vojislav Šešelj ( sr-Cyrl, Војислав Шешељ, ; born 11 October 1954) is a Serbian politician and convicted war criminal. He is the founder and president of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS). Between 1998 and 2000, he was a D ...
to The Hague, he joined the
Serbian Radical Party
The Serbian Radical Party (, abbr. SRS) is a Far-right politics in Serbia, far-right, Ultranationalism, ultranationalist List of political parties in Serbia, political party in Serbia. Founded in 1991, its co-founder, first and only leader is ...
, but after the split of that party into two political options, he followed
Tomislav Nikolić
Tomislav Nikolić ( sr-Cyrl, Томислав Николић, ; born 15 February 1952) is a Serbian former politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2012 to 2017. A former member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS), he di ...
to the
Serbian Progressive Party
The Serbian Progressive Party (, SNS) is a major populist, catch-all party, catch-all List of political parties in Serbia, political party in Serbia. It has been the Ruling party, ruling party since 2012. Miloš Vučević, the former prime mi ...
. Crnčević was chosen as a member of the
Senate of Republika Srpska in 1996 and was awarded the
Order of Njegoš (first degree).
Death and legacy
Crnčević died on 14 April 2011 after a long illness.
He is interred in the
Alley of Distinguished Citizens in the
Belgrade New Cemetery
The New Cemetery ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Ново гробље, Novo groblje) is a cemetery
A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many death, ...
in a joint plot with Milutin Čolić,
Mladen Srbinović and
Momo Kapor
Momčilo "Momo" Kapor ( sr-cyr, Момчило Момо Капор; 8 April 1937 – 3 March 2010) was a Serbian novelist and painter.
He authored several screenplays, over forty novels, short stories, travel and autobiographic books and essays. ...
.
International graves
/ref>
The cultural center in Ruma
Ruma (; ) is a town and municipality in the Srem District of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia. As of 2022, the town has a population of 27,747, while the municipality has a population of 48,621.
History
Traces of organized human life ...
is named after him. In September 2016, a street in the Vračar
Vračar ( sr-Cyrl, Врачар, ) is an affluent urban area and Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade known as the location of many embassies and museums. According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has a popul ...
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
of the city of Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
was named after him.
Works
* 1963. ''Bosonogi i nebo''
* 1963. ''Cipelice od krokodilske kože''
* 1963. ''Njen prvi čaj''
* 1965. ''Devojka sa tri oca''
* 1965. ''Kafanica, sudnica, ludnica'' (also performed as a performance in Atelje 212
Atelje 212 ( sr-Cyrl, Атеље 212) is a theatre located in Belgrade, Serbia.
Established in 1956 on the premises of the '' Borba'' building in front of 212 chairs, its opening play was the staging of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's '' Faust'' dir ...
)
* 1965. ''Piši kao što ćutiš''
* 1968. ''Dunavo''
* 1967 – 1971 ''Zanati''
* 1971. ''Kapetan i lula''
* 1971, 1981, 1989, 2006. ''Dnevnik jednog...''
* 1978. ''Peta strana sveta''
* 1982. ''Sibiri''
* 1982. ''Emigrant i igra''
* 1984. ''Mrav dobra srca''
* 1985. ''Snovi bez tumačenja''
* 1990, 2006. ''Srpska posla''
* 1992, 2006. ''Srpska i hrvatska posla''
* 1994. ''Glasnik''
* 1997. ''Crni đavo, crveni rep I-II 2001. III''
* 2001. ''Pesme''
* 2003. ''Zaštitnica umetnosti i druge pripovetke''
* 2005. ''Zemlja nadimaka''
* 2006. ''Knjiga zadušnica''
* 2006. ''Obećani svet''
* 2007. ''Sedam mokrih majica i drugi zapisi''
* 2008. ''Ima da nas nema''
* 2009. ''Čuvari pepela''
* 2010. ''Šta ima''
* 2010. ''Piši kao što ćutiš'' (amended, supplemented and expanded edition)
* 2011. ''Crni đavo, crveni rep I-II
* 2011. ''Zaštitnica umetnosti i druge pripovetke''
* 2012. ''Trosobna samica / Трёхкомнатная одиночка,'' drama
References
External links
Interview for Politika
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crncevic, Branislav
1933 births
2011 deaths
People from Kovačica
Aphorists
Serbian screenwriters
Serbian male screenwriters
Serbian children's writers
Serbian male poets
Serbian journalists
Serbian politicians
Serbian nationalists
Serbian anti-communists
Serbian people of Montenegrin descent
Members of the Serbian Orthodox Church
University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy alumni
Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery
Politicians of Vojvodina