Janko Kos (born 9 March 1931) is a

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

literary historian The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment or education to the reader, as well as the development of the literary techniques used in the communication of these pie ...

, theoretician, and

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

Early life

He was born in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

in what was then the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

as the son of the painter and sculptor Tine Kos. His father was a liberal and freethinker (during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

a supporter of the pro-Communist Liberation Front of the Slovenian People), while his mother was a devout

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Education and activism

He studied at the

University of Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana (, , ), abbreviated UL, is the oldest and largest university in Slovenia. It has approximately 38,000 enrolled students. The university has 23 faculties and three art academies with approximately 4,000 teaching and re ...

, where he graduated from

comparative literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...

in 1956. Among his schoolmates was the famous literary scholar Dušan Pirjevec Ahac. During this period, Kos became involved in the intellectual endeavours of the " Critical generation," a group of young Slovene artists and intellectuals who challenged the cultural policies of the

Titoist Titoism is a Types of socialism, socialist political philosophy most closely associated with Josip Broz Tito and refers to the ideology and policies of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (LCY) during the Cold War. It is characterized by a br ...

regime. Among Kos' closest collaborators during this time were the literary theoretician Taras Kermauner, dissident sociologist Jože Pučnik, writer Dominik Smole, essayist Primož Kozak, and the poet

Dane Zajc Dane Zajc () (26 October 1929 – 20 October 2005) was a Slovenian poet and playwright. He served as president of the Slovene Writers' Association (1991–1995), and was awarded the prestigious Prešeren Award for lifetime achievement (1981). T ...

, Kos' cousin. He wrote in the alternative journal '' Perspektive'' until they were closed by the Communist regime in 1964. In 1969 Kos obtained his PhD at the University of Ljubljana under the supervision of Anton Ocvirk.

Career

From 1970, he has taught literary theory at the University. Kos dedicated most of his scholarly career researching the literary, intellectual and personal profile of the Slovene Romantic poet France Prešeren, publishing several innovative studies in this regard. He also researched the literary work of Ivan Cankar, Matija Čop, and Valentin Vodnik. He has also written several text books of Slovene and world literature for high schools. Since 1983, Kos has been a member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Political views

Since the late 1990s, Kos has been a public supporter of the Slovenian Democratic Party. Since 2004 he has been a member of the liberal conservative civic platform Rally for the Republic ().

Family

He is the father of the literary critic Matevž Kos and the father-in-law of the writer and editor Igor Bratož.

References

Sources

Biography on the webportal of the Association of Slovene WritersInterview with Kos on the Slovenian National TV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kos, Janko 1931 births Slovenian literary historians Slovenian Roman Catholics University of Ljubljana alumni Academic staff of the University of Ljubljana Members of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Living people