Stevan Sremac ( sr-cyr, Стеван Сремац, ; 11 November 1855 – 13 August 1906) was a Serbian realist and comedy writer. He is considered one of the best truly humorous Serbian writers.

Biography

Stevan Sremac was born in

Senta Senta ( sr-cyrl, Сента, ; Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Zenta'', ; Romanian language, Romanian: ''Zenta'') is a town and municipality located in Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the bank of the Tisza, Tisa river in the geographical ...

Bačka Bačka ( sr-Cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska (), is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hungary. ...

region (then part of the Austrian

Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar The Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar, or Voivodeship of Serbia and Temes Banat (, , , ), was a crownland of the Austrian Empire that existed between 1849 and 1861, centered in Temeschwar. It was created by reorganization of admini ...

) on 11 November 1855. He spent his early childhood in the city of his birth, and moved to

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 ...

to study after his parents died. While still a university student, he joined the Serbian Army and participated in the 1876 and 1877–1878 wars as a volunteer. In 1878 he graduated from Belgrade's Grande École (''Velika škola'') in philosophy and history. He became a teacher, working in this profession for the rest of his life—in the southern Serbia's cities of

Pirot Pirot ( sr-Cyrl, Пирот) is a city and the administrative center of the Pirot District in southeastern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the urban area of the city has a population of 34,942, while the population of the city administrative are ...

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...

and Belgrade. His personal relations with his pupils were of singularly close and affectionate nature, and the charm of his social gifts and genial character won him friends on all sides. His literary reputation was established relatively late, in 1890, with novelized

chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

s of events and personages from Serbian history. These weren't published until 1903 under title ''Iz knjiga starostavnih'' ("From Ancient Books"). In political sense, he was an activist of Liberal party (Serbia), which was pretty conservative with strong nationalist sentiments and supported the rule of the Obrenović dynasty. In 1906 he became a member of the

Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , SANU) is a national academy and the most prominent academic institution in Serbia, founded in 1841 as Society of Serbian Letters (, DSS). The Academy's membership has included Nobel Prize, Nobel la ...

. Sremac died accidentally of blood poisoning in

Sokobanja Sokobanja ( sr-cyr, Сокобања, ) is a spa town and municipality located in the Zaječar District of the eastern Serbia. As of 2022, the population of the town is 7,188, while population of the municipality is 13,199. Geography Sokobanja ...

on 12 August 1906.

Literary work

Sremac's period spent in Niš was his most productive period. During this period, he published ''Božićna pečenica'' (1893), ''Ivkova slava'' (1895), ''Vukadin'' (1903), ''Limunacija na selu'' (1896), ''Pop Ćira i pop Spira'' (1898), ''Čiča Jordan'' (1903), and ''Zona Zamfirova'' (1906), all characterized with local colouring, realism, humour, and satire. Because of their high dramatic quality, many of these were later dramatized, with ''Ivkova slava'', being the most successful. Sremac's characters are usually small merchants, clerks, priests, artists, and just simple folk in small Serbian towns. A realist and sharp observer, he was able to point out the changes sweeping Serbian society into a new era. Some of his stories dealing with vanishing way of life that had persisted for centuries have an unforegetable nostalgic flavor. His depiction of the patriarchal atmosphere of Serbia of his time is done in a humorous vain, but never mockingly, except when he ridicules his political opponents. Sremac's short stories reveal his love for the slowly disappearing "old way" of life. The plots are placed in his native

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

in particular,

, and mostly, southern parts of Serbia. But it is his humor for which Sremac is best known and remembered.

Legacy

Many of his works were turned into films; his most popular novel ''Pop Ćira i pop Spira'' was made into TV series in 1980s, while feature films '' Zona Zamfirova'' (2002) and '' Ivkova slava'' (2005), both by director

Zdravko Šotra Zdravko Šotra ( sr-cyr, Здравко Шотра; born 13 February 1933) is a Serbian film and television director and screenwriter. He is known for directing the films '' Zona Zamfirova'', '' Boj na Kosovu'', '' Šešir profesora Vujića'', ...

saw huge success in Serbia and Montenegro. He is included in The 100 most prominent Serbs.

Personal

During the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Stevan Sremac's brother Andrija Sremac was living and working in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was the 1st vice-president of the Serbian National Defense Council (''Srpska Narodna Odbrana''). The president at the time was Professor

Mihajlo Pupin Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin (, ; October 4, 1858Although Pupin's birth year is sometimes given as 1854 (and Serbia and Montenegro issued a postage stamp in 2004 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of his birth), peer-reviewed sources list his birth ...

, the well-known Serbian-American

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

, and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

of a seminal biography, From Immigrant to Inventor.

Selected works

*''Božićna pečenica'' (''Christmas Roast'') (1893) *''Ivkova slava'' (''Ivko's slava'') (1895) *''Limunacija na selu'' (''Illemonation in the Village'') (1896) *''Pop Ćira i pop Spira'' (''Priest Ćira and Priest Spira'') (1898) *''Iz knjiga starostavnih'' (''From Ancient Books'') (1903—1909). *''Vukadin'' (1903) *''Čiča Jordan'' (Uncle Yordan) (1903) *''Zona Zamfirova'' (1906)

References