Original scientific paper
THE SPLIT PERIODICAL »PUČKI LIST« AND THE PICTURE OF THE LIFE IN DALMATIA ON ITS PAGES
Radovan Vidović
; Split
Abstract
The first issue of the semimonthly periodical »Pučki list« was published at Split on 7th May, 1891. It continued to come out for the next 31 years until January 1922, except for the period from the beginning of 1916 to 9th October, 1918. It was published on the first and third Saturdays of the month on eight pages. Its first owner and editor in chief was Marko Pilić, who was then succeded by Marko Lubin on 6th May 1892, then by Jure Rosić in 1895, and at last by Jure Kapić from the first Number of 1901.
The many years of its publication and also the great influence it had on the wide masses of the Dalmatian population, especially so on the farm labourers, and the great reputation it enjoyed among our emigrants all over the world, the »Pučki list«, in addition to the »Narod – Jedinstvo – Naše jedinstvo«, was the most important periodical of its time in Split.
It was thanks to Jure Kapić (1861-1925), who was editing the periodical for almost three decades, that it had such a great success. He was both editor and writer of all the editorials and also of the greatest number of the articles in it. Kapić and the »Pučki list« became connected so closely together that these two names became synonyms for those three decades of the Dalmatian life.
The »Pučki list« covered almost all the problems regarding Dalmatian economy: wine growing, trade in wine, olive culture, olive oil production, the disastrous results of the trade agreement between Italy and Austria, usury, emigration, bad hygienic and health conditions in the continental Dalmatia, alcoholism, extravagance, discord, lawsuits, the destructive influence of the urban manners on the rural inhabitants. During the 1895-1901 period 33% of articles dealt with the general economic, trade, and agricultural problems, 205 with wine growing and olive culture, 16% with the national and cultural history, and the contemporary phenomena of urbanization, denationalization, neglection of the old customs, national costumes and similar, i. e. 82% altogether, and the rest of 12% constituted various articles, mainly the ones referring to the problems of emigation, hygiene, extravagance, alcoholism and lawsvits.
The periodical published also cultural and educational articles. In almost every issue the editorial set the tone of the most current problems in the economic, cultural and political life of Dalmatia. The »Pučki list« collected and published folklore poetry and prose, invited contributors to write poetry on the ancient and modern themes, however, under only one condition, i. e. to make these compositions instructive, and to write them in an idiom, verse and style easily understood by common people. In this way the periodical and its contributors initiated the work on the collecting and saving the national creative work, and also encouraged the writing of poetry for special occasions.
Here too, the editor Jure Kapić set a good example by his perseverance and quantity. Frequently, the first volumes published the discussions incited by the speeches delivered at Split and other places.
It is its addressing itself to the wide layers of common people, the fostering the national songs, gathering folk literature, variety of columns, popular form of the rhyme and verse that made the »Pučki list« a favourite and widely spread periodical welcomed not only by the whole of Dalmatia but also by the cites as far as Rijeka, Dubrovnik, and by our emigrants in North America (California), Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere. This periodical scrupulously followed the economic, social and cultural life of the wider area of Split, or better to say, of all the region gravitating toward Split. Its contributors sent their writings from defferent places in Dalmatia, some even from Trieste. Among them there were also some very well known pens, experts in the fields of humanities, economy and trade. Its popularity is also preoved by the number of the copies printed: in 1892 it started with 2,000 copies, and in the 1903-1911 period it achieved 7,000-8,000 copies, which was at that time, for a small place like Split (with only 15,000-20,000 inhabitants) and its region, a rather great number and success. About 700-750 copies were sent to both American and New Zealand.
Just because of such activity and its intention to help our people in Dalmatia, to instruct them and educate by showing the new ways and methods that should be applied in the economic, social and cultural life, and also because of its severe realistic criticism of all that was bad, regardless to whether it was deeplyt rooted in our man or was the work of the others, and aspecially so because all this was written in a suggestive štokavsko-ikavski vernacular and style – the »Pučki list« was the favourite reading-matter of our people in Dalmatia, and the force of the influence of its thoughts and actions survived the time of its immediate activity.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
130415
URI
Publication date:
12.8.1975.
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