Original scientific paper

Homeland and Writer's Guilt: What did Budak's Secretary Suggest to Krleža on April 10,1942?

Ivica Matičević

Abstract

Marko Čović, a literary critic, storyteller and editor of Hrvatska revija, a
personal secretary of Mile Budak, a minister and central literary persona in the Independent State of Croatia (1941-1945), was one of the literary hawks promoting the instructions of the Ustasha authorities in the public cultural sphere. His central essay, published in the weekly Spremnost, was in fact the invitation to Miroslav Krleža for his engagement in the literary life of the new state. Krleža’s famous silence during the Independent State of Croatia now received also its »loud« acknowledgement – the famous writer did not respond to this invitation by the Ustasha authorities. This paper describes the essay written by Marko Čović in the context of his ideologically impregnated attitudes, in the aim to demonstrate analytically and critically what the so-called writer’s homeland guilt of Krleža consisted of in the eyes of the Ustasha authorities and their leaders of literary criticism. Finally, taking into account Krleža’s political and ideological background,
it becomes clear why Krleža could not accept this »kind« invitation by the current government.

Keywords

literature and ideology; literature during the Independent State of Croatia; Croatian literary periodicals; history of Croatian literary criticism; Miroslav Krleža; Marko Čović

Hrčak ID:

220351

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/220351

Publication date:

30.4.2019.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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