Arhivski vjesnik, Vol. 63 No. 1, 2020.
Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.36506/av.63.6
The Correspondence of Miroslav and Bela Krleža in Personal and Family Papers and Archival Collections of the Croatian State Archives
Marijan Bosnar
; Hrvatski državni arhiv
Sažetak
The paper gives an overview and outlines the basic characteristics of the correspondence of the renowned Croatian writer Miroslav Krleža (1893-1981) and his wife, the theatrical actress Bela (1896-1981), which are kept in the personal and family papers and archival collections of the Croatian State Archives. This batch of their correspondence had not been researched and only several letters of M. Krleža had been published in the 1988 book of his letters. Besides basic information about the quantity and timeframe of the correspondence, the emphasis is put on their contents, the latter often including Krleža’s views on various topics and individuals, while at the same time providing insight into his and Bela’s relationships with its recipients, as well as preoccupations that were on their mind at the time. The contents of letters and postcards are described or, in cases of greater value, quoted and additionally supplemented by the facts available from the archival material of the fonds/collections in question, and information from published sources that deal with M. and B. Krleža. Often the information revealed in the letters that only have a date enable after closer scrutiny to establish the year when they were written. The correspondence of the Krleža spouses is currently kept in 9 personal and 2 family papers, as well as 1 collection, namely: HR-HDA-772. Tarnik Family Papers, HR-HDA-781. Vojnović Family Papers, HR-HDA-803. Jurišić Blaž, HR-HDA-1014. Cesarec August, HR-HDA-1043. Karaman Igor, HR-HDA-1057. Mandić Ante, HR-HDA-1059. Matasović Josip, HR-HDA-1769. Radica Bogdan, HR-HDA-1779. Stulli Bernard, HR-HDA-1791. Trnina Milka, HR-HDA-1801. Collection of Various Individuals, HR-HDA-2044. Begović Milan and HR-HDA-2076. Matković Marijan. The largest quantity is kept in the latter i.e. the total of 40 correspondence units. Marijan Matković was a prolific playwright, manager of the Croatian National Theatre during the period when B. Krleža was already an established actress in its drama section, and the editor-in-chief of the Forum literary journal which M. Krleža initiated and whose frequent collaborator he was. M. Krleža’s letters to Matković cover various subjects, from attempts to secure Bela’s leave from the theatre during his duties in Paris in 1950, his endeavours to use his social influence in order for certain works of other authors to be published, to Krleža’s involvement with various details regarding the publishing of Forum and at one point his displeasure with the direction the journal was taking. On the other hand, Bela’s letters to Matković, often more facetious and charming in tone, testify not only of the long-time friendship between the two families and her affection for the recipient, but also give hints of her privileged status in the Croatian National Theatre due to her husband’s importance and reputation in the socialist Yugoslavia. Whereas in the letters sent to Aleksandar Keško, a cultural worker from Sarajevo, among other things Krleža answers his questions on various topics and at times writes passages common to his novels or essays, his correspondence with the prominent Croatian publicist and émigré Bogdan Radica shows how their personal relationship changed over the years due to insurmountable political differences. A topic pertaining to the Croatian dissident poet Zlatko Tomičić, raised in Radica’s letter intended for Krleža, demonstrates that during his old age Krleža, in conversations published by his long-time associate Enes Čengić, was either prone to fabrications or absent-mindedness. Krleža’s letters from 1931 to Blaž Jurišić, a linguist and a journal editor, show him at the very peak of his literary activity in what was to be his most productive decade. The letters written to Krleža by Ante Mandić, a politician and a solicitor, just like Krleža’s letter to Juraj Tarnik, a chemist from Osijek, affirm Krleža as a person of influence in Tito’s Yugoslavia, whose connections and status were perceived to enable rectifying certain problems, such as employment in the Lexicographical Institute he headed or the issue of subtenants. Of the two letters written by Bela Krleža to the esteemed Croatian writer Milan Begović in 1926, the cryptic identity of a person called ‘The Countess’ in the second letter can be identified with considerable certainty through cast names on theatrical posters of Begović’s plays. The correspondence in the remaining fonds is of a lesser value and is therefore described to a lesser degree. It can be concluded that the correspondence of Miroslav and Bela Krleža in the mentioned fonds and collections of the Croatian State Archives supplements the so far uncomplete research of this particular field. New acquisitions of personal/family papers will undoubtedly augment the total quantity of their letters kept in the central Croatian archival institution and thusly enable further and more complete research.
Ključne riječi
Hrčak ID:
248563
URI
Datum izdavanja:
17.12.2020.
Posjeta: 1.331 *