Vladimir Nazor and his Reception by Ivan Merz, the Student

Abstract

The twenty–year–old student, Ivan Merz, discovered Vladimir Nazor’s greatness as a poet and writer during World War I in 1916 at the beginning of his engagement in military service. At the time he was in Slovenska Bistrica, where he was dispatched to receive officer training and where he met Nazor’s friend and associate, Josip Ribarić, a linguist. Ribarić encouraged him to read Nazor’s literary works — which he did in his free time — and Merz was amazed by them. He communicated his impressions of Nazor’s works firstly in his letters to his professor, Ljubomir Maraković. At the same time, he also wrote presentations in his war diary dealing with the works that he had
read, giving his personal evaluations, opinions and conferring commendations. This article presents, along with an introductory commentary, the most significant quotes from the letters and diary of Ivan Merz concerning Nazor. For a more complete picture of Merz, and of Nazor as well, we added quotes about Nazor from Maraković’s letters to Merz. Merz was thrilled by the discovery of Nazor’s poetry and considered the poet Nazor a “Croatian prodigy“. Particularly impressive is Merz’s remark that “Croats are blind to the greatness of this man of letters, their very own Nazor”. He felt that only after his death would people “see that he was a great man.”