- Branislav Nušić
Branislav Nušić (Бранислав Нушић) (
October 8 ,1864 —January 19 ,1938 ) was a Serbian novelist, playwright, satirist, essayist and founder of modernrhetoric in Serbia. He also worked as a journalist and a civil servant. He was ofCincar (Aromanian Vlach) origin.Born Alkibijad Nuša (Alchiviadi al Nusha in Aromanian) in
Belgrade ,Principality of Serbia to a well-off family, Nušić enjoyed the benefits of a privileged upbringing for only a brief time. His father Đorđe Nuša was a well known grain merchant ofCincar (Aromanian Vlach) origin who lost his wealth shortly after his son's birth and was forced to move the family toSmederevo where young Alkibijad attended elementary school and first two grades of boarding school. During his teens, Nuša moved back to Belgrade where he graduated from boarding school. Upon turning 18 years of age, he legally changed his name to Branislav Nušić. In 1884, he graduated from theUniversity of Belgrade Faculty of Law . During his studies, he also spent a year inGraz ,Austria-Hungary .Twenty-one-year-old Nušić fought in the
Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885 while serving in the Serbian Army. After the war, he published a controversial poem "Dva Raba" in "Dnevni list" for which he spent two years in prison. The poem ridiculed Serbian King Milan, namely his decision to attend the funeral of the Serbian-born Austro-Hungarian general Dragutin Franasović's mother instead of that of the war's hero, CaptainMihailo Katanić who died as a result of wounds sustained while saving the regimental flag from the hands of Bulgarians.At first, Nušić's sentence was only two months, but the King pressured the judges to extend it. Despite harsh prison conditions, Nušić still managed to write a comedy: "Protekcija" ("Protection").
When he first asked the prison intendant,
Ilija Vlah , for the permission to write, Vlah told him that it was the writing that got him into prison, and denied his request. Knowing that intendant read all outgoing mail, Nušić wrote a brief letter to the second husband of his aunt (he was related to her first husband), who served as a minister of justice. Nušić addressedGersic as "uncle" and told him how it would be much easier for him to serve 2 years if he could write. He noted that he had no interest in writing political texts, and signed the letter "your nephew". One day later, Vlah allowed him to write literature.In 1889, Nušić became a civil servant. As an official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs he was appointed to clerk of consulate in
Bitola , where he eventually married (1893). He spent a decade in southernSerbia and Macedonia. His last post in this region was vice-consul inPristina .In 1900, Nušić was appointed as a secretary of Ministry of Education, and shortly afterwards he became a head dramaturgist of the
National Theatre in Belgrade . In 1904, he was appointed a head ofSerbian National Theatre inNovi Sad . In 1905, he left his new post and moved to Belgrade to work as a journalist.In 1912, Nušić returned to Bitola as a civil servant. In 1913, he founded a theater in
Skopje , where he lived until 1915. Due to theWorld War I , Nušić fled the country and lived inItaly ,Switzerland andFrance for its duration.After the war, Nušić was appointed to be the first head of the Art Department of the Ministry of Education. He remained at this post until 1923. Afterwards, he was appointed head of "Narodno pozorište" (National Theater) in Sarajevo. In 1927, he returned to Belgrade.
Selected work
Some of the Nušić's major work (with English translation of titles):
Dramas
*"Gospođa ministarka" (Cabinet Minister's Wife)
*"NarodniTravian Srbija poslanik" (Parliamentarian)
*"Ožalošćena porodica" (Bereaved Family)
*"Pokojnik" (The Deceased)Novels
*"Autobiografija" (Autobiography)
*"Opštinsko dete" (County's Child), published inSarajevo as "Općinsko dijete"
*"Hajduci" (Hajduk s)Short stories
*"Politički protivnik" (Political Rival)
*"Posmrtno slovo" (Eulogy)
*"Klasa" (Class)Other
*"Retorika" (a discourse on
rhetoric )External links
*
* [http://www.anegdote.com/lektira/nusic.html Extracts from his autobiography]__NOTOC__
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