Simon Gregorčič

Simon Gregorčič (15 October 1844, Vrsno - 24 November 1906, Gorica) was a Slovene poet and Roman Catholic priest.

Biography

Gregorčič was born into a farmer's family in the small mountain village of Vrsno above the river Soča in the County of Gorizia and Gradisca, then part of the Austrian Empire. He grew up herding his father's flock of sheep and attended primary school in Libušnje. Later he was sent to school in Gorica. Due to lack of funds he abandoned his initial idea of studying classics and entered the seminary in Gorica. He was ordained in 1867 and became a vicar in Kobarid in 1868 where he continued with his literary work and founded a public reading room, one of the first in the Slovenian Lands.

In 1873 he was transferred to Branik in the Vipava Valley, where he was a popular parish priest, but did not get on well with the church authorities. Disappointed and lonely, he soon fell ill. He was transferred a few more times before retireing in 1903, selling his house and moving into a flat in Gorica. He died three years later.

Work

As a student he began writing lyrical poetry, inspired by the work of France Prešeren. It is apparent from his work that he was torn between being a consciencious priest and a desire for a secular life (Eg. his poem "Ujetega ptiča tožba" ("The Complaints of a Captured Bird"). Gregorčič belonged to the generation of prominent Slovenians that embraced progressive and national ideals and tried to raise the consciousness of the people by the means of art and literature.

In his post-romantic poems, such as "Soči" (To the Soča), he promoted his patriotic ideals, but he also wrote love poems, such as "Kropiti te ne smem" ("I am not allowed to bless you") and other genre. Between 1882 and 1908, four volumes of his poetry were published, the last one posthumously.

His poetry gained widespread popularity among all classes of people, including the peasantry; the last two volumes of his collected poems became bestsellers. He became known as the "Songbird from Goriška". Gregorčič's funeral was attended by a huge mass of people from all the Slovenian Littoral. The famous Italian poet Biagio Marin later described the event in an essay, claiming it to be one of the most vivid memories of his childhood.

See also

*Anton Aškerc
*Simon Rutar
*Slovene literature

Sources

*Ivan Prijatelj, "Književnost mladoslovencev" (Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1962).