Writer and playwright Zorko Simčič was born on November 19, 2021 in Maribor, where his parents, who were refugees from the Primorje region, settled after several intermediate stops. As a refugee from Styria, he completed his teacher training in Ljubljana during World War II, enrolled at the Faculty of Arts and began publishing prose works. For his first novel Awakening, which he began writing while still a student, received the Prešeren Award of the City of Ljubljana in 1944. The storms of World War II and the turbulent post-war period, through Austrian Carinthia and Italy, eventually carried Simčič to Argentina, where he lived until the first years of Slovenian independence, when he finally returned to his homeland. In the years 1945-1991, Simčič's works could only be published outside Slovenia. He also developed the theme of foreignness, which we already encounter in The Awakening, in the novel A man on both sides of the wall (1957), which deals with, among other things, refugeeism. The work, which is now considered a classic of Slovenian literature, can be compared in both form and content with the most important achievements of contemporary world literature. Simčič also deals with refugeeism in his last and most extensive novel. The last ten brothers (2012) are considered Simčič's life's work and were in the making for several decades.
After independence, the author received the Prešeren Fund Award (1993), the Prešeren Award (2013), and many other recognitions and awards.
Without a doubt, the most important and most influential part of Simčič's work is his prose. In parallel with his prose works, he also wrote plays. In the spring of 1945, preparations began for a production of his play at the Ljubljana Drama Theatre. The last chord. Preparations were interrupted due to dramatic historical events. Later, the author established himself mainly with dramas. Baptism near Savica (1953), Such a long month of August (written in the 1950s, published in 1992) and Early youth (1967), which was also inspired by material from the Second World War. It was first performed at the Slovenian Theatre in Toronto (1970). The last two plays were also published under the joint title The abyss calls the abyss (2001). Dramatic mystery Early youth, which, according to literary historians, represents the pinnacle of Simčič's dramatic writing and one of the most important achievements of contemporary Slovenian drama, was, like Baptism near Savica, repeatedly published and reprinted.
Zorko Simčič was the editor of a cultural magazine in Argentina for twelve years. IntervalWe also keep a few volumes of this newspaper in our library.
On the occasion of the centenary of the author's birth, the Slovenian Theatre Institute is exhibiting book editions of drama texts and materials discussing Simčič's work.