IVAN CANKAR (1874)

Slovene writer and patriot.

After a childhood spent in poverty, he went to Vienna to study engineering but soon abandoned that pursuit to earn his living by his writings, which defended the opressed and made satirical attacks upon those who exploited them.

He returned to Slovenia in 1907.

Cankar was a prolific writer of short stories, novels, articles, drama, and verse; he was also a political speaker and was imprisoned for criticism of the Austrian regime.

In spite of its tendentious nature his work has great artistic value and reveals an original style -simple, yet eloquent, subtle, and melodious.

Cankar´s collected works were edited by Izidor Cankar in 20 volumes (1925-36).
His Hlapec Jernej in njegova pravica was translated as The Bailiff Yerney and His Rights (1930).