Aleš Debeljak

Infobox Writer
name = Aleš Debeljak


caption =
birth_date = birth date|1961|12|25|mf=y
birth_place = Ljubljana, Slovenia, Yugoslavia
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = Poet, Essayist, Academic
spouse = Erica Johnson Debeljak
genre = essays, poetry, cultural studies
movement = Postmodernism
notableworks =
influences = Edvard Kocbek, Martin Heidegger, Dušan Pirjevec Ahac, Josip Vidmar, Srečko Kosovel, Tomaž Šalamun, Drago Jančar, Danilo Kiš, Vasko Popa, Milorad Pavić, Paul Celan, Veno Taufer, Marjan Rožanc, Rainer Maria Rilke, Georg Trakl, Gottfried Benn, Jurgen Habermas
influenced = Aleš Šteger, Uroš Zupan
website =
footnotes =

Aleš Debeljak (born December 25, 1961), is a Slovenian cultural critic, poet, and essayist. He is considered one of the most influential contemporary intellectuals in Central Europe. [ [http://www.blesok.com.mk/avtor.asp?lang=eng&id=189 Presentation on BLESOK page] ]

Biography

Debeljak was born in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, then part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He graduated from comparative literature at the University of Ljubljana in 1985. [ [http://www.ned.univie.ac.at/lic/autor.asp?paras=/lg;26/lt;26/aut_id;16531/link;3/id;4761/& Literatura v kontekstu: Aleš Debeljak] ] He continued his studies in the United States, obtaining a PhD in sociology of culture at Syracuse University in 1989. [ [http://www.ned.univie.ac.at/lic/autor.asp?paras=/lg;26/lt;26/aut_id;16531/link;3/id;4761/& Literatura v kontekstu: Aleš Debeljak] ] He was later a Senior Fulbright fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. He also worked at the Institute for Advanced Studies Collegium Budapest, the Civitella Ranieri Center and the Bogliasco Liguria Study Center for the Arts and Humanitites. [ [http://www.drustvo-dsp.si/si/pisatelji/438/detail.html Portal DSP: Aleš Debeljak] ]

During the Slovenian Spring (1988–1992), Debeljak actively participated in the democratization process in Slovenia. [ [http://www.slovenskapomlad.si/2?id=2663&highlight=aleš%20debeljak WebPortal "Slovenska pomlad", run by the Slovenian Museum of Contemporary History] ] He is currently a professor of cultural studies at the Faculty for Social Studies of the University of Ljubljana.

He is married to the American columnist and translator Erica Johnson Debeljak. They have three children and live in Ljubljana.

Work

Debeljak began publishing poetry in his college years. He was spotted by the poet Veno Taufer who helped him in the literary scene. [ [http://www.ned.univie.ac.at/lic/autor.asp?paras=/lg;26/lt;26/aut_id;16531/link;3/id;4761/& Literatura v kontekstu: Aleš Debeljak] ] His first collection of poetry was very well received also by the poet Tomaž Šalamun, who declared Debeljak as the best poet of the young generation of Slovene authors. [Tomaž Šalamun, "Intervju z Alojzom Ihanom" in "Sodobnost", yr. 42, n. 8/9 (1994)]

Debeljak's poetry is noted for its melancholy and a new reaffirmation of traditional values such as family and God. An opponent to the everything-goes schools of modern thought, such as Post-Modernism, Debeljak's work is informed by an "Enlightenment" ideal of right and wrong, good and bad.

Debeljak is an extremely prolific writer. Besides poetry and cultural criticism, Debeljak has also worked as a columnist for the most important newspaper in Slovenia, "Delo".

His works have been translated in many languages, including English, German, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Czech, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Rumanian, Slovak, Finnish, and Catalan (by Simona Škrabec).

Civil engagement

Since the mid 1980s, Debeljak has taken an active part in civil society movements. He has been one of the co-editors of the critical alternative journal "Nova revija". He has also participated in the social liberal think tank Forum 21, led by the former President of Slovenia Milan Kučan.

References

See also

*Slovene literature
*Culture of Slovenia

External links

* [http://old.fdv.uni-lj.si/osebne/Debeljak.htm Personal Page (Faculty for Social Sciences, Ljubljana)]
* [http://www.fdv.uni-lj.si/osebne/Debeljak.htm Biography and bibliography]