Matija Bećković

Matija Bećković OSS (Serbian Cyrillic: Матија Бећковић, pronounced [mǎtija bɛ̂tɕkɔʋitɕ]; born 29 November 1939) is a Serbian writer and poet. He is a full member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Life

Bećković was born in Senta, in the multiethnic province of Vojvodina (then Danube Banate, Kingdom of Yugoslavia), to a military family of Montenegrin Serbs. He graduated from the Valjevo Gymnasium in Valjevo in 1958. It was during his gymnasium years in Valjevo that he published his first poem, in the journal 'Mlada Kultura'. Furthermore, it was also in Valjevo that Bećković met Vera Pavladoljska, to whom the poem of the same name, published in 1960, was dedicated. Beckovic went on to marry Pavladoljska, and he remained married to her until her death.

Upon graduating from the Valjevo gymnasium, he entered the University of Belgrade, graduating with a degree in Yugoslav and world literature. He became a corresponding member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in 1983, becoming a full member in 1991.

Bećković is a close friend of Serbian former Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica, and an active supporter of his Democratic Party of Serbia.

He has been living in Belgrade since 1960. On the Montenegrin independence referendum, 2006, Bećković did not have a right to vote since he lives in Serbia. However, as a prominent Serb nationalist he fiercely advocated against Montenegrin independence, actively supporting the losing option during the pre-referendum campaign.

Poetic Style

A distinguishing feature of Bećković's poetry is its regionalism. Distinctly Serbian archaic dialect and phraseology permeate his work. This aspect of his work is most often lost when one reads it in translation.

Awards and recognitions

• 2007: Grand Cross of the Order of the White Eagle (Serbia)^[1]

Major works

• Vera Pavladoljska
• Metak Lutalica
• Tako je govorio Matija
• Dr. Janez Paćuka o međuvremenu
• O međuvremenu
• ČE: Tragedija koja traje (Published in English as CHE: Permanent Tragedy)
• Reče mi jedan čoek
• Međa Vuka Manitoga
• Lele i kuku
• Dva sveta
• Poeme
• Služba Svetom Savi
• O Njegošu
• Kaža
• Čiji si ti Mali?
• Nadkokot
• Služba
• Sabrane pesme
• Kosovo najskuplja srpska reč
• Ćeraćemo se još
• Kad budem mlađi (Published in English as: When I'm Younger)

References

• Bećković, Matija. Izabrane Pesme i Poeme. Belgrade: Bigz, 1990.
• Petković, Novica. "Twentieth century literature". Essays on Modern Serbian Bards. Ralph Bogert, Ed. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matija Bećković.

• Bećković's poems at the South Slavic Library - Mostly in Serbo-Croat, one English translation.
• Translated works by Matija Bećković