France Prešeren

Slovenian poet France Prešeren (1800 - 1849) was contemporary (and in some cases translator) of such great Romantic poets as Mickiewitz, Pushkin, lord Byron and others. Born in to a rural family, he was supposed to become a priest, but instead studied philosophy and later law at the university of Vienna. In the early 19th century, literature proper in Slovenian was just being born, and Prešeren’s poetry was a decisive contribution to this development. A well-read man and polyglot (also writing poetry in German and even Latin), he was influenced by Romantic aesthetic theories and contemporary poetry as well as European classics. One of the masters of the poetic form, especially the sonnet, he is considered to be among the best Romantic poets.

Prešeren’s poems are now available as poetry should be: for listening, not silent reading. It is not by chance that Slovenian has the same word for “poem” and “song”.

To find out more, visit Wikipedia or Britannica on-line.