Aleksa Šantić Biography

Aleksa Šantić was a Bosnian Serb poet whose most famous works spanned the ending of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth. He lived in the multi-cultural Balkans and based his work on both sensitivities to emotional truth and historical awareness, aided by his residence in an area which is historically volatile. He worked prolifically as a poet, publishing over 800 poems and six collections during his lifetime. He became editor-in-chief of 'Zora', (Dawn) a review of current Bosnian cultural events. As he matured in his creative efforts by writing songs in addition to poems and plays, he expounded on Muslim themes in which gardens and romantic longing played large parts. His political awareness inspired him to present his service to the Serbian government during the crisis when Austria-Hungary formally annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina early in the twentieth century, and he repeated his courageous actions when the Balkan War began a few years later. Due to his patriotic stance and writings, he was taken hostage during World War I by the Austro-Hungarian forces occupying Bosnia. Ill health plagued him for much of his adult life, but despite this he continued writing for his country until his death. To know more about his life and works read on