Radovan Ivšić
Radovan Ivšić (June 22, 1921 – December 25, 2009) was a Croatian writer, best known for his drama Kralj Gordogan and book of poems Crno. Ivšić spent his life uncompromisingly in the spirit of liberty. Such values brought him close to the surrealist movement.
Radovan Ivšić
- Name
- Radovan Ivšić
- Born
- 22 June 1921
- Birthplace
- Zagreb, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes
- Died
- 25 December 2009
- Place of death
- Paris, France
- Occupation
- Poet, dramatist, translator
- Education
- University of Zagreb
- Movement
- Surrealism
- Spouse
- Annie Le Brun
- Nationality
- Croatia · France
- Fields
- poetry · drama · creative and professional writing · translation
- Known for
- King Gordogan
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Radovan Ivšić (June 22, 1921 – December 25, 2009) was a Croatian writer, best known for his drama Kralj Gordogan and book of poems Crno. Ivšić spent his life uncompromisingly in the spirit of liberty. Such values brought him close to the surrealist movement.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Radovan Ivšić. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q2056154 · wikipedia · Radovan Ivšić
In this article
Biography
Biography
He was a friend of André Breton and Toyen and was one of the signers of the last Manifeste du surréalisme, 1955. His best-known statements are “Never give up your dreams” and paraphrase “We are our dreams”.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Radovan Ivšić • Born — 22 June 1921 • Birthplace — Zagreb, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes • Died — 25 December 2009 • Place of death — Paris, France • Occupation — Poet, dramatist, translator • Education — University of Zagreb • Period — 20th century • Genre — Poetry, drama, essays • Movement — Surrealism • Notable Works — King Gordogan • Spouse — Annie Le Brun • Relatives — Stjepan Ivšić (father)
Biography
Biography
He was a son of Stjepan Ivšić, a Croatian linguist, Slavist, accentologist, and Rector of University of Zagreb (1940–43). After Classical High School and graduation from the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, in 1954 he relocated to Paris, where he remained for the rest of his life.
Controversy
Controversy
The fascist prime minister of Croatia during World War II, Ante Pavelić, personally ordered confiscation of Ivšić's first book, Narcis. His theatrical play Kralj Gordogan was banned in Croatia by both the fascist and communist dictatorships until 1979. Ivšić criticized cheap politics, communism, and false surrealism. He was a critic of Miroslav Krleža, often regarded as the greatest Croatian writer of the 20th century. Ivšić rejected all awards and medals.
Selected works
Selected works
• Daha (drama), 1941 • Narcis (poem), 1942 • Kralj Gordogan (drama), 1943 • Kapetan Oliver (drama), 1944 • Vodnik pobjednik (drama), 1944 • Snjeguljica (drama), 1948 • Tanke (collection of poems), 1954 • Akvarij (drama), 1954 • Mavena (collection of poems), 1960 • Mavena (collection of poems), 1972 • Autour ou dedans (collection of poems), 1974 • Crno (collection of poems), 1974 • Bunar u kuli (collection of poems), 1974 • Aixaia ili Moći reći (drama), 1983 • Sunčani grad (drama)
Career and activity
Career and activity
Radovan Ivšić worked in poetry, drama, creative and professional writing and translation. His work is associated with surrealism.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1921
Radovan Ivšić born at Zagreb.
2009
Radovan Ivšić died at 15th arrondissement of Paris.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Zagreb.
Birth place
15th arrondissement of Paris.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Radovan Ivšić”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2056154: Radovan Ivšić
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Relevé des fichiers de l'Insee
- 2.AFP, "Décès du poète croate Radovan Ivšić", Le Matin, 7 janvier 2010 et Maurice Nadeau, article nécrologique dans La Quinzaine littéraire, du 16 janvier 2010, p. 27.
- 3.Étienne-Alain Hubert, « Le silence à l'orée de la forêt peureuse », préface à Radovan Ivšić, Poèmes, Gallimard, coll. « Blanche », 2004, p. 8.
- 4.Patrick Kéchichian, « Radovan Ivsic, poète et dramaturge croate », Le Monde, 20 janvier 2010 https://www.lemonde.fr/disparitions/article/2010/01/20/radovan-ivsic-poete-et-dramaturge-croate_1294324_3382.html.
- 5.Annie Le Brun, « Entre le vide et l'écho », postface à Teatar de Radovan Ivsic, Éd. Prolog, 1978 ; repris dans À distance, Jean-Jacques Pauvert aux éditions Carrère, 1984, p. 60.
- 6.Annie Le Brun, « Aiaxaia ou pouvoir dire », dans À distance, Jean-Jacques Pauvert aux éditions Carrère, 1984, p. 192.
- 7.Annie Le Brun, « Radovan Ivsic et la forêt insoumise », dans Un espace inobjectif. Entre les mots et les images, Gallimard, coll. « Art et Artistes », 2019, p. 249.
- 8.Rappelez-vous cela, rappelez-vous bien tout - Blanche - GALLIMARD - Site Gallimard. www.gallimard.fr.
- 9.BnF catalogue général - Notice bibliographique. catalogue.bnf.fr.
- 10.BnF catalogue général - Notice bibliographique. catalogue.bnf.fr.
- 11.Annie Le Brun, « Aiaxaia ou pouvoir dire », dans À distance, Jean-Jacques Pauvert aux éditions Carrère, 1984, p. 193.
- 12.Annie Le Brun, « Radovan Ivsic et la forêt insoumise », dans Un espace inobjectif. Entre les mots et les images, Gallimard, coll. « Art et Artistes », 2019, p. 248.
- 13.Étienne-Alain Hubert, « Le silence à l'orée de la forêt peureuse », préface à Radovan Ivšić, Poèmes, Gallimard, coll. « Blanche », 2004, p. 13.
- 14.Patrick Kéchichian, « Radovan Ivsic, poète et dramaturge croate », Le Monde, 20 janvier 2010.
- 15.Entretiens avec Radovan Ivšić, Iztok, n°9, septembre 1984, La presse anarchiste : lire en ligne.
- 16.Radovan Ivšić, Tanke, in Crno i crno, Zagreb, Matica hrvatska, 2003, p. 184.
- 17.Radovan Ivšić, Novi list, 3-12, 1998, repris dans U neprovat, opet, Zagreb, NZMH, 2002, et cité par Annie Le Brun, « La couleur du rêve », dans Ailleurs et autrement, Paris, Gallimard, coll. « Arcades », 2011, p. 198.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 5
- Annie Le Brun, « Entre le vide et l'écho », postface à Teatar de Radovan Ivšić, Zagreb, Éd. Prolog, 1978 ; repris dans À distance, Paris, Jean-Jacques Pauvert aux éditions Carrère, 1984, p. 60-70.
- Annie Le Brun, « Aiaxaia ou pouvoir dire », préface à Pouvoir dire ou Aiaxaia, dans À distance, Paris, Jean-Jacques Pauvert aux éditions Carrère, 1984, p. 192-197.
- Étienne-Alain Hubert, « Le silence à l'orée de la forêt peureuse », préface à Radovan Ivšić, Poèmes, Paris, Gallimard, coll. « Blanche », 2004.
- Annie Le Brun, Radovan Ivšić et la forêt insoumise, Paris, coédition Gallimard/Musée d'art contemporain de Zagreb, 2015.
- Annie Le Brun, « Radovan Ivšić et la forêt insoumise », dans Un espace inobjectif. Entre les mots et les images, Paris, Gallimard, coll. « Art et Artistes », 2019, p. 227-256.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,529 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Radosav StojanovićAuthor
- Radoslav RochallyiAuthor
- Radosław SikorskiAuthor
- Radovan BrenkusAuthor
- Radovan KaradžićAuthor
- Radovan ZogovićAuthor
- Radoy RalinAuthor
- Radu D. RosettiAuthor
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Radovan Ivšić?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.