Poetry
Duma
Not translated into English
Oton Župančič · 1908
Synopsis
A long poem about the native land. The poet brings back the images of a happy countryside, the beauty of the landscapes and the memory of a carefree youth. But beneath the idyll one reads the impoverishment of the peasants, the decline of the rural economy, social unrest and the pain of those whom poverty drives to emigrate, and the song of the land gradually blends with that of exile.
Context
The poem appeared in early 1908 and was included the same year in a collection that established its author as a poet of maturity, between philosophical reflection, love and patriotism. It was written at a time when emigration to America was emptying the Slovenian countryside, even in the poet's native region, Bela krajina. Its author is regarded as the greatest national poet after Prešeren.
Who it is for
A long lyric poem; a few notes on the departures of Slovenes across the Atlantic help in reading it. There is no French translation.
Prizes and reception
Regarded as its author's masterpiece, an author whom Slovenia honoured in 1948 with the title of People's Artist.