Comment: | Dr. Jovan Skerlić (1877, Belgrade – 1914, Belgrade) was a Serbian writer and critic. He is, in fact, regarded one of the most influential Serbian literary critics of the early 20th century. He studied history and French philology in Belgrade and continued his studies in graduate programs at the Universities of Lausanne, Paris and Munich. In 1904 he returned to Serbia, where he taught French and French Literature at the Grande École, where he became a professor of Serbian Literature in1905. Skerlić was a member of the Serbian Parliament and founder as well as editor of several literary periodicals. His political views made him an ally of the Serbian socialist Svetozar Marković, and at the beginning of 20th century he became a member of the Independent Radical Party. His ideologies formed the basis of the Yugoslav national youth and he advocated a common Serbo-Croatian language and national unity. He was married to Klara from Austria, whom he got to know at the University of Lausanne. |
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