JOVAN JOVANOVIĆ ZMAJ – FOUNDER OF SERB CHILDREN'S POETRY

BIJELJINA, JUNE 13 /SRNA/ – Jovan Jovanović, known as Zmaj Jova or Uncle Jova Zmaj, the founder of Serb children's poetry, died on June 14, 1904.

Jovanović was one of the most prolific poets of Serb romanticism. He completed studies in law and medicine while also founding and editing numerous literary magazines.

In 1858, Zmaj published his first poem, "About Gaša", and during his lifetime wrote around 450 poems for children.

Some of his best-known poems include "What a Beautiful World This Is", "The Duck School", "Mother's Darling", "Taši, Taši", "Winter, Winter, So What?", "The Frog Reads the Newspaper", and "A Gypsy Praises His Horse".

He also wrote poetry for adult readers, among his most famous works being "Am I No Longer Allowed to Love?", "My Dead", "Thinking of You", "Dead Flowers", and "Bright Graves".

After marrying his wife Ruža in 1862, he wrote some of his most beautiful poems, including "Tell Me, Tell Me, What Shall I Call You?", "Quiet Night, My Treasure Sleeps", and "You Have Fallen Asleep While I Remain Awake".

In 1863, while in Pest, Jovanović launched the satirical newspaper "Zmaj" /”Dragon"/, which later became the poet's nickname.

Following the deaths of his five children and his wife, Zmaj dedicated the poetry collection "Withered Rosebuds" /"Đulići uveoci"/ to them, describing his grief and sorrow.

Beginning in 1880, he edited "Neven", regarded by many as the finest children's magazine of its time. In 1882, the collections "Pevanija" and "Second Pevanija" were published, containing a large number of his humorous and children's poems that had previously appeared in various newspapers and magazines.

In 1883, he published the poem "What Is Being Heard?" in the literary-political journal "Starmali", in which he wrote about the hardships faced by Croats due to Austro-Hungarian attempts to Magyarize them and called on Serbs to help.

Some of Zmaj's most famous quotations are: "Knowledge is not merely knowing; true knowledge is sharing what you know," "A funeral is more beautiful when ideals bury their man than when a man buries his ideals," and "If you have fallen, do not stain yourself; if you have stained yourself, do not wallow in it."

One of the great admirers of Zmaj's poetry was the renowned Serb scientist Nikola Tesla. Tesla translated about ten of Zmaj's poems into English, considering him the greatest Serb poet.

Tesla's translations were published in the famous magazine "The Century", which also carried Tesla's essay dedicated to Zmaj. In it, he wrote a detailed biography of the great poet for American readers and revealed previously unknown details about the beginnings of Zmaj's literary career.

Thanks to Tesla, Zmaj became the first Serb writer to be translated and published in the United States.

In the poet's honour, Matica Srpska established the Zmaj Award for poetry in the Serbian language and also organises the Zmaj Children's Games in Novi Sad, considered the largest children's festival in Serbia.