Park of the Greats

ALEKSA ŠANTIĆ

(1868–1924)

...And wherever there is a Serbian soul,
There is my homeland,
My home and my native hearth

My homeland, Aleksa Šantić

Aleksa Šantić, a Serbian writer and associate member of the Serbian Royal Academy, was born on May 27, 1868, into a merchant family in Mostar, where he spent most of his life. It is for this reason that Šantić is often referred to as the poet of Mostar. He lost his father at an early age and lived with his uncle. He had brothers Jakov and Jefan, and sisters Persa and Zorica. He completed his primary education in Mostar, after which he attended trade schools in Ljubljana and Trieste.

He was one of the editors of the literary magazine "Zora", which he started with Jovan Dučić and Svetozar Ćorović. His social and cultural work, through which he served the Serbian people in the city on the Neretva River, did not end there. He founded the Serbian Singing Society "Gusle" and was the first vice president of the Mostar branch of"Prosvjeta". He was also a contributor to "Bosanska vila" and numerous other magazines. Due to his activities and belonging to the Mostar literary circle, he was arrested by the Austro-Hungarian authorities.

In addition to poetry, Šantić wrote verse dramas and was engaged in translation work. Before he developed his own literary expression, Šantić's work was influenced by Serbian poets like Radicevic, Zmaj, and Vojislav Ilić.

Šantić's poems, among which the most famous are "Mi znamo sudbu", "Emina", "Pretprazničko veče", "Ostajte ovdje", and "Moja otadžbina", are imbued with patriotic, elegiac, and love themes. His love poetry brings to life the ambiance and scents of the south, the stone of Herzegovina, the blossoms of the orange trees, and the fountains, while his patriotic poetry is marked by his love for the people from whom he originated and the memory of their martyrdom.

Aleksa Šantić died of tuberculosis in Mostar on February 2, 1924.

In honor of Aleksa Šantić, numerous schools in Republika Srpska and Serbia carry his name, and every third year, the literary event "Šantić's Evenings of Poetry" awards a prize bearing his name.