Janko Kersnik (4 September 1852 – 28 July 1897) was a writer and politician from Austria-Hungary who was an ethnic Slovenes. Together with Josip Jurčič, he is considered the most important representative of literary realism in the Slovene language.
Biography
Kersnik was born in Brdo Manor near
Lukovica in
Upper Carniola, then part of the
Austrian Empire Duchy of Carniola (now in
Slovenia).
His father Jože Kersnik was a district judge, while his mother Berta Höffern was a local
noblewoman. Kersnik grew up in a
bilingual, German-
Slovene language environment. He attended the German-language grammar school in
Ljubljana, but was expelled under accusations of Slovene nationalism.
He continued his studies under the private tutorship of
Fran Levec, an influential
Young Slovene literary historian.
He studied law at the University of Vienna and Graz, where he graduated in 1874. He worked in the Austro-Hungarian administration in Ljubljana between 1874 and 1878, where he opened a civil law notary office in his native Brdo pri Lukovici.
In the late 1870s, he became active in politics in the liberal Young Slovene party. In 1883, he was elected to the provincial diet. Together with Fran Šuklje, He belonged to the moderate faction of the Slovene Liberals, and opposed both the conservatism of the Old Slovenes, the centralism of Austrian liberals, and the Slovene radical national liberalism, advocated by Ivan Hribar and Ivan Tavčar.
He died in Ljubljana in 1897.
Literary work
Kersnik started his literary career as a German-language poet. Under the influence of Slovene
post-Romantic authors
Josip Stritar and
Simon Jenko, he began writing in
Slovene language. He first wrote in late
Romanticism style, but under the influence of his personal friend Josip Jurčič, he switched to
literary realism. He was a prolific author of short stories,
, and satires, in which he critically assessed the backwardness of the
Slovene Lands of his time, and the radicalization of political life.
Bibliography
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Na Žerinjah, 1876
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Rokovnjači – finished after death of Josipa Jurčiča, 1881
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Lutrski ljudje, 1882
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Ciklamen, 1883
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Gospod Janez, 1884
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Agitator, 1885
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Mačkova očeta, 1886
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Testament, 1887
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Dohtar Konec in njegov konj, 1888
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Kako je stari Molek tatu iskal, 1889
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Kmetske slike, 1891
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Jara gospoda, 1893
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Očetov greh, 1894
Sources
