TIME IN THE NOVELS OF MILOS CRNJANSKI - Nottingham eTheses

CHAPTER ONE
draws on personal experience as material ~or
both his
tirst and last novels.
Crnjanski had an uneven literar~ career. He was
teted as the most outstandinz representative ot the
younzer ~eneration o~ modernist poets a~ter the First
World War.
Later, he was attacked by many tormer
triends because o~ his political views. His attempt to
make a career tor himsel~
as a diplomat tailed, and he
lived ~or man~ ~ears abroad. Durin~ the titties his
poetry provided sizniticant models tor new poets tired
o~ the constrictions o~ Socialist Realism; in tact, this
period is termed Crn;lanski's ttdru~o
razdoblje
modernizma tt (ttsecond period ot modernism" 110) b~
Aleksandar Petrov.
When he did return home he was
zreeted with wide acclaim tor his contribution to
Serbian literature. In 1966 a collected edition ot his
works appeared in ten volumes (111), to be ~ollowed b~
another collected edition in fourteen volumes in 1983.
His post-war novels rank him alon~side
such writers as
Mela Selimovi6, Ivo Andri6, and Mihailo Lali6 for their
depth o~ psycholo~ical insizht. Radovan Vu~kovi6.
indeed, draws a close parallel between Crn;ianski's
Dru~a knji~a seoba and Andri6's historical novels and
short storie. (112).
However. it is Crn;lanski's
contribution to the aesthetic. and poetics of Serbian
modernism which dominates discussion of his position and
status in Serbian literature Of the twentieth centurv.
,6