Oslobodnjenje / FACM 02.02.2017
Predrag Matvejević, a prominent scholar of Bosnian, Croatian and Italian descent, died after a long illness.
Predrag Matvejević, one of the most famous publicists in South Eastern Europe, was born in Mostar in 1932. In Sarajevo he finished elementary and secondary school, and at the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo, he studied Romance languages, and the study was completed in Zagreb.
He completed his doctorate in comparative literature and aesthetics at the University of Paris Sorbonne in 1967, and in 1994 acquired regular professorship. At the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb he taught French literature from 1959 to 1991, at the third University of Paris (Sorbonne Nouvelle) he taught Slavic literature from 1991 to 1994, and from 1994 to 2007, he taught Serbian and Croatian, and Serbian and Croatian literature at the University of Rome La Sapienza.
His “Mediterranean Breviary” has been translated into many languages of the world, from Tokyo to Los Angeles.
Sixty prominent Italian artists signed a one year initiative to Predrag Matvejevic awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature because of the “Mediterranean Breviary.” Among the pioneers of this idea were the famous Italian writer Umberto Eco and Claudio Magris.
He is a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2002 and of the Council of the left-wing magazine New Flame (Novi Plamen).
He was an honorary vice-president for life of the International PEN Club in London, and president of the Scientific Council of the Mediterranean Laboratory in Naples. He was also a policy consultant for the Mediterranean European Commission.
Holder of the medals that have been given to the presidents of several countries – Stjepan Mesic awarded him “the Order of Croatian Danica” with the face of Marko Marulić in 2001, while in France he received the highest award – National Order of the Legion of Honor.
As a member of his Advisory Council, Matvejevic participated by videoconference at the IV Mediterranean Citizens´Assembly meeting held in Istanbul from 21 to 24 November 2013. His reflections on the dialectic peace and war in the Mediterranean is still being current today. You can watch his intervention here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMIGgH5RArk
Translated by Tea Ivanović