Muse over Preseren

Central in the Old Town of Ljubljana, Slovenia, is Preseren Square, named after France Preseren, who was a 19th century poet. In the early 20th century he became famous enough to have a square named him but during his life he wasn’t recognized much, neither by a literary audience, nor by miss Julija Primic, to whom his attentions inclined with a hungry favor.


France Preseren statue in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Desperate by her rejection France reverted to that single great power writers have, namely to turn whatever’s real into fiction, or at least adapt it to such an extent that it can be molded into something bearable.
 

Muse over Preseren

France Preseren’s efforts were so effective that not only the legacy of Julija Primic but the whole of Slavic literature was pushed onto a new course. Today it’s difficult to find Slavic literature that is not in some way or other inspired by the work of Preseren.