Katarina A. Jovanovic

Katarina A. Jovanović (Belgrade, 8 April 1869 - Zurich, 31 May 1954) was a Serbian translator, literary historian, publicist, philosopher, journalist and humanitarian worker. She spent most of her life abroad. She lived in Serbia for only 16 years, and outside of 69. She translated some of the most important works of Serbian and Yugoslav literature into German. She has been awarded abroad for her top quality translations. For forty-two years, she was engaged in humanitarian work, helping Serbs in the Homeland and abroad in the most difficult moments of Serbian history. The Serbian Library in Zurich, the Katarina Jovanović Library, is named after her.

Family

She was born in Belgrade in Kosovska Street no. 25, and was the daughter of one of the most ardent Serbian photographers, Anastas Jovanović and mother Marija, and the half-sister of the famous Serbian architect, Konstantin Jovanović. Anastas raised her children in the national spirit, instructing them in the richness of Serbian culture. Mother Marija brought all their kindness, tenderness and intellectual spirit into their upbringing, and she especially insisted that their daughter unit should acquire a solid education, believing that women have no place only in the house.

Biography

After attending elementary school, Katarina continued her education through private lessons, learning from her brothers and father and reading books from her father's rich library. At the age of sixteen, in 1885, Katarina left Belgrade. She went to her half-brother Constantine in Vienna and continued her education there. She regularly visited Belgrade until 1899, when her father passed away. Due to the outbreak of World War I, she was forced to leave the capital and move to Switzerland. She settled in Zurich, where she lived with her brothers. In Belgrade, she lived at 7 Karadjordjeva Street. [1] [2]

In time, she became a great connoisseur of both Serbian and German. She even learned to use a specific Zurich dialect of German (the so-called Alemannic language or Swiss German). She used her linguistic knowledge for the benefit of her people, spreading the fame of Serbian literature around the world.

Works

Translation work Katarina Jovanović first translated "Gorski vijenac" and "Luča mikrokozma" into German, probably because Njegoš was her favorite writer. For this translation, she later (1939) received the prestigious Humboldt Prize awarded by the Munich Academy of Sciences. This book was printed in only 4,000 copies and most of them died in the bombing of Munich in 1944/45. years. Towards the end of her life, she prepared the second, revised edition of the translation of Vijenac and Luča, but she did not wait for their release.

Katarina Jovanović continued her translation and literary-historical work even after the translation of Njegoš. In 1932, the famous Zurich house Rocher published the book "Anthology of Yugoslav Literature - Poets and Narrators", selected and translated by Katarina Jovanović. This anthology excellently presented a cross-section of the history of Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian literature from the Middle Ages to the modern age to the German readership. It included poets from the nun Jefimija from the end of the 14th century to Desanka Maksimović and Gustav Krklec, and narrators from Laza Lazarević to Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović.

Almost two decades later, in 1951, the Rocher publishing house published Katarina's translation of Serbian folk epic songs from the Kosovo cycle. Katarina Jovanović dedicated this book to her friend Karl Špiteler (1845-1924), a Swiss poet, Nobel laureate and great lover of Serbs, Serbia, Serbian culture and especially poetry.

Author's work

Katarina Jovanović also wrote a large number of professional articles, as well as a biography of her father Anastas "On the life and work of Anastas Jovanović". She summed up her philosophical beliefs in the book "Basic Observation of Life", which she published in 1921 in Belgrade. She wrote this her only philosophical work in her mature life, when she was 56 years old. In this book, she presents her view of the universe, the world, man and life. Catherine adopted Kant-Laplace's theory of the origin of the universe. He views his whole life as a miracle of harmony. In her philosophical views, she moved away from traditional Orthodox teaching, e.g. interpreting the cross as a universal symbol of philanthropy without faith in a personal God.

Humanitarian work

Katarina began her humanitarian and charitable work during the Balkan Wars of 1912.1913. Then, with her help, a mission of the Swiss Red Cross was sent to Serbia, in which Katarina's friend Katarina Klara Sturzeneger worked.

Thanks to Katarina Jovanović and her Swiss friends, the Red Cross sent its mission and pain

References

• Translated from Serbian Wikipedia: https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%88%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%9B

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