Radovan Zogovic

Born Aug. 19, 1907, in the village of Mašnica, Montenegro. Montenegrin poet.

As a university student in Skoplje (where he graduated in philosophy in 1933), Zogovic participated in the struggle against the monarchist-fascist regime in Yugoslavia. In the 1930’s he was editor of and contributor to progressive literary journals; as a communist he was subjected to arrests. He was an active participant in the national liberation struggle of 1941-45 and in the postwar socialist construction.

In the beginning Zogovic’s poetry was distinguished by its civic spirit and its protests against the injustice of the social order. From the late 1930’s it focused on the revolutionary changes throughout the world and on their humanistic con-tent. The leitmotif of Zogovic’s poetry is the search for new ethical values for fighters for freedom, and their affirmation. His richly orchestrated poetry combines organically the rhythms of a battle march and the deep sincerity of a lyrical poet. Zogovic was also a prose writer, journalist, and literary critic. He wrote with great love about the Soviet Union and, as a translator, turned naturally to the works of V. V. Mayakovsky, M. Gorky, and L. M. Leonov.