CANKAR, IVAN

born May 10, 1876, Vrhnika, Carniola, Austria-Hungary [now in Slovenia] died Dec. 11, 1918, Ljubljana, Slovenia Slovene writer and patriot. After a childhood spent in poverty, he went to Vienna and soon began to earn his living by his writings, which defended the oppressed and made satirical attacks upon those who exploited them. He returned to Slovenia in 1907. Cankar was a prolific writer of short stories, novels, articles, drama, and verse; he was also a political speaker and was imprisoned for his criticism of the Austrian regime. In spite of its tendentious nature, his work reveals an original stylesimple yet eloquent, subtle, and melodious. Cankar's collected works were edited by Izidor Cankar in 20 volumes (192536).