“Dear Papa”, Father and Son in the Poetic Oeuvre and Private Correspondence of Alojz Gradnik

Abstract

The present work focuses on the intimate sphere, on the relationship between father and son in Alojz Gradnik’s poetry and correspondence. Alojz Gradnik’s poetic world functioned primarily as an imaginary connection to his paternal ancestors, restoring the part of the poet’s intimate life that was taken away from him in real life, and that poetry was less a space in which his attachment to his son and heirs was reflected, because he lived it out in reality. In the world of poetry, Gradnik built up the image of his father, a peasant, which also reflected the poet’s admiration for his father, his moral firmness, diligence and care. At the same time, Gradnik built up the image of a grandfather in his poetry through Ivan Gradnik, one of the leaders of the Tolmin rebellion.