Aleš Debeljak

Aleš Debeljak (25 December 1961 – 28 January 2016) was a Slovenian cultural critic, poet, and essayist.

Biography Debeljak was born in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, then part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to a family with rural origins; he was the first of the family to attend university. In his youth he was the junior Slovenian champion in judo, and got a silver medal at the Yugoslav championship. He stopped his sport career after an injury. He continued his studies in the United States, obtaining a PhD in sociology of culture at Syracuse University in 1989.

From the mid-1980s onwards, Debeljak took an active part in civil society movements. He decided to come back to Slovenia at the time of the dissolution of Yugoslavia as, he said, he did not want to become a "Balkan-observer" from abroad, but rather wanted to take part directly in those moments. Erica Johnson Debeljak, with whom he had three children. He died on 28 January 2016, when he was struck and killed by a truck.

Poetic works Debeljak began publishing poetry in his college years. He was spotted by the poet Veno Taufer who helped him in the literary scene.

Debeljak's poetry is noted for its melancholy and a new reaffirmation of traditional values such as family and God. An opponent to the everything-goes schools of modern thought, such as postmodernism, Debeljak's work was informed by an "Enlightenment" ideal of right and wrong, good and bad.

Debeljak was an extremely prolific writer. In addition to poetry and cultural criticism, Debeljak also worked as a columnist for the most important newspaper in Slovenia, Delo. His works have been translated in many languages.

List of works Works published or translated in English: The Hidden Handshake: National Identity and Europe in The Post Communist World (Rowman & Littlefield, New York & Oxford 2004). Reluctant Modernity: The Institution of Art and its Historical Forms (Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham & New York 1998). Twilight of the Idols: Recollections of a Lost Yugoslavia (Wite Pine Press, Fredonia & New York 1994). Persistence of Modernity: Critical Social Theory of Modern vs. Postmodern Institution of Art (UMI, Ann Arbor, 1994). Smugglers (BOA Editions, Ltd., Rochester, 2015)