Stevan Sremac

Stevan Sremac (, ; sometimes Anglicized as Strematz; Stevan Sremac had a brother, Andrija Sremac, who later became a wealthy man and lived and worked in New Jersey. He was the 1st vice-president of the Serbian National Defense Council (Srpska Narodna Odbrana).

He spent his early childhood in the city of his birth, and moved to Belgrade to study after his mother died.

While still a university student, he joined the Serbian Army and participated in the 1876 and 1877–1878 wars as a volunteer. In 1878 he graduated from Belgrade's Velika škola in philosophy and history.

He became a teacher, working in this profession for the rest of his life—in the southern Serbia's cities of Pirot, Niš and Belgrade.

Literary work Sremac's period spent in Niš was his most productive period. During this period, he published Božićna pečenica (1893), Ivkova slava (1895), Vukadin (1903), Limunacija na selu (1896), Pop Ćira i pop Spira (1898), Čiča Jordan (1903), and Zona Zamfirova (1906).

Stevan Sremac's characters are usually small merchants, clerks, priests, artists, and just simple folk in small Serbian towns. The plots are placed in his native Vojvodina, Bačka in particular, Belgrade, and mostly, southern parts of Serbia.

Legacy

Many of his works were turned into films; his most popular novel Pop Ćira i pop Spira was made into TV series in 1980s, while feature films Zona Zamfirova (2002) and Ivkova slava (2005), both by director Zdravko Šotra saw huge success in Serbia and Montenegro.

He is included in The 100 most prominent Serbs. Selected works Božićna pečenica (Christmas Roast) (1893) Ivkova slava (Ivko's slava) (1895) Limunacija na selu (Illemonation in the Village) (1896) Pop Ćira i pop Spira (Priest Ćira and Priest Spira) (1898) Iz knjiga starostavnih (From Ancient Books) (1903—1909). Vukadin (1903) Čiča Jordan (Uncle Yordan) (1903) Zona Zamfirova (1906)