After the Second World War, around 20,000 Slovenians left Yugoslavia for ideological and political reasons. Having spent several years in displaced persons camps in Italy and Austria, they settled in various countries in Europe, the USA, Canada, South America and Australia.

Slovenians in exile founded cultural organizations which served to connect them and preserve their identity and culture. Many dedicated their free time to writing, singing and performing in Slovenian to nurture and preserve their language and tradition.

In 1954, Slovenska kulturna akcija (Slovenian Cultural Action) was founded in Buenos Aires with the aim of bringing together Slovenian authors at home and abroad, those “who want to help create and disseminate cultural values, especially Slovenian ones, through creative and intermediary work”. One of the first tasks of the Slovenian Cultural Action (SKA) was the launch of a magazine for art and literature, Meddobje (‘Inter-century’), and the newspaper Glas (‘Voice’).

Cover of an issue of Meddobje (Buenos Aires, (1954-) ZA.9.a.2053.

Founded in 1954, the cultural magazine Meddobje was financed by subscription and donations from supporters. A total of 116 volumes were published until 2021. The image on the front cover is a detail of the linocut ‘Stalagmiti and Stalagtiti’ (1953), the work of the painter Božidar Kramolc. All issues of Meddobje from 1954 to 2018 are available from the Digital Library of Slovenia.

Front page of Glas: Slovenske kulturne akcije, vol. 20. no 10-11, October-November 1973 (Buenos Aires, 1954- ) ZA.9.b.609

The 1973 issue of Glas was dedicated to the Slovenian poet France Balantič (1921-1943), one of the most prominent Slovenian poets before and during World War II. He is regarded as one of the best Slovenian sonnet writers. The portrait of Balantič is by Marijan Tršar (1922-2010), a painter, graphic artist, publicist and art critic. All issues of Glas from 1954 to 2022 are also available from the Digital Library of Slovenia, as are the proceedings of the organisation, titled Vrednote (‘Values’), for 1951, 1954-1955, 1957 and 1968.

The Slovenian Cultural Action organised cultural evenings, lectures, art exhibitions, concerts and theatre performances, among other events. They also served as a publishing house. Their authors published books that could not be published in Yugoslavia for ideological, political or personal reasons. From the beginning, they focused on publishing works by Slovenians who lived abroad.

Cover of Karel Mauser, Jerčevi galjoti (Buenos Aires, 1958) YA.1993.a.19735. The cover illustration is by Metka Žirovnik.

The publishing activity was vibrant from the start, and in the first years six to ten titles were published annually. These books represent a valuable contribution by the diaspora writers to the Slovenian art and literature in general. 

Frontispiece of Božanska komedija. Pekel, a Slovenian translation of Dante’s Inferno by Tine Debeljak (Buenos Aires, 1959) YA.1992.a.20316. The woodcut illustration above is by Bara Remec, a painter, book illustrator and founder of the SKA School of Art in Buenos Aires. The frontispiece ‘Dante’ is dedicated to Jože Debevec (1867-1938), a theologian and writer, the first translator of the entire Divine Comedy into Slovenian, and a writer of commentary.

A woodcut by Bara Remec in Božanska komedija. Pekel

Slovenian émigré publishing in North America is well represented by the Studia Slovenica, which was founded in Washington in 1957 by the economist and librarian Janez Arnež (1923-2021), together with two of his colleagues and collaborators, ten years after the arrival of the first Slovenian political émigrés. This institute published and distributed books about Slovenia and the Slovenian Diaspora in its two series. In total, 38 titles were published. Studia Slovenica comprehensively collected printed and archival material, manuscripts, work-related and private papers by Slovenians living outside Slovenia. This large and rich archive of Slovenian émigré publications and private papers found a permanent home at the St. Stanislav Institute in Ljubljana in 1991.

Thousands of books, periodicals, newspapers, ephemera, manuscripts and private papers are the record of the cultural life of the Slovenians in their new communities abroad. Arnež and his Studia Slovenica diligently collected and saved all these valuable primary sources of émigré religious, educational, and cultural life for future generations, as an important and integral part of the Slovenian national heritage. This archive is an indispensable resource for the history of Slovenian emigration and the study of Slovenian printed word outside Slovenia.

Cover of Marijan Marolt, Slovenska likovna umetnost v zamejstvu (‘Slovenian fine art abroad’), with drawings by Ivan Bukovec (Buenos Aires, 1959) YA.1993.a.19600

Page from Zgodovinski Atlas Slovenije (Buenos Aires, 1960) Maps 203.d.37.

The Zgodovinski Atlas Slovenije (‘Historical Atlas of Slovenia’) was first printed in a displaced persons camp in 1948 as a textbook by the classical philologist Roman Pavlovčič and his students, and was reprinted as the 40th publication of the Slovenian Cultural Action in 1960.

A collection of poems by Vladimir Truhlar, Rdeče bivanje (‘Red stay’). Front cover by France Papež (Buenos Aires, 1961) YA.1993.a.19760

A collection of short stories by Jože Krivec, Pij, fant, grenko pijačo! (‘Drink, boy, a bitter drink!’). Front cover by Ivan Bukovec (Buenos Aires, 1978) YA.1993.a.19712

Milan Grba, Lead Curator South-East European Collections

Useful bibliographies and catalogues on written cultural heritage of Slovenian émigré communities:

Jože Bajec, Slovensko izseljensko časopisje, 1891-1945 (Ljubljana, 1980) X.950/23786 

John A Arnež, Slovenski tisk iz begunskih taborišč v Avstriji in Italiji, 1945-1949: seznam Tiska Razstvljenega v Zavodu Sv. Stanislava Ljubljana-Šentvid = Slovenian printed material from the DP camps in Austria and Italy, 1945-1949 : catalog of items exhibited at the Zavod Sv. Stanislava Ljubljana-Šentvid  (Ljubljana; New York, 1993) YF.2006.a.17247 

France Papež, Zbornik Slovenske kulturne akcije 1954-1994 (Buenos Aires, 1994) YA.1996.b.6819 

Janez A. Arnez, Slovenski tisk v ZDA in Kanadi, 1940-1997 = Slovenian printed material in the USA and Canada (Ljubljana; Washington, 1997) Ac.9233.wb.(19) 

Janez A Arnež, Slovenski tisk v begunskih taboriščih v Avstriji 1945-1949  (Ljubljana; Washington, 1999) Ac.9233.wb.(20) 

Marijan Eiletz, Zbornik Slovenske kulturne akcije, 1954-2004 (Buenos Aires, 2004). YF.2022.a.11392

In June, the British Library hosted two special events dedicated to Stanisław Wyspiański (1869–1907), a visionary artist, writer, and designer whose work continues to captivate audiences across Europe. Timed to coincide with the wider cultural spotlight of the UK/Poland Season and led by the British Council and the Polish Cultural Institute, these events offered a chance to explore Wyspiański’s extraordinary creative legacy and reflect on the broader role of Polish collections in the British Library’s holdings.

Illustration by Wyspiański from Tadeusz Miciński’s W mroku gwiazd (Kraków, 1902) 11586.aaa.3.

As curator of Polish collections, I often think about how we can make European materials resonate across cultural and linguistic boundaries. How can we make our collections engaging and meaningful for British audiences, while remaining rooted in the heritage of diaspora communities? With that in mind, we designed two events that both celebrated the richness of Polish culture and built bridges between artistic traditions.

Dr Julia Griffin delivering a lecture during the workshop for students from The Courtauld Institute of Art

The first was a workshop for students from the Courtauld Institute of Art. We piloted a new format that combined an introductory lecture with a hands-on show-and-tell session using materials from the Library’s collection. Dr Julia Griffin opened the session with an engaging lecture titled ‘Wyspiański and William Morris – Parallels in Art, Philosophy, and the Book Beautiful’, exploring the resonances between Wyspiański and the Young Poland cultural phenomenon and the British Arts and Crafts movement spearheaded by Morris. Both artists championed the idea that beauty and craftsmanship should be woven into everyday life, and both blurred the lines between disciplines: painting, design, poetry, printing, and architecture.

Show-and-tell session during the workshop for students from The Courtauld Institute of Art

Following the lecture, Catriona Gourlay, Curator of Printed Heritage Collections, and I presented a selection of collection items that brought the discussion to life. Students had the chance to experience the materials up close, engaging with the physicality and artistry of the objects. It was a rare opportunity to see Wyspiański’s vision not just described, but felt in colour, form, and texture.

Show-and-tell session during the workshop for students from The Courtauld Institute of Art

We continued our journey into Wyspiański’s world on the evening of 5 June with a public panel discussion ‘Stanisław Wyspiański, a kind of Polish William Morris, to whom no form of art came amiss’. Our panellists – Dr Alison Smith (Wallace Collection), Dr Julia Griffin (William Morris Gallery), and Roisin Inglesby (William Morris Gallery)—explored how Wyspiański’s achievements fit within the wider Arts and Crafts context. A true polymath of the Young Poland movement, Wyspiański poured his creative energy into painting, stained glass, typography, furniture, scenography, and most famously, his symbolist plays. He fused word, image, and form into a single, breath-taking expression of artistic life. His practice defied neat categorisation – there was no separation between mediums, and everyday life was inseparable from art.

Pages from A Note by William Morris on his aims in founding the Kelmscott Press: together with a short description of the Press by S.C. Cockerell, and an annotated list of the books printed thereat (Hammersmith, 1898) C.43.c.17.

The discussion highlighted parallels with Morris and the shared ideals that united these artists across borders: a reverence for tradition, a belief in the moral and spiritual power of art, and a determination to bring beauty into daily life.

What emerged from the discussion was not only a portrait of a brilliant and restless creative mind, but also a reflection on Europe’s shared artistic heritage—how ideas, influences, and ideals travelled across languages and nations, and continue to do so today.

As we look ahead, I hope we can continue to offer opportunities to explore the richness of Polish culture in dialogue with British and European traditions. Wyspiański reminds us that imagination knows no borders – and that art, in its highest form, brings us closer to one another.

Both events were organised with the kind support of the Polish Cultural Institute. You can view a full recording of the discussion panel on the Institute's YouTube channel. 

There is currently an exhibition on Stanisław Wyspiański’s portraits at the National Portrait Gallery, and we are excited to continue the Polish season at the Library with more events planned for the second half of the year.

Meanwhile, you can read more about Wyspiański’s life and work in our earlier blog post.

Olga Topol, Curator Slavonic and East European Collections

For the second consecutive year, I have the honour of being a judge at Premio Strega, the main literary prize in Italy. It is an extraordinary opportunity to immerse myself in Italian literature for a few weeks and see how it is evolving. I like the style of the new Italian fiction. It is braver, more instinctive, daring. The language is more natural.

The twelve books I read are the ‘best’ works of fiction published in Italy in 2024, according to the Premio Strega committee. These are very personal works, almost always containing autobiographical elements. The themes that dominate this edition are the Italian family – or what is left of it – and the city.

The urban landscape takes centre stage: Bari, Messina, Napoli, Portofino, Torino are the true protagonists, vulnerable, exposed in their worst moments. Messina is devastated by the 1908 earthquake in Nadia Terranova’s Quello che so di te, Naples struggles after the Second World War in Elisabetta Rasy’s Perduto è questo mare, Portofino in winter in Valerio Aiolli’s Portofino Blues is far from the touristic hotspot that it becomes in summer, Bari is afflicted by speculative urbanism in Elvio Carrieri’s Poveri a Noi.

Carrieri, at 21 years old, is the youngest of the competitors, who are truly of all ages, and are published by a great variety of small and medium publishers: the big houses are in a minority this year. It is a great victory for bibliodiversity and authors come from the whole of the peninsula, and beyond.

Poster with the ‘dozzina’, the 12 books nominated for this year's Premio Strega Prize

Academic and novelist Renato Martinoni is the most prominent Swiss-Italian author of his generation. In Ricordi di suoni e di luci, Martinoni tells the story of poète maudit Dino Campana and of the very rare first edition of his Canti Orfici (we own the second edition: Florence, 1928; 20009.f.11, published in 1928, when Campana was in a mental institution), giving a voice to Giovanni Segantini’s alpine landscapes and offering a very well researched work of literature.

Giovanni Segantini, Pascoli alpini, 1893, Kunsthaus Zürich. Image from Wikimedia Commons

Paolo Nori’s Chiudo la porta e urlo succeeds in being at the same time a diary, a collection of translations of poems by Raffaello Baldini, a dialectal poet from Romagna, and a love letter for Russian culture and literature – a subject in which Nori is an expert, often referring to his biography of Dostoevsky and to his more recent book on poet Anna Achmatova. Some of Nori’s earlier works are in our collections and he is a very witty and original author.

Who will win this year? A favourite is Nadia Terranova with Quello che so di te, a personal work that talks about the author’s own experience of motherhood and links it with the mental health issues suffered by her great-grandmother. It is a well accomplished work, and Terranova is not new to Strega, her book Addio fantasmi (‘Farewell, Ghosts’) was finalist in 2019 and Trema la notte has just been translated as ‘The Night Trembles’.

My personal preference goes to Andrea Bajani’s L’anniversario, a moving story of estrangement from his family and overcoming trauma through writing. I found it a perfectly written book and reading it has been an absolute joy. The winner will be announced on 4 July, but I am already looking forward to reading next year’s books!

Valentina Mirabella, Curator, Romance Collections

References:

Dino Campana, Canti Orfici (Florence, 1928) 20009.f.11

Paolo Nori, Sanguina ancora: l’incredibile vita di Fëdor Michajlovič Dostoevskij: romanzo (Milan, 2021) YF.2021.a.14813

Nadia Terranova, Addio fantasmi (Turin, 2018) YF.2022.a.16235

Nadia Terranova, Trema la notte (Turin, 2022) YF.2023.a.6732