Milica Mišković
1876–1967
| Spouse | Vladimir Mišković |
|---|---|
| Other names | Milica V. Mišković, Milica Petrović |
| Date of birth | April 10, 1876 |
| Date of death | 1967 |
| Web address |
Personal situation
Born as the third child of Mileva and Dimitrije Mita Petrović, she completed primary education and finished the Higher School for Girls in Belgrade. She quit her studies of history and geography at the Belgrade Higher School and married Vladimir K. Mišković (1867-1943), a prominent mining engineer who made a significant contribution to this branch of Serbian industry at the time. Her poetry was probably written in the decade when her five children were born: Vidosava (1901-1975), married name Maglić, Ivanka (1902-1987), married name Kolarž, Dragoslava (1904-1980), married name Radulović, Milena (1906-1931) and Branimir (1909-1940). A devoted mother, she spent her life following her husband in his transfers. She spent some time with her family in Senjski Rudnik, near Ćuprija, which later evoked warm memories. After her husband Vladimir retired, the whole family moved to Cetinjska St. in Belgrade. Both of her parents died before the wars in which Serbia participated in 1912-1918. She was with her children in Abacija (contemporary Opatija) when she received the news of the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum to Serbia, issued on July 23rd, 1914. Owing to her persistence and calmness, she managed to move her children and herself to Belgrade during a calm spell in WW1. She lost her three sisters, Anđa, Dragica and Nadežda, and her brother Vladimir shortly after that. Devastated, she managed to escape with her closest family to Thessaloniki on the last train. After wandering for some time, the family reunited in France, but only briefly – her daughters were moved to a catholic boarding house and her husband was assigned to a job in a mine in Blanzat, France. She stayed in Nice with her son, three sisters and brother. During repatriation, the Mišković family returned to Belgrade in 1919. First, they lived in Palmotićeva St., but then they bought a house in Svetogorska St., where their descendants still live today. After the terrible losses of her daughter Milena and son Branimir, an architect taught by Le Corbusier and a naval reserve lieutenant, she suffered another sad loss – her husband died. She died in 1967 and was buried in the family tomb at the New Cemetery in Belgrade.
(information taken from Olivera Nedeljković's work Milica V. Mišković, née Petrović (1876-1907) )
| Place of birth | Čačak |
|---|---|
| Place(s) of residence | Croatia, France, Greece, and Serbia |
| Place of death | Beograd |
| Nationality | Serbian |
| First language(s) | Serbian |
| Marital status | Married |
| Number of children | 5 |
| Name(s) of children | Vidosava, Ivanka, Dragoslava, Milena, Branimir |
| Gender of children | F (4) M (1) |
| Social class | Upper class |
| Education | School education |
Professional situation
In 1910, her collection of poetry entitled Pesme (Poems) was published. The harmoniously composed book of poetry opens with "Srpska pesma" ("The Serbian Poem"), which represents an apotheosis of patriotic poetry, alongside some other poems such as "Poleti, pesmo" ("Fly, Poem") and "Reci pesmo" ("Say, Poem"). It is followed by poems which deal with the centuries-old slavery of Serbs and misery of the South Slavic people under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The writer glorifies the Kosovo tradition and Dušan's Empire, believing in the power of poetry to preserve and strengthen the weakened national spirit. She dedicates her poems to certain places and historical events (Kosovo, Vardar, Dunav) and to persons (princess Jelena, Mihajlo Ilić, the hero of Javor). The last part of her collection consists of intimate lyrics with no significant thematic or formal advances. It expresses the feeling of longing for a loved one and contains many reflexive and descriptive passages. The most successful poems include "Jesen" ("Autumn") and "Noć" ("Night").
She published her poems as a married woman, under her husband's last name and with the first letter of his name between her first and married name.
It seems that Milica became part of the literary world without significant literary aspirations. Surrounded by talented and strong personalities, she was aware of her talent's potential and the extent to which she was willing to make sacrifices for it. This woman writer, as being more of a verse-maker than an authentic poet, saw her oeuvre as a way of paying tribute to the suffering of her nation, without being actively involved in the social and cultural life of the time. Understanding the duty of a poet in a Skerić-like manner, she celebrates her people, inspired by pathos and the same ideas which motivated her sisters – Nadežda, a true patriot, humanist and an artistic person, and Anđa, who managed to arouse the interest of Leo Tolstoy with her letters, which stimulated him to express his concerns about the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908.
| Profession(s) and other activities | poet |
|---|---|
| Language(s) in which she wrote | Serbian |
Works by this author
Reception
Reception after death
- Kʼo voda s odnetim cvetom (2009)
Authors read by this author
* Only authors in Knjiženstvo DB are shown