Luko Paljetak


Luko Paljetak was a Croatian poet, writer, literary translator, literary historian, theatre critic, puppet theatre director, known for his work about Dubrovnik, ludist poetry and literary translations from various European languages. He was both member of the Croatian [Academy of Sciences and Arts|Croatian] and Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts as well as Academie Européene L. da Vinci. He published more than 150 books, mostly poetry and children's literature, but also two novels, several radio plays, feuilletons, essays and theatrical reviews.
He was nominated for Hans [Christian Andersen Award] in 1997 and Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2016. He was included in IBBY's Honour List in 2002.

Biography

Born in Dubrovnik in 1943 to his father Niko and mother Marija Skvičalo, where he spent his childhood and attended elementary and secondary teacher's school as well as Pedagogical Academy. He graduated Croatian and English studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zadar in 1968. Paljetak earned his doctorate at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb in 1992 with disertation Književno djelo Ante Cettinea.

Poetry

Due to prevalent ludism in his poetry, he was designated as "poeta ludens of the Croatian poetry". Paljetak is among the most productive contemporary Croatian poets.

Translations

Paljetak translated from English, Spanish, French, Slovene, Italian and Russian.
Most notable translations are those of the Joyce's Ulysses, Shakespeare's sonnets, The Canterbury Tales and "Anthology of the English romanticism poetry". Prior to his death, he translated Pearl and Chesterton's The Ballad of the White Horse.

Acknowledgements

Most notable accolades include: