France Balantič
Slovenian poet France Balantič was born on November 29, 1921. The very first publications of his poems in the Dom in svet journal (Home and World) reflect his exceptional talent. In 1944, his collections of poetry V ognju groze plapolam (I Flutter in the Fire of Horror) and Venec (The Wreath), were published posthumously. During the same year, the poet's name was honoured by several cultural events. After 1945, the memory of his work was primarily kept by the Slovenian community in Argentina. The first post-war collection of his Poems was published in 1956 in Buenos Aires: it was edited by Dr Tine Debeljak and illustrated by Bara Remec. In 1966, Mitja Mejak selected and edited the collection of poetry Muževna steblika (The Sappy Stem); it was published by the Državna založba Slovenije publishing house. The already printed collection was destroyed, but nevertheless six copies have been preserved, two of which are stored in NUK. In 1976, Balantič's Collected Works were published in Argentina. After Slovenia's independence, Slovenian literary history ranked him among the classics. Today, the Public Library Kamnik is named after the poet.