Professionalisation of the Slovene Literary Producer: Some Introductory Remarks

Abstract

The professionalisation of the literary producer has scarcely been tackled in Slovene literary studies. Therefore the paper presents some relevant research of the problem in literary sociology (Escarpit) and the empirical science of literature (Schmidt). The problem of professionalisation is closely connected to the development of the media system and publishing in general. In Slovenia, the key period was the second half of the 19^th century, when the printed media were developing very fast and opening up structural opportunities for professional literary producers. One of the key figures here was Ivan Cankar, who fought for the new social position of writers – both in terms of financing authors’ work, as well as their social status and relevance. From Enlightenment up to the present, five relevant periods can be distinguished. The period from 1945–1990 can be seen as a discontinuity, when the literary system was ideologically regulated to a very high degree. The restricted extent of the Slovene book market is one of the main reasons that literary production in Slovenia never reached the professional dimensions comparable to larger markets. Even now, state funding remains a necessary condition in order to maintain diverse and good quality literary production.