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{{Short description|Serbian writer, literary historian and university professor}}
{{About|the Serbian writer|the Serbian footballer|Milorad Pavić (footballer)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{ infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name              = Milorad Pavić
| image             = Milorad Pavic.jpg
| imagesize         = 
| caption           = Pavić at the 2007 [[Belgrade Book Fair]]
| pseudonym         = 
| birth_date        = {{birth date|1929|10|15|df=yes}}
| birth_place       = [[Belgrade]], [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]]
| death_date        = {{death date and age|2009|11|30|1929|10|15|df=yes}}
| death_place       = [[Belgrade]], [[Serbia]]
| resting_place     = [[Belgrade's New Cemetery|New Cemetery]], Belgrade
| occupation        = Writer • poet • [[literary historian]] • translator
| language          = [[Serbian language|Serbian]]
| nationality       = Serbian
| citizenship       = 
| education         = 
| alma_mater        = [[University of Belgrade]]
| movement          = [[Postmodernism]]
| genres            = [[Experimental literature|Experimental novel]], Short story, playwright, poetry
| notableworks      = ''[[Dictionary of the Khazars]]''<br />''Landscape Painted with Tea''<br />''The Inner Side of the Wind''
| spouse            = [[Jasmina Mihajlović]]
| children          = Ivan<br/>Jelena
| website           = {{URL|http://www.khazars.com/en/}}
| portaldisp        = 
}}
'''Milorad Pavić''' ({{lang-sr-Cyrl|Милорад Павић}}, {{IPA|sh|mîloraːd pǎːʋitɕ|pron}}; 15 October 1929&nbsp;– 30 November 2009) was a [[Serbia]]n writer, university professor, translator, literary historian and academic. He published a number of poems, short stories and novels during his lifetime, the most famous of which was the ''[[Dictionary of the Khazars]]'' (1984). Upon its release, it was hailed as "the first novel of the 21st century." Pavić's works have been translated into more than thirty languages. He was vastly popular in Europe and in South America, and was deemed "one of the most intriguing writers from the beginning of the 21st century." He won numerous prizes in [[Serbia]] and in the former [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]], and was mentioned several times as a potential candidate for the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]].

==Biography==
Milorad Pavić was born in [[Belgrade]], [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]] on 15 October 1929 to a distinguished family of intellectuals and writers{{sfn|''B92''|30 November 2009}} "that has produced well-known writers for six generations, since the 18th century".<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/12/06/specials/pavic-khazars.html He thinks the way we dream by  D. J. R. Bruckner]</ref> He received a Bachelor of Arts in literature from the [[University of Belgrade]], and later obtained a PhD in [[literary history]] at the [[University of Zagreb]].{{sfn|Sollars|Jennings|2008|p=605}}

Pavić entered the literary scene with two collections of poetry titled ''Palimpsests'' (''{{lang|sr|Palimpsesti}}''), and ''Moon Stone'' (''{{lang|sr|Mesečev kamen}}''), published in 1969 and 1971, respectively. Pavić's poems were soon translated into English, and included in the anthology titled ''Contemporary Yugoslav Poems''. Soon after, Pavić dedicated himself to writing prose and several short story collections were published.{{sfn|Sollars|Jennings|2008|p=605}} Pavić's first and most famous novel, ''[[Dictionary of the Khazars]]'' (''{{lang|sr|Hazarski rečnik}}''), was published in 1984. It received widespread critical acclaim upon release, and was hailed as "the first novel of the 21st century."{{sfn|Sollars|Jennings|2008|p=224}} Written as a poetic [[dictionary]], the book has been described as "a quasi-historical account of the semi-imaginary tribe of the [[Khazars]]."{{sfn|Sollars|Jennings|2008|p=605}}

[[File:Milorad Pavić1.JPG|thumbnail|left|Monument to Milorad Pavić in [[Tašmajdan Park]], [[Belgrade]].]]
Pavić's second novel was titled ''Landscape Painted with Tea'', and was published in 1988.{{sfn|Sollars|Jennings|2008|p=604}} Organized as a [[crossword puzzle]], it follows a failed architect from Belgrade as he travels to Greece to trace the fate of his father who disappeared there during [[World War II]]. Pavić wrote many more novels, including ''The Inner Side of the Wind, or A Novel of Hero and Leander'' and ''Last Love in Constantinople: A Tarot Novel of Divination''. Described as "highly imaginative", Pavić is said to have "[done] everything to disrupt the traditional models of fiction writing such as the development of story and the notions of beginning and end."{{sfn|Sollars|Jennings|2008|p=605}} He was described as being "one of the most intriguing writers from the beginning of the 21st century."{{sfn|Sollars|Jennings|2008|pp=604–605}} As a result, he was mentioned several times as a potential candidate for the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]].{{sfn|''B92''|30 November 2009}}

Apart from writing, Pavić taught philosophy at the [[University of Novi Sad]] before joining the University of Belgrade.{{sfn|''The New York Times''|16 December 2009}} In 1991, he became a member of the [[Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts]] (SANU). During this time, he translated a number of works of Russian fiction into the Serbian language.{{sfn|''B92''|30 November 2009}} In 1993, he published his first play, titled ''Theatre Menu For Ever and a Day''.{{sfn|Sollars|Jennings|2008|p=605}}

Pavić died in Belgrade on 30 November 2009, at the age of 80. His death came as the result of a heart attack.{{sfn|''B92''|30 November 2009}} He was survived by his wife, Jasmina Mihajlović, and by his son Ivan. His daughter Jelena committed suicide the year prior. Pavić was buried in the "Alley of the Greats" at the [[Novo groblje, Belgrade|Novo Groblje]] cemetery complex in Belgrade.{{sfn|''B92''|3 December 2009}}

==Works==
Originally written in Serbian, Pavić's works have been translated into more than thirty languages.{{sfn|''The New York Times''|16 December 2009}} Pavić was renowned for his highly imaginative fiction, and his novels diverged from traditional literary notions by means of an open-ended structure and the entwining of the mythic and historical.{{sfn|Sollars|Jennings|2008|p=223}}

===''Dictionary of the Khazars''===
''[[Dictionary of the Khazars]]'' was Pavić's first novel and it acquired international success. Written in 1984, it is a [[lexicon]]-format novel which follows the story of the [[Khazars]] – a people occupying the territory north of the [[Caucasus]] and west and north of the [[Caspian Sea]] between the 6th and 11th centuries. In the book, the Great Khan of the Khazars has a dream that is nearly impossible to interpret. To shed some light on it, he summons representatives of the world's three great religions: a Christian, a Jew and a Muslim. He asks the three to explain the dream, promising that the entire Khazar tribe will convert to the religion which provides the most convincing explanation. In three dictionaries – one Christian, one Jewish and one Muslim – three different versions of the story are presented, and from these accounts the reader must try to confect a coherent novel.{{sfn|Sollars|Jennings|2008|p=223}}

==Works available in English==

* ''[[Dictionary of the Khazars]]'' (1984) (Knopf, 1988)
* ''Landscape Painted with Tea'' (1988) (Knopf, 1990)
* ''The Inner Side of the Wind, or A Novel of Hero and Leander'' (1991) (Knopf, 1993)
* ''Last Love in Constantinople'' (1994) (Peter Owen Publishers, 1998)
* ''[[The Third Argument]]'' (1995), a graphic novel by Milorad Pavić, [[Zoran Tucić]] (artist) and [[Zoran Stefanović]] (scriptwriter)
* ''For Ever and a Day'' (1997) (Kindle Edition e-book, 2012)
* ''Damascene'' (1998) [http://ezone.org/damaskin/ Available online (1998)]
* ''Writing Box'' (1999) (National Library of Serbia, 2012)
* ''The Glass Snail'' (2003) [http://www.wordcircuits.com/gallery/glasssnail/ Available online (2003)] Graphics and Design as an [[electronic literature]] piece by [[Robert Kendall (poet)|Robert Kendall]], [[Marjorie Luesebrink]], and [[Rob Swigart]].
* ''Unique Item'' (2004) (Published in two volumes, ''Unique Item'' and ''Blue Book'', as Kindle Edition e-books, 2010)
* ''The Tale that Killed Emily Knorr'' (2005) (Kindle Edition e-book, 2012)
* ''Second Body'' (2007) (Kindle Edition e-book, 2010)

== Awards ==

Academician Milorad Pavić was the winner of several literary awards:
* "Đorđe Jovanović" award, for the book History of Literature of the Baroque Era, 1971.
* NIN's award, for the novel Khazarski rečnik, 1985.
* "Meša Selimović" award, for the novel Landscape painted with tea, 1988.
* Award of AVNOJ, 1989.
* Seventh of July Award, 1989.
* Award of the National Library of Serbia for the most read book of the year, for the novel Landscape painted with tea, 1990.
* October Award of the City of Belgrade, for the entire book oeuvre, 1992.
* "Borisav Stanković" award, for the novel Unutrašnja strana vetra, 1992.
* Award "Golden Beočug" for lifetime achievement, 1992.
* "Stefan Mitrov Ljubiša" award, 1994.
* Kočić Award, 1994.
* Prosvetina Award, for the novel Last Love in Constantinople, 1994.
* "Laza Kostić" award, for the novel Last Love in Constantinople, 1995.
* "Felix Romuliana" award, 1995.
* Exceptional Wolf Award, 1996.
* Award of the Jakov Ignjatović Foundation, for life's work, 1997.
* The "Račanska čartita" award, for overall creativity, 1997.
* "Deretina's Book of the Year" award, for the novel Zvezdani plast, 1998.
* "Nušić's staff" award, for overall creativity, 1999.
* The "Dušan Vasiljev" award, for a story-telling opus, 2000.
* The [[Andrić Prize]], for the series of short stories Stories from the Sava slopes, 2001.
* "Belovod Rosette" Award, 2004.
* High recognition "Dostoevsky", 2004.
* "Kočić's Book" Award of the "Petar Kočić" Endowment, 2007.
* Honorary doctor of Sofia University
* President of the Serbian-Ukrainian Society
* Member of the European Association for Culture, member of the Serbian PEN Center, member of the Crown Council.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Краљевска породица Србије |url=http://www.royalfamily.org/statements/state-det/state-2156_cir.html |language=sr}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==

===Books===
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{cite book
  | last1 = Sollars
  | first1 = Michael David
  | last2 = Jennings
  | first2 = Arbolina Llamas
  | year = 2008
  | title = The Facts on File Companion to the World Novel: 1900 to the Present
  | publisher = Infobase Publishing
  | location = New York, NY
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SXkVKq86YIkC&q=The+Facts+on+File+Companion+to+the+World+Novel:+1900+to+the+Present
  | isbn = 978-1-4381-0836-0
  }}
{{refend|2}}

===Websites===
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{cite news
  | newspaper = B92
  | date = 30 November 2009
  | language = Serbian
  | title = Preminuo Milorad Pavić
  | url = http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2009&mm=11&dd=30&nav_category=12&nav_id=395518
  | ref = {{sfnRef|''B92''|30 November 2009}}
  }}
* {{cite news
  | newspaper = B92
  | date = 3 December 2009
  | language = Serbian
  | title = Sahranjen Milorad Pavić
  | url = http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2009&mm=12&dd=03&nav_category=12&nav_id=396209
  | ref = {{sfnRef|''B92''|3 December 2009}}
  }}
* {{cite news
  | newspaper = The New York Times
  | date = 16 December 2009
  | title = Milorad Pavic, Unorthodox Novelist, Dies at 80
  | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/arts/16pavic.html?_r=0
  | ref = {{sfnRef|''The New York Times''|16 December 2009}}
  }}
{{refend|2}}

==External links==
* [http://www.khazars.com/ Official site]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090303053014/http://rastko.org.rs/knjizevnost/pavic/index_c.html Pavić's library at Project Rastko] – His works in Serbian, Russian and Slovene; a few articles on Pavić in English, French and German

{{NIN Award winners}}
{{Ivo Andrić Award|state=autocollapse}}
{{Serbian literature}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pavic, Milorad}}
[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:Members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts]]
[[Category:University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy alumni]]
[[Category:Serbian literary critics]]
[[Category:Literary critics of Serbian]]
[[Category:Serbian male poets]]
[[Category:Serbian male short story writers]]
[[Category:Serbian short story writers]]
[[Category:Serbian non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Serbian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Serbian science fiction writers]]
[[Category:Serbian translators]]
[[Category:Translators to Serbian]]
[[Category:Postmodern writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Belgrade]]
[[Category:Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery]]
[[Category:Serbian fantasy writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Serbian poets]]
[[Category:20th-century Serbian novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Serbian translators]]
[[Category:20th-century short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Serbian male writers]]
[[Category:Serbian male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Serbian electronic literature writers]]