Momčilo Popović (Kruševac, December 3, 1911 - Belgrade, October 26, 1990) Serbian famous publisher, educational and cultural worker, founder and director of the Belgrade publishing company "Vuk Karadžić"
Momčilo Popović (Kruševac, December 3, 1911 – Belgrade, October 26, 1990) Serbian famous publisher, educational and cultural worker, founder and director of the Belgrade publishing company "Vuk Karadžić", the initiator of a large number of significant publishing ventures, extremely valued in the cultural to the public because of his rare sacrifice, dedication and creativity. The editions of "Vuk Karadžić" received many awards and recognitions, both for the authors and for this distinguished house.
LIFE - CAREER
Momčilo Popović comes from the family of a court clerk. He graduated from the Teacher Training and Higher Pedagogical School in Belgrade. From 1936 to 1941, he served as a teacher in the villages of Serbia. In the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, he belonged to progressive left-wing educators. He spent the Second World War in captivity, in Germany, where he, together with a group of ideologically determined patriots (among whom were prominent creators such as Isak Amar or Oto Bihalji Merin, the latter author of the company "Vuk Karadžić"), advocated for the goals of the People's Liberation Struggle.
After the end of the war, he worked in the education sector in Velika Plana, Grocka and Belgrade. He was the secretary of the Belgrade Educators' Union and the head of the Personnel Department of the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Serbia.
Close to the people, understanding work in education and culture as his vocation and mission, a passionate lover of books, already in 1949 he opted for publishing: he assumed the position of director of "Zadružna knjiga", and then of the textbook publishing company "Znanje", so that in 1954 .restored the pre-war publishing company "Nolit", which was created by the fusion of "Znanja" and "New Generation". With a restless, creative spirit, in 1956 he became the director of the company "Savremena škola", which changed its name to "Vuk Karadžić" in 1972, at the head of which Popović will demonstrate an extraordinary reflex for the authentic spiritual and cultural needs of Serbia and Yugoslavia, realizing a number of very significant publishing ventures. In short, "Wolf Karadžić" is Momčilo Popović, who reaches miraculous proportions in conquering a large space for books of great value in various fields.
It gathers authors, editors, proofreaders, designers, directs them to work, awakens ambitions, and encourages the creative impulse. He retired in 1978 when he was not awarded the Vuk Award, despite his undoubted merits, which caused the indignation of numerous cultural workers and book lovers. Despite this injustice, he left a deep mark on the culture of the Serbian people.
PUBLISHING VENTURES
During the 20 years until his retirement, Momčilo Popović launched an impressive number of new editions: "Microcosm", "School Library", "Marco Polo", "Sociological Library", "World of Science and Technology", "Kolo", "Zodiak", "Technical assistance" etc.. Director and editor-in-chief Popović is increasingly expanding the spectrum of publishing efforts - it includes publishing works of fine literature, scientific, political, professional and literature intended for children and youth ("Kovčežić", "Zvezdica", "Dečji svet" editions ", "Disneyland", "Fun novels", "Historical novels", "Argus", imaginative picture books, "Disneyland", children's magazine "Dragon").
Capital works published by "Vuk Karadžić" house are certainly:
MODERN ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA
NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA IN COLOR
ART
MUSEUMS OF THE WORLD
ATLASES OF KNOWLEDGE
GENERAL ENCYCLOPEDIA LARUS
THERE IS NO GEOGRAPHICAL MAP OF YUGOSLAVIA
CULTURE AND SOCIETY
RUSSIAN AND SOVIET LITERATURE
DICTIONARY OF SERBIAN ANTIQUITIES
RUBENS (monograph)
HILANDAR (monograph)
20.000 YEARS OF WORLD PAINTING
MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA (Larus)
NAIVE ARTISTS OF THE WORLD
Thanks to Popović, Serbian culture has been enriched with many dictionaries, specialized manuals, thematic encyclopedias, journalistic and essayistic works, but also the works of writers (Collected works of Isidore Sekulić, phototype edition of Daničić's Dictionary, Collected works of Dušan Baranin, Poetry of Vasko Popa, Poetry of Miodrag Pavlović, Stories of Đura Jakšić, Poetry of Branko V. Radičević, etc.). Among the authors represented are, among many others, Gogol, Pushkin, Shakespeare, Presern, Eliot, Scott, Dickens, Sienkiewicz, Ionesco, Kipling, Andersen, Kierkegaard, but also - Miodrag Popović, Kosta Racin, Branko Ćopić, Slobodan Marković, Stevan Sremac , Janko Veselinović...
Vuk Karadžić and Momčilo Popović earned high critical acclaim for their numerous publications in the documentary-research, scientific-popular and educational genre, such as those on modern linguistics, psychoanalysis, Buddhism, literary theory (a notable work by the legendary professor Radmil Dimitrijević, the literary study of Professor Nikola Milošević ``Negative Hero'' or Zoran Gluščević's lucid work ``Myth, Literature and Alienation''), then about atomistics, medicine, the culture of everyday speech, about distant countries and peoples (travel books).
AUTHOR'S WORKS
History of the Serbian people, textbook.
A SELECTION OF QUOTES
"Until now, the director of ``Vuk Karadžić'' with his smart and bold projects, encourages-
and openness to the ideas of a wider circle of collaborators, opened the way for many precious among millions of volumes, large series of educational and popular, essayistic, entertaining and practically useful, encyclopedic and representative, artistically generous editions. Without them, our culture would be poorer precisely in those values that Vuk's award emphasizes and encourages with its recognition... The books of ``Vuk Karadzic'' thanks to the efforts and inspirations of this spirited publishing organization have reached all levels of readers across our country, with actions initiated by him Momčilo Popović" (From the explanation of the proposal for the Vuk Award, Cultural and Educational Association of Serbia, 1978).
IRO Vuk Karadžić - From the explanation for Vuk's award - Momčilo Popović - Cultural and educational community of Serbia, 1978
"He was not only a successful organizer and businessman, but also the initiator of many initiatives that left an indelible mark and gave invaluable results in certain stages of the development of our publishing house." As one of the initiators of the co-production of Yugoslav publishers, respected as an exceptional business partner by many publishers from France, Italy, the USA, the Soviet Union, the Netherlands, England and many other countries, he enriched Yugoslav publishing. A series of encyclopedic editions resulting from the cooperation with `Larus' (General encyclopedia in three volumes; New encyclopedia in two volumes; Medical Lexicon in two volumes and many others), then a wealth of editions in the field of art... are only a part of what was initiated and achieved with his direct involvement…. Much of what Momčilo Popović initiated and achieved concerns the central currents of our culture and enters into the most significant experiences of our publishing house." (In memoriam, MOMCILO POPOVIĆ, Vojin Ančić, "Politika", October 30, 1990).).
Momčilo Popović – In memoriam, Politika October 30, 1990.
"The story of the publishing company ``Vuk Karadžić'' is related to the name of Momčilo Popović. He gave it a name with the help of the social community, the base. And he began to spread his publications throughout the country and the white world. Stingy in headlines, but confident in every name he prints, he managed to create a safe company... The `Zodiak' libraries, the topic of culture and society, ``Argus'', essays by domestic authors, the children's library ``Golden Swallow'', the new a library of collected and selected works... Studies are being written about writers. Scholars receive accolades. And publishers, like those bricklayers, builders, who build everyone's homes and remain homeless themselves, publish books, glorify golden and iron pens, and no one remembers them, wears them in a cover, to thank them for so much effort, with one ordinary record, one single booklet. That's why this record is here. Because what would a writer do without a publisher. How would a publisher do without its writer. They would have to share their fate. And every success. And failure. That's why this letter of friendship and respect..." ("Creativity and retirement", Branko V. Radičević, "Borba", March 19, 1978).
Creativity and retirement - About Momčil Popović by Branko V. Radičević - Borba, March 19, 1978
References
"Vuk Karadžić" publishing company, Belgrade: PROPOSAL FOR A PERSPECTIVE PUBLISHING PLAN FOR 1975-1979. GODIN, "Vuk Karadžić", December 19, 1974.
"Vuk Karadžić" Publishing Company, Belgrade: PUBLISHING PLAN PROPOSAL FOR 1976, "Vuk Karadžić", Belgrade, December 24, 1975.
Publishing company "Vuk Karadzic" - Belgrade: PUBLISHING PLAN PROPOSAL FOR 1977, edited by M. Grujičić Popović, ed. "Wolf Karadzic", 1977.
NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA IN COLOR, supplement, "Politics", April 17, 1977.
"VUK KARADŽIĆ" 78-79, edited by Miroslava Kosovac and Snežana Živković, "Mladinska knjiga", Ljubljana, 1978.
"VUK KARADŽIĆ" PUBLISHING HOUSE, Sentimental journey through one time, Catalog of editions, "Vuk Karadžić", Belgrade, 1996.
The beginning of research - historical discoveries and research, Encyclopedia, "Vuk Karadžić" - "Yugoslavijapublik", Belgrade, 1979.
Health and well-being - Man's struggle against disease and poverty, Contemporary illustrated encyclopedia, "Vuk Karadžić", Belgrade, and "Mladinska knjiga", Ljubljana, 1976.
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