GREGORČIĆ, SIMON. - Slovenian priest and poet, b. at Vrsno on 15 Oct. 1844, d. at Gorizia on 24 Nov. 1906, struck by apoplexy while celebrating Mass.
One of Slovenia’s best-known poets, many of his poems, of folkloric inspiration, are still sung by the people: Let us return to the Alpine paradise; Farewell, Alpine world, etc. His lyric poetry is often inspired by a vivid patriotism and, in its elegiac tendency, reflects G.’s troubled life, great sensitivity, and frail health (cf. The Travail [Cloveka nikar]; The Lament of the Imprisoned Bird; To the Shepherd). Among his epic compositions, the following should be remembered: Jephthah’s Vow; The Testament of the “Hajduk”; Lake Rabelj. He rendered Job, Jeremiah, and the Psalms into metrical verse.