Ivan
Zorman: (1885-1957) Yugoslavian Poet and
Composer
Born April
of 1885, in Yugoslavia,
Ivan Zorman and his family immigrated to the
United States when he was only four years old. Six
years later, he returned to Yugoslavia
for one year and upon returning back to the states, became culturally
immersed and fluent in the Slovene language. He graduated from Western
Reserve University with degrees in language, literature and music.
He went on to teach organ, piano, and voice for Slovene societies while
serving as an organist at St. Lawrence Catholic Church. (The Encyclopedia of Cleveland
History)
While Zorman’s
poetry became successful in the states, it went largely unnoticed in
his homeland of Yugoslavia.
However, in 1933, his poems became more popular and he was acknowledged
as a legitimate writer in the Slovene language. “In 1938, his 5th book
of poetry, From the New World, received honorable mention in
the Jugoslav University Club at the Hollenden Hotel. Zorman eventually
wrote 6 volumes of poetry and translated many others.” In 1959, Zorman’s daughter, Carmen, dedicated a memorial bust in the
Yugoslav Cultural Garden. (The
Encyclopedia of Cleveland History)
Ivan Zorman contributed to the Cleveland
Cultural Garden project through his translation of the Yugoslav Cultural
Garden piece found in the book, Their Paths Are Peace by Clara
Lederer.
Photographs:
Photographs of the Garden
Further Reading:
The Encyclopedia
of Cleveland History
History of
the National Gallery of Slovenian Art
The Slovenian
National Home, Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
History of
the Slovenes in Cleveland, Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
The Slovenian
American National Council, Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
