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Ivan Softa (31 July 1906 – 1945) was a Croatian writer and poet. He was often compared to Maxim Gorky because his first novel Na cesti is known as one of the best Croatian social realism books.

Born in Smokinje near Široki Brijeg in 1906, he attended elementary school in Rasno. Due to poverty he emigrated to Slavonia and later moved to Zagreb in 1934. Unemployment and uncertainty inspired him to write his first novel - Na cesti (On the Road), which gained success within Croatian literary critic, especially due to social dimension of the novel and influence of social realism.

Except social themes, his works include motives of Herzegovina, his birth region, and its tradition and folklore (Dani jada i glada).

His works were target of censorship during Yugoslav Communist regime.

Works

• Na cesti, 1936
• Dani jada i glada, 1937
• Nemirni mir, 1940
• Razrovano ognjište
• Sabrana djela, 1994

References

1. "Softa, Ivan". Hrvatska enciklopedija (in Croatian). Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography. Retrieved 13 February 2018. Prvim romanom Na cesti (1936) izazvao je pozornost književne kritike, koja ga je nazvala prvim hrvatskim radničkim piscem, »hrvatskim Gorkim«.

• Croatian male poets
• Croat writers from Bosnia and Herzegovina
• 20th-century Croatian poets
• 1906 births
• 1945 deaths
• 20th-century male writers