Anton Aškerc

Anton Aškerc (pronounced [anˈtoːn ˈaːʃkɛrts] ⓘ; 9 January 1856 – 10 June 1912) was a Slovenian poet and Roman Catholic priest who worked in Austria, best known for his epic poems.

Aškerc was born into a peasant family near the town of Rimske Toplice in the Duchy of Styria, then part of the Austrian Empire (now in Slovenia),[1] and baptized Anton Askerz.

His friendship with the Swedish slavist and historian Alfred Anton Jensen opened him the doors to international recognition: his poems were published in Sweden, Russia, Galicia, Croatia, Serbia, and in the Czech Lands.

He rejected the poetry of Dragotin Kette and Josip Murn and entered in a dispute with the poet Oton Župančič, from which he came as a clear loser.

One of the main thoroughfares in south-central Ljubljana, Aškerc Street (Slovene: Aškerčeva cesta), is named after him, as are several other public places and institutions.