He is mostly known for his essays, and is considered one of the foremost essayists in Slovene, along with Ivan Cankar, Jože Javoršek, and Drago Jančar, and as a great master of style.

He became a co-editor of the alternative independent literary journal Perspektive and later also the director of the experimental theatre called Stage 57 (Oder 57).

Rožanc established connections with Slovene Roman Catholic intellectuals from Trieste (Italy), critical towards the Yugoslav Communist system, and published several articles in the journal Most, edited by Boris Pahor and Alojz Rebula.

In 1979, he published his best-known novel, Ljubezen (Love), an autobiographical account of the everyday life of a child in Ljubljana during World War Two.

In 1990, he actively supported the candidature of Jože Pučnik as President of Slovenia, but he never joined any political party or organization.