Graphic novel about Slovenia's poet laureate released

The comic, titled Comic Book about Prešeren, captures the life of the acclaimed poet who elevated the Slovenian poetry to the heights of established Romantic verse.

Biographies in comic-strip format have been very popular worldwide in the past decade. Slovenia too has seen comic books about acclaimed author Ivan Cankar, General Rudolf Maister and Protestant reformer Primož Trubar, Zore told the STA, adding that it was to be expected Prešeren would get one too.

The poet spent the last years of his life in the northern town of Kranj where he also died on 8 February. Culture Day is marked every year on the anniversary of his death.

The book project aims to educate as well as entertain with both text and graphics being an authentic representation of Prešeren's life story, Zore said, noting that the authors went to great lengths to research everything, including the state of the stairs in the poet's birth house.

When embarking on this literary journey, she was a bit tongue-tied since she holds the poet in high esteem, but she soon learned she needed to relax to evoke Prešeren.

A total of 1,000 copies of the book have been published. Comic Book about Prešeren is also presented at an exhibition in the Prešeren House in Kranj.