Born in Pretoria, in an English-speaking family with Croatian paternal grandparents, Vladislavić is one of the most important representatives of post-apartheid literature. In 1975 he went to study Afrikaans and English literature at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. His encounter with the works of aesthetically innovative contemporary Afrikaans writers, a literature concerned with South African realities, was inspirational. He made his home in Johannesburg, the vibrant, violent, never-resting city that figures prominently in his fiction.

Working as an editor while also writing fiction, Vladislavić identified two contrary impulses in his engagement with language: the editor's inclination is to keep meaning in check, according to etymology and correct usage, while the

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Citation: Popescu, Monica. "Ivan Vladislavić". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 August 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11887, accessed 19 March 2024.]

11887 Ivan Vladislavić 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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