Marijan Matkovic was one of the most prolific playwrights in twentieth-century Croatian literature. A member of the generation that followed Miroslav Krleza, he served as a bridge between Krleza's vision of theater and modern, more exploratory dramatic forms. Matkovic is best known for his plays (he wrote more than twenty), but he also wrote essays on many subjects, including theater, poetry, painting, and travel. He was also a crucial figure in the functioning of several key cultural institutions, particularly the Yugoslav Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Matkovic was born in Karlovac on 21 September 1915, but he spent his childhood in Zagreb, where he earned his degree in law at Zagreb University in 1941. As a student he traveled widely throughout Europe, studying art history and literature in Vienna and Paris; he later felt that this period of travel and study constituted his true education. During the years immediately after World...