Branko Bokun (Serbian Cyrillic: Бранко Бокун; 28 June 1920 – 1 January 2011) was an author in the fields of sociology and psychology.[1]
Early life edit
Bokun was born in Koljane, Croatia, a small village in the Dalmatian mountains of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He began to study at the University of Belgrade; however his education there was interrupted by the German invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941.[2] He fled to Italy, where he enrolled at the University of Rome, studying economics and social sciences. At the same time he also signed on as an extra with the Cinecittà film studio in order to earn a living. Later, he acted as a go-between on behalf of the Yugoslavian embassy to the Holy See, communicating with the many Yugoslav Jews who were hidden in Italy at the time. He recorded these years in his Spy in the Vatican, 1941–45 (1973).[3] He also exposed the genocide committed by the Ustashi in the so-called Independent State of Croatia against its citizens, the Serbs, Roma and Jews.[4]
Bokun graduated from the University of Rome in 1945 and went on to attend the Sorbonne University in Paris, taking courses in sociology and social psychology, and graduating in 1949.[5] In Paris he at one time supported himself by working as a dishwasher.[6]
Life in England edit
In 1960 Bokun settled in London, United Kingdom,[7] where he remained for the rest of his life. After his death at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on 1 January 2011, an obituary in The Times described him as "a beguiling Balkan boulevardier, author and anecdotist, and for half a century a familiar figure in the cafés and bookshops of Chelsea."[8] He left a son and two grandchildren.[9]
Bibliography edit
- Are We Freaks of Nature?: A New View on Evolution ISBN 1-902914-00-7
- Humour and Pathos in Judaeo-Christianity ISBN 1-86033-441-5
- Spy in the Vatican, 1941-45
- Stress-addiction: A New Theory on Evolution
- Self-help with Stress: A New Approach
- The Pornocracy
- Man — The Fallen Ape
- Bioeconomy — Matriarchy in Post-capitalism
- Humour Therapy
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Мира Адања Полак: Ексклузивно – Бранко Бокун – 58 година после".
- ^ name="Biography">cite web |url=http://www.vitabooks.com/files/cv.pdf |title=My Life, so Far |first=Branko |last=Bokun |date=26 June 2007 |website=Vitabooks.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008181921/http://www.vitabooks.com/files/cv.pdf |archive-date=8 October 2007
- ^ name="Biography"
- ^ Cite web|url=https://foxedquarterly.com/branko-bokun-spy-in-the-vatican-literary-review/%7Ctitle=Vatican Evasions|date=June 2008
- ^ name="Biography"
- ^ name=obit> "Branko Bokun: Elegant Balkan writer who for half a century lit up the cafés of Chelsea with delicious stories of encounters with the great and the good", The Times, 16 April 2011 (subscription required)
- ^ name="Biography"
- ^ name=obit
- ^ name=vita>Cite web |url=http://www.vitabooks.com/ |title=About Vita Books |date=5 January 2011 |website=Vita Books |quote=Vita Books regrets to announce the death of Dr. Branko Bokun aged 90 on Saturday 1st January 2011 in Chelsea and Westminster Hospital after a short illness. He is survived by his son and two grandchildren and many who regarded him as father, mentor, and friend. R.I.P. |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202142527/http://vitabooks.com/ |archivedate=2 February 2011
External links edit
- "Catalogue 2005" (PDF). Peter Knight Book Associates. pp. 24–25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 September 2006.
- Vita Books — Branko Bokun's books website, which makes his most recent book - The Origin of the Mind and its Follies/Humour Remedy available for free download.
- Humour Remedy, Global Ideas Bank