The paper offers a new look at a number of connected historical events from a century ago, which among other things had a decisive influence on the transformation of literary writing in Slovene. In illustrating this period, the paper leans heavily on extracts from essays by Ivan Cankar. His life coincides with the historical period beginning with the first signs of the economic and political conflicts that led to the First World War, to the end of that war exactly a hundred years ago. Cankar's unique pre-war and wartime engaged critical stance confirmed the processes that led to the end of the war and helped facilitate, in the years immediately following his death, the flourishing of a similar stance among new generations, in new social conditions and literary contexts.
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