Social Studies of the University of Ljubljana. From 2001 he started the journal Sarajevo notebooks, in order to re-establish communication and linkages between intellectuals and activists throughout former Yugoslavia, and create regional public forums of reconciliation. He was married to the columnist, translator and American-Slovenian writer Erica Johnson Debeljak, with whom he had three children. He died on 28 January 2016, when he was struck and killed by a truck. Poetic works Debeljak began publishing poetry in his college years. He was spotted by the poet Veno Taufer who helped him in the literary scene. His first collection of poetry was well received also by the poet Tomaž Šalamun, who declared Debeljak as the best poet of the young generation of Slovene authors. Debeljak's poetry is noted for its melancholy and a new reaffirmation of traditional values such as family and God. An opponent to the everything-goes schools of modern thought, such as postmodernism, Debeljak's work was informed by an "Enlightenment" ideal of right and wrong, good and bad. Debeljak was an extremely prolific writer. In addition to poetry and cultural criticism, Debeljak also worked as a columnist for the most important newspaper in Slovenia, Delo. His works have been translated in many languages. List of works Works published or translated in English: The Hidden Handshake: National Identity and Europe in The Post Communist World (Rowman & Littlefield, New York & Oxford 2004). Reluctant Modernity: The Institution of Art and its Historical Forms (Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham & New York 1998). Twilight of the Idols: Recollections of a Lost Yugoslavia (Wite Pine Press, Fredonia & New York 1994). Persistence of Modernity: Critical Social Theory of Modern vs. Postmodern Institution of Art (UMI, Ann Arbor, 1994). Smugglers (BOA Editions, Ltd., Rochester, 2015) See also Slovene literature Culture of Slovenia References External links Personal Page (Faculty for Social Sciences, Ljubljana) Biography and bibliography Aleš Debeljak's "Without Anesthesia" in Blackbird: an online journal of literature and the arts 1961 births 2016 deaths University of Ljubljana alumni Syracuse University alumni University of California, Berkeley staff Academic staff of the University of Ljubljana Slovenian poets Slovenian male poets Slovenian essayists Slovenian sociologists Road incident deaths in Slovenia