Summary
A Baroque poet born in Postira and author of ‘Kita cvitja razlikova’ (‘A Bouquet of Varied Flowers’). His priestly service connected him with Dol and the Benedictine abbey in Povlja.
His 1642 poetic cycle also prompted literary responses to its portrayal of women.
Postira, education and church service
Ivanišević was born in Postira. He studied philosophy and theology in Loreto, then law in Padua. He held positions in the Diocese of Hvar and from the mid-1650s served as parish priest in Dol. In 1660, he was appointed abbot of the Benedictine abbey in Povlja.
Sources: [1]
Kita cvitja razlikova
He published this lyrical-epic cycle of nine cantos in 1642. The work belongs to Baroque literature and the Catholic revival. Individual ‘flowers’ explore different moral and literary themes, including the poet’s view of his own calling.
Sources: [2]
Controversies and later readings
The canto attacking women prompted a response by Jakov Armolušić and later by Matija Arnerić. This controversy shows that the work was not only private devotional reading but part of a literary debate. Sources are uncertain about where Ivanišević died, most often identifying Povlja.
