Ivan V. Lalić (1931–1996) was a Serbian poet, translator, and literary editor. Born in Belgrade to Ljubica (Bajić) and Vlajko Lalić, he was the grandson of composer Isidor Bajić. His childhood was shaped by war and the early death of his mother in 1946, defining the themes of grief, memory, and loss that run throughout his poetry.

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In 1946, his family relocated to Zagreb, where his mother was treated for tuberculosis by Dr. Stjepan Kašnar. There, Ivan met Branka Kašnar, his future wife and a central inspiration in his life and work. They married in 1954 and moved to Belgrade in 1961, where He worked as a literary editor at Radio Zagreb before becoming Secretary of the Yugoslav Writers’ Union in 1961. From 1979 until his retirement in 1993, he was an editor at the Nolit publishing house in Belgrade.

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Lalić published eleven collections of poetry in Serbian, with translations into multiple languages. He published his first poems in 1952 and his first collection in 1955. His final book was published in 1996, the year of his death.