Izet Sarajlic, Bosnian Poet

Poet Izet Sarajlic will soon publish his second book written in Sarajevo at war - the Book of Goodbyes. "The book is horrifying, one of the final ones, and I would love for people in Belgrade to read it," he told VREME. In this interview Sarajlic spoke about his "former love" Belgrade and Sarajevo today.

How did you end up in this war?

How did we all? That we should ask the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the general staff of the former Yugoslav National Army (JNA). To expand, Hitler used much less brutality to conquer foreign territories. And he never conquered them. General Mladic, at the very least, thought he was Napoleon. A simple man like that would hardly be fit to be a stable boy in Zhukov's army!

Why didn't you leave Sarajevo?

Where would Sarajlic go except Sarajevo?

You believed in people, have you stopped believing in this war?

Not in people, but it seems we have a deficit of human beings here.

Some in this war have accused you of being a man of the East, emotionally tied to Belgrade, to Russia. Have you become a man of the West?

I'm sorry to have to say this, but my East, the one I was emotionally tied to, died in 1991.

Which city disappointed you the most, and which surprised you the best?

In terms of goodness and emotions, solidarity with our suffering, rational Ljubljana. My greatest disappointment was, of course, Belgrade. Where did all that hatred come from, so much darkness in a city once so joyful that we all loved?

As a poet I would also say this. Skender Kulenovic wrote "Stojanka Mother of Knezopolje" in 1942. How is it that Matija Beckovic didn't even ask himself whether it is time for him to write a Moslem version of Skender's poem in 1992. Moslem mothers perhaps don't need that poem as much as ordinary Serb poets.

You received letters from Europe, the US, even Chile. Were there similar letters from Belgrade?

Except for dear Rade Radovanovic, only three brave women wrote to me from Belgrade: Vera Zogovic, Borka Pavicevic and one time Sarajevan Lula whose husband hopefully won't take offense that I only know her maiden name Alicehic. It was very nice to get, even very late, articles written for Nasa Borba and NIN by Branko V. Radicevic and Branislav Petrovic. Together with Ivan Stambolic, Filip David, Stojan Cerovic and Miladin Zivotic that is the only Belgrade I believe in now. The rest of my Belgrade people, I don't know if they have the right to take another exam of love. It's terrible but that's the way things are.

Did you have a chance to meet writers from Belgrade during the war?

Recently in Rovinj, on my way back from Switzerland, I met Mirko Kovac. I'm enjoying his novel which he gave me then. The novel was published in Sarajevo. And where else could a novel be published with so much longing?

We were dying in Sarajevo. Did the death of someone outside Sarajevo touch you?

Not only myself. Everyone in cultured Sarajevo was touched by the death of (Serbian actor and comic) Mija Aleksic. I think there are few older Sarajevans who didn't have a personal day of mourning. I was also painfully touched by the deaths of Milovan Djilas and Slobodan Selenic. Djilas stood on positions worthy of his name all through the war. I thank him for the many kind words about Bosnia I listened to during the worst shelling of the city.

As a poet what did you do in this war?

I wrote two books of poems. The first, "Sarajevo War Collection", had several reprints at home and abroad and the second, "Book of Goodbyes", will soon be published by Goran Mikulic, the son of my friend painter Mario Mikulic who was in the construction business before the war and now has a publishing house. Someone said, not someone but my dear Sinan Gidzevic, that only Izet Sarajlic could have written this book.

 

 

Alos Debeljak, Slovenian Poet

 

Do you know anything about literary trends in Serbia?

I regularly read Rec (Word) magazine, I follow what my generation is doing in Serbian literature but that does not mean they are in Serbia because most of the ones I had friendly relations with are abroad now. I correspond with people in Amsterdam, New York, Paris. I have just two close friends left in Belgrade: Milan Djordjevic and Dragan Velikic. Everyone else is abroad. I have to say that I was deeply disappointed in some literary friendships which I had hoped surpassed not nationalist limits, but the limits of aesthetics and went deep into existentialism. That happened while my parents were in shelters during the war in Slovenia and no one knew about that except for a handful of people I had good relations with and who I met at literary gatherings abroad. I was disappointed and Sarajevans must be even more disappointed.

What happened to the generation of writers who were engaged in Slovenian political life in the late 1980s and early 90s and who seem to have left the political scene?

Those are the same people who said aesthetics is just the extended arm of politics, just an extension of politics using different means. Now it turned out that was not the right way, they say aesthetics has nothing to do with politics. It's easy to be smart later on when you get kicked. Something similar happened to writers in Serbia. I don't want to have any scruples here, I don't feel sorry for the people who sounded the drums of war.

What do you think of the cultural situation in the former Yugoslavia? How do you manage to accept literary events in the new states?

I don't know if you've read my "Dusk of an Idol" which was translated into 10 languages in which I described my memories of Yugoslavia. In that book I wrote about how we, the young writers, rejected politics in the 1980s and about how I don't see any possibility of cooperation with Serbian authors who stood by Serbian national socialism.

I follow Serbian literature as much as I can, not as much as I used to. I read Arsenijevic's novel. I'd like to remind you that I set up a column in the Literatura magazine in the 80s titled Yugoslavika. We published a lot of writing from all parts of Yugoslavia. Now something like that is hard to imagine.

We had a common state, but not a common culture. On the contrary, we had different cultures. That is something worth saving in better times. But that unitarism flowed out of politics and into culture and it was harmful. We in Slovenia felt that especially since we write in another language. I was astonished in 1975 when I got the Seven SKOJ Secretaries award. I was astonished that they gave the award to a Slovenian because the members of the jury had a hard time reading Slovenian. That's why there were many awards Slovenian books couldn't get. That was then. As for future cooperation, I think we'll wait a long time for relations to improve. I think we can cooperate with those who didn't compromise themselves, and there are few of them in Serbia.

 

Predrag Raos, Croatian Writer

 

Writer Predrag Raos, expelled from the Croatian Writers' Society, became a politician in the latest elections: he was elected a councilor in the Zagreb city assembly. He is also due to publish 3-4 novels. One is almost finished, titled "Adventures of Cici the Super Cat and King's Fly Catcher". That novel, he said, was written at the start of the war in a mood of optimism and euphoria and logically it will get a sequel: "Cici Goes to War". He said that novel will be dark.

You recently became a politician by accident. Explain your political program.

"Achieving the ideals of every good love story; bringing together two hearts in love. The HDZ in Zagreb won just 25% of the vote plus the standard 7% they stole. In Livno, they won 90%. So we'll bring together two loving hearts. In Livno no one will shout Give US Back Dinamo (soccer team) to Tudjman. Everyone is happy.

You also mentioned the Zagreb Republic project. What's that about?

That is a little too roughly said. This is a separatist movement with the goal of getting an independent State of Croatia, i.e. breaking away from Herzeg-Bosna. Croatia has been the site of enough clashes between great powers, the Republic of Serb Krajina and republic of Herzeg-Bosna. Although Croatia is a little state it has to become nationally independent.

Will you become part of the school literary program now?

As if someone would ask me I just won't start swinging chairs if I don't get in, like they tell me some people did in the Croatian Writers' Society.

Why are there more politicians coming out of that Society than writers?

Because writers have to write.

Following the exodus of the Krajina Serbs, you started speaking about the project Do It Myself Serb. What's that about?

When the Serbs fled Croatia, most people, and I include myself, were elated. That was the best solution for everyone: refugees blocked the roads and enabled a blitzkrieg which was the least painful. Civilians weren't killed in combat and there were no guerrillas to take thousands more lives. At the time the rating of the HDZ was very high. But it's one thing to get the Serbs out of the war zone and quite another not to allow them to return. At that moment the question was: is the exodus of the Serbs a means or a goal? The answer to that cooled the Croatian public's attitude towards Tudjman and the HDZ. If we disregard the burning of houses which objectively prevents the Serbs from returning, another interesting question arises. If they can't return without Croatian ID cards, which means they are not Croatian citizens, what are they guilty of? Rebellion is possible only against your own state. Everyone who says they can't return because they aren't Croatian citizens is actually recognizing the Republic of Serb Krajina, and telling them that they were loyal citizens of that state which they defended from outside aggression. In short: either they are guilty and can't return or they are innocent and can't. You can't have it both ways.

Where is your project in all of that?

Easy. First we have to have the Do it Myself Croat. Under the Croatian Constitution, every Croat can become a citizen of the Republic of Croatia at any time. If he is or isn't a Croat, a statement is good enough. For a start, all Simo Popovic's can declare themselves Croats and no one can deny them citizenship. And after them 300 million Chin Chu Chengs can do that. Croatia is the most open country in the world.

What about the Serb project?

If the Croatian authorities do not allow the return of Orthodox Christian Croats I will declare myself a Serb, that is my right, and call other Croats to join me. With a little luck, we could have a Serb minority of some 3.5 million people. When I worked that out, I heard that the Austrians protected their fellow citizens the Gradiste Croats when the authorities wanted to take away their minority rights. I think that is the right way to reconcile Croats and Serbs in their common homeland.

Imotski and Herzegovina are the homelands for you, Vrdoljak, Suvar, Seselj, Susak, Tolj, Vuk Draskovic, Ante Markovic, Kadijevic and many others. Why don't you form your own independent Dinara Mountain state?

We did form it, Herzeg-Bosna with its satellites, Serbia and Croatia.

How do you explain the fact that Croatia managed to gain a greater reputation in the world and friends from America to China while of all its enemies stayed in Serbia?

Because Tudjman stayed in Croatia.

Do you think relations with Serbia can be normalized?

Aren't they normal already. Don't you see that we're at war?