Miljenko Jergović is a Bosnian prose writer. Jergović currently lives and works in
ZagrebZagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
,
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, having moved there in 1993.
Jergović has established himself as a writer in ex Yugoslavia, particularly in
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
,
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, and his stories and novels have been translated into more than 20 languages. Critics have acclaimed his capability to turn every topic into a story without changing it at all, hence preserving its internal
logicIn philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
.
His more acclaimed works include his debut
Opservatorija Varšava (
WarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
Observatory, 1988);
Hauzmajstor Šulc (
Schultz the Repairman, 2000), both collections of poetry; a collection of short stories
Sarajevski marlboro (
Sarajevo Marlboro, 1994); the novels
Mama Leone and
Dvori od oraha ("The Mansion in Walnut," 2003; and the drama
Kažeš, anđeo (
You Say It's an Angel, 2000).
His debut "Opservatorij Varšava" won him the Ivan Goran Kovačić Award (by
VjesnikVjesnik is a Croatian daily newspaper, published in Zagreb. Through its history, it has been considered a newspaper of record.The paper was originally printed as a monthly publication by the League of Communists of Croatia starting in 1940...
) and the Mak Dizdar Award.
Jergović's 1994 book
Sarajevski Marlboro was awarded the Erich-Maria Remarque Peace Prize, and the Ksaver Šandor Gjalski Award.
Jergović is also a journalist and has published a collection of his articles in the acclaimed
Historijska čitanka (
A Reader in History, 1996).
Jergović writes a column in the Serbian daily
PolitikaPolitika is a Serbian newspaper. It is considered the newspaper of record and is the oldest daily in the Balkans, having been founded on January 25, 1904 by Vladislav Ribnikar. It is currently being published by Politika Newspapers and Magazines , a joint venture between Politika AD and...
, for
VremeVreme is a weekly newsmagazine based in Belgrade, Serbia.After being prepared for seven months throughout 1990 by liberal Serbian intellectuals dissatisfied with the regime's control of the media, its first issue came out on October 29, 1990. Most of its original staff were journalists from...
magazine and a regulat column in the Croatian daily
Jutarnji listJutarnji list is a daily newspaper in Croatia with a circulation of about 115,000 copies.It was launched in April 1998, becoming the first successful Croatian daily newspaper to appear since the 1950s. It was named after a Zagreb daily that used to circulate before WW2...
entitled
Sumnjivo lice (trans. "suspicious character", lit. "suspicious face"). Jergović has espoused various liberal stances in his columns, including a criticism of chauvinism among what is usually considered the liberal left and an unusually open support for a liberal political candidate.
His novel
Buick Riviera was made into a movie in 2008 by filmmaker Goran Rušinović, and the two were in turn awarded the
Golden Arena for Best ScreenplayThe following is a list of winners of the Golden Arena for Best Screenplay at the Pula Film Festival.-List of winners:The following is a list of winners of the Golden Arena for Best Screenplay at the Pula Film Festival.-Yugoslav competition :...
.
Works
- Opservatorija Varšava, poem collection, 1988
- Uči li noćas neko u ovom gradu japanski?, poem collection, 1992
- Himmel Comando, 1992
- Sarajevski Marlboro, short stories, 1994
- Karivani, short stories, 1995
- Preko zaleđenog mosta, 1996
- Naci bonton, 1998
- Mama Leone, short stories, 1999, Zoro Sarajevo ISBN 978-995-858-943-0
- Sarajevski Marlboro, Karivani i druge priče, short stories, 1999, Durieux Zagreb, ISBN 978-953-188-104-9
- Historijska čitanka, short stories, 2000, ISBN 978-953-201-602-4
- Kažeš anđeo, 2000
- Hauzmajstor Šulc, short stories, 2001
- Buick Riviera, novel, 2002, ISBN 978-868-389-749-0
- Dvori od oraha, novel, 2003, ISBN 978-995-871-764-2
- Rabija i sedam meleka, short stories, 2004, ISBN 978-995-871-711-6
- Historijska čitanka 2, 2004, ISBN 978-953-201-892-9
- Inšallah Madona, inšallah, novel, 2004, ISBN 978-995-871-733-8
- Glorija in excelsis, novel, 2005, Durieux Zagreb, ISBN 978-953-188-244-6
- Žrtve sanjaju veliku ratnu pobjedu, newspaper chronicles, 2006, Durieux Zagreb, ISBN 978-953-188-233-0
- Ruta Tannenbaum, novel, 2006, Durieux Zagreb, ISBN 978-953-188-237-8
- Drugi poljubac Gite Danon, selected stories, 2007, V.B.Z., Zagreb, ISBN 978-953-201-662-8
- Freelander, novel, 2007, Ajfelov most, Sarajevo/Zagreb ISBN 978-995-857-101-3
- Srda pjeva, u sumrak, na Duhove, novel, 2009, Rende, Beograd, ISBN 978-868-389-771-1
- Krađa, 2009
- Transantlantic mail, mail exchange with Semezdin Mehmedinović
Semezdin Mehmedinović is a Bosnian writer, filmmaker, and magazine editor.After studying Librarianship and Comparative Literature in Sarajevo, he worked as an editor of "Lica" and "Valter" magazines, which served as a voice of opposition to the ruling Communist regime...
2008-09, V.B.Z., Zagreb, 2009 ISBN 978-953-304-078-3
- Volga, Volga, novel, 2009, Naklada Ljevak, Zagreb ISBN 978-953-303-086-9
External links