Sasha Skenderija (Vitez

Vitez

Vitez is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is administratively part of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Name:...

, Bosnia, former Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

, 4 July 1968) is a Bosnian-American poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 currently residing in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and Ithaca, New York

Ithaca, New York

The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...

. He began publishing poetry, prose and criticism in Bosnian

Bosnian

Bosnian may refer to:*Anything related to Bosnia or its inhabitants*Anything related to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina or its inhabitants* Bosnian language, a South Slavic language spoken mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina...

 (Serbo-Croatian

Serbo-Croatian

Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...

) in the late 1980s, graduating from the University of Sarajevo

University of Sarajevo

The University of Sarajevo is the first university in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was originally established in 1531 as a Madrasah or Islamic Law college, with a modern university being established and expanded on top of that in 1949. Today, with 23 faculties and around 55,000 enrolled students, it...

 in 1991. After surviving six months of the siege of Sarajevo

Siege of Sarajevo

The Siege of Sarajevo is the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. Serb forces of the Republika Srpska and the Yugoslav People's Army besieged Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 5 April 1992 to 29 February 1996 during the Bosnian War.After Bosnia...

, he fled to Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

, where he received a Ph.D. in Information Science

Information science

-Introduction:Information science is an interdisciplinary science primarily concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information...

 from Charles University (1997). In 1999, with the help of translator and Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

 linguistics professor Wayles Browne

Wayles Browne

Eppes Wayles Browne is a linguist, Slavist, translator and editor of Slavic journals in several countries. He is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at Cornell University, with research interests in Slavic and general linguistics, notably the study and analysis of Serbo-Croatian, where he is one...

, Skenderija arrived in Ithaca and Cornell, where he has been working since.

Works

Books of poetry published in Bosnian include:

• Golo O
  



• Kako naslikati žar-pticu
  



• Ništa nije kao na filmu
  



• Praški fraktali
  



• Zašto je patuljak morao biti ustrijeljen
  



• Rt Dobre Nade
  

Books of poetry published in English translation:

• Why the Dwarf Had to be Shot.
  



• Cape of Good Hope
  

His poetry has been included in several Bosnian and Croatian anthologies and translated into Czech, English, Macedonian and Slovenian:

• Prague Tales: A Collection of Central European Contemporary Writing,
  



• Absinthe, New European Writing,
  



• There is Less and Less Space: Panorama of the Newest Bosnian Poetry (in Bosnian),
  



• Scar on the Stone: Contemporary Poetry from Bosnia,
  



• Conan Lives Here: Young Bosnian Poetry 1992-1996 (in Croatian),
  



• Messages from the Bottom of the Night: Literature of Bosnia and
  Herzegovina under Siege and in Exile (in Czech),
  



• The Passion of Difference/Dark Sound of Emptiness: Croatian Poetry of
  the 1990s (in Croatian)

English translations of his poems have also been included in:

• Balkan Visions and Silver Visions II,
  



• Witness
  



• Like a Fragile Index of the World: Poems for David Skorton,
  



• Spirit of Bosnia,
  

Skenderija also contributed lyrics to three albums of the cult Sarajevo techno-industrial band SCH (VRIL, 2002; Eat This!, 2004; and Dance

Dance (SCH album)

Dance is the eleventh and the most recent official album by SCH from 2007.The recording line-up was Teno and Azra Pallas . This electro-dance album, according to Vladimir Horvat of TerapijaNet, avoids "all hybrid commercial traps... [consisting of] 70 minutes of the pure joy of listening.....

, 2007).

See also

Author's web site

Why the Dwarf Had to be Shot at Black Buzzard Press

Reading excerpt from Prague Fractals (link to video)

Sasha Skenderija on Google Scholar