Stone Speaker: Medieval Tombs, Landscape, and Bosnian Identity in the Poetry of Mak Dizdar

237 Pages·2002·2.477 MB·English

by  Amila Buturović (auth.)

Stone Speaker
5
Medieval Tombs,
Landscape, and Bosnian Identity
in the Poetry of Mak Dizdar
by Amila ButuroviD,
with translations by
Francis R. Jones
STONESPEAKER
Copyright © Amila Buturovid
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2002 978-0-312-23946-6
All rights reserved.No part ofthis book may be used or reproduced in
any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of
briefquotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published 2002 by PALGRAVE™
175 Fifth Avenue,New York,N.Y.10010 and
Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire,England RG21 6XS.
Companies and representatives throughout the world.
PALGRAVE is the new global publishing imprint ofSt.Martin’s Press LLC
Scholarly and Reference Division and Palgrave Publishers Ltd.(formerly
Macmillan Press Ltd.).
ISBN 978-1-349-38697-0 ISBN 978-0-312-29915-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780312299156
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Buturovid,Amila,1963-
Stone speaker :medieval tombstones,landscape,and Bosnian identity in
the poetry ofMak Dizdar / by Amila Buturovid;with translations by
Francis R.Jones.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Dizdar,Mak—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Dizdar,Mak.
Kameni spavac. 3. Bosnia and Hercegovina—In literature.
4. Ethnicity in literature. I. Title.
PG1618.D57 Z57 2002
891.8’2154—dc21
2001056146
Design by Letra Libre,Inc.
First edition:June 2002
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In memory of
my parents and my sister
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Contents
List ofIllustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
Chapter One Imagining Bosnia:OfTexts and Contexts 15
Chapter Two The Archeology ofthe Stedak:
Historical and Cultural Considerations 51
Chapter Three The Ancestral Voices Speak:
Mak Dizdar’s Stone Sleeper 81
Chapter Four Mapping the Bosnian Identity:Sacred Space,
Rootedness,and Continuity in Stone Sleeper 127
Appendix Translating Spiritual Space-Time:
Recreating Kameni Spavacin English,
by Francis R.Jones (with Bilingual
Selections from Stone Sleeper) 165
Notes 199
Bibliography 215
Index 225
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Illustrations
Frontispiece 1:Radmilja Cemetery near Stolac
(the birthplace ofMak Dizdar).
Photo by András Riedlmayer. 14
Frontispiece 2:“Man with a hand raised high,”
Radmilja Cemetery.
Photo by András Riedlmayer. 50
Figure 2.1:Stedci in the front yard ofthe
National Museum,Sarajevo.
Photo by András Riedlmayer. 62
Frontispiece 3:“Vine and its Branches,”
Radmilja Cemetery.
Photo by András Riedlmayer. 80
Frontispiece 4:A cross shaped Stedak,
Radmilja Cemetery.
Photo by András Riedlmayer. 126
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Acknowledgments
The writing ofthis book has been a truly interdisciplinary experience,
occasioning numerous conversations with friends and colleagues
across scholarly and cultural boundaries.Their challenging questions and
helpful insights allowed this study to evolve in directions that I could not
have envisioned on my own.I have been lucky to have such a diverse net-
work offriends and colleagues,that very real—not imagined!—commu-
nity ofintellectual inspiration and support.
I am especially grateful to Irvin Schick whose generous,patient,and
critical involvement in the shaping of this book has been most valuable.
Sincere thanks also go to the following individuals whose contributions
and influences will always be appreciated: Levent Hekimoglu, Michael
Beard, Francis Jones, Hélène Lipstadt, Rosalind Morris, András Riedl-
mayer,Mark Rogalski,Richard Sanger,Jamie Scott,Michael Sells,Marta
Simidchieva,Joan Steigerwald,Victoria Stoett,and Daphne Winland.
I owe thanks to my colleagues at York University for a steadfast support
in dire times ofacademic “multitasking.”Also,I was fortunate to receive a
Faculty of Arts fellowship that released me from teaching and adminis-
trative responsibilities for one year in order to concentrate on this project.
I have been lucky to be able to work with Kristi Long at Palgrave,
whose editorial experience and intellectual breadth have proven to be
very beneficial.I thank her and her editorial team for their efficiency and
assistance.
Most importantly,I thank little Asya.
Material printed in revised form from “Reasserting Authenticity:Bosnian
Identity,Religion,and Landscape in the Poetry of Mak Dizdar,”in Map-
ping the Sacred in Postcolonial Literatures, ed. J. Scott and P. Simpson-
Housley (Atlanta: Rodopi BV, 2001), is reprinted with permission of
Editions Rodopi BV.
Bilingual poetry is reprinted from Mak Dizdar’s Kameni spavac / Stone
Speaker,translated by Francis R.Jones (DID,Sarajevo,1999) with permission.