Fabula literary evening: Milena Marković – Children (Deca)

Winner of the prestigious Serbian NIN Award for best novel in the Serbian language, the book Children by the distinguished poet and playwright Milena Marković is a bold literary hybrid, blending poetry and prose. An autobiographical story told in verse, without punctuation marks or capital letters, using rhythm and other poetic devices, takes us on an elated voyage through the past, punctuated by the search for self and facing up to an extended but alienated family and historical chaos. At the same time, Marković’s confessional writing – both extremely direct, robust, at times painfully sincere, immersed in dirty reality and sensitively lyrical – takes on a mythical aura. This kind of storytelling, however, opens up crucial questions about the position of the traditional family and the status of children in the modern world, specifically in the Balkans, an area of never-ending turmoil. In author’s signature style, anger, injustice, cynicism, vulgarity and regret subtly shine through the dust-covered poetic beauty of crystallised memories.  

The novel has been translated by Muanis Sinanović.

Milena Marković (1974) is a Serbian poet, director, screenwriter and university professor. In 2010, her book Ptičje oko na tarabi received the prestigious Biljana Jovanović and Đura Jakšić poetry awards.  She is not only one of Serbia's most important playwrights whose plays are also performed internationally (including Wiener Festwochen, Steirischer Herbst, Schauspielhaus Zürich), but also one of the most important artists of her generation. Her award-winning plays (including the Miloš Crnjanski Award (2007) for 3 drame) have enjoyed great commercial success on the international circuit. She wrote the screenplays for the films directed by Oleg Novković: Sutra Ujutru (2007), Beli beli svet (2009) and Otadžbina (2015). She is an associate professor at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, Department of Dramaturgy. 

The talk will take place in English, with simultaneous translation into Slovenian.