Josip Osti
Encyclopedia
Josip Osti is a Bosnia
n poet
, prose writer and essayist, literary critic, anthologist and translator.
Osti was born in Sarajevo
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
. He graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Sarajevo
. He was the editor of the culture part of the student magazine Naši dani, editor at the publishing house Veselin Masleša, Secretary of the Literature Society of the City of Sarajevo and Director of the international literary festival Sarajevo Days of Poetry, Secretary of the Writers’ Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, President of the Association of Literary Translators of Bosnia and Herzegovina and proof-reader/corrector of the publishing house Svijetlost.
Since 1990, Osti has been living in Slovenia
, first in Ljubljana
and currently in the village of Tomaj
in the Kras
region, where he works as a freelance writer.
Osti has published some twenty books of poetry (last four were written in Slovene), three books of prose, twelve books of essays, literary criticism and journalistic texts, as well as the book of conversations with Izet Sarajlić
and the book of correspondence with Biljana Jovanović.
Osti has edited and translated ten anthologies of Bosnian-Herzegovinian and Slovenian poetry and prose, and translated more than eighty books and fifteen plays by Slovenian authors. Some thirty translations of his books in Slovene, Italian
, Czech
, English
, Polish
, Turkish
, Bulgarian
and Macedonian
have been published so far.
Osti has won the Slovenian literary awards: Zlata ptica ("Golden Bird", 1993), Veronikina nagrada ("Veronika Award", 1999), Župančičeva nagrada (Župančič Award, 2000) and Jenkova nagrada (Jenko Award
, 2006), as well as the international literary award Vilenica
(1994) and the special international poetry award Scritture di Frontiera (Trieste
, 2005).
Bosnians
Bosnians are people who reside in, or come from, Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the modern state definition a Bosnian can be anyone who holds citizenship of the state. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the constituent ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and...
n 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...
, prose writer and essayist, literary critic, anthologist and translator.
Osti was born in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia 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...
. He graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy at 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...
. He was the editor of the culture part of the student magazine Naši dani, editor at the publishing house Veselin Masleša, Secretary of the Literature Society of the City of Sarajevo and Director of the international literary festival Sarajevo Days of Poetry, Secretary of the Writers’ Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, President of the Association of Literary Translators of Bosnia and Herzegovina and proof-reader/corrector of the publishing house Svijetlost.
Since 1990, Osti has been living in Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, first in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
and currently in the village of Tomaj
Tomaj
Tomaj is a village in the Sežana Municipality in the Littoral region of Slovenia.The Parish Church in the settlement is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul and belongs to the Diocese of Koper...
in the Kras
Kras
Karst ; also known as the Karst Plateau, is a limestone borderline plateau region extending in southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills surrounding the valley, the westernmost part of the Brkini Hills, northern Istria, and the Gulf of Trieste...
region, where he works as a freelance writer.
Osti has published some twenty books of poetry (last four were written in Slovene), three books of prose, twelve books of essays, literary criticism and journalistic texts, as well as the book of conversations with Izet Sarajlić
Izet Sarajlic
Izet Sarajlić was a Bosnian historian of philosophy, essayist, translator and poet. Sarajlić was Bosnia and Herzegovina's best-known poet after World War II, and the former Yugoslavia's most widely translated poet....
and the book of correspondence with Biljana Jovanović.
Osti has edited and translated ten anthologies of Bosnian-Herzegovinian and Slovenian poetry and prose, and translated more than eighty books and fifteen plays by Slovenian authors. Some thirty translations of his books in Slovene, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, Bulgarian
Bulgarian language
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
and Macedonian
Macedonian language
Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
have been published so far.
Osti has won the Slovenian literary awards: Zlata ptica ("Golden Bird", 1993), Veronikina nagrada ("Veronika Award", 1999), Župančičeva nagrada (Župančič Award, 2000) and Jenkova nagrada (Jenko Award
Jenko Award
The Jenko Award is a literary award in Slovenia awarded each year for the best poetry collection in Slovene published in the previous two years. It has been bestowed since 1986 by the Slovene Writers' Association....
, 2006), as well as the international literary award Vilenica
Vilenica
Vilenica Cave or Vilenica Cave at Lokev is the oldest show cave in Europe. The first tourists to the cave were recorded in 1633. It is located next to the village of Lokev in the municipality of Sežana on the Karst Plateau in southwestern Slovenia. Until the mid-19th century it was known as the...
(1994) and the special international poetry award Scritture di Frontiera (Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, 2005).