Zija Dizdarevic
Encyclopedia
Zija Dizdarević was a Bosnian prose writer.
, Ljubuški
municipality, Bosnia and Herzegovina
, from where he moved in 1920 to Fojnica
. There he spent most of his youth and always came back regardless of all the other places he went to. After finishing primary school in Fojnica, he started grammar school in Sarajevo
, and finished it in 1936. This is when his literary and political work started. In those ages he managed to publish few short stories, and to get arrested for participating in youth strikes. In 1937 he started studying pedagogy in Belgrade
, which then was a capital of the whole region, i.e. Yugoslavia
. His literary works started to appear in many papers, but also his political engagement rose. Even before he turned 30 the World War II
started. For a year he worked in Fojnica and Sarajevo as illegal cooperator, thus in spring of 1942, one day before joining the partisan
army he was arrested in Sarajevo and taken to camp Jasenovac
in Croatia
, where he was executed shortly afterwards.
In his writings, he used authentic Bosnian speech and dialect, spoken by uneducated common situations in their common lives, who were the main protagonists of his works.
His most famous story is "Majka" (mother) where he describes the life of a common woman, her devotion to her family, especially her children. The topic of the story is a death of one of her children, who suddenly got hit by the car. But the story explains the whole lot of the life of women and the childhood of a narrator (probably the writer himself, but evident is the usage of Ich form).
Biography
He was born in VitinaVitina
Vitina is a town and municipality in the Gnjilane district of south-eastern Kosovo.-Geography:Towns in the Vitina municipality include Pozhoran, Kabash, Binqa, Kllokot, Drobesh, Smirë, etc.-History:...
, Ljubuški
Ljubuški
Ljubuški is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in thewestern part of Herzegovina.-1971:28.269 total* Croats - 26.198 * Muslims by nationality - 1.812 * Serbs - 118 * Yugoslavs - 49...
municipality, 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...
, from where he moved in 1920 to Fojnica
Fojnica
Fojnica is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located west of the capital Sarajevo. It lies in the valley of the Fojnička River, tributary of the river Bosna...
. There he spent most of his youth and always came back regardless of all the other places he went to. After finishing primary school in Fojnica, he started grammar school 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....
, and finished it in 1936. This is when his literary and political work started. In those ages he managed to publish few short stories, and to get arrested for participating in youth strikes. In 1937 he started studying pedagogy in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, which then was a capital of the whole region, i.e. Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. His literary works started to appear in many papers, but also his political engagement rose. Even before he turned 30 the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
started. For a year he worked in Fojnica and Sarajevo as illegal cooperator, thus in spring of 1942, one day before joining the partisan
Partisans (Yugoslavia)
The Yugoslav Partisans, or simply the Partisans were a Communist-led World War II anti-fascist resistance movement in Yugoslavia...
army he was arrested in Sarajevo and taken to camp Jasenovac
Jasenovac
Jasenovac is a village and a municipality in Croatian Slavonia, in the southern part of the Sisak-Moslavina county at the confluence of the river Una into Sava.The name means "ash tree" or "ash forest" in Croatian, the area being ringed by such a forest....
in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , 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 ...
, where he was executed shortly afterwards.
Works
Today Dizdarević is very famous and every textbook for elementary and/or middle school features at least one of his stories. Those stories are either from the social critique or the realistic description of everyday life.In his writings, he used authentic Bosnian speech and dialect, spoken by uneducated common situations in their common lives, who were the main protagonists of his works.
His most famous story is "Majka" (mother) where he describes the life of a common woman, her devotion to her family, especially her children. The topic of the story is a death of one of her children, who suddenly got hit by the car. But the story explains the whole lot of the life of women and the childhood of a narrator (probably the writer himself, but evident is the usage of Ich form).
List of works
All Dizdarević's works were published after his death. This is the list of titles and their first editions. List is in Bosnian, but possible translations into English are also given. There is no record that any of his works are translated into English until today.- Pripovijetke (Svjetlost, Sarajevo, 1948), Short Stories
- Prosanjane jeseni (Džepna knjiga, Sarajevo, 1959), The Autumns That were Dreamt Away
- Sabrana djela (Svjetlost, Sarajevo, 1968), Collected Works
- Blago u duvaru (Zadrugar, Sarajevo, 1983), Treasure in the Wall