Biljana D. Obradović is a

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

ian-

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

, critic,

translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

, and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

who has lived in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Early life

Obradoviċ was born in

Bitola Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...

, Macedonia of Serbian parents,

Dragoslav Dragoslav (Cyrillic: Драгослав) is a South Slavic masculine given name, derived from '' drag'' ("dear, beloved") and ''slava'' ("glory, fame"), both very common in Slavic dithematic names."Behind the Name", 's.v.'' https://www.behindthe ...

and Vera Obradoviċ, who originally came from the area of

Aleksinac Aleksinac ( sr-Cyrl, Алексинац) is a town and municipality located in the Nišava District of southern Serbia. According to 2011 census, the town has a population of 17,978 inhabitants, while the municipality has 51,863 inhabitants. His ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. Her father was a

customs officer A customs officer is a law enforcement agent who enforces customs laws, on behalf of a government. Canada Canadian customs officers are members of the Canada Border Services Agency. It was created in 2003 and preceded by the Canada Customs and ...

, then a diplomat. She learned English at the age of ten at Pinewood Schools of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

which she attended from grade five to nine. She moved to

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

, Serbia, briefly then to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, India, where she attended

Cathedral and John Connon School The Cathedral & John Connon School is a co-educational private school founded in 1860 and located in Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra.Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

to pursue a Bachelor of Arts, B.A. in English language and literature at the Faculty of Philology of

Belgrade University The University of Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public university in Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-ba ...

. In 1988, she moved to

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, for an M.F.A. in

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

from

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

which she received in 1991, after which she moved to

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, for a

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

. in English from the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, Lincoln.

Career

Obradoviċ considers herself a transnational poet, drawing on her lived experience in many countries and her fluency in multiple languages. Her first collection of poems, ''Frozen Embraces'', a bilingual edition, won the

Rastko Petrović Rastko Petrović (1898-1949) was a Serbian poet and writer. After serving in the Serbian Army in World War I, he studied law in Paris and became a diplomat. Based at the Yugoslav embassy in Washington, D.C. during World War II, he remained in ...

Award for the Best Poem of 1997 and Best Book of 1998. Subsequent collections include ''Le Riche Monde'' in 1999, ''Three Poets in New Orleans'' in 2000, ''Little Disruptions'' in 2012, and ''Incognito'' in 2017. In addition to her own poetry, other works include her Serbian translations of John Gery's ''American Ghost: Selected Poems'' (Raška Škola, Belgrade/ Merrick, New York, Cross-Cultural Communications, 1999), Serbian translations of

Stanley Kunitz Stanley Jasspon Kunitz (; July 29, 1905May 14, 2006) was an American poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress twice, first in 1974 and then again in 2000. Biography Kunitz was born in Worcester, Massac ...

, ''The Long Boat'' (co-published by Plato, Belgrade and Cross-Cultural Communications, Merrick, NY, 2007), and ''Fives: Fifty Poems by Serbian and American Poets, A Bilingual Anthology'', as editor and translator (Co-published by Contact Line, Belgrade, and Cross-Cultural Communications, Merrick, NY, 2002), an English translation of Bratislav Milanović's, ''Doors in a Meadow'' (New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2011), a translation of poems by Patrizia de Rachewiltz, ''Dear Friends'' (Književno Društvo Sveti Sava, 2012), and a translation of a selection of poems by Bruce Weigl, ''What Saves Us'' (Beogradska Knjiga 2013). Obradović's work has appeared in such anthologies as ''Like Thunder: Poets Respond to Violence in America'' and ''Key West: A Collection'', as well as ''Kletva''

urse Urse is a village in the Palghar district of Maharashtra, India. It is located in the Dahanu taluka. Demographics According to the 2011 census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, h ...

She also reviews books for ''World Literature Today'' and others. In 2019, Obradović received the Miloš Djordjević Book Prize for ''Cat Painters'', an anthology of contemporary Serbian poetry. She received the Masaryk Academy of Arts Medal for Artistic Achievements, October 20, 2000,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, and is a member of the Association of Writers of Serbia. She is professor of English at

Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana (also known as XULA) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Roman Catholic, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic HBCU ...

, New Orleans, where she lives with her husband John Gery and son Petar.

Published works

Poetry collections

''Frozen Embraces/ Zamrznuti Zagrljaji'' (A bilingual, English/Serbian, collection of poems). Belgrade/Merrick, NY: Center of Emigrants from Serbia/Cross-Cultural Communications, 1997. ''Le Riche Monde'' (A bilingual, English/Serbian, collection of poems). Belgrade/ Merrick, NY: Raška Škola/ Cross-Cultural Communications, 1999. ''Three Poets in New Orleans: Lee Meitzen Grue, Biljana D. Obradović, Patricia A. Ward.'' Ed. Thomas Bonner. New Orleans: Xavier Review Press, 2000 (thirteen poems). ''Little Disruptions/Mali Poremećaji (A bilingual edition).'' Transl. from English by Tatjana Stefanović et al. Niš: Niš Cultural Center Press, 2012. ''Incognito.'' Cincinnati: Word Tech Communications, 2017. ''Little Disruptions''. Cincinnati: WordTech Communications, Oct. 2022.

Poetry translations

Gery, John. ''American Ghost / Američki duh (A bilingual selection)'', Transl. Biljana D. Obradović into Serbian. Belgrade/ Merrick, NY: Raška Škola/ Cross-Cultural Communications, 1999. Kunitz, Stanley. ''The Long Boat/ Dugi Čamac'' (A bilingual selection. Translation: Biljana D. Obradović into Serbian of the poetry by US Poet Laureate, Stanley Kunitz). Belgrade / New York: Plato/ Cross-Cultural Communications, July 2007. Milanović, Bratislav. ''The Unnecessary Chronicle.'' Transl. Biljana D. Obradović from Serbian into English. Smederevo: Smederevo Poetry Autumn, 2008. Milanović, Bratislav. ''Doors in a Meadow.'' Transl. Biljana D. Obradović from Serbian into English. New York: The Edwin Mellon Press, 2011. De Rachewiltz, Patrizia, Poems and Photographs by Lynda Smith. ''Dear Friends/ Dragi Prijatelji. (A bilingual edition).'' Transl. Biljana D. Obradović Belgrade from English into Serbian. Belgrade: Književno Društvo “Sveti Sava,” 2012. Weigl, Bruce. ''What Saves Us / Šta nas spasava.'' Trans. Biljana D. Obradovic. Belgrade: Beogradska Knjiga, 2013. Osundare, Niyi. ''The Tongue Is a Pink Fire / Jezik Je Ružičasta Vatra.'' Transl. Biljana Obradović''.''. Belgrade: Udruženje Književnika Srbije, 2015. Karanović, Zvonko. ''Sleepwalkers on a Picnic''. Transl. Biljana D. Obradović. New Orleans: Dialogos Press, Sept. 2019. Djurić, Dubravka. ''The Politics of Hope (After the War): Selected and New Poems.'' Trans. Biljana D. Obradović. New York: Roof Books, Nov. 2023.

Edited anthologies

Obradović, Biljana D. and Dubravka Djurić, eds. ''Cat Painters: An Anthology of Contemporary Serbian Poetry'' (preface by Charles Bernstein). New Orleans: Dialogos Press, 2016. Obradović, Biljana D., ed. ''Fives: Fifty Poems by Serbian and American Poets, A Bilingual Anthology.'' (Editor and translator with an introduction.) Belgrade / Merrick, NY: Contact Line / Cross-Cultural Communications, 2002. Serbian Poetry. ''Atlanta Review.'' Spring/Summer 2021. Transl. Biljana Obradović, and Co-guest edited with Dubravka Djurić (Translations by various Serbian poets, introduction and bios). pp. 39-146.

Critical works

Dacey, Philip. ''Heavenly Muse: Essays on Poetry.'' Biljana D. Obradović, Ed. New Orleans: Lavender Ink, 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obradovic, Biljana D. Xavier University of Louisiana faculty American people of Serbian descent Living people 1961 births Naturalized citizens of the United States People from Bitola Yugoslav emigrants to the United States Yugoslav expatriates in Greece Expatriates in India