Ljubica Ostojić (20 March 1945 – 29 May 2021) was a Bosnian poet, writer and playwright from

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. She wrote in Croatian and taught

dramaturgy Dramaturgy is the study of dramatic composition and the Representation (arts), representation of the main elements of drama on the stage. The term first appears in the eponymous work ''Hamburg Dramaturgy'' (1767–69) by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing ...

at the

Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo The Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo () is a faculty within the University of Sarajevo in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, dedicated to the performing arts. History The Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo was officially opened in 1981 w ...

Early life and education

Born in

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 ...

, she moved with her parents in the same year to

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

. She obtained an Arts degree with a major in comparative literature and theatrology from the Faculty of Philosophy in

Career

As a young poet, she was associated with a group of Sarajevan poets known as ''Sudbonosni dječaci'' (the 'Destined boys') developing as literary and intellectual circle around

Mak Dizdar Mehmedalija "Mak" Dizdar (17 October 1917 – 14 July 1971) was a Bosnian poet. His poetry combined influences from the Bosnian Christian culture, Islamic mysticism and cultural remains of medieval Bosnia, and especially the stećci. His works ...

and

Duško Trifunović Duško Trifunović ( sr, Душко Трифуновић, 13 September 1933 – 28 January 2006) was a Yugoslav writer, poet and television author. Life Born in the small village of Sijekovac near Bosanski Brod (then part of the Vrbas Banovina, ...

, with other distinguished poets of her generation such as:

Abdulah Sidran Abdulah Sidran (born 2 October 1944), often referred to by his hypocoristic nickname ''Avdo'', is a Bosnian poet and screenwriter. He is best known for writing the poetry book Sarajevski Tabut and the scripts for ''When Father Was Away on Busines ...

, Stevan Tontić, Rajko Petrov Nogo,

Radovan Karadžić Radovan Karadžić ( sr-cyr, Радован Караџић, ; born 19 June 1945) is a Bosnian Serb politician, psychiatrist and poet. He was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal Tr ...

, Ivan Kordić,

Drago Jovanović Dragoljub Kosta Jovanovich (January 24, 1916 – November 12, 1983), also known under his pen name D. K. or "Gish" Jovanovich, was a Serbian-American helicopter designer, inventor, and pioneer in autogyro technology. Born in the Kingdom of Yugosla ...

, Predrag Finci etc. Ljubica Ostojić worked as a

dramaturg A dramaturge or dramaturg is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and printed programmes (or helps others with these tasks), consults auth ...

at the Youth Theatre in Sarajevo. She was a professional writer, playwright and long-time theatrical critic for local newspapers and specialised journals, such as ''Odjek'' or ''Književna revija'', and from 1994 lectured at the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo where she held the title of Professor. Ljubica Ostojić wrote scripts for dramas on radio and TV, critical and essay texts on theatre, literature and visual arts. She has also adapted numerous texts for performance in the theatre. Her poems and texts have been translated into

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 ...

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, Slovene,

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

, Slovak,

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, and Hungarian.

Awards and memberships

She was a member of the Association of Writers of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1974 and PEN Club of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2007. In addition, she earned several awards throughout her career, including: * The award of the publisher ''Svjetlost'' for the best book of 1974. * The award of the publisher ''Veselin Masleša'' for the best book of 1985. * The award "Luka Pavlović" from the Association of Theatrical Critics and Theatrologists of Bosnia-Herzegovina for 1990–91. * The award "Golden Brooch" for culture by the weekly magazine ''Žena'' for 1998. * The international award "Grozdanin kikot" – for her contribution to the development of drama education in 2000. * The Golden Laurel Wreath for her contribution to the art of theater, given by the MESS festival in 2012.

Selected works

Poetry

* ''Vrijeme za Ukras'' (''The Time for Adornment'') Svjetlost: Sarajevo 1969 (as Ljubica Ostojić-Finci). * ''Ispod Drvlja I Kamenja'' (''Under the Timbers and Stones'') Svjetlost: Sarajevo 1973. * ''Morska Pjesmarica'' (''Songbook of the Sea''), Veselin Masleša: Sarajevo 1985. * ''Smrtna Pjesmarica'' (''Songbook of Death''), Svjetlost: Sarajevo 1999.

Drama texts

* ''Kočoperitis izvjesne mlade dame u pubertetu'' (''The Over-Enthusiasm of a Certain Young Lady in her Puberty'') Zajednica prof. pozorišta BiH: Sarajevo 1985. * ''Ružno pače'' (''The Ugly Duckling'') Zajednica prof. pozorišta BiH: Sarajevo 1991. * ''Rijeka čudotvornica'' (''The Miraculous River''), in ''Tmača Art'' 45-46 (2008), pp. 102–121 (English and Croatian publications). * ''Sve se nekako preživi osim smrti'' (One can survive everything except death) in ''Prst: Zbirka savremene drame'' 2, ed. by V. Bošković. Hartefakt Drama: Belgrade 2012, pp. 275–345.

Books for children and youth

* ''Tu stanuje Danijelova priča'' (''Here Lives the Story of Danijel''), Svjetlost: Sarajevo 1974. * ''Dječak s ključem oko vrata'' (''The Boy with a Key around his Neck'') Veselin Masleša: Sarajevo 1986. * ''Svjetlucanja'' (''Glowings'') Sarajevo Publishing: Sarajevo 2003. * ''Princeza Ariel I Yo'' (''Princess Ariel and Yo''), Bosanska Riječ: Tuzla 2010.

Theatrical works

* ''Pour une anthologie imaginaire du théâtre contemporain en Bosnie-Herzégovine'', in ''Revue des Études Slaves'' 77/1-2 (2006), pp. 67–77. * ''War and Theatre'', ''Intercultural Education'' (with S. Djulic) in ''European Journal for Intercultural Education'' 10/3 (1999), pp. 313–318.

References

External links

Author's page on The Association of Writers of Bosnia-Herzegovina website (in Croatian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostojic, Ljubica 1945 births 2021 deaths Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina poets Bosnia and Herzegovina women poets 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina writers 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina women writers 21st-century Bosnia and Herzegovina writers 21st-century Bosnia and Herzegovina women writers People from Belgrade People from Sarajevo