Borislav Pekić
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Borislav Pekić ( sr-cyr, Борислав Пекић, ; 4 February 1930 – 2 July 1992) was a Serbian and Yugoslav writer and political activist. He was born in 1930, to a prominent family in
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
, at that time part of the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
. From 1945 until his emigration to
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1971, he lived in Belgrade. He was also one of the founding members of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
in Serbia. He is considered one of the most important Serbian literary figures of the 20th century.


Life and works


Early life and novels

Borislav Pekić spent his childhood in different cities of
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 ...
,
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
and
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
. He graduated from high school in 1945 in Belgrade and shortly afterward was arrested with the accusation of belonging to the secret association "Yugoslav Democratic Youth" and sentenced to fifteen years of prison. During the time in prison, he conceived many of the ideas later developed in his major novels. He was released after five years and in 1953 began studying experimental psychology at the
University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy The University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy ( sr, Филозофски факултет Универзитета у Београду), established in 1838 within the Belgrade Higher School, is the oldest Faculty at the University of Belgrade ...
, although he never earned a degree. In 1958 he married Ljiljana Glišić, the niece of
Milan Stojadinović Milan Stojadinović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Стојадиновић; 4 August 1888 – 26 October 1961) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and economist who served as the Prime Minister of Yugoslavia from 1935 to 1939. He also served as Fore ...
, Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (1935–1939) and a year later their daughter Aleksandra was born, who was later married to a German aristocrat, Baron Victor von
Maltzahn The House of Maltzahn or Maltzan is the name of an ancient German noble family of the counts and barons von Maltza(h)n which originated from Mecklenburg, Germany, whose members occupied many important positions in the Duchy of Mecklenburg and in ...
. 1958 marked also the year when Pekić wrote his first of over twenty original film scripts for the major film studios in
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, among which '' Dan četrnaesti'' ("The Fourteenth Day") represented Yugoslavia at the 1961
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
. For years Pekić had been working on several novels and when the first of them, ''Vreme čuda'' (1965), came out, it caught the attention of a wide reading audience as well as the critics. In 1976 it was published in English by Brace Harcourt in New York as ''The Time of Miracles''. It was also translated into French in 1986,
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
in 1986,
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...
in 1987, Italian in 2004, and
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 ...
in 2007. Pekić's first novel clearly announced two of the most important characteristics of his work: sharp anti-dogmatism and constant skepticism regarding any possible 'progress' mankind has achieved over the course of history. When Pekić authored an anthology of Children's poetry,
Grigorije Vitez Grigorije "Grigor" Vitez ( sh-Cyrl, Григорије "Григор" Витез; 15 February 1911 – 23 November 1966) was a Yugoslav writer and translator. He is best remembered as the author of children's poetry and other forms of literature f ...
criticised him because, even though Serbian literature for children is de facto richer than Croatian, he should have included more poets from Croatia. During the 1968–1969 period, Pekić was one of the editors of ''Književne novine'' literary magazine. In 1970 his second novel, ''Hodočašće Arsenija Njegovana'' (The Pilgrimage of Arsenije Njegovan) was published, in which an echo of the students protests of 1968 in Yugoslavia can be found. Despite his ideological distance from the mainstream opposition movements, the new political climate further complicated his relationship with the authorities, who refused him a passport for some time. The novel, nevertheless, won the
NIN award The ''NIN'' Award ( sr, Ninova nagrada, italics=yes, Нинова награда), officially the Award for Best Novel of the Year, is a prestigious Serbian (and previously Yugoslavian) literary award established in 1954 by the ''NIN'' weekly a ...
for the best Yugoslav novel of the year. An English translation ''The Houses of Belgrade'' appeared in 1978 and it was later published in
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
,
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, ...
and
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...
.


Exile and further work

Following Pekić's emigration to London in 1971, the Yugoslav authorities still considered him ''persona non grata'' and for several years they prevented his books from being published in Yugoslavia. Finally, in 1975, ''Uspenje i sunovrat Ikara Gubelkijana'' ("The Rise and Fall of Icarus Gubelkian") appeared. It was later translated into
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
in 1980, Hungarian in 1982,
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, ...
in 1985 and French in 1992. In 1977 he sent the manuscript of ''Kako upokojiti Vampira'' ("How to Quiet a Vampire") to an anonymous literary competition. The Association of Yugoslav Publishers recognized it as the best novel of the year and promptly published it. ''Kako upokojiti Vampira'' was subsequently translated into
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, ...
in 1980,
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
in 1985, and Italian in 1992, with an English translation finally appearing in 2005. Based in part on Pekić's own prison experiences, this novel offers an insight into the methods, logic and psychology of a modern totalitarian regime. ''Odbrana i poslednji dani'' ("The Defense and the Last Days", 1977) was published in
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
and Hungarian in 1982,
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, ...
in 1983, French in 1989 and
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
in 2003. These three novels essentially dealt with contrasting types of collaboration in Yugoslavia at different levels during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. In 1978, after more than two decades of preparation, investigation and study, the first volume of ''Zlatno runo'' ("The Golden Fleece", 1978-1986) was published, fully establishing Pekić as one of the most important Serbian authors. In 1987 he received Montenegrin ''Njegoš'' award for this work, marking it as one of the most important contemporary prose writings in Yugoslavia. ''The Golden Fleece'' prompted comparison by international critics to
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
’s ''
Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...
'' and its narrative patterns of classical myths, to Thomas Mann's ''
Buddenbrooks ''Buddenbrooks'' () is a 1901 novel by Thomas Mann, chronicling the decline of a wealthy north German merchant family over the course of four generations, incidentally portraying the manner of life and mores of the Hanseatic bourgeoisie in th ...
'' and its long family history and evolution of pre-war society, and to Aldous Huxley's ''
Point Counter Point ''Point Counter Point'' is a novel by Aldous Huxley, first published in 1928. It is Huxley's longest novel, and was notably more complex and serious than his earlier fiction. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked ''Point Counter Point'' 44th on ...
'' and its inner tensions created through a maze of conflicting perspectives; yet ''The Golden Fleece'' was also hailed as unique. One of the novel’s obvious distinctions is its enormous scope and thematic complexity. ''The Golden Fleece'' describes the wanderings of generations of the Njegovans, and through them explores the history of the
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
. The first, second and third volumes were published in French in 2002, 2003 and 2004. The fourth volume was published in 2008. During the 1980s Pekić created something entirely new. He had been collecting material for a book about the lost island of
Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...
, with the intention to give “a new, although poetical, explanation of the roots, development, and the end of our civilization”. Despite the classical sources that inspired his anthropological interests, Pekić decided to project his new vision into the future and thus avoid the restrictions of the ‘historical models’, which he had inevitably had to confront in his earlier remakes of ancient myths. The result was three novels: '' Besnilo'' ("Rabies", 1983), ''Atlantida'' ("Atlantis", 1988) and ''1999'' (1984). The novel ''Rabies'' together with ''The Golden Fleece'' and ''The Years the Locusts Have Devoured'', were selected by readers as the best novels in the years from 1982 to 1991. All of them were reprinted numerous times in Serbia. ''Rabies'' was published in Spanish in 1988, and Hungarian in 1994, and ''Atlantis'' in
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, ...
in 1989. For ''Atlantis'' Pekić won the ‘ Croatian Goran’ award in 1988. At the end of 1984 Pekić's twelve volume ''Selected Works'' appeared, winning him an award from the Union of Serbian Writers. ''Godine koje su pojeli skakavci'' ("The Years the Locusts Have Devoured", in three volumes) was published between 1987 and 1990. Two parts of the 1st volume were translated into English and published in literary magazines. These are Pekić’s memoirs with an account of the post-war days and the life and persecutions of the bourgeoisie under the communist rule. The account is not purely autobiographical in the classical sense, since Pekić also deals with life in general in Yugoslavia after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He depicts prison life as a unique civilization and the civilization of ‘freedom’ as a special kind of prison. This trilogy was selected as the best memoir and received the ‘
Miloš Crnjanski Miloš Crnjanski ( sr-cyr, Милош Црњански, ; 26 October 1893 – 30 November 1977) was a Serbian writer and poet of the expressionist wing of Serbian modernism, author, and a diplomat. Biography Crnjanski was born in Csongrád (mode ...
’ award. The gothic stories ''Novi Jerusalim'' ("The New Jerusalem") were published in 1989, and Pekić accepted the ''Majska Rukovanja'' award in Montenegro in 1990 for his literary and cultural achievements. Two stories from the book were published in French, English and Ukrainian in different anthologies. 'Covek koji je jeo smrt' ("The man who ate death") from ''Novi Jerusalim'' ("The New Jerusalem") was translated into French in 2005, and won the French "Book Of The Day" award the same year.


Film, theater and radio

Pekić distinguished himself in the 1970s as one of the best Serbian contemporary dramatists. He regularly wrote radio-plays for
Westdeutscher Rundfunk Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (''West German Broadcasting Cologne''; WDR, ) is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the conso ...
,
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
, as well as Süddeutscher Rundfunk,
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
. Of the 27 plays written and performed in Serbia, 17 had their first production in Germany. Many of them were transformed into theatre and/or TV plays, and received a number of awards. Sixteen were published in his ''Odabrana dela'' (Selected works, 1984) and his play ''Generali ili srodstvo po oruzju'' (The Generals or Kinship-In-Arms, 1969) can be found in any anthology of Serbian contemporary drama. Pekić's theatre plays were widely acclaimed and popular, the most famous being ''Korešpondencija'' (Correspondence 1979), which was based on the fourth volume of ''the Golden Fleece'' and ran for 280 performances and 23 years at the Atelje 212 Theatre in Belgrade. Throughout his career, Pekić worked on numerous films, writing more than twenty original screenplays and adapting some of his novels to the screen. ''The Time of Miracles'' was selected to represent Yugoslavia at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
in 1991, where it won an award, and later at film festivals in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
and
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. ''The Devils Heaven'' (The Summer of White Roses) won an award at the film festival in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
in 1989 and was selected the same year to represent Yugoslavia at film festivals in
Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
(France),
Pula Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian language, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot language, Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene language, Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the List of cities and town ...
(Croatia),
San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...
(Spain), and
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
(USA). As a part-time commentator at the
BBC World BBC World News is an international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and S ...
Service in London, (1986–1991) Pekić read his ‘Letters from London’ every week; these were subsequently printed in Yugoslavia as ''Pisma iz tuđine'', ''Nova pisma iz tuđine'', and ''Poslednja pisma iz tuđine'' (Letters From Abroad, 1, 2 &3, 1987-1991). Each book was made up of 50 letters with witty and inventive observations about England and the English people. The letters were also broadcast for listeners in Serbia, for whom Pekić particularly enjoyed making numerous humorous comparisons between the English and his fatherland’s governments, country and people. For these books he received the Jaša Ignjatović award (Hungary) in 1991. Pekić also ran a series on the same program at the BBC about the history of Great Britain, which was published posthumously - ''Sentimentalna povest Britanskog carstva'' (A Sentimental History Of The British Empire, 1992), for which he received the Yearly ‘Bigz’ award. It was published several times enjoying a huge success.


End of life and posthumous texts

In 1989 he became one of the founding members of The Democratic Party in Serbia and in 1990 he became its Vice President and one of the editors of the party's newspaper "Demokratija" ("Democracy"). Pekić was a member of the P. E. N. Association in London and Belgrade, and became Vice President of the Serbian P. E. N. Association between 1990-1992. He was elected to The
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...
in 1985, and was made a member of the Advisory Committee to The Royal Crown in 1992. Active both as an author and a public figure until his last day, Pekić died of lung cancer at his home in London on 2 July 1992. He was laid to rest at the famous 'Alley of Distinguished Citizens' ('Aleja zaslužnih građana') in Belgrade together with other distinguished figures from the social, political and cultural echelons of society. Posthumously, in 1992, Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia awarded Pekić the Order of the White Eagle, being the highest honour bestowed by Yugoslavian Royal Family. A large body of his work was, and continues to be, published posthumously: ''Vreme reči'' ("The Time of Words"), 1993; ''Odmor od istorije'' ("A Break from History"), 1993; ''Graditelji'' ("The Builders"), 1994; ''Rađanje Atlantide'' ("The Birth of Atlantis"), 1996; ''Skinuto sa trake'' ("Transferred from Tapes"), 1996; ''U traganju za Zlatnim runom'' ("In Search of the Golden Fleece"), 1997; ''Izabrana pisma iz tuđine'' ("Selected Letters from Abroad"), 2000; ''Političke sveske'' ("Political Notebooks"), 2001; ''Filosofske sveske'' ("Philosophical Notebooks"), 2001; ''Korespondencija kao život, 1&2'' ("Correspondence as a Life"), 2002-2003; ''Sabrana pisma iz tuđine'' ("Collection of letters from abroad"), 2004, ("Robots and Wraiths", collection of unpublished plays), 2006, ''Izabrane drame'' ("Selected plays"), 2007, ''Izabrani eseji'' ("Selected essays"), 2007, ''Moral i demokratija'' ("Moral and democracy", a collection of interviews and essays), 2008, (collected thoughts from published and unpublished work), 2008. On 1 and 2 July 2000 the
Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Serbica, sr-Cyr, Српска академија наука и уметности, САНУ, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, SANU) is a national academy and the ...
in Belgrade held a symposium with the theme: ‘Literary work of Borislav Pekić on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of his birth’. The essays from that symposium were published in 2003. In 2006, his wife Ljiljana, credited with the abovementioned posthumously published work, started the Borislav Pekic blog where one can find published as well as yet unpublished works of Pekic. Pekić has left a vast corpus of high literary quality characterized by following traits: narrative structures of growing complexity that, in the case of ''The Golden Fleece'' cross the fuzzy bounds of the post-modern novel and can be best described by the author's sub-title "Phantasmagoria" (this mammoth work is more than 3,500 pages long); the presence of autobiographical thread one can detect in all major Pekić's works, but especially in his vivid and unsentimental memoirs on his years as a political prisoner and essayist books on life in Britain; obsession with the theme of personal freedom crushed by the impersonal mechanism of the totalitarian power.


Views

Pekić never took
British citizenship British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...
during his life in exile in the United Kingdom. He considered himself a Serb and a Serbian writer and wanted to stay that way for the rest of his life, with which his wife and daughter showed solidarity. In correspondence with friends, he stated that "no one wants him in Serbia", as well as that Serbs blamed him for not being a Serb enough in public appearances and that Montenegrins blamed him for "not standing up for their fictional nation".


Bibliography


Works available in English translation

In chronological order of translation: * ''The Time of Miracles'', translated by Lovett F. Edwards, New York:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City a ...
, 1976, . * ''The Houses of Belgrade'', translated by Bernard Johnson, New York:
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City a ...
, 1978, . * ''The Generals or Kinship-in-Arms'', play, translated by Vidosava Janković, "Scena" 13 (1990), pp. 143–53. * ''Megalo Mastoras and His Work 1347 A.D.'', translated by Stephen M. Dickey and Doc Roc in ''The Prince of Fire: An Anthology of Contemporary Serbian Short Stories'', edited by Radmila J. Gorup and Nadežda Obradović, Pittsburgh (PA):
University of Pittsburgh Press The University of Pittsburgh Press is a scholarly publishing house and a major American university press, part of the University of Pittsburgh. The university and the press are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The press ...
, 1998. * ''How to Quiet a Vampire'', translated by Stephen M. Dickey and Bogdan Rakić, Evanston (IL):
Northwestern University Press Northwestern University Press is an American publishing house affiliated with Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. It publishes 70 new titles each year in the areas of continental philosophy, poetry, Slavic and German literary criticism ...
, 2005, and (cloth text).


Bibliography in Serbian

In square brackets the title in Cyrillic and its literal translation. *''Vreme čuda'' реме чуда, "The Time of Miracles" novel, Belgrade: Prosveta, 1965. Translated in English with the title ''The Time of Miracles''. *''Hodočašće Arsenija Njegovana'' одочашће Арсенија Његована, "The Pilgrimage of Arsenij Njegovan" novel, Belgrade: Prosveta, 1970. Translated as ''The Houses of Belgrade''. *''Uspenje i sunovrat Ikara Gubelkijana'' спење и суноврат Икара Губелкијана, "Rise and fall of Icarus Gubelkijan" novel, Belgrade: Slovo Ljubve, 1975. *''Kako upokojiti vampira'', ако упокојити вампира, "How to Quiet a Vampire" Belgrade: BIGZ, Rad, Narodna knjiga, 1977. Translated as ''How to Quiet a Vampire''. *''Odbrana i poslednji dani'', дбрана и последњи дани, "The Defense and the Last Days" novel, Belgrade: Slovo Ljubve, 1977. *''Zlatno runo'' латно руно, "The Golden Fleece" novel in 7 volumes, Belgrade: Prosveta, 1978 (vol. I & II), 1980 (vol. III & IV), 1981 (vol. V), 1986 (vol. VI & VII). *''Besnilo'' еснило, "Rabies" novel, Zagreb: Sveučilišna naklada Liber, 1983. *''1999'', novel, Ljublijana, Zagreb: Cankarjeva založba and Belgrade: Književni glasnik, NIN, 1984. *''Godine koje su pojeli skakavci'' The Years the Locusts have Devoured" memories, Belgrade: BIGZ, 1987 (Vol. 1), 1989 (Vol.2), 1990 (Vol. 3). *''Pisma iz tuđine'' Letters from abroad" Zagreb: Znanje, 1987. *''Novi Jerusalim'' ови Јерусалим, "The New Jerusalem" short stories, London: Gotska hronika and Belgrade: Nolit, 1988. *''Atlantida'' тлантида, "Atlantis" novel, 2 Vol., Zagreb: Znanje, 1988. *''Nova pisma iz tuđine'' New Letters from Abroad" Zagreb: Mladost, 1989. *''Poslednja pisma iz tuđine'' Last Letters from Abroad" Belgrade: Dereta, 1991. *''Sentimentalna povest britanskog carstva'' ентиментална повест британског царства, "Sentimental History of the British Empire" essay, Belgrade: BIGZ, 1992. *''Vreme reči'' The Time of Words" edited by Božo Koprivica, Belgrade: BIGZ; Srpska književna zadruga, 1993. *''Odmor od istorije'' A Pause in History" edited by Radoslav Bratić, Belgrade: BIGZ, 1993. *''Graditelji'' The Builders" Belgrade: BIGZ, 1995. *''Rađanje Atlantide'' The Birth of Atlantis" edited by Ljiljana Pekić, Belgrade: BIGZ, 1996. *''Skinuto sa trake'' Transferred from Tape" edited by Predrag Palavestra, Belgrade: Narodna knjiga, 1996. *''U traganju za Zlatnim runom'' In Search of the Golden Fleece" edited by Ljiljana Pekić, Belgrade: BIGZ, 1997. *''Političke sveske'' Political Notes" edited by Ljiljana Pekić, Novi Sad: Solaris and Stylos, 2001. *''Filosofske sveske'' Philosophical Notes" edited by Ljiljana Pekić, Novi Sad: Stylos, 2001. *''Korespondencija kao život'' Correspondence as a Life" letters, edited by Ljiljana Pekić, Novi Sad: Solaris, 2002 (vol. I), 2003 (vol. II). * Robots and Wraiths edited by Ljiljana Pekić, Novi Sad: Solaris, 2006. *''Demokratija i nacija'' Democracy and the Nation" 2006. *''Izabrani eseji'' Selected Essays" edited by Ljiljana Pekić, Novi Sad; Solaris, 2007. *''Izabrane drame'' Selected Plays" edited by Ljiljana Pekić, Novi Sad: Solaris, 2007. *''Moral i demokratija'' Moral and Democracy" 2008. * Marginals and Morals], edited by Ljiljana Pekić, Novi Sad: Solaris, 2008.


References


Further reading

*Jelena Milojković-Djurić, ''Borislav Pekić's Literary Oeuvre: A Legacy Upheld'', "Serbian Studies" 15 (1), 3-7, 2001;
PDF
. *Bogdan Rakić, ''Borislav Pekić: Sysiphus as Hero'', "Serbian Studies" 15 (1), 9-23, 2001;
PDF
. *Angela Richter, ''Biblical Myths in Borislav Pekić’s'' Time of Miracles, "Serbian Studies" 15 (1), 25-34, 2001;
PDF
. *Olga Nedeljković, ''Do Supernatural Elements Exist in Borislav Pekić’s ''How to Quite a Vampire'': The Poetics of a Magical Umbrella'', "Serbian Studies" 15 (1), 35-49, 2001;
PDF
. *Borislav Pekic, ''How to Quiet a Vampire'' (An Excerpt), Translated by Stephen M. Dickey and Bogdan Rakić;
PDF
. *Jelena Milojković-Djurić, ''Voice from the Darkness: Borislav Pekić's ''The Years the Locusts Devoured, "Serbian Studies" 15 (1), 51-62, 2001;
PDF
.

*Philippe Zard, « Avatars d’un héros sous la Terreur. L’homme qui mangeait la mort de Borislav Pekić, viaThermidor (Victorien Sardou) et Napoléon (Abel Gance) », in Vincent Ferré et Daniel Mortier (ed.), Littérature, Histoire et politique au 20e siècle : hommage à Jean-Pierre Morel, 2010, p. 147-160.


External links

* and blog * *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pekic, Borislav 1930 births 1992 deaths Serbian writers Serbian non-fiction writers Serbian dramatists and playwrights Serbian science fiction writers Yugoslav science fiction writers Christian writers Serbian novelists Serbs of Montenegro Yugoslav dissidents Prisoners and detainees of Yugoslavia Eastern Orthodox Christians from Serbia Deaths from lung cancer Democratic Party (Serbia) politicians 20th-century Serbian novelists 20th-century dramatists and playwrights Burials at Belgrade New Cemetery 20th-century Serbian people Writers from Podgorica Yugoslav emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century non-fiction writers