Dejan Stojanović
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Dejan Stojanović ( sr-Cyrl, Дејан Стојановић, ; born 11 March 1959) is a
Serbian American Serbian Americans () or American Serbs (), are Americans of ethnic Serb ancestry. As of 2023, there were slightly more than 181,000 American citizens who identified as having Serb ancestry. However, the number may be significantly higher, as ...
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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
, writer,
essayist An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...
, philosopher, businessman, and former journalist. His poetry is characterized by a recognizable system of thought, and poetic devices that border on philosophy and a highly reflective overall tone. According to critic Petar V. Arbutina, "Stojanović belongs to the small and autochthonous circle of poets who have been the main creative and artistic force of the Serbian poetry in the last several decades."


Early life

Dejan Stojanović was born on 11 March 1959 in
Peć Peja or Peć, ), is the fifth most populous city in Kosovo and serves as the seat of the Peja Municipality and the District of Peja. It is located in the Rugova (region), Rugova region on the eastern section of the Accursed Mountains along the ...
, Autonomous District of Kosovo and Metohija,
PR Serbia The Socialist Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Социјалистичка Република Србија, Socijalistička Republika Srbija), previously known as the People's Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / " ...
,
FPR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...
. In 1972, he moved with his family to
Sutomore Sutomore (, , , ) is a town in Coastal region of Montenegro in Bar Municipality. A 2011 census put the population at 2,004. History When it was under the control of the Republic of Venice from 1420 to 1797, Sutomore was called ''Spizza'' (in ...
, near
Bar, Montenegro Bar (Montenegrin language, Montenegrin: Bar, Бар, , ) is a town and seaport in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is the capital of the Bar Municipality and a center for tourism. According to the 2023 census, the city proper ...
, where he completed his secondary education. He attended the
University of Pristina The University of Pristina () is a public university located in Pristina, Kosovo. It is the institution that emerged after the disestablishment of the University of Pristina (1969–1999) as a result of the Kosovo War. The inauguration ...
at
Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
. While he was predominantly interested in philosophy and the arts during his youth, he earned a degree in law.


Writing background


Poetry

He began to write poetry in the late seventies and kept his work private for three to four years, after which he published his poems in literary magazines in the former
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
. Serbian magazines in which his work was published include '' Stremljenja'' (English translation: ''Trends'') and '' Jedinstvo'' (English translation: ''Unity'') in
Priština Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdom. The heritage of th ...
, and ''Gradina'' in
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...
. By 1983, he became a member of a literary club (Karagač) in his hometown of Peć. During this time, he was named secretary and later promoted to president of the club. In this role, he conducted interviews with local artists from Kosovo. In his early adulthood, Stojanović developed a philosophical system of ideas that dealt primarily with metaphysical questions and the structure of the universe. He wrote several hundred pages in his notebooks exploring these ideas, along with essays on language and literature. In 1999, shortly after the war in Kosovo ended, these manuscripts, along with his library of more than a thousand books (carefully chosen for years), were lost due to a fire. His books, along with his manuscripts, were held temporarily in his brother's office in the center of downtown Peć.


Publishing

In 1990, Stojanović established a private publishing firm known as Metoh (English translation: the church's land). While the organization was located in Peć, the firm planned to publish a literary magazine in Kosovo. The firm's staff included writers from Belgrade, one of whom was Alek Vukadinović, a Serbian poet who supported Stojanović's plan to publish a magazine. While Stojanović's first book of poetry, ''Krugovanje'' (English translation: ''Circling'') was ready for publication in 1983, it was not published until 1993. During those ten years, several poems that were initially planned for inclusion in the book had been replaced by newer poems, which had been written between 1983 and 1986. The last poem in the book had actually been written in Chicago, in 1991.


Journalism

In early 1990, Stojanović joined the writing staff of Serbian magazine, ''
Pogledi ''Pogledi'' (Serbian Cyrillic: ''Погледи'', meaning Viewpoints in English) was a Serbia-based magazine devoted to politics and history, published biweekly.''Pogledi'', issue number 70, November 9–23, 1990. YU ISSN 0353-3832 ''Pogledi'' wa ...
'' (English translation: ''Viewpoints''). At this time, he began a series of interviews with several Serbian writers in Belgrade, including
Momo Kapor Momčilo "Momo" Kapor ( sr-cyr, Момчило Момо Капор; 8 April 1937 – 3 March 2010) was a Serbian novelist and painter. He authored several screenplays, over forty novels, short stories, travel and autobiographic books and essays. ...
, Alek Vukadinović, and Nikola Milošević. During his second visit to Paris in May and June 1990, he interviewed Ljuba Popović, Petar Omčikus, Miloš Šobajić, and Jacques Claude Villard. In December 1990, he went to the US as a
foreign correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...
, planning to stay six months to a year. During this time, he conducted interviews with prominent American writers, including
Nobel Laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...
Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; June 10, 1915April 5, 2005) was a Canadian-American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only write ...
,
Charles Simic Dušan Simić ( sr-cyr, Душан Симић, ; May 9, 1938 – January 9, 2023), known as Charles Simic, was a Serbian American poet and poetry co-editor of ''The Paris Review''. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1990 for '' The W ...
, and
Steve Tesich Stojan Steve Tesich ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Стојан Стив Тешић, Stojan Stiv Tešić; September 29, 1942 – July 1, 1996) was a Serbian-American screenwriter, playwright, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay ...
. He did not return to his homeland in summer 1991, when the
Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...
started in the former
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
, and has been living in Chicago since 1990. In honor of his series of interviews published in ''Conversations'', published in 1999 by
Književna reč ''Književna reč'' was a literary magazine that was published first in Yugoslavia, and then in Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , nat ...
of Belgrade, Stojanović received the Rastko Petrović Award, presented by the
Association of Writers of Serbia The Association of Writers of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: Удружење књижевника Србије, ''Udruženje književnika Srbije'') is Serbia's official writing association. Its current president is Miloš Janković. History T ...
.


Style

Stojanović’s poetry collections are characterized by sequences of compact, dense poems, simple yet complex in carefully organized overall structure, and that is why some more visibly than others appear as long poems. This is especially characteristic of the books, ''The Sign and its Children,'' ''The Shape'', and ''The Creator'' (''Znak I njegova deca'', ''Oblik,'' ''Tvoritelj'' ), in which, with a relatively small number of words repeated in different contexts, Stojanović built his own poetic
cosmogony Cosmogony is any model concerning the origin of the cosmos or the universe. Overview Scientific theories In astronomy, cosmogony is the study of the origin of particular astrophysical objects or systems, and is most commonly used in ref ...
. For that reason, writer and critic, David Kecman, described him as a ''cosmosophist.'' In his poems, he covers the smallest and the largest topics with equal attention, often juxtaposing them to the level of paradox and absurdity, gradually building new perspectives and meanings that are not only poetic either in origin or in purpose. Some themes and preoccupations, be they stones or galaxies, are present in all of his books and it can be said that his poetry books are, in themselves, long poems and that all of them serve as ingredients of a hyper-poetry book that is still in the making. He used many poetic forms never used before in Serbian poetry and also created some new forms. "If elegance is represented by simplicity, then these are some of the most elegant verses imaginable,"
Branko Mikasinovich Branko (Cyrillic script: Бранко; ) is a South Slavic male given name found in all of the former Yugoslavia. It is related to the names Branimir and Branislav, and the female equivalent is Branka. People named Branko include: * Branko (DJ), P ...
stated.


Published works

The majority of Stojanović's poems, initially written in Serbian and compiled into six volumes of poetry, have been translated into English ''The Creator,'' 63 poems, nine sequences: "The Light-Bearer," "Forest of the Universe," "A Talk of Fire," "The Whisper of Eternity," "A Smiling Sky," "Thought and Flight," "Same and Change," "The Dream Chamber," "Nostalgic Elements." and a selection of his poems has been translated into French. ;Poetry * (1993) ''Krugovanje: 1978–1987''; English translation: ''Circling: 1978–1987'', Pub: Narodna knjiga, Alpha University, Belgrade * (1998) ''Krugovanje'' – 2nd edition; English translation: ''Circling: 1978–1987'' – 2nd edition, Pub: Narodna knjiga, Alpha University, Belgrade * (1999) ''Sunce sebe gleda''; English translation: ''The Sun Watches the Sun'', Pub:
Književna reč ''Književna reč'' was a literary magazine that was published first in Yugoslavia, and then in Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , nat ...
, Belgrade * (2000) ''Znak i njegova deca''; English translation: ''The Sign and its Children'', Pub: Prosveta, Belgrade * (2000) ''Oblik''; English translation: ''The Shape'', Pub: Gramatik, Podgorica; republished in English by New Avenue Books (14 July 2012) * (2000) ''Tvoritelj'', English translation: ''The Creator'', Pub: Narodna knjiga, Alpha University, Belgrade * (2000) ''Krugovanje'' – 3rd edition; English translation: ''Circling'' – 3rd edition, Pub: Narodna knjiga, Alpha University, Belgrade * (2007) ''Ples vremena''; English translation: ''Dance of Time'', Pub: Konras, Belgrade ;Interviews * (1999) ''Conversations'', Pub:
Književna reč ''Književna reč'' was a literary magazine that was published first in Yugoslavia, and then in Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , nat ...
, Belgrade ;English translations from Serbian * (21 May 2012) '' Circling: 1978-1987'', Pub: New Avenue Books. ASIN B0089VHNCA (ebook) * (13 June 2012) ''The Sun Watches the Sun'', Pub: New Avenue Books. ASIN B008BCY988 (ebook) * (17 June 2012) '' The Creator'', Pub: New Avenue Books. ASIN B008CCH646 (ebook) * (11 July 2012) '' The Sign and Its Children'', Pub: New Avenue Books. ASIN B008KFP1WY (ebook) * (14 July 2012) '' The Shape'', Pub: New Avenue Books. ASIN B008LGAFUK (ebook)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stojanovic, Dejan 1959 births Living people Writers from Peja Journalists from Chicago Poets from Chicago Kosovo Serbs Serbs of Montenegro Serbian male poets Serbian journalists Serbian emigrants to the United States Montenegrin poets Montenegrin male writers Exophonic writers 20th-century Serbian philosophers