Goran Simić (born 1952) is a Serbian-Canadian poet 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 ...

, recognized internationally for his works of poetry, essays, short stories and theatre.

Biography

Simić was born in

Vlasenica Vlasenica ( sr-cyrl, Власеница) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population 11,467 inhabitants, while the town of Vlasenica has a population of 7,228 inhabi ...

in 1952 and has written eleven volumes of poetry, drama and short fiction, including ''Sprinting from the Graveyard'' (Oxford, 1997). His work has been translated into nine languages and has been published and performed in several European countries. One of the most prominent writers of the former

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

, Simić was trapped in the

Siege of Sarajevo The Siege of Sarajevo ( sh, Opsada Sarajeva) was a prolonged blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by the forces of the Yugoslav People's Army, the city was then ...

. In 1995 he and his family were able to settle in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

as the result of a Freedom to Write Award from

PEN A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity w ...

. ''Immigrant Blues'' was Simic's second full-length volume of poems in English, and the first to be published in Canada. This was followed by two books published in 2005: a poetry collection, ''From Sarajevo, With Sorrow''—which involves a retranslation of the earlier,

bowdlerized Expurgation, also known as bowdlerization, is a form of censorship that involves purging anything deemed noxious or offensive from an artistic work or other type of writing or media. The term ''bowdlerization'' is a pejorative term for the practi ...

versions found in

David Harsent David Harsent (born in Devon) is an English poet who for some time earned his living as a TV scriptwriter and crime novelist. Background During his early career he was part of a circle of poets centred on Ian Hamilton and forming something of ...

's ''Sprinting from the Graveyard''; and ''Yesterday's People'', a collection of short fiction, which was shortlisted for both the Relit Award and the Danuta Gleed Award for best first collection of short fiction. (both published by Biblioasis.) A ''Selected Poems'' is tentatively scheduled to be published in the Fall of 2007. In 2010, Simić published two more books: a poetry volume entitled ''Sunrise in the Eyes of the Snowman'' (Biblioasis) and his second collection of stories, ''Looking for Tito'' (Frog Hollow Press). In 2006, Simić founded Luna Publications in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, Canada. Simić joined the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of the

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

in September 2006. In 2013, he returned to live in Sarajevo.

Personal

His brother Novica Simić was a general in the

Army of Republika Srpska The Army of Republika Srpska ( sr, Војска Републике Српске/Vojska Republike Srpske; ВРС/VRS), commonly referred to in English as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of Republika Srpska (RS), the self-proclaimed Serb ...

References

Living people 1952 births People from Vlasenica 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian male writers Bosnia and Herzegovina poets Canadian male poets Canadian book publishers (people) University of Guelph faculty Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Serbian descent {{BosniaHerzegovina-bio-stub