Along with learning the delightful news that she had become a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts, the author was treated with yet another piece of good news; her novel Book For Marko had been included into the school curriculum. At the same time, Svetlana Velmar Janković's book The Enchanted Eyeglasses, in which she speaks about seven historical periods of Belgrade, attracts the attention of ever larger numbers of readers.
You have recently become a corresponding member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. How do you feel about accepted by this distinguished institution?
- To be a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts as a corresponding member is a great honour. I am happy with this recognition that belongs to me but also belongs to all those who have been by my side all my life and have helped me in dark moments as well as in moments of happiness.
Your novel Book For Marko has recently been included in the school curriculum. How much does it mean to you that you're being read by children in schools?
- Eight years have passed since the first edition of Book for Marko was published - in June, 1998. The book has had more than fifteen editions and it is being read - and this makes me especially proud - not only by children in Serbia but also in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand - everywhere where our people and their families live.
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It has been translated into Korean and, according to many, this edition is the most beautifully designed. During this period I have had many meetings with school children in Serbia, Republic Srpska and Montenegro. I talked to them, maintained correspondence with them.
Children are my dearest and, perhaps, most numerous and most sincere readers. The youngest readers of Book for Marko, like the Golden Lamb, have seen it performed many times by children in pre-schools or by first-grade pupils at elementary schools. What is most beautiful and most wonderful is the fact that every year new generations of readers arrive for whom Book for Marko is one of the dearest books: I hope that the fact that this book is included in the readings of fourth graders will contribute to enlarge the circle of young readers. |
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You have transferred your fascination with Belgrade into the book The Enchanted Eyeglasses that is increasingly attracting the attention of the reading public. How would you present your book?
- I am not sure that I know how to present my books but I shall try. I wrote The Enchanted Eyeglasses, with breaks, for nearly 4 years, searching for the most suitable form of narration. I wanted to relate to children several stories about the history of Belgrade that would make this history more familiar to them, but not be boring. A demanding idea, you have to admit. I was having a difficult time while writing the book - but I was enjoying it. Seven stories tell of 7 events from the history of Belgrade, from the pre-historic age of Vinča and the Celtic cultures to the period of Prince Mihailo Obrenović III. Connected to these seven short stories under the title Meantime are a brother and sister, Luka and Milena. From the present day, they see events in the far past with the aid of special enchanted eyeglasses - they speak to children their own age and they converse. Those who have read this book while still in manuscript form - my husband, my grandson Marko, the editor-in-chief at the Stubovi Kulture Publishing House, Gojko Božović, illustrator Lidija Taranović - they all think that the narrative is not boring. I hope with all my heart that they are right and I'm anxious to hear the judgment of my young readers.
Apart from The Enchanted Eyeglasses, you have dedicated a greater part of your literary opus to Belgrade. Is it possible to say that Belgrade is your literary fascination?
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- I am not sure that fascination is the word to describe my relationship towards my hometown; perhaps it is more loyalty. For a long time now, I've had the impression that today's residents of Belgrade know little about their town and even less about its history.
When I realized three decades ago how unacceptably little I knew about it, how little I was concerned with the Belgrade in which I live, I decided to devote to it as much attention as I could, to find out, discover and write fiction about its history.
The more I was engaged - the more I realised that there was a lot to do, that there was plenty of work not for one but for a dozen writers. Mine is to work as much as I can - and for as long as I can. |
Are there "women's" and "men's" themes in your books and who or what has had the greatest influence on the formation of your personality?
- In my opinion there are no men's or women's themes as there is no men's and women's literature. There are themes that some writers prefer, that drive the author to shape and express them and, when being shaped and expressed, every theme is difficult to relate, as narrating is a difficult job regardless of how much you are devoted to it. This is a craft that includes testing language and language is always elusive, it doesn't give in easily, and is ready to mislead the writer. If we live in a time in which evil prevails over good - and it is true that we live in such time - how can a writer can resist and not to attempt to relate his or her story about this rage of evil and its influence inside man and on man? The greater part of 20th century world literature creates a mosaic of the unbelievable forms of evil in its unending struggle against good, and about the resistance or succumbing of human nature exposed to these struggles.
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Nobody can escape and it is incumbent on writers not to attempt to escape - as there is no refuge.
The woman, mother, wife or grandmother in me often succumb to the writer but sometimes the writer also succumbs to them: it is best when they cooperate, when each of them withdraws into one role, one occupation, one part of the day - but such cooperation is not always easy nor it is always successful because while one role gains - another loses and vice versa. Energies intertwine and all this stirring brings fulfillment and richness to life. It is hard but beautiful.
The older I am the more I recognise my father in myself - especially when I disagree with him. Then our voices are opposed in the same manner, even the words are the same and so is the evidence. |
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The German bombing in the early morning on Sunday, April 6th, 1941, is an event that has left a permanent mark on my life. My home was burned down and my happy childhood and the peace of my family was destroyed. My mother has had the greatest influence on my life.
You have achieved enviable literary success, you are a fulfilled person as mother, grandmother. Would you change anything in your life and what would it be?
- I would change nothing.
Can we then say that Svetlana Velmar Janković's dream has come true?
- Oh, no. I have many plans and wishes and dreams, in life and in literature. Sometimes I feel as if I were just thirty years old - which is as dangerous as it is seductive.
What are you currently working on?
- I am writing a new book and I'm thinking about the next one - if God wills it.
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Note on the author
Svetlana Velmar Janković was born in Belgrade where she completed her education, elementary school, high school and university. Her literary career began when she began working as a journalist for the children's magazine Pionir while she was still a student. Later she worked at the Prosveta Publishing House as an editor and later with the magazine Literature.
She has published the following novels: Scar (1956), in the second revised version published in 1999, Dungeon (1990), The Bottomless (1995), Country of Nowhere (2000), The Uprising (2004); essays The Contemporaries (1968), The Doomed (1993), The Chosen (2005); a collection of short stories Dorćol (1981), the expanded edition in 2006, Vračar (1994), Voices (1997), Book For Marko (1998); the prayer book Light Fixture (1998); the play Prince Mihailo (1994), book of plays The Scepter (2001) and a fictional autobiography Translucencies (2003). Awards: the Isidora Sekulić, Ivo Andrić, Meša Selimović, Đorđe Jovanović, Bora Stanković, the 1992 National Library of Serbia Prize for most read book, the 1995 NIN Award for The Bottomless, the Politikin Zabavnik Prize, the Neven Prize, 6th April Prize for lifetime work about Belgrade and many other. Works by Svetlana Velmar Janković have been translated into English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Bulgarian, Korean and Hungarian languages. | |
