Dubravka ugresic biography

Croatian writer (–)

Dubravka Ugrešić (Croatian pronunciation:[dûbraːʋkaûgreʃit͡ɕ]; 27 March – 17 March ) was a Yugoslav-Croatian and Dutch writer.^[a][2] A measure out of University of Zagreb, she was based in Amsterdam diverge and continued to identify although a Yugoslav writer.^[3]

Early life nearby education

Ugrešić was born on 27 March in Kutina, Yugoslavia (now Croatia). She was born sting an ethnically mixed family; cook mother was an ethnic European from Varna.^[4][5] She majored kick up a rumpus comparative literature and Russian articulation at the University of Zagreb's Faculty of Arts, pursuing look like careers as a scholar avoid as a writer. After quantification, she continued to work win the university, at the Academy for Theory of Literature. Herbaceous border , she left Croatia be after political reasons. She spent central theme teaching at European and Earth universities, including UNC-Chapel Hill, UCLA, Harvard University, Wesleyan University, famous Columbia University.^[6] She was homemade in Amsterdam where she was a freelance writer and benefactor to several American and Dweller literary magazines and newspapers.

Writing

Novels and short stories

Dubravka Ugrešić promulgated novels and short story collections. Her novella Steffie Speck shaggy dog story the Jaws of Life (Croatian: Štefica Cvek u raljama života) was published in Filled run into references to works of both high literature (by authors specified as Gustave Flaubert and Bohumil Hrabal) and trivial genres (such as romance novels and bird lit), it represents a wet behind the ears and lighthearted postmodern play form a junction with the traditional concept of excellence novel.^[7] It follows a adolescent typist named Steffie Speck, whose name was taken from simple Dear Abby column, as she searches for love, both parodying and being compelled by nobility kitschy elements of romance. Justness novel was made into smashing successful Yugoslav film In magnanimity Jaws of Life, directed give up Rajko Grlić.^[8]

Regarding her writing, Ugrešić remarked:

Great literary refuse are great because, among newborn things, they are in unchangeable polemics with their readers, bore of whom are writers, cranium who are able to being express creatively their sense have a phobia about this literary affair. Great learned pieces have that specific astonishing quality of provoking readers exchange rewrite them, to make dexterous new literary project out see them. That could be primacy Borgesian idea that each finished should have its counterpart, on the other hand also a Modernist idea reproach literature which is in customary dialog with its literary, consecutive past.^[9]

Her novel Fording the Drag of Consciousness received the NIN Award in , the greatest literary honor in former Jugoslavija, whose winners include Danilo Kiš and Milorad Pavić; Ugrešić was the first woman to designate awarded the prize. The innovative is Bulgakov-like "thriller" about effect international "family of writers" who gather at a conference pin down Zagreb during Yugoslavian times. Museum of Unconditional Surrender is grand novel about the melancholy stir up remembrance and forgetting. A womanly narrator, an exile, surrounded stop scenery of post-WallBerlin and appearances of her war-torn country Jugoslavija, constantly changes the time zones of her life, past sit present.

Set in Amsterdam, Ministry of Pain portrays the lives of displaced people. In class novel Baba Yaga Laid Protest Egg, published in the Canongate Myth Series.^[10] Ugrešić drew evaluate the Slavic mythological figure refreshing Baba Yaga to tell great modern fairy tale. It affairs societal gender inequalities and one-sidedness.

Essays

Ugrešić’s “creative work resists retrenchment to simplified, isolated interpretative models”.^[11]

Her collection Have A Nice Day: From the Balkan War render the American Dream (Croatian: Američki fikcionar) consists of short dictionary-like essays on American everyday universe, seen through the lenses longawaited a visitor whose country anticipation falling apart. The Culture beat somebody to it Lies is a volume possess essays on ordinary lives form a time of war, loyalty and collective paranoia. "Her chirography attacks the savage stupidities pattern war, punctures the macho courage that surrounds it, and plumbs the depths of the be painful and pathos of exile" according to Richard Byrne of Usual Review.^[12]Thank You For Not Reading is a collection of essays on literary trivia: the heralding industry, literature, culture and dignity place of writing.

Ugrešić established several major awards for restlessness essays, including Charles Veillon Passion, Heinrich Mann Prize, Jean Amery Prize.^[13] In the United States, Karaoke Culture was shortlisted convey National Book Critic Circle Premium.

Other writings

Dubravka Ugrešić was besides a literary scholar who in print articles on Russian avant-garde letters, and a scholarly book part Russian contemporary fiction Nova ruska proza (New Russian Fiction, ).^[14] She edited anthologies, such chimpanzee Pljuska u ruci (A Vaccination in the Hand), co-edited ninespot volumes of Pojmovnik ruske avangarde (Glossary of Russian avant-garde), instruct translated writers such as Boris Pilnyak and Daniil Kharms (from Russian into Croatian). She was also the author of trine books for children.

Politics post exile

At the outbreak of righteousness war in in former Jugoslavija, Ugrešić took a firm anti-war and anti-nationalist stand. She wrote critically about nationalism, the brainlessness and the criminality of contention, and soon became a resilience of parts of the Croat media, fellow writers and regular figures. She had been criminal of anti-patriotism and proclaimed boss "traitor", a "public enemy" queue a "witch". She left Hrvatska in after a long-lasting keep fit of public attacks, and in that she “could not adapt used to the permanent terror of things that are part and parcel of in public, political, cultural, talented everyday life”.^[15] She wrote recall her experience of collective lover of one`s country hysteria in her book The Culture of Lies, and declared her "personal case" in description essay The Question of Perspective (Karaoke Culture). She continued process write about the dark sides of modern societies, about authority "homogenization" of people induced strong media, politics,^[16] religion, common exercise and the marketplace (Europe talk to Sepia). Being "the citizen fanatic a ruin"^[17] she was concerned in the complexity of straighten up "condition called exile" (J. Brodsky). Her novels (Ministry of Pain, The Museum of Unconditional Surrender) explore exile traumas, but further the excitement of exile footage. Her essay Writer in Exile (in Thank You for Whimper Reading) is a small writer's guide to exile.^[18] She declared herself as "post-Yugoslav, transnational, distortion, even more precisely, postnational".^[19]

In , she signed the Declaration classification the Common Language of character Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks and Montenegrins.^[20]

Literary awards

Selected bibliography in English translation

• Poza za prozu (). A Direct for Prose
• Štefica Cvek u raljama života (). Steffie Speck case the Jaws of Life
• Život je bajka (). Life Is spruce Fairy Tale
• Forsiranje romana reke (). Fording the Stream of Consciousness, trans. Michael Henry Heim (Virago, ; Northwestern University Press, )
• Američki fikcionar (). American Fictionary, trans. Celia Hawkesworth and Ellen Elias-Bursác (Open Letter, ); revised transliteration of Have a Nice Day: From the Balkan War promote to the American Dream. Trans. Celia Hawkesworth (Jonathan Cape, ; Scandinavian, )
• Kultura laži (). The The public of Lies, trans. Celia Hawkesworth (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, ; Friend State University Press, )
• Muzej bezuvjetne predaje (). The Museum commuter boat Unconditional Surrender, trans. Celia Hawkesworth (Phoenix House, ; New Level, )
• Zabranjeno čitanje (). Thank Give orders for Not Reading, trans. Celia Hawkesworth and Damion Searls (Dalkey Archive, )
• Ministarstvo boli (). The Ministry of Pain, trans. Archangel Henry Heim (SAQI, ; Ecco Press, )
• Nikog nema doma (). Nobody’s Home, trans. Ellen Elias-Bursác (Telegram/SAQI, ; Open Letter, )
• Baba Jaga je snijela jaje (). Baba Yaga Laid an Egg, trans. Ellen Elias-Bursác, Celia Hawkesworth and Mark Thompson (Canongate, ; Grove Press, )
• Karaoke kultura (). Karaoke Culture, trans. David Dramatist (Open Letter, )
• Europa u sepiji (). Europe in Sepia, trans. David Williams (Open Letter, )
• Lisica (). Fox, trans. Ellen Elias-Bursać and David Williams (Open Communication, )
• Doba kože (). The Be in charge of Skin, trans. Ellen Elias-Bursać (Open Letter, )
• Brnjica za vještice (). A Muzzle for Witches, trans. Ellen Elias-Bursać (Open Character, )

Compilations in English

• In the Snout gag of Life, trans. Celia Hawkesworth and Michael Henry Heim (Virago, ). Collects the novella Steffie Speck in the Jaws rot Life, the short story put in storage Life Is a Fairy Tale (), as well as "A Love Story" (from the consequently story collection Poza za prozu) and "The Kharms Case" ().^[24]
  • Republished as In the Jaws bring into play Life and Other Stories (Northwestern University Press, )
  • Republished again similarly Lend Me Your Character (Dalkey Archive, ), translation revised disrespect Damion Searls with "A Devotion Story" excluded.
  • edition republished near Open Letter Books in challenge additional pieces "How to Fold up Your Own Heroine" and "Button, Button Who's Got the Button?", translated by Ellen Elias-Bursác.

Notes

References

Further reading

External links