Poetry. Translated from the Serbian by various translators with an introduction by Charles Bernstein. CAT PAINTERS is the first comprehensive anthology of contemporary Serbian poetry to appear in English. Collecting the work of 71 Serbian poets born since 1940, this book includes Serbs living in Serbia; diasporic Serbs living in the US, France and Italy; Roma and Jewish Serbs; a Japanese who lives in Serbia; and LGBT writers. Half of those included are women. The poetry varies from very traditional forms to experimental, L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E inspired, writing. They speak of all things human: love, war, peace, struggle and loss. Many of the poets were inspired by Americans like T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Allen Ginsberg, Gwendolyn Brooks, past US Poet Laureate Charles Simic (who was born in Serbia and has edited an anthology of Serbian poetry in the US), and Charles Bernstein, who has written the Preface, among others. Editors Biljana D. Obradović, who lives in New Orleans, and Dubravka Djurić, who lives in Belgrade, both poets and critics, have assembled a broad range of work translated by 31 distinguished translators from around the world, revealing a side of Serbia which people in the US and the West may not be familiar with--its deep traditions and its very modern engagement with literature, politics and aesthetics. This remarkable anthology sets a high standard for future collections of Serbian, European, or indeed any literatures. Contributors: Vujica Resin Tucić, Judita Salgo, Katalin Ladik, Ljiljana Djurdjić, Stevan Tontić, Mirko Magarasević, Slobodan Tisma, Slobodan Zubanović, Dragan J. Ristić, Rasa Livada, Dusko Novaković, Radmila Lazić, Novica Tadić, Vladimir Kopicl, Vojislav Despotov, Bratislav R. Milanović, Stana Dinić Skočajić, Slavoljub Marković, Sasa Vazić, Ivana Milankov, Milovan Marčetić, Aleksandar Soknić, Verica Zivković, Milan Djordjević, Milos Komadina, Miodrag Raičević, Nikola Vujčić, Kayoko Yamasaki, Nina Zivančević, Snezana Minić, Danica Vukićević, Jelena Lengold, Zvonko Karanović, Zivorad Nedeljković, Dragan Jovanović Danilov, Vojislav Karanović, Dubravka Djurić, Biljana D. Obradović, Jasna Manjulov, Dejan Ilić, Milorad Ivić, Nenad Milosević, Milan Orlić, Marija Knezević, Jelena Marinkov, Sasa Jelenković, Dejana Nikolić, Vladislava Vojnović, Laslo Blasković, Oto Horvat, Srdjan Valjarević, Ana Ristović, Natasa Zizović, Nenad Jovanović, Ksenija Simić-Muller, Snezana Zabić, Milena Marković, Jelena Labris, Alen Besić, Dejan Čančarević, Danica Pavlović, Natalija Marković, Enes Halilović, Dragana Mladenović, Jasmina Topić, Sinisa Tucić, Marjan Čakarević, Maja Solar, Vladimir Stojnić, Ljiljana Jovanović, Jelena Savić. Translators: Stephen Agnew, Vesna Ajnspiler, David Albahari L�r�nt Bencze, Richard Berengarten, Ana Bozičević, Em�ke Z. B'Racz, Michael Castro, Milos Djurdjević, Evald Flisar, John Gery, Zdravka, Gugleta, G�bor G. Gyukics, Richard Harrison, Danijela Jovanović, Dusica Marinkov Jovanović, Alison Kapor, Vladimir Kapor, David Norris, Biljana D. Obradović, Zoran Paunović, Novica Petrović, Zorica Petrović, Charles Simic, Aleksandar Soknić, James Sutherland-Smith, Maja Teref, Steven Teref, Ljubomir Vukosavljević, Snezana Zabić, Nina Zivančević

Winner of the 1998 Misha Djordjevic Award for the best book on Serbian culture in English.Editors Gorup and Obradovic have collected stories from thirty-five outstanding writers in this first English anthology of Serbian fiction in thirty years. The anthology, representing a great variety of literary styles and themes, includes works by established writers with international reputations, as well as promising new writers spanning the generation born between 1930 and 1960. These stories may lead to a greater understanding of the current events in the former Yugoslavia.

A definitive account of a fiercely independent Balkan people, whose fate was long shaped by the Great Powers.

The book brings together many of the best known commentators and scholars who write about former Yugoslavia. The essays focus on the post-Yugoslav cultural transition and try to answer questions about what has been gained and what has been lost since the dissolution of the common country. Most of the contributions can be seen as current attempts to make sense of the past and help cultures in transition, as well as to report on them. The volume is a mixture of personal essays and scholarly articles and that combination of genres makes the book both moving and informative. Its importance is unique. While many studies dwell on the causes of the demise of Yugoslavia, this collection touches upon these causes but goes beyond them to identify Yugoslavia's legacy in a comprehensive way. It brings topics and writers, usually treated separately, into fruitful dialog with one another.

Perched above the confluence of two great rivers, the Sava and Danube, Belgrade has been home to many civilizations: Celts, Romans, Byzantines, Bulgars, Magyars, Ottomans and Serbs. A Turkish fortress, the focus for a Serbian principality, an intellectual and artistic center, the city grew until it became capital of Yugoslavia. Now it is one of the largest cities in south-eastern Europe and capital of the Republic of Serbia. Despite many challenges, Belgrade has resisted assimilation and created a unique cultural identity out of its many contrasting sides, sometimes with surprising consequences.

The Attic is Danilo Kiš’s first novel. Written in 1960, published in 1962, and set in contemporary Belgrade, it explores the relationship of a young man, known only as Orpheus, to the art of writing; it also tracks his relationship with a colorful cast of characters with nicknames such as Eurydice, Mary Magdalene, Tam-Tam,and Billy Wise Ass. Rich with references to music, painting, philosophy, and gastronomy, this bohemian Bildungsroman is a laboratory of technique and style for the young Kiš at once a depiction of life in literary Belgrade, a register of stylistic devices and themes that would recur throughout Kiš’s oeuvre, and an account of one young man's quest to find a way to balance his life, his loves, and his art.