Bosnia and Herzegovina / All works
Poetry
Pjesme
Not translated into English
Aleksa Šantić · 1908
Synopsis
A collection published in Mostar in 1908, in the middle of the years, from 1905 to 1910, in which critics place the poet's full maturity. It contains the two veins of his work: elegiac love poems, born of the sevdalinka, the Bosnian love song, in which desire dominates, set in flowering gardens where fountains sing and women adorned with necklaces pass, of a beauty at once provocative and hidden; and patriotic poems, in which the suffering of his people takes on the value of a historic moment.
Context
This volume belongs to a series of six collections published from 1891 to 1913, to which are added a few short pieces in verse. Critics link his love poetry to the sevdalinka, so much so that one of his most famous poems, Emina, written in 1903, is still sung as a folk song. His verse speaks of the urban culture of Mostar and Herzegovina, of the national awakening of the Serbs of Bosnia, of social injustice and of the unity of the South Slavs, in an elegiac tone and a melodious language.
Who it is for
For those who want to hear a poet from Mostar between popular romance and national lyricism, in a language made to be sung.
Prizes and reception
The Serbian Encyclopaedia counts him among the most popular Serbian poets, and his love poems have entered the sung repertoire.
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