This is an old revision of this page, as edited by D6 (talk | contribs) at 05:53, 5 October 2004 (adding Category:1910 births Category:1982 deaths , see WP:People by year). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 05:53, 5 October 2004 by D6 (talk | contribs) (adding Category:1910 births Category:1982 deaths , see WP:People by year)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Meša Selimović, Serbian prose writer who lived in Bosnia and Serbia, was one of the greatest 20th century novelists of Southeastern Europe.
He was born on April 26, 1910 in Tuzla, Bosnia, where he graduated from elementary school and high school. In 1930, he enrolled to study the Serbo-Croatian language and literature at the University of Belgrade. In 1936, he returned to Tuzla to teach in the high school that today bears his name. In 1943, he was arrested for collaboration with the partisans (anti-fascist resistance movement). From 1947 to 1971 he lived in Sarajevo, then moving to Belgrade to spend the rest of his life, where he died in 1982.
He wrote at least ten significant novels, the most important thereof being one that he wrote because his brother was in prison at Goli otok, The Dervish and Death (Derviš i smrt), speaking of the futility of one man's resistance against a pushing system, and changing that man after he becomes hand in the city, sometimes resembling Kafka's Prozess in several ways.
Though being born in Bosnia and Muslim, Selimović declared himself as a Serb for much of his life. Regardless, Bosniaks "claim" him as their own.
Quote
- I descend from a Muslim family, from Bosnia, and by nationality I am a Serb. I belong to Serbian literature, while literature of Bosnia, to which I also belong, I consider only as my homeland literature center, and not a distinct literature of Serbo-Croatian language... I belong, so, to nation and literatur of Vuk, Matavulj, Stevan Sremac, Borislav Stankovic, Petar Kocic, Ivo Andric, and my deepest kinship with them I don't need to prove.