{"id":49225,"date":"2024-09-12T10:21:34","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T08:21:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visitdistrikt.rs\/?p=49225"},"modified":"2024-09-12T10:21:34","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T08:21:34","slug":"stevo-grabovac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/visitdistrikt.rs\/en\/2024\/09\/12\/stevo-grabovac\/","title":{"rendered":"Stevo Grabovac: If Our Traumas Have Not Helped Us Develop Compassion for Others, All Is In Vain"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Literary Week<\/strong> of the seventh Kaleidoscope of Culture<\/strong> will bring a rich programme at the Ti\u0161ma Pavilion<\/strong><\/a>, dedicated to one of Novi Sad\u2019s most significant writers, Aleksandar Ti\u0161ma. On this occasion, the city of Novi Sad will host contemporary regional writer Stevo Grabovac<\/strong>, this year’s recipient of the NIN <\/strong>Award<\/strong> for his novel Poslije Zabave<\/em><\/strong>. This celebrated author, known for his novels that deeply explore family issues, trauma, and social injustice, will discuss his work with moderator Jovana Reba at the Biro facility in the District on Saturday, <\/strong>14 September.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stevo Grabovac<\/strong> is known for his unique approach to literature, infused with personal experiences and painful themes from the past. Born in 1978 in Slavonski Brod and raised in Bosanski Brod, Grabovac is an author who doesn\u2019t shy away from confronting trauma, whether personal or social. His first novel, The Mulat Albino <\/em>Komarac<\/em>, was shortlisted for the NIN Award, and his new novel Poslje Zabave<\/em><\/strong> not only earned him this prestigious award but also widespread recognition from readers. In an interview ahead of his appearance at the Kaleidoscope of Culture, Grabovac discusses how he handles the emotional challenges of writing, what responsibility he believes writers have, and how he sees the role of art in reflecting on the past.<\/p>\n

Your novel <\/strong>Poslije Zabave<\/em> which will be discussed during your appearance at the Kaleidoscope of Culture, centers around the duality of father and son, but also addresses broader social injustices and crimes. How did you decide that this topic would be the focus of your second novel, and how did you approach the emotional challenge of writing about crimes? How much did your personal story inspire the shaping of the characters and narratives in your works?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The topic has been haunting me for years, so I knew I would eventually write about it. I might not have experienced it this way had I not carried my own war trauma, but that\u2019s exactly what drove me to understand the magnitude of someone else\u2019s tragedy. We can lament over ourselves, but if our traumas haven\u2019t helped us develop compassion for others, then everything is in vain. I wanted to approach this story personally and didn\u2019t shy away from weaving my own experiences into it. So I can honestly say that there\u2019s a lot of me, lived and emotional, in it\u2014I don\u2019t run from that.<\/p>\n

How has receiving such a prestigious literary award impacted you as a writer, and do you feel that the prize carries a certain responsibility in terms of audience expectations and future work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Honestly, I believe that if you weren\u2019t responsible before receiving the award, you won\u2019t be after it either. But if ‘responsibility’ means that I will now cater to market demands or current trends, that will never happen. It\u2019s impossible to meet every reader\u2019s wishes, and a writer is not a folk singer at a wedding, fulfilling every request that comes to mind.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

You are often compared to Danilo Ki\u0161, and your writing style contains elements of autobiographical fiction. How important is it for you to maintain a distance between the real and the imagined, and how do you balance between introspection and universal themes?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every story contains something personal, if nothing else, the approach itself is personal. To tie into the previous question: let\u2019s say someone pays you well to write, I don\u2019t know, a historical romance novel. That very desire for earnings would be a personal approach. I\u2019ve simplified this, but I want to say that in a way, everything\u2014or at least a lot\u2014in the creative process is personal. The process itself is that way. And as for balancing, there is no right or exact answer. Again, it starts from the personal: how much compassion we have, what we actually want to say, how much we want to say, and so on. I tend to think that only personal themes become universal\u2014i.e., something will only become universal if a large number of people recognize themselves in it, if they find something in it. So, it\u2019s hard to say what is truly universal.<\/p>\n

You once mentioned that writing is not a way to overcome trauma, but rather a way to dig into wounds. How do you define the role of art in confronting painful topics as a writer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exactly that\u2014digging into wounds. It\u2019s not easy, but life isn\u2019t easy either. And we strive for simplicity\u2014for things to be boxed into some order and peace, for everything to work as it should, although this world is not set up that way. Why should art be any different? Sometimes, when I give answers like this, I sound like I\u2019m over-mystifying and assigning things meanings they don\u2019t have. But it\u2019s actually quite simple. Maybe you\u2019re afraid or ashamed to write about something\u2014like, I don\u2019t know, you had a girlfriend and everything was great, but you didn\u2019t perform well as a lover. So what do we do about that? Well, confront that shame if you want to write about it. Or maybe you killed your neighbor\u2019s dog. How much courage do you have to face that? And so on. You might write something that will stir up the public. Do you dare do that? Someone might even threaten you for what you\u2019ve done. It all starts with the personal\u2014how much you can and how much you dare. And that\u2019s what it means\u2014there\u2019s no mystique or metaphysics. It\u2019s a simple confrontation with your own wounds, with what\u2019s inside you.<\/p>\n

When you look at your generation, which grew up during the war and bears the scars of those events, how do you see their maturation? Can literature contribute to a collective process of reconciliation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I often say that my generation was \u2019skipped.\u2019 We weren\u2019t old enough to actually fight in the war, and thus, for the majority of us, our hands and consciences remained clean. But after the war, we were no longer young enough to fit into everything either. We lagged behind in everything, everything came to us late. Especially in the pre-internet era\u2014we learned about things later, but we matured too soon. And as for contributing through literature, I really don\u2019t know what impact it could have. What is important is that if a book reaches one person and finds its place in them, if it changes something in them, that is a success. Expecting more than that seems overly ambitious, and believing that my literature can change something would be utterly absurd. An artist is there only to depict things as they are, and as they see them. Has a Picasso painting ever reconciled even two feuding people? I doubt it. And whether a book has ever reconciled warring nations… I don\u2019t believe it.<\/p>\n

How do you perceive the writing process\u2014is it therapeutic, introspective, or more of a challenge that requires an analytical approach? Do you have any specific rituals while writing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

First and foremost, I experience writing as strange. It\u2019s a shifted state of mind that, again, doesn\u2019t stop you from functioning normally in society. Besides, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a clear plan or definite answer. Writing can be all of those things you mentioned, or none of them. I don\u2019t have any rituals. I write whenever conditions allow it, anywhere, anytime\u2014I\u2019m not really a fan of scribbling in cafes, hotels, or city buses, because I believe that real ideas and honest thoughts can\u2019t be forgotten. They\u2019ll stay with you. And, well, I\u2019ve probably mastered the method of retrieving them from my subconscious if they\u2019re really important to me. It\u2019s purely coincidental\u2014I don\u2019t use any technique that helps with that. If rituals are important, I guess I can\u2019t write without a cigarette, so if that counts as a ritual, there it is. But I think it\u2019s just a bad habit.<\/p>\n

What are you currently reading, and what books would you recommend to our readers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because of a bunch of obligations, I\u2019ve completely neglected reading, and I\u2019m embarrassed to admit it, but I guess such things happen. The good thing is that I\u2019ve started reading again as if I\u2019m trying to catch up with myself, grabbing everything I can get my hands on. I recently read Houellebecq\u2019s latest novel Annihilate<\/em>\u2014I highly recommend it. At first, it doesn\u2019t seem like something you\u2019d expect from Houellebecq, but it pulls you in and won\u2019t let go. I also reread The Stranger<\/em> by Camus\u2014it\u2019s definitely a book worth returning to. True Life<\/em> by Zagajewski is exceptional poetry, maybe the best I\u2019ve read in recent years. Simple yet profound. I\u2019d especially recommend it to those who usually say, ‘I can\u2019t read poetry.\u2019<\/p>\n

Kaleidoscope of Culture is a unique event celebrating five types of art\u2014architecture, literature, applied, performing, and visual arts\u2014over five weeks of programming. What do you think about this concept?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have an extremely high opinion of anything that has the words ‘culture’ or ‘art’ in its title. And great respect, both for the people behind such projects and for the events themselves.<\/p>\n

Author:<\/strong> Marina Mari\u0107
\nPhoto:<\/strong> Private archive<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Literary Week of the seventh Kaleidoscope of Culture will bring a rich programme at the Ti\u0161ma Pavilion, dedicated to one of Novi Sad\u2019s most significant writers, Aleksandar Ti\u0161ma. On this occasion, the city of Novi Sad will host contemporary regional writer Stevo Grabovac, this year’s recipient of the NIN Award for his novel Poslije […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":49208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[998,1013,287],"tags":[1557],"yoast_head":"\nStevo Grabovac: If Our Traumas Have Not Helped Us Develop Compassion for Others, All Is In Vain - Visit Distrikt Novi Sad<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Writer Stevo Grabovac will speak at this year's Kaleidoscope of Culture about his award-winning novel, on September 14 in the District.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/visitdistrikt.rs\/en\/2024\/09\/12\/stevo-grabovac\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stevo Grabovac: If Our Traumas Have Not Helped Us Develop Compassion for Others, All Is In Vain - 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