Serbian literature is a branch of the large tree that grew on the rocky and often bloody Balkan Peninsula during the last millennium. Its initial impulse came from the introduction of Christianity in the ninth century among the pagan Slavic tribes, which had descended from the common-Slavic lands in Eastern Europe. The first written document, the beautifully ornamented Miroslav Gospel, is from the twelfth century. Not surprisingly, the first written literature was not only closely connected with the church but was practically inspired, created, and developed by ecclesiastics the only intellectuals at the time. As the fledgling Serbian state grew and eventually became the Balkans mightiest empire during Tsar Dusan s reign in the first half of the fourteenth century, so did Serbian literature grow, although at a slower pace. From the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries it blossomed, suddenly but genuinely, in the form of the now famous old Serbian biographies of rulers of state and church. Until modern times, this brilliance was equaled only by the literature of the medieval republic of Dubrovnik. Then came the Turkish invasion, and a night, four centuries long, descended upon Serbia and every aspect of its life. The literary activity in the entire area during those dark ages was either driven underground or interrupted altogether. The only possible form of literature was oral. Consisting of epic poems, lyric songs, folk tales, proverbs, conundrums, etc., it murmured like an underground current for centuries until it was brought to light at the beginning of the nineteenth century. In retrospect, it is a miracle that anything, let alone the ability to bounce back into life when the opportunity arose, survived this long, sterile, cold night.A fascicle of the four-volume Anthology of South-Slavic Literatures.

An Anthology of Serbian Literature (An Anthology of South Slavic Literatures; Serbian Literature)

Literature & Fiction

Vasa D. Mihailovich

Literary

Slavica Pub

<p>This revised edition offers new a English translation of Jovan Ducic's poetry.<br />
Jovan Ducic appeared at the turn of the century, a crucial point in the history of Serbian Literature when the era of Romantic and Realist poetry was coming to an end and another, Modernism, was just beginning. By introducing new themes and sources of inspiration, Ducic was instrumental in setting Serbian poetry on a new course. He was an aesthete who possessed a cultivated and refined taste as well as an aristocratic spirit. He is the foremost practitioner of l art pour l art in Serbian Literature. In his poetry, he strove for formal excellence expressed through clarity, precision, elegance, musical quality, and imagery. His subject matter and unique style reflect the manner of French verse Parnassian, Symbolist, Decadent. Unlike previous Serbian poets who were either romantically or realistically oriented, Ducic was attracted to esoteric, sophisticated, thought-provoking, and soul-searching themes, so he created his own imaginary world and reacted to it. His poetry reveals an artist with an essentially pessimistic disposition, for which he has sometimes been criticized; it also reveals his embrace of art for art s sake. His supreme craftsmanship, however, is undeniable.</p>

Songs of the Sun, Love and Death: Selected Poems, a Bilingual Edition

JOVAN DUCIC

Milo Yelesiyevich

Serbian Classics

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