Sasha Skenderija

Sasha Skenderija (born 4 July 1968) is a Bosnian-American poet currently residing in Prague.

Sasha Skenderija
Born	(1968-07-04) 4 July 1968 Vitez, Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia
Education	University of Sarajevo Charles University
Occupation	Poet Author
Known for	Poetry Lyrics

Biography

Skenderija began publishing poetry, prose and criticism in Bosnian (Serbo-Croatian) in the late 1980s, graduating from the University of Sarajevo in 1991. After surviving six months of the siege of Sarajevo, he fled to Prague, where he received a Ph.D. in Information Science from Charles University (1997). In 1999, with the help of translator and Cornell University linguistics professor Wayles Browne,[1] Skenderija arrived in Ithaca, New York. He relocated to New York City in 2010 and lived in Astoria, Queens.[2] He now lives in Prague, Czech Republic while working for the Czech National Library of Technology.[3]

Skenderija is one of the most renowned Bosnian poets born since 1960, and his work confronts a range of experience, from the quotidian to the polemical, while pushing the boundaries of the genre.[4] He ranks among the Bosnian poets with the most English-language reviews.[5]

Works

Books of poetry (Bosnian)

• Golo O[6]
• Kako naslikati žar-pticu[7]
• Ništa nije kao na filmu[8]
• Praški fraktali[9]
• Zašto je patuljak morao biti ustrijeljen[10]
• Rt Dobre Nade[11]

Books of poetry (English translation)

• Why the Dwarf Had to be Shot.[12]
• Cape of Good Hope[13]

Poems in Anthologies

His poetry has been included in several Bosnian and Croatian anthologies and translated into Czech, English, Macedonian[14] and Slovenian:[15]

• Prague Tales: A Collection of Central European Contemporary Writing,[16]
• Absinthe, New European Writing,[17]
• There is Less and Less Space: Panorama of the Newest Bosnian Poetry (in Bosnian),[18]
• Scar on the Stone: Contemporary Poetry from Bosnia,[19]
• Conan Lives Here: Young Bosnian Poetry 1992-1996 (in Croatian),[20]
• Messages from the Bottom of the Night: Literature of Bosnia and Herzegovina under Siege and in Exile (in Czech),[21]
• The Passion of Difference/Dark Sound of Emptiness: Croatian Poetry of the 1990s (in Croatian)[22]

English translations of his poems have also been included in:

• Balkan Visions and Silver Visions II,[23]
• Witness[24]
• Like a Fragile Index of the World: Poems for David Skorton[25]
• Spirit of Bosnia[26]
• The City That Never Sleeps: Poems of New York[27]

Skenderija also contributed lyrics to three albums of the cult Sarajevo techno-industrial band SCH (VRIL, 2002; Eat This!, 2004; and Dance, 2007).

References

1. Skenderija, Sasha; Wayles Browne (2008). Why the Dwarf Had to be Shot. Austin, Texas: Black Buzzard Press. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-938872-39-9. Afterword (p. 90-92) and About the Translators (p.94) describe history of Skenderija/Browne collaboration.
2. Skenderija, Sasha; Wayles Browne (2011). Cape of Good Hope. Tešanj, Bosnia: Tešanj : Centar za kulturu i obrazovanje. pp. 47, [1], 47, [1] p. tête-bêche. ISBN 978-9958-792-78-6. OCLC 732098431. The notes About the Author and About the Translators (p.47) describe Skenderija's recent whereabouts and history of Skenderija/Browne collaboration.
3. "Organizational Structure". National Library of Technology. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
4. Greene, Roland; Stephen Cushman; Clare Cavanagh; Jahan Ramazani; Paul Rouzer; Harris Feinsod; David Marno; Alexandra Slessarev, eds. (2012). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics 4th Edition. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 68. ISBN 978-0691154916. The entry on Bosnian poetry, page 68, by A. Vidan cites Skenderija as one of the most relevant contemporary Bosnian poets.
5. Jones, Francis R. (2011). Poetry Translating as Expert Action: Processes, Priorities and Networks. Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Pub. Co. p. 68. ISBN 978-9027-224-41-5. All three poets cited by Jones as having the most English-language reviews are currently living in North American diaspora.
6. Skenderija, Saša; Vojislav Petković; Todor Kršić; Adis Đubo (1987). Golo O. Banja Luka: Banja Luka : Književna omladina. p. 60. OCLC 455625924.
7. Skenderija, Saša (1990). Kako naslikati žar-pticu. Sarajevo: Sarajevo : Svjetlost. p. 61. ISBN 86-01-01603-0. OCLC 441692561.
8. Skenderija, Saša (1993). Ništa nije kao na filmu. Prague. p. 55. OCLC 34084119.
9. Skenderija, Saša (1998). Praški fraktali (PDF). Online.
10. Skenderija, Saša (2005). Zašto je patuljak morao biti ustrijeljen. Tešanj, Bosnia: Tešanj : Centar za kulturu i obrazovanje. p. 103. ISBN 9958-792-43-5. LCCN 2005484212.
11. Skenderija, Saša (2011). Rt Dobre Nade. Tešanj, Bosnia: Tešanj : Centar za kulturu i obrazovanje. pp. 47, [1], 47, [1] p. bilingual (Bosnian English) tête-bêche edition. ISBN 978-9958-792-78-6. OCLC 732098431.
12. Skenderija, Sasha; Wayles Browne (2008). Why the Dwarf Had to be Shot. Austin, Texas: Black Buzzard Press. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-938872-39-9. OCLC 310353449.
13. Skenderija, Sasha; Wayles Browne (2011). Rt Dobre Nade / Cape of Good Hope. Tešanj, Bosnia: Tešanj : Centar za kulturu i obrazovanje. pp. 47, [1], 47, [1] p. bilingual (Bosnian-English) tête-bêche edition. ISBN 978-9958-792-78-6. OCLC 732098431.
14. Скендерија, Саша (March 2004). "Портал : Гласник На Македонски Духовни Конаци". Портал : Гласник На Македонски Духовни Конаци. 5 (9/10).
15. http://cobiss2.izum.si/scripts/cobiss?ukaz=DISP&id=1827059636629558&fmt=14&rec=11&sid=1
16. a'Beckett, John (2007). Prague Tales: A Collection of Central European Contemporary Writing. New Europe Writers.
17. "Absinthe, New European Writing". Absinthe, New European Writing (5). March 2006. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
18. Grahovac, Željko (2000). There is Less and Less Space: Panorama of the Newest Bosnian Poetry. Bihać: Delta. ISBN 9958-9744-4-4. OCLC 51282949.
19. Agee, Chris (1998). Scar on the Stone: Contemporary Poetry from Bosnia. UK: Bloodaxe Books. ISBN 1-85224-415-1.
20. Jergović, Miljenko (1997). Conan Lives Here: Young Bosnian Poetry 1992-1996. Zagreb: Durieux. ISBN 953-188-070-0. OCLC 38445829.
21. Karpatský, Dušan (1995). Messages from the Bottom of the Night: Literature of Bosnia and Herzegovina under Siege and in Exile. Prague: Mladá fronta. ISBN 80-204-0542-9. OCLC 36611543.
22. Mićanović, Miroslav; Branko Čegec (March 1995). "Strast razlike, tamni zvuk praznine". Strast Razlike, Tamni Zvuk Praznine. 11 (5/6): 364–459. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
23. "Balkan Visions and Silver Visions II". Balkan Visions and Silver Visions II. VI (#48, #72): 364–459. 2005 [1995]. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
24. "Witness". Witness. XX. 2006. Archived from the original on 2009-01-29.
25. Fulton, Alice (2006). "Like a Fragile Index of the World: Poems for David Skorton". Like a Fragile Index of the World: Poems for David Skorton. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
26. "Spirit of Bosnia". Spirit of Bosnia. 3 (2): 364–459. April 2008. Retrieved 2015-05-05.
27. Toorawa, Shawkat M. (2015). The City That Never Sleeps: Poems of New York. Albany, New York: SUNY Press Excelsior Editions. ISBN 978-1-4384-5615-7. OCLC 886672019.

External links

• Author's web site
• Reading excerpt from Prague Fractals (link to video)
• Sasha Skenderija on Google Scholar