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Literature / Philosophy | Serbia and Montenegro | by Bora Ćosić | 2005-04

Jedna Pesma/A poem: Istorija Evrope/ History of Europe

von Bora Ćosić

Istorija Evrope

Mladi ljudi u Beogradu
hodaju ulicom gurkaju se
govore u kameru
preodeveni u moje prijatelje
od pre pedeset godina
ne znam kako ih ne prepoznajem

možda suviše slobodan prevod
jedne ranije generacije
izgubljene rime goli smisao
zato toliko liči a nije

čitavi narodi u istoj povesti
Litvanci Česi Hrvati
rasuti po različitim gradovima
izgradili su ulice po sećanju
potom trgovi kao navika
tamo gde dolazi do proširenja

svi pesnici dvadesetog veka
pišu istu pesmu
samo dugačku
onda je iseku na mnogo delova
raspodele na više imena


History of Europe

Young people in Belgrade
walk down the street push and shove
speak into the camera
disguised as my friends
from fifty years ago
why don’t I recognize them

maybe a too loose translation
of an earlier generation
the naked gist of a lost rhyme
seems so similar but isn’t

all nations in the same history
Lithuanians Czechs Croats
scattered through different cities
they built streets from memories
then squares like habits
where it broadens

all the twentieth century poets
work on the same poem
only a long one
then cut it apart
share it under many names

Born in Zagreb in 1932, the author Bora Ćosić grew up in Belgrade and has been living in Rovinj/ Istria and Berlin since 1992. He majored in Philosophy at the University of Belgrade and has translated Chlebnikov und Maiakovski into Serbo-Croatian. The concept of psychoanalysis has influenced his work. Ćosić is considered a representative of the Belgrade Avant-garde. He won the Leipzig Book Award (Leipziger Buchpreis zur Europäischen Verständigung 2002.) Books translated and published in German: Die Rolle meiner Familie in der Weltrevolution (1994) The Role of My Family in the World Revolution, Musils Notizbuch. Ein Roman aus Triest (1994) Musil´s Notebook. A Novel from Trieste, Die Zollerklärung (2001) The Customs Declaraction,  Das Land Null(2004) The Zero Country.

The Serbian original version, “Irenina soba” was published by Meandar, Zagreb in 2002. From this work, Milo Dor (writer/translator in Vienna) selected all the poems and translated them into German.

The German version of this poem stems from the recently published book by Bora Ćosić (www.folioverlag.com). Many friendly thanks to Folio Pushishing and Bora Ćosić for permission to use it.

Bora Ćosić, Irena’s Zimmer. Gedichte (Irene’s Room. Poems,)
Folio Verlag Vienna, 2005
ISBN 3-85256-307-0
Franz. Broschur
128 S., 13,5 x 21 cm
Euro19.50

The English version was translated exclusively for Report by Ida Černe.
External links: Folio Verlag, Info: Bora Ćosić

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