Literature of Bosnia & Herzegovina
Bosnia & Herzegovina has a rich literary heritage.
Matija Divković
Matija Divković (1563 – 21 August 1631), Bosnian Franciscan and writer is considered to be the founder of the modern literature of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He probably joined the Franciscans in the nearest monastery in Olovo and was schooled there. He continued his studies in Italy, but then returned to Bosnia to work there. In 1609 he was a chaplain in Sarajevo. It was there that Divković wrote his first work, Christian Doctrine for the Slavic People, and started to translate One Hundred Miracles or Signs of the Blessed and Glorious Virgin. In 1611 Matija Divković traveled to the Republic of Venice, where he first had the Cyrillic letters molded, and then printed both works. In 1612 he started writing his greatest and most important book, Divković’s Words on Sunday Gospel All Year Round, completed in Olovo (1614). It was also printed in bosančica in Venice 1616 (2nd edition in 1704), as well as Christian Doctrine with Many Spiritual Matters (1616, several later editions). Nothing else is known about Divković’s life. He died in Olovo on 21 August 1631.
Ivo Andrić
The most prominent prose writer is the 1961 Nobel Literature Prize laureate Ivo Andrić. His writings dealt mainly with life in his native Bosnia under Ottoman rule. Ivo Andrić was born in Travnik, on 9 October 1892. The house where he was born in Travnik is now a museum. His most popular work Na Drini ćuprija was published in March 1945. It chronicles the history of the Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge and the town of Višegrad from the bridge’s construction in the 16th century until the outbreak of World War I. The second novel, Travnička hronika, follows a French diplomat in Bosnia during the Napoleonic Wars. The third, Gospođica, revolves around the life of a Sarajevan woman. He died on 13 March 1975, aged 82.
Prose
Other Prominent prose writers are Meša Selimović, Zaim Topčić, Zlatko Topčić, Semezdin Mehmedinović, Aleksandar Hemon, Branko Ćopić, Miljenko Jergović, Isak Samokovlija, Abdulah Sidran, Petar Kočić and Nedžad Ibrišimović.
Poetry
Notable poets include Antun Branko Šimić, Aleksa Šantić, Jovan Dučić, Mak Dizdar, and contemporary Marko Tomaš.
Other
The National Theater was founded in 1919 in Sarajevo and its first director was famous playwright Branislav Nušić. Magazines such as Novi Plamen, Most and Sarajevske sveske are some of the more prominent publications covering cultural and literary themes.
Literature in Bosnia & Herzegovina
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