A Little Workshop of Stories
Bajramovic Benjamin 
Calderón’s hero Sigismundo, imprisoned all his life, is granted a single day of freedom. His jailers drug him and transfer him to the royal palace, where Sigismundo awakens dressed in splendid garments. The courtly entourage informs him that he is a prince and heir to the throne. Deprived for years of life’s pleasures, Sigismundo becomes … Read more
The rain falls patiently. It descends like a flock of drunken birds, charges boldly and forcefully, returns home, to the earth, deep below, to flood, to smother, to fertilize. It gurgles in gutters, drains, cracks, breaks into cavities, grooves, holes, hollows, conquers cobblestones, streets, sidewalks, flows into trenches and pipes, into ears and throats, pours … Read more
I open the door, the smell of hookah hits me. Heavy and sweet, it makes me nauseous. Reminds me of some disgusting, cheap perfume. The place is arranged like a mosque. A mosque with a bar. Two floors, and still small. On the ground floor you can hardly turn around. Upstairs it’s a little more … Read more
Life you deserved. He said that. A people you deserved. A country you deserved. Why must I deserve anything? On the way here I passed the city. Almost the whole of it: all its holes in the asphalt, fallen facades, awkwardly whitewashed monuments, rickety trams, dirty markets, broken drains, warped fences, cheap awnings, spat-on shop … Read more
Mom is on duty, assisting someone who saves lives. It’s not that it matters that she isn’t here, it doesn’t even matter. She is now taking someone’s blood pressure, sticking in a cannula, changing a diaper, then praying by the bed for health or for the soul. She thinks that all patients believe in God. … Read more
Itake is a novel written in a superbly poetic style, proof that Benjamin Bajramović is among the most talented writers of his generation in the South Slavic literary sphere. Over the past four years, as a member of the jury for the Mirko Kovač Prize, I have closely followed the novelistic output of young writers … Read more
Benjamin Bajramović’s debut novel Itake is a masterfully executed work that captures the voice of an entire generation. Of the four perspectives through which the novel unfolds, three belong to fictional characters shaped by the post-war youth of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Jakov’s departure to Germany forces Maša, Nećko, and Delboj to confront their own unresolved … Read more
Handwritten traces on the pages of books are as varied and colorful as readers themselves (I don’t pretend to be an expert, but in my years of reading I have come across all kinds). From small doodles scribbled out of sheer boredom, to love notes, dedications, offensive or lascivious remarks, to abstract and accidental lines. … Read more
Of course, the invention of the printing press completely altered the character of the book and, so to speak, separated it from the human being — its creator. The printing machine put an end to handwriting, which for centuries revealed the author or the scribe on the pages of a book. Handwriting, in turn, is … Read more
The Road from Damascus begins almost imperceptibly: with a family meal and an unexpected guest. Into the house enters a migrant, wounded and mute, who is given the name Petko. His silence, at first only a sign of weakness, soon grows into the central element of the play. As the family members try to care … Read more