Šetnje po Šipovicama (Šipovice Walks) Book - Native Poetry of Ćamil Sijarić as Selected by Faruk Dizdarević Promoted

The promotion of a book Šetnje po Šipovicama (Šipovice Walks) - Native Poetry of Ćamil Sijarić as Selected by writer and cultural historian Faruk Dizdarević was organized on Thursday, 31 October 2019 in the University of Sarajevo Ceremonial Hall, organized by the Sandžak Citizens' Association in B&H.

A promotion dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the death of a writer - academician Ćamil Sijarić was opened by a welcome address delivered by Prof. Dr. Rifat Škrijelj, University of Sarajevo Rector.
“He wrote in the wake of the tragedy of human passage; in other words, he wrote that what is good and what is bad will pass, because we all end up in our transience. As Sijarić himself said, life in his works was viewed from his painful side, those where medicine and a bandage should be put. He never believed in the fragile structures of dreams, because life for him was, as he himself wrote, a fountain of tears and a moan. He wrote innumerable human destinies, small and large, striking and ordinary, but he wrote particularly fondly of his native Sandžak, saying that where he had a hard time living, he spoke well and that he had only turned that beautiful speech into a rare one.” Rector Škrijelj pointed out that Ćamil Sijarić made Montenegrin and Bosnian literature world-relevant, making them an integral link between them.

The book was discussed by promoters: Hadžem Hajdarević, Kemal Musić and Gradimir Gojer. Muharem Hamzić, Association Secretary moderated the event.

Hadžem Hajdarević reminded that Ćamil Sijarić was president of the Writers' Association of BiH for many years, and stressed that he believed that Ćamil Sijarić and all great writers in Bosnian language would be able to connect us, infect us and encourage us to try to have more understanding for their work in future times and have understanding for our writers. “After all, the language we speak is primarily in literary work, not grammars, spelling, dictionaries, but in literature primarily” said Hadžem Hajdarević.

When speaking about this choice of Sijarić's work, Gradimir Gojer pointed out that the organizer Faruk Dizdarević discovered a new world in this book.

“One world that seemed to prepare Ćamil Sijarić for the poetic essences of prose, because these poems were produced at different ages and they also mark Ćamil Sijarić’s growth over time” said Gojer, adding that it was a poetic world that is as alive as and domestic, and that Sijarić, by his poetic imagination, had added to it to the extent that he had created a completely authentic world that did not enslave his homeland alone.

On this occasion, Kemal Music wrote the text Šetnja po Šipovicama – šetnja po nebesima (A Walk in Sipovice - A Walk in Heavens), describing his only encounter with Ćamil Sijarić, and talking about this great writer and his works, as well as their homeland.

The author of the selection of Sijarić's poetry, Faruk Dizdarević, pointed out that in professional circles there is an opinion that Ćamil Sijarić is a prose writer, adding that Sijarić was a prose writer but also wrote poetry from a young age.
“He was publishing poetry. It was not poetry written in booklets, but one published in relevant journals. Ćamil Sijarić wrote poetry until the last day” Dizdarević said, stating that he made a selection from Sijarić's native poetry, even less well-known, which was not published in magazines. He pointed out that Sijarić's poetry aroused great interest in professional circles and described it as wonderful and extraordinary, emphasizing that it speaks about a wide range of topics.

The verses from the book were read by the Bosnian theater and film actor and director of the Sarajevo National Theater, Mr. Izudin Bajrović.

Book promotion was attended by family members of Ćamil Sijarić, H. E. Mr. Obrad Mišo Stanišić, Ambassador of Montenegro to BiH, University of Sarajevo Vice-Rectors, Prof. Dr. Aida Hodžić and Prof. Dr. Maida Čohodar Husić, and numerous members of the Sandžak Citizens' Association in B&H.

The storyteller, the novelist, the poet Ćamil Sijarić left an indelible mark on literature in his oeuvre. He was born in Šipovice near Bijelo Polje in 1913, losing both his parents in early age. He attended King Alexander’s the Great Madrasa in Skopje, from which he was expelled for political persuasion. He finished high school in Vranje and graduated law in Belgrade. From 1947 he lived in Sarajevo, where he worked in the literary editorial office of Radio-Sarajevo until the end of his working life. He tragically died in a car accident in 1989.