Archive

Search

Gost Niotkuda : Pesme = Dosti khatinendar

Two poems

Jovan Nikolić | Two poems | Articles | lit_00633

Rights held by: Jovan Nikolić | Licensed by: Jovan Nikolić| Licensed under: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International | Provided by: Jovan Nikolić – Private Archive

Credits

Rights held by: Jovan Nikolić | Licensed by: Jovan Nikolić| Licensed under: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International | Provided by: Jovan Nikolić – Private Archive

Contextualisation

In Jovan Nikolić’s early poems ‘Stepeno invalidnitosko / Stepen Invalidnosti’ and ‘Sovli / Zavet / Gelübde’ a common feature of his overall poetic style can be found – casual and trivial situations become a reason for philosophical and metaphysical reflections on the human condition and values.

Black skin and a dark appearance, essentialised as an identity marker by both Roma and non-Roma, are frequent topics in Romani writing. ‘Stepeno invalidnitosko’ [Degree of Disability] is arguably one of the most sensitive yet expressive first-person poetic narratives about Roma facing stigmatisation by the ‘Others’ right from the first encounter only because of their appearance. Thus, living among people may cause much suffering. ‘Sovli’ [Vow] is a powerful pledge by a future father to secure his heir a life among humans using wild beast training methods.

The poems were also published in Jovan Nikolić’s 1982 collection Gost Niotkuda / Dosti khatinendar:: Pesme (Vršac/Vîrset: Biblioteka Kov). Source of the present versions: typed manuscripts provided by the writer. Romani translation by Rajko Djurić.

Source of the present versions typed manuscripts provided by the writer. Romani translation by Rajko Djurić.

Sofiya Zahova (2018)

Details

Authors
Bibliographic level
Articles
Language
Object Number
lit_00633

Archive Section