Tanja Kragujević

Education

She finished the first grade of primary school in Senta, continued her education in Belgrade in the primary school "Vuk Karadzic" and in the Second Belgrade High School. She graduated in 1970., and earned her MA in 1973. at the Belgrade Faculty of Philology, Department of General Literature and Literary Theory. Her Master's thesis, dedicated to one of the most important Serbian poets Momčilo Nastasijević, was published in the form of an essay in the prestigious Argus edition, publishing house "Vuk Karadzic", 1976. She has been represented in numerous anthologies of contemporary Serbian poetry in the country and abroad.

Literary Work

Her first book of poetry was published when she was twenty by one of the oldest and the most outstanding publishing houses ("Matica Srpska ", Novi Sad, in 1966) and appeared in "The First Book" collection. Since then she has published 19 collections of poetry, most recently Hleb od ruža (The Bread of Roses) whichcame out published by KOV, Vršac (2012). The first book of poems, Vratio se Volodja (Volodja has come Back), was illustrated with the photographs by Tanja's father, an art photographer and photojournalist of Politika newspaper, Stevan Kragujević, while the monograph "Kragujević, Senta koje više nema" ("Kragujević, Senta that no Longer Exists"), was published on the occasion of the trecentenary celebration of the town of Senta by the Kulturno-obrazovni centar "Torzo Lajoš iz Sente", 1997. (Cultural-educational Centre "Turzo Lajoš from Senta". The book was composed of artistic photographs by Stevan Kragujević and illustrated by the verses of his daughter Tanja and appeared in the amended version of the special poetry collection under the title Pejsaži nevidljivog ("The Landscapes of the Invisible") KOV, Vršac, 2001). The first selection from her complete poetical works was published by "Agora" (Zrenjanin, 2009). The selected and new poems, entitled Staklena trava (Glass Grass), was edited and the afterword was written by the poet and literary critic Nenad Šaponja. Within Edicija dobitnika književne nagrade Milica Stojadinović Srpkinja (Edition of the Winners of Literary Award of Milica Stojadinovic – Serb), published by Zavod za kulturu Vojvodine (the Cultural Institute of Vojvodina), 2010, a new selection of her poetry, called "Ruža, zaista" ("Rose, indeed"), appeared edited and with the afterword by the literary critic and essayist Dragana Beleslin.

Tanja Kragujević's poetry was reviewed by poets and essayists Ivan V. Lalić, Milica Nikolić, prof.dr. Slavko Gordić, Draško Redjep, dr. Dragana Beleslijin, Dragan Jovanović Danilov and Nenad Šaponja, and literary critics Čedomir Mirković, Vasa Pavković, Bojana Stojanović Pantović, Dušica Protić, Aleksandar B. Laković and others as well.

Guest appearances at festivals

Appeared at poetry festivals: Struga Poetry Festival, (Macedonia), Pushkin Poetry Days (Russia), Square of Poets, (Montenegro, Budva). Participated in the work of literary colony at Sićevo (1994), the International Literary Colony at Čortanovci (2008 ). Represented Serbia at the First Trans-Balkan Poetry Festival in Thessaloniki (24–26 May 2012 ). Guest appearance at the Fourth International Literature and Film Festival of Ordu (Turkey), 3–6. October 2013.

Kragujević Family Legacy

On the occasion of five decades since the publication of the first poetical book Vratio se Volodja, Istorijski arhiv Beograda (Historical Archives of Belgrade) staged the exhibition with the same name. The author of the lay out, Isidora Stojanović, presented the author’s books, antologies, rewards, artefacts and photos which constitute a part of Kragujević family legacy and mark the life, editorial and creative work of the poetess. The special segtments of the exhiibition refers to the family, friends and associates, their letters, photos, books with inscriptions, gifts, rarity books and various items which are the integral part of this Legacy.

Translations

Translations of her poetry can be read in several languages in the world's largest online poetry anthology Lyrikline (www. lyrikline.org), and on her personal website (www.tanjakragujevic.com) as well. Her poems have been translated into German, English, French, Spanish, Hungarian, Dutch, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, Belarusian, Italian, Slovenian, Polish, Japanese, and Greek. Especially interesting is the publication entitled Staklena trava (Glass Grass), collection of seven poems in seven languages (French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Spanish), published by Agora, Zrenjanin, 2012. She is present in thematic and other anthologies home and abroad, representing Serbian poetry today, inter alia: Poesia Serbia hoy, Debats (institutció Alfons el Magnànim, Valencia, n.109 2010/4) and Les Poètes de la Mediterannée (preface by Yves Bonnefoy, Gallimar & Culturesfrance, 2010); Hundert grams Seele, Ten Decagrams of Soul, The Anthology of Serbian Poetry of the Second Part of the Twentieth Century (edited by Robert Hodel, Leipziger Literaturverlag, 2011), The Anthology of Serbian Poetry of XX and XXI Century (Herg Benet Publishers, Bucharest, 2012), El Color de la Esencia (Monográfico de Poesía Serbia Contemporánea—the Monography of Contemporary Serbian Poetry (Silvia Monrós de Stojakovic, Anfora Nova, Nova, Rute, Córdoba, Spain, 2013).

Editing

Publishing Work

More than fifteen years she has been engaged in publishing work. As the editor (Narodna knjiga, Beograd), she has created several collections of books of modern literature, collected and selected works by world outstanding authors (Works by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1981; Works by Marina Tsvetaeva, 1990), edition Alpha Lyrae, dedicated to the most important names of the modern world poetry (H.L.Borges, Philip Larkin, Sylvia Plath, Czesław Miłosz, Janis Ricos, H.M. Enzesberger, Tadeusz Różewicz, Joseph Brodsky, Wisława Szymborska, [Adam Zagajewski, Charles Simic, and others). She is the Editor of the book collection "Ariel" in the publishing house "Agora" who publishes the works of the most outstanding poets in the world (Lucija Stupica, Stanisław Barańczak, Tasos Livaditis, Sarah Kirsch and others). The book Kutija za mesečinu (The Box for Moonlight), was published in 2003. KOV, Vršac.

Poetry

Fotografija na koricama: Stevan Kragujević, Put kroz ravnicu. (Glass grass . Selected and New Poems. Library "Ariel", Vol. 1, Edited and afterword written by Nenad Šaponja. Cover photoghraph: Stevan Kragujević, A Road Across the Plains).

Selected poems

Special monograph

Essays

The book of essays about modern Serbian poets Božanstvo pesme /(Divinity of Poem)/(about the poetry of outstanding Serbian poets – Miodrag Pavlović, Ivan V. Lalić, Aleksandar Ristović, Srba Mitrović, Dušan Vukajlović and Nenad Šaponja) was published by Belgrade Publishing House "Prosveta", 1999. The book Svirač na vlati trave (A Player on a Blade of Grass), Agora, 2006, deals with the poetry of Desimir Blagojević, Miloš Crnjanski, Vasko Popa, Srba Mitrović, Miroljub Todorović and Nikola Vujčić. Her essay about native and world literature, broadcast on Radio Berlgrade (Channel 2) were collected in three Books of Reading Poetry (Knjige čitanja), published in Belgrade, 1994, 1997, 2001. A small collection of texts on modern world and native poetical works entitled Izgovoriti zvezdu (Pronouncing a Star) , was published by "Agora" (Ogledalo edition), 2010, and KOV Vršac published a new book of her lyrical lines and micro-essays entitled Talog nedovršenog (The Residuum of the Unfinished).

Translated poetry

Rendered poetry

She has worked in collaboration with translators on a number of rendered poems, and participated in the translation of Marina Tsvetaeva’s verses, included in the Anthology of translations by Miodrag Sibinović: : Antologija ruske lirike X-XXI vek, knjiga II (Prva četvrtina – sredina XX veka; Marina Cvetajeva, "Duša", prevod Ljudmina Lisina, prepev Tanja Kragujević, str. 132). Paideia, Beograd, 2007 (An Anthology of Russian poetry X-XXI Century, Volume II – First Quarter – mid-twentieth century, Marina Tsvetaeva, " Soul ", translation: Ljudmina Lisina, rendered by: Tanja Kragujević, p. 132), Paidea, Belgrade, 2007.

Internet Anthology

Since 10 April 2009, the verses of Tanja Kragujević can be found on the world’s largest Internet poetry presentation, Lyrikline.org.

Awards