Meša Selimović
Writing
Biography
Mehmed "Meša" Selimović (26 April 1910 – 11 July 1982) was a Yugoslav writer, whose novel Death and the Dervish is considered one of the most important literary works in postwar Yugoslavia. Selimović began writing fairly late in his life. His first short story (Pjesma u oluji / A song in the storm) was published in 1948, when he was thirty-six. His first book, a collection of short stories Prva četa (The First Company) was published in 1950. His subsequent works, Tišine (Silences, 1961), Tuđa zemlja (Foreign land, 1962) and Magla i mjesečina (Mist and Moonlight, 1965) did not receive widespread recognition. His novel Death and the Dervish (Derviš i smrt, 1966), however, was widely received as a masterpiece. The plot of the novel takes place in 18th-century Sarajevo under Ottoman rule, and reflects Selimović's own torment of the execution of his brother; the story speaks of the futility of one man's resistance against a repressive system, and the change that takes place within that man after he becomes a part of that very system. Some critics have likened this novel to Kafka's The Trial. It has been translated into many languages, including English, Russian, German, French, Italian, Turkish and Arabic. Each chapter of the novel opens with a Quran citation. The next novel, Tvrđava (The Fortress, 1970) is slightly more optimistic, and fulfilled with faith in love, unlike the lonely contemplations and fear in Death and the Dervish. Subsequent novels Ostrvo (The Island, 1974) and the posthumously published Krug (The Circle, 1983), have not been translated into English. He also wrote a book about Vuk Karadžić's orthographic reforms Za i protiv Vuka (For and Against Vuk), as well as his autobiography, Sjećanja.
Known For
The film tells the story of the Yugoslav destroyer Zagreb which fights against Germany in 1941, and how some of the crew members try to organise a mutiny to keep fighting when the commander is ordered to surrender.
Adriatic Sea of Fire
The brother of Mevlevi Sheikh Ahmet Nurettin is thrown into prison despite being innocent. Dervish believes that his brother will eventually return because he is innocent. However, his hopes are shattered when the judge sentences his brother to death. The dervish embarks on a great reckoning within himself, decides to confront those responsible, and begins to incite the people to revolt. Over time, he himself will become part of the very power he opposes...
Il derviscio
An exciting story of Husine coalminers who formed a partisan batch and put up an armed resistance during WW2 in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On the Mountain of Konjuh
The story takes place in a town on Adriatic coast. Mother wants to marry her daughter to a wealthy doctor, but her plan proves to be challenging as they're both seduced by a handsome smuggler.
The House on the Coast
A partisan battalion who was surrounded from all sides brings up decision to enter the city, so that the fighters could rest and recover. Due to fear of one of the partisans, the enemy discovers their plan, but fails to sabotage it.
Nights and Days
A young man, left to himself, thrown out of a village, comes to a large town whe re he looks for the meaning of existence.
Come In, If You Please
Ahmet Nurudin is a dervish and head of the Islamic monastery of the Mevlevi order in Sarajevo. He is a personification of morale and dogmatic belief, everything that Muslim religion of the Ottoman rule rests on. Throughout his life, the atmosphere of the city, the relations with the judge and the mechanism of government, the image of Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the nineteenth century is being revealed. Based on a highly praised novel by Meša Selimović.
The Dervish and Death
The TV movie Stormy Night takes place during the Second World War, and in its center is the clerk Ceric, who, after meeting his Jewish neighbor at night and his taking to the camp, becomes a prisoner and a victim of his own fear.
Stormy Night
After the war, a partisan hospital is set up in a monastery, with the nuns working as nurses. A beautiful young nun, Maria, becomes very fond of the partisan leader, Commissar Nenad.
A Nun and a Commissar
A story about Italian soldiers, enemies who have their own problems and hopes. Based on short stories of Mesa Selimovic, Bosnian writer.
On Foreign Soil
Despite the war, deep in the mountain there is a small railway station from which logs are taken from. Occasionally, gunfire is heard from the surrounding forests between partisans and Germans. Refusing to accept the reality, the station chief wants to maintain his established peace.