The “Days of Bora Stanković” event, marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of the renowned Serb writer, opened last night in Derventa.
Vesna Šain, director of the Branko Radičević National Library in Derventa, said that Bora Stanković’s life and work form part of the city’s literary, cultural and historical heritage and, consequently, its cultural identity.
“According to professional library criteria, someone who was born in Derventa, lived here, wrote about Derventa or left a literary mark in its cultural sphere can be considered a local heritage writer. Tonight, we are symbolically adding Bora Stanković to Derventa’s local heritage writers,” Šain said.
She noted that Stanković was interned in 1916 and spent time in Derventa, where he socialized with local intellectuals. He later described this period positively and said he had felt accepted and respected in the city.
“Few people in Derventa knew about this fact, including that Bora Stanković wrote two short stories here. That is precisely why we want to promote this story more widely and bring it closer to the public,” Šain said.
Biljana Babić, a professor at the University of Banja Luka’s Faculty of Philology, said the faculty’s participation in the event resulted from students’ interest in the story of Stanković’s stay in Derventa.
She said her presentation focused on the beauty of Borisav Stanković’s language and expression, noting that his use of dialect was initially considered unusual and faced criticism within Serbian literature.
“That authenticity was initially an obstacle for him, but later opened doors for him throughout the Serb cultural world and in other literary traditions as well,” Babić said.
She noted that the two short stories Stanković wrote in Derventa, “Ludi Rista” and “Moja želja,” also testify to his literary work during his internment.
Slobodan Živanić, spokesman for the Derventa City Administration, said the city supported the work of the National Library and the organization of the event. He also announced plans to install a memorial plaque as a permanent reminder of Stanković’s stay in Derventa.
“This is an important detail from Derventa’s history and from Borisav Stanković’s life and time in our city. I believe this event will become a tradition in the years ahead,” Živanić said.
The opening program featured Serbian language and literature professor Dušica Stanković Đukić, who presented collected material on Stanković’s stay in Derventa, Professor Biljana Babić, students from the University of Banja Luka’s Faculty of Philology and Faculty of Political Sciences, as well as musicians Milijana Žunić and Dragana Latinović.
The program also included music from the Vranje region, where Stanković was born, as well as a dramatic performance by members of the Youth Literary Workshop.
The “Days of Bora Stanković” will continue with a lecture by Duška Pevulja, professor at the University of Banja Luka’s Faculty of Philosophy, and a theatrical performance by the Youth Literary Workshop.
The event is organized by the Branko Radičević National Library in Derventa.
Source: RTRS
