Dubravka Ugrešić
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Dubravka Ugrešić is a noted Yugoslavian/Croatian writer who lives in the Netherlands.
Dubravka Ugrešić was born in 1949 in former Yugoslavia, now Croatia. She studied Comparative Literature and Russian Language and Literature at the University of Zagreb. She worked at the Institute for Theory of Literature at Zagreb University, pursuing parallel careers as a writer and a literary scholar.
Her best-known novel in former Yugoslavia was “Štefica Cvek u raljama života” (Steffie Speck in the Jaws of Life), an ironic postmodernist novel freely playing with clichés and stereotypes of trivial literature and culture. The novel was an immediate success and made into a movie, directed by Rajko Grlic in 1984.
After the outbreak of the war in 1991 in former Yugoslavia Ugrešić took a firm anti-war and anti-nationalistic stand. She wrote critically about nationalism (both Croatian and Serbian), the stupidity and criminality of war (See her book The Culture of Lies), and soon became a target of nationalistically charged media. She was proclaimed a “traitor”, a “public enemy” and a “witch”.
She left Croatia in 1993 and continued to write living outside her country. Her writing has been described as accessible, intelligent, innovative and politically and emotionally charged.
Ugrešić lives in Amsterdam as a freelance writer. She occasionally teaches at American and European Universities and writes for some European newspapers and literary journals.
[edit] Awards
Ugresic received many literary awards and international recognition for her writing.
In former Yugoslavia she was awarded Nin-award, “Meša Selimović” award, K.Š. Gjalski-award, etc.
International Literary Awards:
- 2006 Short listed for Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. UK.
- 2004 Premio Feronia – Citta di Fiano. Italy.
- 2000 Heinrich Mann Preis, Akademie Der Kunste Berlin. Germany.
- 1999 Osterreichischen Staatspreis fur Europaische Literatur 1998 (Austrian State Prize for European Literature). Vienna, Austria.
- 1998 SWF-Bestenliste Literaturpreis (Sud-West-Funk Bestlist Literary Award). Germany.
- 1997 Versetsprijs 1997, Stichting Kunstenaarsverzet 1942 – 1945 (Artists in Resistance Prize). Netherlands.
- 1996 Prix Europeen de l’ Essai Charles Veillon (Annual prize for the best European book of essays). Switzerland.
[edit] Her books translated in English
- Nobody’s Home (2007)
- The Ministry of Pain (2005)
- Lend Me Your Character (2004)
- Thank You For Not Reading (2003)
- The Museum of Unconditional Surrender (1998)
- The Culture of Lies (1998)
- Have A Nice Day: From the Balkan War to the American Dream (1994)
- Fording the Stream of Consciousness (1991)
- In the Jaws of Life (1992)
