Jelena Đurović

Jelena Đurović talking about her novel "Kingdom", Belgrade, November 2004.

Jelena Đurović (Serbian Cyrillic: Јелена Ђуровић, born 13 July 1973) is a Serbian journalist, writer and political activist. She advocates changes to the cultural policy of the government of Serbia, Serbian acceptance of the responsibility for recent wars in the Balkans and re-affirmation of the Second World War anti-fascist movement in Serbia.

Literary work

Jelena is a graduate of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, Department of Theater and radio production. Her bachelor thesis, "Theatre in the shadow of the gallows" ("Pozornica u senci vešala") explored the programming policies of Belgrade theaters during the Slobodan Milošević era. During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, Jelena lived in Budapest, Hungary, where she started work on her novel "Kingdom"[1] published in November 2003, excerpts from which were published in the book Voices from the faultline, A Balkan Anthology.[2]

Kingdom

"Kingdom" is the book that elaborates influence of historical events in the life of an individual. It plays with three sequences – literary genres and uses a fragmentary approach, but the basic idea, well hidden among its pages, is the understanding of the art.

The choice of the nine most significant dates in Yugoslav history, the plot of the story that unfolds amongst these dates, as well as the genres of each of the chapters in "Kingdom" form a unique literary experiment.

30 February

Cover of Jelena's latest novel, "February 30th". Artwork: Aleksandar Maćašev

In October 2011. her second novel, "February 30th" ("30. februar") was published in Belgrade. It is a sci-fi love story that treats Serbian current affairs from the viewpoint of 4 main characters, young professionals living in Belgrade. Each of them is giving their own view of the same set of events that, eventually, lead to exposure of corruption and dishonesty of Serbian political and business elites. At the same time this novel gives the grim picture of the hopelessness that Serbian young adults have to deal with.

Journalism

In 1994 and 1995 she worked at one of Belgrade's most popular radio stations, Studio B,[3] as author and editor of the weekly radio show "Time In". This show was sponsored by Soros Fund Yugoslavia. Since October 2005 she is the author and editor of "AgitPop"[4] blog. Its motto is a citation from the letter written by Sigmund Freud to Albert Einstein in Vienna in September 1932: "Meanwhile we may rest on the assurance that whatever makes for cultural development is working also against war...".[5] At the same time Jelena writes for several Serbian newspapers and magazines[6][7][8] and became a part of the editorial team of the "Novi Radio Beograd".[9][10] She used to host daily broadcasts on Wednesdays, campaigning for arrest of Ratko Mladić, criticizing the influence of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Serbia, advocating reconciliation between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians. Since 19 May 2009 Jelena's daily show is aired on Thursdays from 2pm to 4pm under the name Agitpop. The format of the show remains largely unchanged.

Personal life

Đurović was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to a Montenegrin father and a mother of Jewish descent. Her great-grandmother Serafina was related to Lotika Zellermeier,[11] who was the inspiration for a character in Ivo Andrić's novel The Bridge on the Drina. Jelena Đurović married Tomica Orešković, a descendant of the Second World War Croatian national hero Marko Orešković on 31 January 2008. Since February 2009 Jelena lives between Belgrade and Richmond, London.

References

  1. ↑ at Jelenadjurovic.com
  2. ↑ ZayuPress ... VOICES FROM THE FAULTLINE – A Balkan Anthology
  3. ↑ http://www.studio-b.rs/radio/
  4. ↑ Agit Pop
  5. ↑ A letter from Freud to Einstein | UNESCO Courier | Find Articles at BNET
  6. ↑ Articles written and/or edited by Jelena for CAMP, FAAR and Glas magazines: http://agitpopmagazine.blogspot.com/
  7. ↑ www.glas-javnosti.co.yu
  8. ↑ Faar magazin / Faar magazine
  9. ↑ noviradiobeograd.com
  10. ↑ Blic Online | Novi Radio Beograd na internetu
  11. ↑ Israel Hayom – A Jewish identity resurfaces, Interview with Jelena Đurović

External links