intervju / Interview
D epicting the last three years of Branko Miljković's life, while reminiscing on the years of his childhood and youth, Dejan Stojiljković’s new novel details the tragic fate of an ingenious artist in an eternal conflict with the world. This is simul- taneously the story of a state and its security ser- vices, and the story of an exceptional individual who, like Prometheus, brought fire and the light of life to humanity. Through his novel, the author of bestsellers Con- stantine’s Crossing and Cain’s Scar, and the screen- writer for the series Black Sun, attempts to answer an essential and most important question: who was Branko Miljković really? “That’s a topic that has intrigued me for years, Branko's poetry, his life, his genius and death that has never been explained. I didn’t leap unthinking- ly into all that immediately, as there are plenty of books about Branko, accurate and less accurate bi- ographies, novels, plays, film scripts and even comic books. I honestly expected someone else to write a modern novel about Miljković before me, but that simply didn’t happen. And I understood why when I got into the whole story. It isn’t enough to mere- ly tell the story of a tragically departed poet, but rather it’s necessary to bring to life a very complex personality, to seek out the causes of many things in his short, but turbulent life, to reconstruct the era... It isn’t enough to merely read his verses and offer your own subjective interpretation. Apart from that, there’s the added burden of responsibility – not only to him, but also to his legacy, which is great.” Apart from the magical poetry that he wrote, did the fact that he was from Niš also play a role in piquing your interest? “I will be a slightly immodest local patriot and say that anyone who isn’t a native of Niš can’t ful- ly comprehend Branko Miljković. Therein lies my advantage. And that is a double advantage, because Branko, like myself, was also originally from Zaplan- jac. So, he is very close to me both linguistically and mentally, while that – in all honesty – is literally an insurmountable obstacle for many other writers and interpreters of his character and works. They can perhaps understand the philosopher and poet in him, but at the same time they struggle to un- derstand the Niš and Zaplanjac native that he was.” I also read that one of your motives was to change the enduring image of him as a bleak, haunted poet? What is your Branko like? “He’s like the way he was in real life and the way he was described by his contemporaries: hedonis- tic, cheerful, bohemian, charming, friendly, loqua- cious, good-natured, grouchy, stubborn... But also thoughtful, depressed, caring, with above average intelligence and highly educated, eternally ponder-
Dejan Stojiljković, writer Branko’s star shines above the void At the moment of his demise, the Prince of Poetry was just 27 years old and had his whole life ahead of him. Did he really give up on himself, or was he perhaps murdered? We are told the story of just who Branko Miljković was, and what he was like, in the new book of another Niš native
O Nemanji Lukiću „Konstantinovo raskršće“ živi kao da je juče izašlo iz štampe. Kako sa ove distance gledaš na svoj prvenac i kad će serija? – Mislim da ta knjiga živi neki svoj život i da je čitaju ne- ke nove generacije, u tom smislu – dobro je ostari- la. U početku je bila zamišljena kao samostalna priča, ali lik Nemanje Lukića se nekako oteo i sad ispada da je taj roman startovao franšizu. To mi nije bila name- ra, ali nekako je ta priča sazrevala zajedno sa mnom kao piscem. Serija će početi da se snima ove godi- ne u produkciji kuće „Firefly“ iz Beograda. Biće to vi- sokobudžetna serija u kojoj će se pojaviti i neki stra- ni glumci, a u planu su tri sezone. Ja ću, s moje strane, dati doprinos u vidu nastavka romana i svojevrsnog spin-ofa koji će se zvati „Serafim - hronike Nemanje Lukića“, planiram da ta knjiga izađe na jesen ove godi- ne i bude svojevrstan uvod u univerzum „Konstantino- vog raskršća“. Takođe, spremili smo i integralnu ver- ziju stripa.
tiče velikih tema kao što su život, ljubav, smrt, dobro i zlo... Moje priče često kombinuju stvarne ličnosti u fiktivnim situacijama, ali takav je slučaj i sa Tolstojem, Dobricom Ćosićem ili Hilari Mantel, nije to ništa no- vo u književnosti. Da li je uopšte moguće ispričati istinitu ver- ziju Brankove smrti? Ti si siguran da je ubi- jen? – Ta nameštaljka sa njegovim samoubistvom je ta- ko aljkavo inscenirana da se raspada čim se malo za- grebe po površini. Nađen je mrtav kako kleči obešen o tuđ kaiš na grani debljine dečje ruke. Ljudi koji su šez- desetih tvrdili da se ubio su nakon raspada SFRJ na- glo promenili mišljenje, njegovi dosijei u policiji i Službi su nestali, najverovatnije su uništeni, kao i ostala do- kumentacija... Toliko decenija kasnije više nije ni toli- ko stvar u tome da li je to samoubistvo, jer je odavno jasno da nije, već da se uvreženi kanon promeni. I on se menja, iz Brankovih biografija je uklonjen suicid i umesto njega je ubačeno da je „stradao pod nerazjaš- njenim okolnostima“. U najnovijem dokumentarcu o njemu, izašlom prošle godine, jasno se kaže da je ubi- jen, takođe, u nedavno objavljenoj monografiji Druš- tva književnika Niša u kojoj su biografije svih njegovih članova od pedesetih do danas u odrednici vezanoj za Miljkovića jasno stoji – ubijen u Zagrebu 1961, i to je prvi zvanični dokument koji tu stvar tretira na taj na- čin. Istina lagano izlazi na videlo. Imaš li omiljenu Brankovu pesmu i baviš li se u knjizi pričom o nesrećnoj ljubavi iza „Uzalud je budim“? – Teško je izabrati omiljenu Brankovu pesmu ali, za ovaj konkretan slučaj opredeliću se za „Sećanje na pokojnika“, iz koje sam uzeo stih i iskoristio ga za na- slov romana. Što se tiče nastanka pesme „Uzalud je bu- dim“, to se pominje i objašnjava u romanu, Branko je tu pesmu posvetio tragično preminuloj komšinici Ru- ži Đorđević, koja je poginula u savezničkim bombardo- vanjima Niša potkraj Drugog svetskog rata. Biću malo lokal-patriotski neskroman i reći da neko ko nije Nišlija ne može u potpunosti da shvati Branka Miljkovića I will be a slightly immodest local patriot and say that anyone who isn’t a native of Niš can’t fully comprehend Branko Miljković
On Nemanja Lukić Constantine’s Crossing lives on as if it emerged from the publishers yesterday. How do you view your debut novel from this vantage point and when will there be a series? “I think that book lives some kind of life of its own and is being read by some new generations, and in that sense it’s aged well. It was initially conceived as a stand-alone story, but the character of Nemanja Lukić somehow “kidnapped” himself and it now turns out that this nov- el launched a franchise. That wasn’t my intention, but somehow the story matured together with me as a writ- er. Filming for the series will start this year, under the production of Firefly from Belgrade. That will be a high- budget series that will include the appearances of some foreign actors, and the plan is for three seasons. For my part, I will provide a contribution in the form of a sequel to the novel and a kind of spin-off that will be called Ser- aphim – The Chronicles of Nemanja Lukić. I’m planning for that book to be released this coming autumn and for it to be a kind of introduction to the universe of Con- stantine’s Crossing. We’ve also prepared a full version in comic book form.”
U umetnosti je bitna suština, a ne ambalaža / In art it is the substance that’s important, not the packaging
38 | Književnost » Literature
Literature » Književnost | 39
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