The idea of restoring Montenegrin independence, although it was only realized in 2006, completing a arduous political process, sparked in scientific thought and cultural practice even before the Liberal Alliance of Montenegro appeared in post-socialist Montenegro, a political party for which a sovereign and internationally recognized Montenegro was the goal of all goals.
It was precisely scientists (historians, geographers, literary historians, linguists...) and artists, who lowered their scientific, professional and artistic probes into the Montenegrin past and cultural tradition, and in this way revealed to the wider population long-hidden truths about Montenegro and its centuries-old struggle to preserve freedom, who were the main inspirers of political changes.
On the eve of and during the breakup of Yugoslavia, many of these people were detained, interrogated, or fired from their companies, under the pretext that their words and actions reflected separatism and destructive tendencies. The attacks and persecution of Montenegrin scientists and writers were in line with the decades-long practice of annihilating the cultural and national identity of a small Mediterranean country on whose soil the crossroads of worlds had long been built.
It was these people who, in the period from 1989 to 2006, built a series of institutions that, together with political forces, prepared a referendum for the restoration of Montenegrin sovereignty. They founded the Montenegrin Society of Independent Writers, the Montenegrin PEN Center, the Matica Crnogorska, the Duklja Academy of Sciences and Arts... Like their predecessors, many of whom became famous as writers between the two world wars (and later participated in the Second World War, liberated Montenegro from fascism, and then, as members of post-war commissions, founded the Scientific Society of Montenegro, the University of Montenegro, the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts, and the Association of Writers of Montenegro), the independentists used their knowledge and talent to create new (as a rule, non-governmental) institutions and form a front of intellectual civil struggle for a modern Montenegrin society that would strive to become part of the community of European nations. It turned out that it was necessary to do so, because all the institutions of science and culture, founded by communists and socialists in the post-war period, were occupied by bureaucrats in Slobodan Milošević's greatcoats in the late 1980s.
And then the official politics in Montenegro accepted this ideological course and in 1997, a joint political struggle of Montenegrin forces for the restoration of sovereignty and international legal subjectivity began...
The last two decades in independent Montenegro have brought a lot of literature and culture. The official language in Montenegro was declared Montenegrin. Since 2007, classes in the field of the Montenegrin language have started at the University of Montenegro. Shortly after that, the Montenegrin Spelling was adopted. The Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature was founded. The Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra was also founded (this name appears for the first time), the Montenegrin Film Center... Our artists were regulars at international literary, art, music, theater and film festivals...
If we focus on Montenegrin literature and publishing, then we cannot help but notice (find the results of our research on the last pages of the latest Focalizator) that during this period, about 130 fiction editions and anthologies of Montenegrin literature were translated. During that period, many of our books experienced a good international reception, and some also gained popularity and recognition in the form of literary awards. Therefore, it is clear today that this culture needed the restoration of state independence in order to free itself from the medieval cloak, false myths and show its real achievements and its international character.
In the last two decades, authors of Montenegrin literature have gathered mainly around two daily newspapers (Vijesti and Pobjeda), three magazines (Ars, Plima and Fokalizator) and publishing houses such as the Montenegrin Society of Independent Writers, Plima, the Open Cultural Forum, Fokalizator... Montenegrin literature today is rich in genres and types, and in the region it is equally represented alongside the literatures of nations that have fifteen times more numerous populations. And it is difficult to imagine a quality literature festival in the region today without authors from Montenegro.
Aware that the confinement of literature and culture to national folds contributes to nothing but the popularity of Nazi politicians and the growth of dubious capital, at Fokalizator we foster conversations between cultures. That is why the special issue of the journal Fokalizator, issue 31, entitled Found in Translation: Two Decades of Montenegrin Literature and Culture, was inspired by these conversations. We published poems, prose, and plays from publications that took place in other cultures, in foreign languages, in the form of author's books. The selection therefore included books that in the past two decades have paved the way to other cultures. These are poems by Sreten Perović, Jevrem Brković, Mladen Lompar, Balša Brković and Pavle Goranović, prose by Sreten Asanović, Husein Bašić, Zuvdija Hodžić, Branislav Brković, Jovan Nikolaidis, Olja Knežević, Dragan Radulović, Aleksandar Bečanović, Vojislav Pejović, Andrej Nikolaidis, Ognjen Spahić, Stefan Bošković, Nikola Nikolić, Ilija Đurović and Tijana Rakočević, and drama by Ljubomir Đurković.
This issue of Focalizator should also serve as a nice reminder of the authors whose voices have crossed the boundaries of language, and have spoken as much about their poetics as about the culture from which they originated.
And it should also serve future generations. Because this issue is not only dedicated to literary works created in the past two decades. Thanks to our collaborators, the new issue of Fokalizator also analyzes twenty years of Montenegrin theater, film, visual arts, musical art, journalism, and cultural memory. The authors of these texts are Janko Ljumović, Sehad Čekić, Ljiljana Karadžić, Tijana Jovović, Miloš Vukanović, and Dragana Erjavšek. Therefore, it is certain that the new issue of Fokalizator will be a reliable parameter for all those who will one day study this period of our culture.
Equally for the future, as well as for the times we live in - we celebrate the great Montenegrin jubilee through culture.
On that note, dear readers, and dear colleagues, happy twentieth May 21st - Montenegrin Independence Day!
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