"I'm sorry that today in 2013, the native language in its entire area, which we call by various names, is not known through such and such great writers as Stefan Mitrov Ljubiša, but is mostly recognized through curse words and swear words," said the Croatian writer Miljenko Jergović, after he was presented with the "Stefan Mitrov Ljubiša" award of the "Grad Teatar" festival for literary creativity at the municipal assembly on the occasion of the Budva Liberation Day.
The jury chaired by director Vida Ognjenović, writer David Albahari and dramatist and essayist Božo Koprivica unanimously awarded the award to Jergović this summer, which is traditionally presented on Budva Municipality Day.
"Just like Stefan Mitrov Ljubiša, Jergović feels the call of the public stage and bravely responds to it. He is the one who in his columns reminds the public that a common cultural idiom is wealth and not a danger to identity. He consistently calls for intellectual alertness, because chauvinism threatens to become an accepted social norm. He warns with fear and concern how dangerous it is to live in a society where only hatred can be safe," said Ognjevićka at the ceremonial session.
"I am neither by origin, nor by birth, nor Montenegrin, nor from Budva, but at this moment, I can only be sorry for that," said Jergović, flattered by the jury's explanation.
"This award is very important to me, first of all because of the composition of the jury, because it is the composition of the jury that tells whether the awards are important or not. This is an important jury. Second, this award is extremely important to me because of the name of Stefan Mitrov Ljubiša, who in another time, which today, many claim was much worse than today's time. A time that today is considered a non-free time, unlike today, which should be free, was an important present and read literary writer, the Yugoslav generation students, who learned about their native language from Kanjoš Macedonić and the text of Stefan Mitrov Ljubiša," said Jergović.
Bonus video:
