Vladislav Bajac: I am still more interested in the future than the past

"Gastronomadske piče", a new book by the Belgrade writer Vladislav Bajc, is filled with unusual heroes and contemporaries, experienced events and the rarest discoveries. Written over the past few years, Vladislav Bajc's new stories embody an exciting nomadic search for new experiences, cultures and spaces.

The stories in this book take place in Italy, Slovakia, China, Iceland, France, Egypt, Germany, Sweden, Belgrade, and they are united into one whole by the common point of view of the storyteller, a modern nomad who, in the experienced time and concrete space, thinks and designs small and the great truths of one's own existence.

In "Gastronomadic Tales", food plays either the main or one of the most important roles. In these stories, food is an expression of everyday life, but also of magic, culture, and rituals. "Gastronomadic Stories" was recently published by the Belgrade-based Archipelago.

You just received the newly established "Prozart" award in Macedonia for your author's contribution to the development of contemporary Balkan literature. Can you tell us what your impressions are, given that you enjoy the status of a cult writer in Macedonia?

"I am grateful to the Macedonian audience because they are deeply interested in what I write. What writer would not like that? Especially since this is the first awarding of the "Prozart" award and I am its first winner.

However, I shared my pleasure with the other, equally renowned authors-participants of this festival, PRO-ZA Balkan: Miljenko Jergović, Alek Popov, Andrej Blatnik, Andrej Nikolaidis.

"All my story books published so far have been, in one way or another, related to travel"

I consoled them by saying that I got the award because I am the oldest among all and that it is not a compliment for the winner. I suggested to the organizers that for the next four years all four writers should be invited to this meeting and that every year some of them would receive the same award. Of course, this was a joke, but I did say it.

That, in fact, tells you about my attitude towards awards: I appreciate them, but I don't think they are decisive for a writer. Or to put it even more clearly: you can live with prizes and you should share them with others, but - by God - you can live without them (I mean, without prizes).

In this case, public debates, meetings with readers, and especially the contribution of the organizers (from the publisher of "Ikon" to jury members and experts Aleksandar Prokopjev, Beti Seleva, Ermis Lafazanovski and others) were the essence of deepening the already good relations between Slavic literatures. After all, I am one of those who was never ashamed of the Balkans, and I was always proud of its literature".

In your latest book "Gastronomadic Stories", food and travel play either the main or one of the most important roles. Why?

"All my story books published so far were, in one way or another, related to travel. This time I used food as stops on those journeys. A person traveling really, physically and literally, stops to eat and drink, and this was an ideal opportunity to put some of that into the stories.

Food is an important part of everyday life for all people in the world, and thus becomes a witness of culture and civilization. It is a picture of our similarities and differences, not just an instrument of mere survival.

But, although this is a concept book, its basic ingredient - food, is used very asymmetrically: from stories that are completely dedicated to food to those in which one sentence or only one phrase is dedicated to them. But that's the idea. I tried (as in every book) to add, unevenly, something of my own and different to the familiar. Without such a challenge, writing has no meaning."

In the introductory text "With Faith in Food" you wrote about the duo: travelogue and food, and about a special genre or mutation that you call gastronomadism. You play with the terms gastrosexual, self-gastrosexual, gastroerotomaniac level. Is this an autopoetic text? Can you explain that to us?

"It is partly an autopoetic text, but of course, only in the domain of the subject of the book. But for the first time in my writing life, it seemed to me that I might dare to try to be witty (which I don't think I am). So I started to I also play with serious things.

So, why not demystify the term gourmet, i.e. culinary

For example, starting from the title of the introductory text you mentioned: I replaced the famous phrase "With faith in God" with two words and a game of capital letters, and turned it into "With faith in food". (Yes, if you're wondering, my wife's name is Vera and she's an excellent cook).

But let's be clear: even now, I wouldn't reveal anything private without an important reason if there wasn't a literary reason for it. So, why not demystify the term gourmet, i.e. Culinary: well, I immediately demystified myself by saying that I don't know how to cook at all, but that's why I know how to eat excellently, and for God's sake, to selflessly praise the chef. Well, that's where all the further potential humor came from - the story about gastrosexualism and the like".

This collection of stories has a strong personal touch. You describe events from your earliest childhood, youth and up to the recent past revealing personal details. How difficult is it to deviate from your own biography and turn your life into prose?

"Well, you know, I could now answer you with a universal literary disavowal: this is all fiction! Nevertheless, I will admit that you are right, at the price of not knowing what I risk (the demystification of the act of writing, perhaps? Well, if so , let it. It's also worth trying).

I guess that's why the book is so small, not to say tiny; I was cautious and timid so as not to overexpose myself

But I can only give you a partial answer to the second part of the question: it is extremely difficult to "make a departure from your own biography". But, how to "turn (your) life into prose", I could only give you a technical answer. That answer should be sought from the readers: because, only if the writer succeeded in this, the readers will see it and possibly praise it.

I'll admit: a lot of it, more than in earlier books, is autobiographical. I guess that's why the book is so small, not to say tiny; I was careful and timid so as not to exaggerate in the disclosure, even quantitatively".

One of the dominant themes of your story collection "Gastronomadic Tales" is modern nomadism. In them, questions of identity and existence often arise. Why?

"Probably because the question of identity is a universal question for every individual and every nation. It seems that there is no escape from that question. It awaits us at every step. I am still a Gemini, so - duality is appropriate for me, dilemmas are present, and security is constantly mixed with its opposite.

And without knowledge of identity, existence is, if not threatened, at least debatable. Nomadism, also understood as wandering (not the headless one but as a search), becomes a kind of measuring instrument of everyone's identity. After all, nomadism is also a modernist existence".

In "Gastronomadic stories" you describe various gastronomic experiences, from Italy, Egypt, Iceland, Slovakia... What does food tell us in this collection?

"Food tells us about the beauty of differences, about the pleasures and hedonism of both Orient and Occident, about the universal need for objects, people and recipes to like each other. They also talk about disappointments, subsequent memories and seemingly forgotten tastes... from the bitterness of food but also the bitterness of experience to an explosion of taste or an implosion of experience".

In "The Story of the Story" you mention an interesting encounter with Kenneth White, the founder of the term geopoetics. Can you tell us how you actually came up with that term by which you became recognizable as a publisher?

"Back in 1992, I was in France as a guest of my translator, Mireille Robben, at the time when she was finishing the translation of my novel "The Book of Bamboo" for the Parisian Galimar. At that time, I was writing and shaping a book of stories there (now known as "Dream Coasters" ).

By the way, White is 1996/7. was a guest of Serbia and Montenegro, and even then together we almost became the creators of the Ecological State of Montenegro

But something was missing from all of it. And then Mireille said that there is a man named Kenneth White, founder of the International Institute of Geopoetics in Paris, professor at the Sorbonne, who lives on the edge of the land, on the seashore in Brittany, far away from people, similar to me, whom I must meet. So she and I headed towards him…

And that story describes our meeting (with the famous Columbus egg), but it is also the continuation of another story and the clarification of many things in our lives. That's how my book was actually subtitled "Geopoetic Fables".

By the way, White is 1996/7. was a guest of Serbia and Montenegro, and even then together we almost became the creators of the Ecological State of Montenegro. (Some of this is described by White in his latest book "Guido's Map", recently published in my Geopoetics). A year ago I took him to see Istria. No ambition, only geopoetic".

Last spring, you were a guest of Orhan Pamuk at the opening of the Museum of Innocence in Istanbul. What are the impressions? How well does the Museum fit into the plot of Pamuk's novel of the same name?

"Absolutely. Although the order of creation is actually the opposite: first the museum was created, but not publicly: Orhan collected objects for the museum for years, and then wrote a novel. The seeming illogicality is that the Museum was subsequently opened, after the publication of the book, and also with delays as the opening is often delayed.

The setting of the museum and the plot of the novel are now one unique entity. It's a strange feeling: when you look at these exhibits, it seems as if Pamuk is bringing events, characters and objects to life for you, and not you! A truly unique experience of every kind, especially aesthetic.

In addition to all that, I had the pleasure that, apart from personal plans, we also agreed on the so-called business ones. literary plans. One of the results will be the Serbian edition of his earlier novel ("Quiet House"), reworked for the new edition. And then a new novel...

Your novel "Hamam Balkanija" has seen numerous editions and is one of the most read books of contemporary Serbian literature. What are the reactions of readers in Italy, Germany, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia... Does this book "live" in the same way in the original language and in translation?

"Well, probably the book has its own life that the author can no longer influence. And it shouldn't. Somewhere it passed, as they say, louder (Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria, etc.), and somewhere quieter (Croatia). But books and they should not make noise.

I would like that even in such a distant world, the book would show how that world is actually close, not to say how it is - one

Since this and next year I am waiting for the publication of "Hamam" in America, France and Britain, so on the so-called big languages, I'm a bit curious about those spaces, how they will receive that, nevertheless, universal story about the duality and/or multiplicity of identity, i.e. the life of two spirits in one body.

I am also very interested in the future reaction of the audience of the Arab world (let's not forget, we are talking about a language spread in 23 countries on several continents): the translation has just been completed, and it is a translation from the Serbian language, without the mediation of a third party, which normally makes books from the Balkans exactly I can't praise it.

I would like that even in such a distant world, the book would show how that world is actually close, not to say how it is - one. And now I realize, it's good, I'm still more interested in the future than the past."

Escape from biography

Vladislav Bajac (Belgrade, 1954), novelist, storyteller, poet, studied at the Faculty of Philology, Department of Yugoslav with general literature. In addition to writing, he was engaged in journalism, literary translation and publishing.

He has translated dozens of literary texts from English, as well as several anthologies and books, including: "Poets of the Generation", "Trip - a guide to contemporary American poetry", "Zen stories", "Slave Power" by Leonard Cohen, "Part of the story"...

He is the author of the book of poems "Koji put do ljudi vodi" and "Haiku Road", the book of stories "Europe on the back of a bull", "Dream coasters", "Geopoetic fables", novels: "Bamboo book", "Black box", "Druid of Singidun", "Escape from Biography", "Europa Express", "Balkania Hammam". He is the winner of numerous awards, including the International Literary Award "Balkanika" (for the best published book in one of the Balkan languages ​​in 2007 and 2008), the International Award "Golden Ring" (for creative opus, Macedonia), and the award " Stevan Pešić", "Sixth of April" (for the best novel about Belgrade), award - scholarship "Borislav Pekić Foundation", "Branko Ćopić Foundation", "Golden bestseller" "Hit Libris", "Isidora Sekulić", "Kočić's book". ..

Some of the author's books were published in France, Germany, Slovenia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Russia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Greece and Italy. Theater performances based on texts from the author's books were performed abroad. Vladislav Bajac is the founder and director of the publishing house "Geopoetika".

In addition to the established term "fruits of the sea", you also mention another type of cuisine in which "fruits of the tor" are represented. It is about two styles. What connects them?

"I hope, first of all, humor. Namely, that rhyme of the fruits of the tor and the sea completely "bought" me and amused me. And on the other hand, it combined my two personal extremes. Namely, I was "learned" about tastes in childhood so-called food from Prek (Vojvodina, Danube bank) - meat but also river fish; through the continental food of urban Belgrade with all the heritage of bourgeois cuisine - heavy and light seasonal dishes; all the way to "re-education" on sea fish and seafood. I'm actually a continental sailor.