Milatović: Ugrešić wrote the most beautiful pages in the darkest times with the spirit of freedom and non-conformity

The Njegoš award for 2023, which was posthumously received by writer, scientist and publicist Dubravka Ugrešić, was ceremonially presented to Petar Milat, representative of the "Dubravka Ugrešić" Foundation.

The President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, said that Ugrešić wrote the most beautiful pages in the darkest times with her talent, spunk, cheerfulness, spirit of freedom and non-conformity.

"She was the voice of the future at a time when many dragged the region and people into the past. She never surrendered to force and darkness. She was braver than many who presented themselves as great heroes. Awarding this year's award to the writer Dubravka Ugrešić is a special pleasure because is a woman laureate, in the sixty-year tradition of the Negoš award, only for the second time, after the great poet Desanka Maksimović," Milatović said at the ceremony in the Government House in Cetinje.

The president of the state stated that Ugrešić of her own free will rejected the imposed identity determinants that limited her work within a collective, fought and fought for her right to be known only by her name and work.

"Thanks to her exceptional writing talent, but also to her encyclopedic knowledge of the history and theory of literature, she built a unique poetics and style that is characterized by playfulness, wit, modernity, but also a critical approach. The significance of her work is also reflected in emphasizing the position of female authorship and feminist engagement in literature and her interpretation. In addition to her iconic, award-winning novels, I would also like to highlight her publicist work, especially the collection of essays 'Culture of Lies', which boldly talks about the rise of nationalism during the period of the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the manipulation of national and ethnic identities in the service of the government," said Milatović.

He said that Njegoš's literary heritage is the greatest spiritual capital and cultural value with which Montenegro presents itself to the world.

"In one word, Njegoš is our beacon, who with his words projected the idea of ​​freedom that was admired not only by the Balkans, but also by all world cultures and languages ​​into which Njegoš's great works were translated. He is ours, and he can stand side by side with the great names that changed the world for the better through culture and books and left the most traces behind. Its breadth makes the work universal, and elevates it to a pedestal as a genius".

The universality, modernity and humanistic dimension of Njegoš's ethics and poetics, Milatović emphasized, has the potential to unite identity differences, creating a value that belongs equally to everyone.

"It is precisely in this that the greatest strength and most important property of every great art lies - that it overcomes local determinants and becomes part of the corpus of world cultural heritage. This also symbolizes the international character of the Njegoš Award, which is awarded for a lifetime's work, that is, for a total creative oeuvre, to a writer or a writer who creates in one of the South Slavic languages. This award, awarded for the first time on this day in 1963, to the great Montenegrin and Yugoslav writer Mihail Lalić, has confirmed its value and prestige over the past six decades. Originally established as the most important award for literature in Yugoslavia, the history Njegoš's awards were determined both by the literary tendencies of the second half of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, as well as by the socio-political context in which its laureates were selected."

Milatović pointed out that the day of Njegoš's birth, which became a national holiday, does not only celebrate Njegoš's heritage, but the entire Montenegrin culture.

"Affirming our determination for European integration, I invite you to see Njegoš's work, as well as culture as a whole, as a guide and inspiration on that path. The deeper we go into the European cultural and living space, we must leave behind the politicization and abuse of art and culture . And instead to focus on the responsible study of heritage and the promotion of contemporary tyranny, freed from provincial megalomania. This is the shared responsibility of all of us - both politicians and cultural representatives. Only in this way can we finally realize the dreams of equality, togetherness and well-being of all European peoples, in which our Balkan ones are also included," said Milatović.

Vujović: Njegoševa nagrada Ugrešić is a step towards an inclusive society that values ​​female expression

"At a time of affirmation of women's rights and representation of women through language, awarding the prestigious Njegoš Award to Dubravka Ugrešić is not only recognition of her indisputable talent and creativity, but also a step towards an inclusive society that values ​​and supports women's expression," said Minister of Culture and Media Tamara Vujović.

She added that it makes her proud that the international jury awarded Njegoš's prize to Ugrešić, but that she is equally saddened by the fact that the prize was awarded posthumously.

"What is Montenegro celebrating today, and why are we celebrating? We are celebrating a poet, a philosopher, a ruler, a bishop. We are celebrating a ruler who understood that his people should become enlightened, but also remain their own, brave and philanthropic," stated Vujović.

She said that we should celebrate the poet, who translated into Gorski vijenc what had been filtered for centuries from folk epic poetry, as Ivo Andrić said, "a response to the sound magic of Njegoš's dozen that always appears".

"We celebrate culture, because he was in his hills, and when he encountered foreign influences, he knew that the word, that enlightenment and culture, is the "port" we need," said Vujović.

She called for Njegos to be studied, read again, and to be reminded in times of world crises of what he says in "The Light of the Microcosm", what is the inner essence of the self, what is man's calling in this world, what is freedom, and what remains behind man ...".

"In 'Luca', too - when one proclaimed himself God, many greeted him as God... or as Dubravka Ugrešić says in an essay, 'when a bonfire is lit, ordinary people carry matches'. Let's be above that, be worthy of the greatness of people woven from ideals and struggle', said Vujović.

Ugrešić preserved the dignity of Yugoslav literature and paid the highest possible price for it

The president of the jury, Nedžad Ibrahimović, said that when the author's literary award is delayed or his literary work fails to be recognized as relevant and important at the time of its appearance, it can mean two things.

"This can mean that either the community (cultural public) was insufficiently prepared for his literary-formal, structural or aspectual innovations, for some different and less pleasant points of view, or it was even prepared for all that, but did not want that opus , she couldn't, she didn't want to or for some reason she wasn't allowed to see," Ibrahimović stated.

According to him, only when the author is gone, readers find themselves faced with radical questions that require radical answers.

"What was it that we couldn't deal with and which reflection in the literary mirror did we not like? And is it now time to face those reflections? Why didn't we want to see what Dubravka Ugrešić wrote about? were built post-Yugoslav societies was the object of her critical-literary observation," said Ibrahimović.

The representative of the Dubravka Ugresić Foundation, Maja Vodopivec, said that the news that Dubravka Ugresić was posthumously awarded one of the most significant awards for literature in Yugoslavia deeply touched Dubravka's closest associates and friends.

"The first reaction of almost all of us were tears. This great acknowledgment of Dubravka's literature and her personal integrity would have meant much more to Dubravka herself, because she left us with great doubts as to whether everything she did alone contributed to the creation of a better, fairer and more just world ", said Vodopivec.

As she added, she did not receive the recognition she deserves on the territory of the former joint state of Dubravka in her lifetime, stating that it hurt despite all the great international awards, recognitions, guest appearances.

"Dubravka Ugrešić preserved the dignity of Yugoslav literature and paid the highest possible price for it, which actually shows what you get when you resist. Dubravka knew that and consciously bore that burden despite the consequences," Vodopivec said.