"Oh Montenegro, oh dog land, What a dog I am, when I can't live without you".
Famous verses Jevrem Brković, which are also engraved on the tombstone of his eternal resting place, academician Pavle Pejović "opened" the program with which the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts honored one of the most important Montenegrin poets of the 20th century yesterday.
The tribute to Jevrem Brković was permeated with short excerpts from the biographical film, where the poet spoke about himself and everything that is the inevitability of his being - poetry, Montenegro, Duklja, and those present had the opportunity to get to know a completely intimate and close dimension of him, through a video in which he talks about interesting and somewhat unexpected specifics that determined his life in early childhood.
"Knowing that poetry is 'the most beautiful form of living - who knows how to live', Jevrem Brković created a real lyrical register of experienced nights, encounters with fellow travelers and insomniacs, and we would say equally dangerous - encounters with himself, his visions and dramas. The poet's writings are torn images of this environment, its age-old fate, the various manifestations of its poets and rulers, the many forms of its precincts, simultaneously tempting and cruel; but for the song of the created. Hence Brković's dedication to some exclusively lyrical signs, the poetic tower he created and populated with books. However, it is worth assuming that the extensive material is the so-called intimate lyrics, just like verses about other eternal themes, always serve the purpose of self-discovery, but can also act as a discovery of the country," the academic emphasized. Pavle Goranović.
Pejović characterized Brković's verse in which he announced the program as the one that best speaks of patriotism, internal divisions and Jevre Brković as a man who, as a polemicist, was ruthless and uncompromising towards himself and others.
"Those attitudes led him to life-threatening situations. I guess the poets come together in some universe with their own cosmic, so I would like to refer to a verse of the Nobel laureate. Bob Dylan from the song 'Plaćam krvlju', which seems to have been written for Jevrem: 'No one knows how I managed to return home, nor how I managed to survive so many blows, I went through hell and what did I gain from it? My conscience is clear, and what is yours like?'... It seems to me that this, indirectly, can be a message to all of us about where our conscience is in this turbulent time", said Pejović.
Academics Zuvdija Hodzic he reminded that Brković wrote over 90 books of poetry, novels, plays, polemics, short stories and essays and constantly attracted the attention of critics and aroused the interest of readers, and he constantly confirmed that he was "a poet of Brđanska zemlje, Montenegro, i.e. Duklje".
"Almost every one of his books is a poem about Montenegro, a poetic metaphor for the Hills and the Hill Country, real and possible, mythical and historical, eternal, recognizable in consciousness and imagination, in space and time... Like a nameless, epic, contemporary folk rhapsody, and Brković knows and sees everything, he understands that he is in collusion with earth and water, birds and snakes, the dead and the living. In every song, he feels the pulsation of life, truth and wisdom, tested and confirmed by the collective experience of many generations, mentally and emotionally experiences the historical fate of Montenegro, its fate and haunting, tragedies and wounds. "Montenegro and its people are the main motive of this poetry," said Hodžić.
Goranović reminded that Brković was among the rare writers of Yugoslavia whose books of poetry, prose and essays were published continuously and in large editions, hardly imaginable today, by Belgrade's Bigz and Prosvjeta, Zagreb's Mladost and August Cesarec, Sarajevo's Veselin Masleša - the most reputable publishing houses of that time.
"Although he often expressed a lively style in polemics, Brković was never challenged as a poet. On the contrary, the poetic aura was unquestionable, and it was recognized by another great poet Radovan ZogovićGoranović said and read a passage from Zogović's letter to Brković in 1965:
"The impression, namely, of a safe, original poetic thread, which, as it often happens with us Montenegrins, does not weaken after the first fifty meters of the journey, but strengthens, looking for new passages and overflows".
Zogović sent those words a few years before the publication of the cult book "Testament", said Goranović and pointed out that Brković already in his debut "Rhetorika kiše" from 1954 demonstrated a "partial break with the traditional poetic matrices in Montenegrin literature", and that he promoted the voice of difference.
Hodžić reminded that Brković was an extremely prolific creator, but that he always chose the topics "about which he would sing", and that the faith in the power of poetry, which Montenegrin poets carry, is most pronounced in Brković.
Goranović also emphasizes that Brković built a completely new relationship with heritage and showed ways of directly interfering with poetry in life.
"Verses will be determined by consciousness in such a way that it cannot (nor does it want to) tear itself away from the gift of fate, that is - a poetic presence in the world. Such a poet will be when, as a true 'prisoner of the night', he sings about love, and when he writes about the earth, that 'great pit where the heavens have fallen'. Interestingly, Brković will be like that when he writes prose! Because the lyrical writing of the world was imprinted in his handwriting as an indelible mark, a key characteristic of creation," said Goranović, who adds:
"Initiated on an odyssey, Jevrem Brković strove to get out of what was, for him, a limited space. Whoever survives on that path - becomes a poet! For the author of 'Brđanski Homer' it was obvious: Poetry (with a capital letter P) remained the supreme illusion! And the song 'Death before death' ends with the lines 'A slow fog lay in me, / An icy hoarfrost fell on me - / Only a thunderbolt would revive me / When it dawns from Lovcen nad Cetinje'"...
Referring to the lyrics from the song "Death is not the end" by Bob Dylan, Pejović said that Jevrem Brković is living his extended life "and that he will always be remembered as an immortal in our Montenegrin people".
Contribution to the affirmation of art and culture through CANA and DANA
In one of the selected videos, Brković talks about his vision of CANU, which once encouraged him to initiate and establish the Dukljan Academy of Sciences and Arts, of which he was the first president. And Goranović spoke about his involvement in CANU.
"He experienced belonging to this institution as a special honor, but also an obligation to initiate many topics, actively participate in the affirmation of art and culture. Thus, he participates in the meeting "Montenegro 1878 - 1918", then speaks inspiredly about "St. Vladimir between poetry and history" on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of St. John Vladimir, and his speech "Njegoš as a literary theme and inspiration" was also noted. "Finally, CANU publishes two important books: a selection from the polemical opus 'Da se zna', and a selection from the rich poetic work 'Lyrics of Duklja,'" said Goranović.
Bonus video:
