A song for Božo Koprivica, instead of a minute of silence

Instead of a minute of silence - a song. "Oh, girl, friend," he sang. Bozo Koprivica at his own commemoration.

On the stage of the Montenegrin National Theatre - soccer balls, a desk, books, boots with untied laces and carnations in them... A photograph of Božo Koprivica on a large screen - he watches us, eyes slightly narrowed, with a raised eyebrow, in a white shirt with a Russian collar. The set design that only goes with Božo. And a festive theater auditorium, unfortunately insufficiently filled in relation to what and how much Božo Koprivica deserves. But, for human and artistic greatness, it is almost always like that...

Instead of a minute of silence at the beginning of the commemoration dedicated to the excellent dribbler with words, ball, art - a song. A recording from the event dedicated to Ljubomir Đurković right in the CNP. Bota begins: “Oh, girl, my friend, knit me gloves”... He sang Koprivica, both then and today - yesterday, at his own commemoration.

A not-so-recent recording brought Bota back to life in front of the audience. And in fact, people and creators like him never die. Their - his spirit is strongly present and alive. His mark is eternal.

"There are people whose lives cannot be told chronologically, nor reduced to dates and biographical facts. There are people who can only be understood through what they remembered, through what they loved and through the way they spoke about the world. Such was this voice that we are calling upon today. Quiet, precise, and deep like the childhood that he never left behind, because for him childhood was not only the beginning of life, but its measure. He said that it was the only time that could not be spoiled. A time in which both joy and sadness were pure without a trace. Everything after, he suspected, comes with compromises. And that is why he wrote. Not to describe the past, but to preserve it from disappearing," the actress said. Ana Vujosevic at the beginning...

She reminded those present of his lavish creativity, precisely through his words, which he composed with unquestionable beauty and skill.

from Nikšić Ivan Radojicic, with whom Bota was friends both at the iconic Blues Brothers Bar in the city of N and beyond, pointed out that his task of saying goodbye to Bota with well-chosen words was perhaps the most difficult he had ever been given.

"I know it has to be chivalrous, partisan and devoid of any pathos. This time it has to be a double pass without a return," said Radojičić. And so it was.

Radojičić estimated that Koprivica would have preferred the event to be held at the Nikšić Theater. Instead, the commemoration was held at the "temple of Montenegrin culture," the CNP, in Podgorica.

"Montenegro has disgraced itself twice towards Božo, as a woman from Cetinje nicely noted recently. It has disgraced itself because it did not award him the Thirteenth of July Award, of which Božo is a natural continuation. Bota was not angry. If shame is an aesthetic category, forgiveness is a virtue, friendship is a divine, deified gift...", stated Radojičić, among other things...

He recalled Bota's words that life is one big stage, and rhythm is its essence...

"To you, a typical Nikšić - although no one knows what that really means, but everyone tries to understand it, the most important thing was our stage on Trg Slobode. The one into which Ljubljanska and Hrvatska streets flow and to which they lead. I believe that one day that square will, without exaggeration or pathos, bear Božo's name," said Radojičić.

Koprivica made that beautiful, authentic, lordly and sublime "typical Nikšić" immortal, both with its stories and with its own pace, spirit and appearance. Writer Ognjen Spahić He said that he views Nikšić precisely as a “museum of the memories of Božo Koprivica”.

“Božo believed that life and death are the consequences of literature. His unfinished sentences began on paper and ended on the streets of Nikšić. Until I met Božo, I did not know that it was possible to carry the identity of one's hometown in this way. To follow subjective impressions from one's early youth without question, to remember smells, house facades, dialect, names and surnames, faces... To be proud of happiness and misfortune - equally. Thanks to his essays, today I see Nikšić as a museum of Božo Koprivica's memories. We met there for the last time in December. I am glad that I will remember him as he walks slowly, smiling, along Njegošev Street, shoulder to shoulder with Ljub Čupić", across Freedom Square, to freedom," said Spahić.

His impression was that Koprivica "was a bridge between two worlds." That's exactly what Koprivica did - connecting spaces, times, worlds, with the so-called universal, true and eternal values ​​of love, freedom, art, football and anti-fascism. Spahić recalled Botina's modesty and simplicity, and sublimity.

"At festival parties he would always sit with us, a confused fraternity half his age who would absorb his every word with special attention. He enjoyed talking about his friends, especially about Blacksmith i Rain, gentlemanly, far removed from the anecdotal genre. And he never, ever, spoke about himself, which I consider an extremely rare character trait in Montenegrins. Since then, our meetings have become less formal. We spoke less often, and spent more and more time in the intimate silence and murmur of the tavern. I added years to myself, Božo remained the same. I only became aware of his earthly years when I read the obituary. I considered us peers - not because I believed that this was my intellectual right - but because Bota allowed me to feel more important with him," said Spahić.

Writer and translator Sinan Gudžević At the beginning of his speech, he expressed his gratitude to the Montenegrin National Theatre for organizing a gathering to commemorate Božo Koprivica, thanking him for the invitation and reminding him that he had been friends with Božo for almost 50 years. He added that among those present he had also met those who had known and been friends with Koprivica for even longer...

“Friendship is a divine gift,” were the words of Božo Koprivica, and friendship and camaraderie were his specialty. An encounter with him never faded away in passing, nor did the company end, not even with death. Gudžević thus recalled the friendship between Božo Koprivica and Danilo Kiš.

"No one read Kiš's books more, nor knew him more deeply than Božo. Kiš stood by him." Borges i Shakespeare, uz Pelea, Garrincha, Streltsova, uz Galić... "Božo was a unique loop of a man. Until his last breath, he defended his friend Danilo Kiš from attack. And he defended him from all those who were bursting with health and those who boasted of their longevity. He was fearless to the point of madness," he said, among other things.

Božo Koprivica's masterful moves are not only reflected in art, literature or football, but also in everyday life, in a life filled with manners and feints.

"Božo wrote everywhere that he was born on December 20, 1950 in Nikšić. This is only correct when it comes to the place and date, that is, the day and month. The year is not correct. He was born on December 20, 1949 in Nikšić. When I found out, I asked him: Why do you write that you are a year younger? - Because I dribble wherever I can, he told me," Gudžević vividly described Koprivica's position.

Speaking about his work, he pointed out that Božo Koprivica's writings are inspired, often dramatic and tragically intoned memories of the people who shaped his life.

"These texts are detailed, sometimes fragmented testimonies about one's own anxieties, about the deaths and suicides of those closest to them, about the deaths of great football players, great poets and actors," he said, and shared some of his own memories with those present, of which Koprivica is the protagonist.

Actress Varja Djukic She entered the theater stage with the words: "At the end or at the beginning?... - At the end"... It's clear what.

"For this stage of ours, today the stage and gallery are the constellation of Božo Koprivica... I pronounce life and death with a footnote, or: 'Nothing without a footnote: he suddenly turned to me and asked: Why is rhythm a common factor of all arts? Gift and talent and the joy of life, and the joy of the gift...' Well - he emptied libraries, encyclopedias, audio libraries, theater libraries, all non-existent, unwritten and written biographies, absorbed everything: rehearsals, performances, matches, photographs, portrait exhibitions, did everything as a hero of his own heroes, moved through eras, cities, arenas, stands, halls, in people, friends, he speaks in front of the audience, asserts with his voice, gesture, interjection, protest... 'Why did he protest? - Because of energy... He had no spare options", is just a segment of Varja Đukić's speech, which ended with his own performance on stage, in honor of Božo Koprivica.

Besides Vujošević, actress Ana Vuckovic, Julija Milacic Petrovic Njegos, actor Zoran Vujovic, Between speeches dedicated to Koprivica, they read excerpts from his stories, bringing to life the images that the author immortalized. Along with smiles and memories, they also brought tears, but also peace. “Run, Bota, run”...

The commemoration was also attended by Božo Koprivica's daughters, Ivan and Jovana, as well as representatives of institutions, as well as artists, politicians, athletes, people from Nikšić, Podgorica, Montenegrins, Yugoslavs...

And finally, another song. “Bella ciao”, a recording from the “Odakle zovem” festival in Podgorica and Bota on the recording. Applause in the rhythm of the song, a long and loud applause for Božo Koprivica.

"I will forever love Dubrovnik. I have two daughters, Ivana and Jovana"

"I was born in Nikšić. I finished primary and secondary school in my hometown. I graduated from the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade, Department of World Literature. Since 1972, I have been writing for the Third Program of Radio Belgrade, publishing essays in Književna riječa, Književne novine, the magazine Književnost and the magazine Stvaranje. I was an editor in the editorial office of Književne novine. I worked as a playwright at the Zeta Dom, the Montenegrin National Theatre, the Budva City Theatre, the Yugoslav Drama Theatre, the National Theatre in Belgrade, the Zvezdara Theatre, the Bitef Theatre. I am an honorary member of the Montenegrin National Theatre," Vujošević stated.

"He would have told me by now, 'You've said enough,'" she said, but continued:

"I am a member of the Program Council of Ratković's Poetry Evenings. I write essays for the weekly Vreme, for Vijesti, Zagreb's Novosti and Pobjeda. I am the winner of the Stefan Mitrov Ljubiša Award for Literature, the Radomir Konstantinović Award for the book Vježbanka Danilo Kiš, and the Veljko Mandić Award for Contribution to Theater," added Vujošević.

She listed Božo Koprivica's published books and writings and emphasized, in his own words:

“'I will forever love Dubrovnik. I have two daughters, Ivana and Jovana. I live in Belgrade. I am a leftist, a Yugoslav, an anti-fascist, a Spanish fighter, a fighter pilot, a native of Nikšić, a Montenegrin. I support Partizan'”.