It is rare to wait in line in front of the theater and it is rare that the auditorium is filled to the last available seat, as is the case when a woman from Nikšić, journalist of the Independent Daily (ND) "Vijesti" Svetlana Mandic gather your friends and those of the city "N". This was also the case on Saturday evening at the promotion of her new books "For my own and for the soul of the city" and "Talk even when others are silent", both collections of valuable texts that she has been writing for years with love, dedication and responsibility.
The hall of the Nikšić Theater was slowly filling up half an hour before the start of the event, and the well-known melodies and lyrics of the cult songs of the legendary Miladin Šobić quietly from the background, they filled the space with a special energy, like a perfect prelude to a special evening. At the same time, a photo of Svetlana Mandić with new books in her hands stood on the big screen, while she greeted the arrivals, mostly the heroes of her stories, and certainly - all the fans and admirers of her work... And so, until the last filled place... .
And then when the lights went out and Mandić took the stage, a thunderous and long applause broke through the hall. After a few seconds of pause, the well-known sounds of the guitar followed and the song "Don't try to change me", which they performed Milena Radonjic i Nemanja Popovic. And the evening officially began, and the "good spirit of Nikšić" took over the space.
Moderators of the evening, journalists Mira Rovčanin i Željko Vuksanović, they greeted the attendees by reminding them at the very beginning of Svetlana Mandić's first book, which was presented in the same place on April 2022, 175, and then in a crowded hall when "silence spoke" through her XNUMX reports bordered by the covers of the book of the same name.
"We who know her work, effort, her love for writing, as well as work, knew that we would soon gather again on the same occasion. Faithfully and responsibly, Svetlana reports daily on the life of the city. Her report concerns all of us and, in the end, they are all aimed at the good of our Nikšić. However, Svetlana is still indisputable when she is friends with the queen of journalism - reportage", said Rovčanin.
Vuksanović added that Svetlana would not be special, as she is, if she did not surprise us with something, delight us, leave us speechless...
"Svetlana Mandić has gathered us this time to promote not one, but two of her books. A collection of reports 'For yourself and for the soul of the city' and a collection of interviews with notable personalities 'Talk even when others are silent,'" he pointed out.
Two special books, luxurious editions that will undoubtedly enrich every (home) library with both their design and what is inside the cover, also carry special dedications...
"Dedicated to my family: Having you is a priceless treasure", as well as: "Dedicated to the most wonderful little girl in the world: Love is written with your name - JANJA!", writes Mandić.
Symbolically, the collection of interviews begins with Svetlana's message to the reader: "Talk! Listen to what others have to say, but let them hear you too. Don't let the words go unsaid! Your Svetlana loves you"...
Both books can be read as needed, arbitrarily, and once you start you won't be able to stop with the desire to absorb more and sink into the depths of her words and values! The books are enriched with fantastic photos signed by the author, but also by others, her friends, colleagues, acquaintances who lent them... There are also "They Said" segments signed by journalists and publicists. Dragan Mitov Đurović, art historian Kristina Radovic, journalist, publicist and chronicler Maksim Vujacic, prof. Ph.D Nataša Ružić, journalist Dragoljub Duško Vuković and prof. Ph.D Dubravka Valić Nedeljković. And if you don't know Mandić, they will do it differently.
The leading duo announced the reading of excerpts from two books, and the story of the Nikšić firemen-rescuers who selflessly demonstrated their knowledge and skills in Turkey, after the devastating earthquake that claimed dozens of lives, "Deathly Hugs and Smiles of Life", immediately showed what the power Mandić possesses in his pen - the power to grieve, perpetuate, revive and connect, the power to breathe... The words continued, and the readers, that is, female readers, took turns.
Writer and literary critic, the first doctor of fiction in Montenegro, Marijana Terić on the playwright Processing of Nenezić she was a reviewer of the book "For your own and for the soul of the city". Speaking about the collected texts, Terić pointed out that with the publication of that book, Nikšić became richer by a hundred testimonies about people who made a significant contribution in various fields.
"Svetlana's stories help us to understand other people, to understand ourselves, to learn how we can fight with suffering, illness, fears, uncertainty... These are stories that make us better people. In her silence, while the city sleeps, Svetlana seeks peace and inspiration. Every thought, story, event becomes part of her creation that is born that night. In the heart of the city, the story of a man who is looking for his way is born. And this is exactly what a book looks like when kindness dominates the heart, a kindness that gives hope to those who are alone in this world, which is like a hug on a cold day. It comes from the heart, and it is transmitted through a smile,'' emphasized Terić and added:
"This book is the result of her love for work, the city, but above all for people. Svetlana writes about everyday heroes, about individuals who face different troubles, thus showing us the strength of the human spirit and the importance of courage and kindness. Each reportage is a story in itself, equally important, a story with a warning or a reminder of those we must not forget," says Terić.
Poetized essay "This is not your book, this is one of our streets (no number)" Nenezić dedicated to Svetlana Mandić.
"That alley is not registered in the cadastres, but in essence, in duration, and some call it cobbled paper, some translate it and call it "soul", little is known about it, but now it is bound, and it will never be non-existent again and ignored, they will look for it on Google, Tiktok, YouTube, and so on, but they don't know that it exists and lasts, only in one imaginary world of facts (regardless of absurdity and anathesis, because what's good without two sides), some Svetlana from Ulice Dragica Pravice number 6", said Nenezić, leaving a strong impression on the entire evening and all those present.
He continued:
"...Writing books about yourself and from yourself is perfectly OK, but writing books about others and about a city where they don't steal your gold, but your soul, I think, Mrs. Mandić, that it is inappropriate, completely incoherent, provocative and, above all, rude, and that's why you aferim... I can only put my finger in Cyclops's eye when I am aware and not stone-faced, and maybe you are all that, a truth that hurts, but for me you are a simulacrum, a miniature cosmos in which there is no law, only love, which neither the Constitution, nor the CPC, nor OKG, neither Sky nor anything and no one can bring you down, and that's why you owe your success not to your courage but to the love that makes you die at first sight, and the paragraphs, members and other 'Venetian commissions' wearing ethnic, confessional and petty-bourgeois gloves can spit on you under the window...", is just a short segment of Nenezić's fantastic letter, which was followed by applause...
That she is a master of reportage was once again convinced by those present at the promotion during the reading of her text about the never-ending local elections in Šavnik, which inspired Svetlana Mandić to authentically record the story "There are few years for Šavnik's battle" with which she closed the book "For her and for the soul of the city". Just as there were tears during the first story, so during the reading of this one, those present laughed sincerely and uninhibitedly at the incidents and accidents of a journalist team covering the elections in Šavnik...
Although she is a reviewer of the book "Speak even when others are silent", a journalist Jelena Kontić she said that the texts that are collected between the covers of "For my own and for the soul of the city" represent the wealth of Nikšić, making everyone feel special and proud that they come from that city.
"It is a book for yours, for mine, for Svetlanina, for the soul of all of us and for the soul of our city. It is a special treasury of texts of events, people, a treasury of spirit, empathy, emancipation. This is the richness that makes Nikšić what it is, and which makes us all special and proud precisely because we are from Nikšić or because we know the people she writes about, because we have the privilege of reading about them or through her we get to know the texts. Svetlana not only protects them from oblivion, she elevates them all, and thus also elevates those values that we often say have passed away. But they are not, thanks to Svetlana's handwriting which reminds them of them and preserves them in all of us", she said and added that each of these stories is a story about a person, an event, values, about the human that exists in all of us and that Svetlana see, find and be.
"My only" of the great Kemala Montena in the great performance of Milena Radonjić, and then the interview that Mandić did with this unique artist were a subtle turning point of the evening, the focus of which was redirected to the book "Talking even when others are silent". The soul of the people with whom Svetlana Mandić spoke contributed to the atmosphere in the theater. Interviews with Miro Banjac, Sonjo Savić, Božo Vreća, each of them adapted to the character and personality with whom the journalist is talking, because each of Svetlana's texts is a "soul unto itself".
"'The book of interviews with numerous famous people, as we like to say, offers one big cosmos, it is the cosmos of artists, those people who are often considered specific, special and different, which they are, just like all of Svetlana's interlocutors who become special because she knows how to penetrate and show it. On the other hand, these celebrities actually lose their first and last name, lose their status and function, power, money, stage, platform and image, because Svetlana exposes them and shows what is human and human in them. It shows us their simplicity and modesty, shows their daily challenges, struggle, love, confrontations. Through them, Svetlana also exposes us who read the lines of her texts. With her empathy and humanity, Svetlana penetrates deeply into her interlocutors, and a wide range of them testifies to her listening skills and art to penetrate into the depths of the souls of the people she talks to, because she both talks and listens, because she spreads her love for life, art, creativity, according to the man," said Kontić.
With the song "You live in the clouds little one" Zdravko Colic, which the audience sang along with Radonjić, the evening ended, and the final epilogue was given by her - Svetlana Mandić.
"For those of you who know me personally, there is no need for me to introduce myself. You know everything important about me - enough for life, friendship, duration. Secrets, hopes, dreams, desires, fears - my family knows. That 'exclusive' is left only for them. You who don't know me, if you want to know something about me, ask my family, relatives, friends, people who know me. And if you don't know any of them, read these stories. I am sure that they will tell you enough about me", writes Svetlana Mandić instead of a biography, and after Rovčanin read it, there was a long and loud applause for the journalist-artist.
Emphasizing her gratitude to people, not to institutions, Mandić said that everyone present in the hall was there as friends, not their professions or titles.
"These books are both mine and yours, just like this evening, which is both mine and yours. First of all, I would like to thank my friends who helped the books to see the light of day, but also to organize this evening", said Mandić, sending special love and gratitude to her family, who watched the evening with emotion from the front row all the time. She was joined on stage by Janja - that special and most wonderful little girl.
Mandić, continuing her address, pointed out that her desire was to show the simplicity and originality of the people she spoke with.
"I wanted to show all these people as different, simpler, because they really are like that. They're just doing their job, so they're a little more famous. Nothing else. I hope that one day when I'm gone and when someone else reads these books, and I still believe that these books will be read, that they will turn the cover and that's how they'll find out about me too, and that's how I'll live through these stories,'' she said.
The curiosity of the evening was also the people that Svetlana Mandić gathered by "obliging" them to read passages from her books, all fellow journalists, friends, all of them representatives of 12 different media, and they are unique. And that is the special skill of Svetlana Mandić: to connect, connect, bring closer and make them close...
The magnificent literary and journalistic evening was organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Media, the Municipality of Nikšić and the Nikšić Theater. And, although she has the gift to write a beautiful, drinkable, emotional and interesting journalistic story, Rovčanin emphasized, in order for Svetlana Mandić's collections to see the light of day, she needed support. Vuksanović recalled that the Ministry of Culture and Media, the Municipality of Nikšić, the Municipality of Plužine, the Municipal Red Cross Organization, Technopolis, the Svaki Dan bakery, the companies Boster, Helada mont and Rapaks offered a friendly hand. The books were printed by AP Print, and prepared by him Nikola Kadovic who, together with Svetlana Mandić, is also the author of the attractive cover.
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