Izvještaj s događaja: Refik Ličina, "Listopadi"
WRITTEN BY: Elvin Dervić
A conversation about fruit trees and stateless people
In the atrium of the Buybook bookstore on the third day of the Bookstan festival, the promotion of the autobiographical diary ‘Listopadi’ by Refik Ličina was held. Semezdin Mehemedinović, in his review for the publisher (Buybook, 2024), called this book a memory of our world scattered across the continents.
Mile Stojić, Bosnian poet and journalist, started the conversation with the author by reading Saarikoski's verses from the first page of ‘Listopadi’, thus hinting that the content of this dialogue will rely heavily on plants and nature. Aware that the diary is not the most popular form, both among writers and readers, and that there is a certain amount of animosity towards it and noting that Ivo Andrić himself despised it because of the danger of writers glorifying themselves in it, he asked Ličina why he chose this form.
'Even though this is a diary, I talk about many other things, from refugees from Auschwitz to fruit trees who are also stateless. It is the link between all these things,' said Ličina.
Refik Ličina was born in Montenegro, but has been living in Sweden since 1994. This is precisely why ‘Listopadi’ (Octobers) appear in this book as a key symbol that, in addition to reminding us daily of the passing of time, opens a portal to childhood spent in the countryside and evokes memories of the homeland and a more carefree period of life.
‘It's easier for me to relate to varieties that come from somewhere else because I also came here,’ said the author, highlighting the connection between fruit trees and refugees in his work. This fascination with plants almost indicates a dose of jealousy of the author towards their rootedness and adaptability. On the other hand, he said he enjoys spending time surrounded by them because they give him a real sense of belonging in a foreign country. 'Whenever I see Janarika, I'm happy,' he added.
In addition to their symbolic and nostalgic role, Ličina said that he is also interested in folk legends about plants such as nettle and juniper. He is interested in the various beliefs that are attached to them and the comparison of those beliefs between cultures.
In addition, Stojić and Ličina discussed the transformation of literary tools from paper and pen to laptops, as well as his excellent translations of Swedish poetry into our language and writing in a foreign language. ‘I can't hear that language and I've never felt the desire to write in Swedish, and while I'm writing in ours (language), it happens that during the writing a word is invented, it falls into place by itself,’ adds Ličina.
‘Listopadi’ is an excellent recommendation for readers who enjoy poetic style, slow passage of time, memories and emotional coloring of lost time.
Photo (c) Milomir Kovačević Strašni
