Bibliotopia 2024 | Interview with Semezdin Mehmedinović and Hanne Ørstavik

“Love in the Face of Disease: Sorrow and Comfort”
Moderated by Daniel Medin

Semezdin Mehmedinović, a Bosnian journalist, poet, and novelist, lived in the United States for over twenty years before returning to Sarajevo. His book, “My Heart”, (Dalkey Archive, 2022, tr. Celia Hawkesworth), based on his personal story, presents love as a defense against the loss of memory that threatens its protagonists. “Sarajevo Blues”, a collection of poetry written in 1992 during the siege of the city, has just been published in French by Le bruit du monde.

Hanne Ørstavik, a renowned Norwegian writer based in Milan, has been translated into over twenty languages. She has won the Dobloug Prize for her body of work, as well as the prestigious Brage Prize for her novel “The Pastor” (Archipelago Books, 2021, tr. Martin Aitken). “Ti Amo” (And Other Stories, 2022, tr. Martin Aitken), explores the extremes of love – when faced with death, sadness fuses with tenderness, intimacy with solitude.

Fondation Jan Michalski, Saturday 23 March