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Quote by Sasa Stanisic

“The reason for writing that essay was less a personal agenda than an attempt to explain my unease with the general label of "immigrant literature" after I had read quite a number of reviews (in different countries) involving books written by 'immigrants.'”

Quote by Sasa Stanisic

Author

Sasa Stanisic is a Serbian-German writer born on March 7, 1978. His works often explore identity, memory, and European history, particularly focusing on the conflicts and changes in the former Yugoslav region. more

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“It just seemed to me so utterly wrong to credit someone's work just for the fact that this someone migrated from one place to another. We all move. We are all leavers and new beginners at some point, and yes, it is a huge leap from war to peace, from one language to another, from Boston, MA to Joplin, MO.”

War Facts Moving Language Huge Credit Leap Boston Beginners Leavers

Author:Sasa Stanisic

“Regarding fiction, our concern shouldn't be the author's origin (and of course I am forgetting the sales people right here), because that is actually merely a simplified, almost insulting judgment of the book by its cover - or rather by the name and origin of its author - an act of discrimination if we want to say it in a more provoking way, but at the least an act of ignorance and false empathy.”

People Ifs Way Want Book Courses Names Forget Fiction Ignorance Judgment Empathy Concern Discrimination Provoking Insulting Sales People

Author:Sasa Stanisic

“Europe is not becoming more unified - well, yes, on paper - but not as long as the criteria for so many things (import regulations, border control, visa politics...etc.) are still made in an unjust, unreasonable way.”

Way Wells Long Made Stills Becoming Paper Europe Borders Etc Regulation Unjust Criteria Becoming More Unreasonable Unified Imports Visa Border Control

Author:Sasa Stanisic

“Given that the label "immigrant literature" is already established, unavoidable for anyone with a migrant background and used in any given context, I strongly advocate an absurd amount of specification to go along with the label.”

Used Literature Given Amount Backgrounds Absurd Labels Immigrants Migrants Specifications

Author:Sasa Stanisic

“For example, an author whose parents fled a war but he himself was born in the country where they fled to, and that is where he went to school and college before he wrote his first book of poetry in the language of this country - he should be labeled as: "Author whose parents fled a war but he himself was born in the country where they fled to, and that is where he went to school and college before he wrote his first book of poetry in the language of this country."”

Should Firsts Book War Country School Language Parent Born Example College

Author:Sasa Stanisic

“I also did a great amount of writing while doing research. It gave me the opportunity to meet and talk to people other than family, but also to explore my own memory deeper by comparing it to the memories of others who were in my home town during, for example, the political transition from socialism to a nationalistic "democracy" or during the bombings.”

People Writing Home Political Opportunity Memories My Own Democracy Example Amount Research Towns Deeper Socialism Compare Transition Bombing Nationalistic Home Town

Author:Sasa Stanisic

“I just feel much more secure about whatever I write if I stand with one foot in reality - meaning if the stories I write about have a core of "this actually (could have) happened."”

Ifs Feels Writing Stories Reality Happened Feet Core Secure

Author:Sasa Stanisic

“It is a bit more challenging for the simple fact that now the stories I am writing are relying more on my imagination than on facts, more on research than on memory; so it is basically a slower writing process, more reading, more exploring. On the other hand, this approach is a little bit relieving too, since many times while writing [How the Soldieer Repairs the Gramophone] I felt too close and equal to my character.”

“It can stand in the way of narration in cases where we want the protagonist to actually go through some kind of catharsis while our own (non-fictional) experiences and stories lead to something banal or completely uninteresting.”

Way Want Kind Stories Cases Protagonists Catharsis Narration

Author:Sasa Stanisic

“By changing the way I experienced things, even just involving different details than in reality, I often felt I was betraying the past and playing an unfair game with the reader where he (of course) would ask himself "Did this really happen?"”

Way Different Reality Happens Past Courses Asks Games Felt Reader Details Betray Unfair Involving Fair Game

Author:Sasa Stanisic