Alen Kristić and the Big Memory of Small Verse

• In Event: Slavic Documentary Poetry

Abstract

Contemporary Bosnian theologian, activist, and poet Alen Kristić has crafted a poetic language that juxtaposes the immensity and ineffability of historical rupture and trauma in the Balkans with absolutely miniscule verse. In his 2018 collection The Agonies, many of the lines are composed of a single word, creating a stunning emptiness on the page. Despite this laconic style, Krsitić is able to evoke an onslaught of associations, memories, and emotions. This paper examines the poetic and stylistic features that allow Kristić's verse to exploit the interstitial zone between lexical concision and significatory breadth. Contextualization of Kristić's poetic style within the formal and semantic traditions of poetry from the Western Balkans.

Author

• Brett Donohoe, Amherst College