15. X. 1929 - 30. XI. 2009
Milorad Pavić, one of my all-time favorite writers, died of heart attack in Belgrade yesterday, aged 81.
I could write about how I met him at a literary evening in Ljubljana 3 years ago and he read a passage from the Slovenian translation of his newest book -- he didn't actually speak Slovenian and the comment he made about his bad accent was, much to everyone's amusement, "Bolje išta nego ništa". I could write about how the moment I relate the most to in all of literature is the end of Dictionary of the Khazars when Virginia Ateh, asked about her nationality at the court, states she is Khazar even though the nation disappeared centuries ago (an allegory to Yugoslavia by both Pavić and I), or about how I coincidentally came in possession of a letter he wrote to a Slovenian editor named Bratko in 1973 (he sent it along with a copy of his newest book hoping it would be translated into Slovenian as soon as possible -- I'm pretty sure the copy of the book I have is the very same one), and now that he's dead it feels peculiar to have the letter and the book in my vicinity. I could write about how everyone always seemed to think his age was static, never more than 60 or 70, because he kept going on effortlessly, never ceasing to research and write, so we all expected he would produce at least 20 more books. I could also write about thousands of other things that made Pavić intergalactic rather than cosmopolitan, a true sui generis in every possible aspect, a writer beyond the political backgrounds of the Nobel prize, but I really can't; despite having functioned like it was any other day today, a part of me is crushed.
Ponekad davna proleća procvetaju još jednom u nama i mi ih pronosimo kroz sadašnju zimu štiteći ih prsima. A onda, jednoga dana, ta davna proleća počinju da štite naša prsa od mraza kada se nađemo sa one strane prozora gde mraz nije samo slika. A zamislite sada dva takva proleća što se dodiruju kao dve livade mirisima. Eto šta nam je potrebno umesto ogrtača.
Почивај у миру и хвала ти. Од срца.
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