Andric's poetry on Italian

Ivo Andric

Belgrade, April 26th - People decide to translate when they live with the verses for a long time, in other words with the prose of one artist, or when they "recognize"her in the moment of translating. By this words, poet Stevka Shmitran, at the yesterday's promotion of Ivo Andric's collection of verses on Italian language, wanted to say that she decided to translate songs of our Nobel Prize recipient after few years: Andric's art is for her unbreakable part of personal intellectual and emotional life.

Three times respectable Italian daily newspaper "Corriere della Sera" in the striking places of its cultural column was publishing verses and reviews of Andric's poetry which are published in Italy, in the translation of Stevka Shmitran, professor of the University"D'Anuncio" in Kieti and professor of the University for political science in Teramo. In February this year publishing house"Le lettere"in Fiorentino published, namely Andric's "Chosen songs","Poesie scelte". This was sufficient reason that Andric's memorial in Belgrade organizes formal promotion. After all, translation of Stevka Shmitran is published at the same time with the original of Andric's songs in Serbo-Croatian. As it was stated, at the promotion in Andric's memorial, yesterday, this book went through success in Italy. Certainly, reviews and praises published in "Manifesto", "Mesadero", in the programme of Italian radio-television contributed to that…

Translator must know language and the culture of people from which language he is translating - underlined yesterday Stevka Shmitran, concluding that we are the best translators of our literature. And translating, that is eavesdropping, dressing up and waiting.

Professor Svetlana Stipchevic was talking about numerous translations of Andric's books in Italian language ( 14 editions of "The Bridge on Drina"), also about the fact that famous writer knew very well Italian language and culture. Italian reading public have opportunity now to be acquainted with new Andric, according to merit of Stevka Shmitran.