Stone Sleeper,New

Inspired By Tombstones And Their Inscriptions, Mak Dizdars Rich And Haunting Poems In Stone Sleeper, His Most Famous Work, Are A Journey Into The Mysterious Heart Of Medieval Bosnia. The Poems Form A Threeway Dialogue Between The Modern Poet, The Christian Heretics Awaiting Judgement Day Beneath Their Enigmaticallycarved Tombstones, And The Heretichunters. Beneath The Local And Temporal, Dizdar Explores Universal Issues: The Value Of Resistance, Though It Might Be Futile; Of Faith, Though It Might Be Illusory; And Of Life, Though It Ends In Death.Francis R Joness Inventive And Beautiful Translations Convey His Deep Understanding Of Dizdars Purpose. In Addition A Penetrating Analysis Of Stone Sleepers Historical, Religious And Spiritual Background Is Given By The Distinguished Scholar Rusmir Mahmutcehajic, Whose Book Across The Water: On The Poetry Of Mak Dizdar Is Published By Fordham University Press.Mehmed Alija Mak Dizdar (19171971), Considered One Of The Greatest Yugoslav Writers, Was Born In Stolac, Southern Bosnia. After The War, In Which He Was A Partisan In Titos Army, He Became A Prominent Figure In Bosnian Cultural Life, Working As Newspaper Editor, As Book Publisher And, Finally, As President Of The Writers Union Of Bosnia And Herzegovina. He Died In Sarajevo.