Student of the Faculty of Philology UMNE and Youngest Winner of the Prestigious Annual Scholarship of Graz Talks about the Road to Success
Jana Radičević, a student at the Faculty of Philology at the University of Montenegro in the Study Program for German Language and Literature, is the youngest winner of a prestigious annual Writer of the City of Graz scholarship for 2020/21, which she modestly says is a big surprise for her.
Jana says that the Faculty of Philology has made a significant contribution on the way to achieving the goal, and that as part of the Study Program for German Language and Literature she participated in numerous translation student projects aimed at gaining internships, of which the Austrian Days stand out every year organized every year at the department she attends.
"Not only did we translate contemporary Austrian writers, among them Ursula Vigele and Marlene Schachinger, but we also had the opportunity to meet them and participate in their workshops. I cannot fail to mention the encouragement of teachers, primarily professors Jelena Knezevic and Ana Minic, and the important role of DAAD and OEAD lecturers whose mother tongue is German ", the student says and points out that the exercises they held were of valuable importance when studying foreign languages.
When applying for the scholarship, the student says that she knew that the chances were very small and that the scholarship was given to great writers, such as Norbert Geštrajn, Dževad Karahasan, Sasa Stanišić and others.
"When you have just published your first collection of poetry, it's a really big thing and a huge wind in your back. I'm most looking forward to having a year to read and write, and to make many acquaintances, which are important both in terms of exchanging ideas and experiences. future cooperation, "she added.
When it comes to expectations in terms of cultural exchange with the cultural scene of Graz, Jana says that this is a great opportunity to get to know that scene better and to join it to some extent. "Graz is a city that really invests a lot in culture, I could already see that. Next year I will participate in the readings, which I have followed so far as an observer. It is especially important to me that I get the opportunity to improve my German,” the student says. The student often worked with her colleague and friend Lejla Alibašić on translations of poems, that had been praised in Graz. In addition to good translations of poems that are very important in such applications, one of the criteria for winning a scholarship is the already published publication of the author, i.e. Jana's first collection of poetry "If I say it can become true?" which she says has been noticed in the region and that several reviews and reviews have been written about it that are positive, and that she is more than satisfied about it.
"I am glad that my first collection was published by the publishing house Partizanska knjiga and that I had the opportunity to work on it with the editor and writer Srdjan Srdić. Occasionally I hear comments from people who have read, some call directly, so I'm glad that they managed to find something for themselves in it, and if they had half the fun while reading, like me while I was writing it, then everything is just right, " Jana said.
She says that she finds something she needs in every book, but she chooses carefully, and among the authors she returns to, she points out Lars Gustavson, then Charles Bernstein and Margaret Kraidl.
"I can't remember who said that, maybe Thomas Transtremer, whose biographical lines I read recently, sometimes it's enough to read one verse, one sentence and take that sentence somewhere completely different, to a dimension that is useful only to us. That should not be a deep thought, mostly often it is not, but an image that quickly appears in our minds ", she concludes.