A note about the writer
Nastasimir – Miško Franović, was born in Dubrovnik in 1960 and permanently resides in Petrovac, Montenegro. He studied at the University in Dubrovnik from 1980 to 1983 but left his studies to travel around Europe.
After traveling and living in London, UK, he returned to Petrovac and started working in a travel agency.
Nastasimir has been writing since 1981 and his first published text, the short story “Ledina” (Wasteland), was published in the book “Izvan Koridora” (Out of Corridor), which was promoted in June 2010.
This story was selected as one of the thirty best short stories in a competition organized by the Carver bookshop from Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, as part of the festival “Odakle zovem” (From
where I call) in Podgorica in 2010.
The author had his first book published in 2010. It was a book of poetry called “Paštrovska vila” (Pastrovich Fairy), followed by a novel titled “London noću” (London by Night) later that same year. In 2011, a collection of short stories titled “Dvorac” (Castle) was also published.
At the beginning of 2024, the author plans to release a new book of poetry titled “San” in Montenegrin and a book of poetry in English “A Dream” alongside a novel called “Pjesnik” (Poet), in Montenegrin.
The book of poetry ” A Dream” written in English will include poems from two of the author’s previous works, “Paštrovska vila” and “San”.
The author’s poems have been published in several foreign languages on poetry websites for promotion and reading poetry.
All of the author’s books are self-published and can be found on the Montenegrin website for culture, history, heritage, and literature at www.montenegrina.net
Preface
In my childhood, I admired my grandmother and grandfather who were gifted storytellers. They had a way of narrating stories that would captivate me and maybe even used it to calm me down when I was being mischievous. I would listen patiently to their endless stories, which were always retold with even greater joy. Through this, I discovered my love for books and storytelling. When my grandmother was a schoolgirl, she used to walk five kilometers every day from her village to school and the same distance back home. During her walk, she would recite songs that she had to memorize and recite at school. After many years, she taught the same songs to her grandchildren. Inspired by my grandparents’ storytelling, I started writing old stories told by them in old Montenegrin, the language they spoke. These stories became my first writings, like short stories enlivened by the language spoken by my grandparents. For me, writing has become an amazing adventure and joy of discovery.
Thoughts can take different forms, but they are still just thoughts. Once we write them down, they become fixed and lose freedom. Imprisoned like that, they stand like a bee that no longer swarms.
Writing our thoughts down on paper captures them in a specific moment in time. They witness the time of writing.
I translated my poems by carefully selecting the words in English and comparing them to Montenegrin words, to reach the accuracy of the translation.
However, due to the limitation of translation, some of the meaning, rhyme, and poetic elements may have been lost. I have no academic knowledge of the English language, and I often asked myself how I even dared to translate. This is my first attempt to translate from Montenegrin to English.
I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who supported me in my attempt at translation. I admit that I may have been a bit overconfident and too ambitious.
However, I wanted to take a shot at translating.
After all, don’t we all crave attention? Especially those who aspire to be poets. Perhaps that’s why this compilation of poems is called “A Dream” Living your dreams is an obligation as well as a struggle within the time we are given. It is a personal and sacred experience, and this book is dedicated to everyone who lives their dreams.
Author
Click on the front page to open collection of songs
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