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REVIEW

A POEMS BY ZORKA ČORDAŠEVIĆ

"MY SEMBERIJA IN SONGS"

Др СИМО ЈЕЛАЧА

The book of poems "MY SEMBERIJA IN SONGS" by Zorka Avramović

Čordasevic is one of the most valuable new Serbian works, intended for all ages of the new generation. Zorka most faithfully expresses her stories of Serbian history, war and post-war events, life in the countryside and children's joys through poems that rhyme and thus leave an unforgettable impression on the reader.

Zorka Čordasevic's numerous poems have been awarded at numerous world literary exhibitions, which has placed her at the top of the poetic ladder of Serbian and world heritage.

The author of this review included Zorka Čordashević among the World Giants Who Have Marked Human Civilization, published in the Kordun Literary Workshop, a place Zorka truly deserves with the beauty of her poems. Since Zorka has been living and working in Frankfurt am Main – Germany for many years, in addition to Serbia and the Republika Srpska, she also creates in Germany. And since she also publishes in Japan, her works are certainly also works of the Serbian diaspora. Zorka's poems are represented in numerous domestic and international magazines, collections and anthologies. Many of her poems have been translated into German, English, Russian, Japanese, Macedonian, Polish, Slovenian, Romanian, Bulgarian, and so on. Zorka has undoubtedly become a world-class author who marks world civilization. Her poems can be classified as patriotic, social, love, and children's, and as the author herself notes, the pinnacle of her poetry is Sonnet and Sonnet Wreath. Among others, Zorka, as a rare and unique author, also writes Haiku poems, Japanese poetry, translated into Japanese. This places Zorka among the greats that Serbia is truly proud of. Zorka

Avramović Čordasević was born and spent her childhood in Modran near Bijeljina, raised by her parents in the spirit of honesty, sincerity, and justice. From an early age, she learned not to value people by their money, but by their deeds, and that all peoples are equal to her, regardless of skin color, religious beliefs, and national affiliations. She expresses love equally to everyone, and is especially fond of children. The first prize for a literary work was awarded to her by the Youth League of Yugoslavia in 1975 in Belgrade, and then the prizes began to come one after another, both in Serbia and in Germany and other parts of the world. Today, as shown in the enclosed book, 74 of her poems have been awarded or praised, and 34 poems have received the first prize. They are all contained in this book, and it is difficult to decide on the best one. Her Sonnet Wreaths, dedicated to her native Modran, Semberija, are extraordinary. native, Kosovo – KOSOVO EARLY MINE – as well as the poems, MY BROTHERS, NON PIERCED CHERRY, LOVE IS BEAUTIFUL WHEN STEALING and others.

The sonnet wreath to her native Modran by Zorka Čordasevic is full of beautiful verses that identify the peasants from her native Modran. Here are some;

“Happily shines happily under Majevica, while the Sun illuminates his face” “People, as hardworking as bees, hurry to cultivate every field” “The smell of hot pies and cakes, the housewives bring from home” “The housewives prepare the courtyards, there is no more beautiful village than Modran”. "Together they share both joy and sorrow, one always extends a hand to the other"

Zorka's Sonnetni venac has 56 verses about her Modran, it would be too extensive, to quote them all, and they truly deserve it. The reader can compare it with the verses of Serbian poets, Aleksa Šantić, Branko Radičević, Desanka Maksimović, Branko Ćopić.

In addition to poems, Zorka has published 11 books of poetry,

SEMBERIAN TEARS 1997. Bagdala - Kruševac

BULK FOCK 1999 Knjigoteka - Belgrade

SEMBERIAN WREATH -2008 -Libro Company - Kraljevo

SEMBERIAN TRIUMPHANT ARCH POETRY,

HAIKU - 2013 D.O.O KULA Šamac

PATH OF ANCESTORS - 2018 SUNNY BEACH Belgrade

KOSOVO MY WOUND- 2024- SERBIAN READING LIBRARY - LAZA KOSTIĆ-Sombor

MAGIC ORKESTAR 1999, - ASIK - Podgorica - children's poesy.

BOY AND FIREFLY - 2008 - LIBRO COMPANY - KRALJEVO

BELLS IN A DISTANCE - 2015 - IP YOUTH – Bijeljina

BIRCHES IN THE HOMELAND - 2018 - Literary Society – Banja Luka

DOE IN THE DEW - 2024 - SCROLL – Požega

All haiku books have been translated into German and English.

Zorka's poems are full of beautiful verses, which sing about Kosovo heroes,

about Peonies, about Prizren and the beauty of Ljeviška. Among other things, she says;

"What did the uncross burn and steal, where the mighty Dušan dined?"

Then he goes on to say: "There our chains still sway, a threatened ember on the hearth."

Or, "Great sorrow has girded you, blind Simonida has opened her eyes." "Dušan's empire to return, by God's will you were given to the Serbs, to remain forever a sacred place, a myth and a covenant, of every Serb."

Zorka states that in Kosovo there is a Serbian monastery, our sacred places, vines, grapes, rich harvests, imperial wines and holy relics. About Serbia Zorka says; "She did not enslave anyone, she welcomed everyone with a full table, but she did not give her own to anyone." And he continues. "You will be Serbian again and remain, you are our covenant and our icon, the capital of the Orthodox throne..."

She says that Kosovo is our eternal sanctuary, that the brides will gather again near Decani. And she claims in her poem that we will once again restore Dušan's empire. In her poem Semberijski Vijenac, referring to foreign citizens, Zorka states; "No one dear to me can give me a hand, because no one wants to be friends with me". And addressing her native land, she says; "Here I am writing to you, beautiful plains, tame and fertile below Majevica", and continues. "In my pores it flows through my veins, wherever I go, it is a part of me everywhere". She states Serbian customs. "There where they kiss me three times on the cheek, they ask me about my heroic health, where my Orthodoxy breathes". And for Serbia as a homeland, Zorka's verse reads; "Those banks where the Drina flows, Semberija and mother Serbia, all are called my homeland." And for her Semberija she adds; "My sung Semberija, you are a promised land to many." The quality of Zorka's poems is above average, very high quality. They are mostly written in decameter, all rhyme, and therefore are very easy to read and long-lasting. Among the first-prize poems, it is worth mentioning those whose verses depict Serbian heroes who have marked our history and preserved us, unforgettable among the world. In the poem Our Path, Zorka sings. "The path leads to the abyss, this whistled land, along it my tribe walks, the curse of Lazarus has arrived." In the song – Do not trample the peony, she says. “Do not trample the peony, a part of my soul, do not destroy the nests of the famous falcons, the curse of mother Jugović will overtake you, you cannot fulfill your desires.”

Serbia – “Burnt, but eternal, that small Serbia, wounded but proud like a Phoenix, will take flight, they will destroy its nest, they will scatter the birds, and then they will plant the cuckoo’s egg.”

The lyrics are beautiful – I will not give anything that is mine – “I will not give the hymn of Saint Sava, I love it more than anything, I will not give the holy Gospel where I repent, where I pray. I will not give the White Angel under my wings, I will not give Prizren, nor Dečani where Lazar drank wine.” In the song The Blue Tomb, the lyrics remind us to remember our heroes forever, who died for our salvation.

"Light a candle for us while the sun is golden, for your freedom, we gave our lives.

Don't ever forget to give us." And in the song - Tonight I dreamed of you, Leader

- Zorka says; "I am looking for a leader at the head of the column to save the nation from oppression, brother,

Gračanica bells to ring, so that the Serbs can return to their homes"

"You raised your hands to the sky, a stream of tears flowed down your face, oh, Lord, what have I been waiting for, why are the bells of Gračanica silent"? - MY PEOPLE -, the song also sounds beautiful when you listen to it. "When you see that they are extending their hand to you, on the threshold with bread and salt they welcome you with a welcome, so that you don't enter a foreign country, caressing you as if you were in your own home, kissing you three times on the cheek, that's my people". Here is a song from Zorka's region, MY PLAIN.” That is the land of my great-grandfathers, always giving birth to glorious sons, that is, the plain of Semberija, which is called my homeland.” Every poem should be read slowly and experienced. Here is one such – Stop, stranger; “Look at the sky, it is not raining, the clouds are gray, the angels are small, the innocent victims that have fallen there, Kozara is shedding tears for the children.” The poems dedicated to Emperor Lazar are extraordinary Kosovo wine, she says. "With Kosovo wine, Lazar gave the knights communion, and he moved to the heavenly light kingdom forever." In her poems, Zorka presented and immortalized our historical giants, sang of Kosovo peonies, wheat and wine, as well as Hilandar, the Cyrillic alphabet, the Serbian faith, the Serbian language, the Holy Gospel, the baptismal slava, the chastity, the White Angel, monasteries, Žiča, Dečani, the Holy Mountain, Orthodoxy, Emperor Dušan, the Blue Tomb and Leader Karađorđe. She sang of Semberija as her homeland, which she linked to graves and hearths. She depicted Serbian houses with icons and candles, and the Serbian people who are baptized with Three Fingers. She dedicated one poem to Olivera Hrebeljanović, whom her mother, Empress Milica, married to Bayezid, the murderer of Olivera's father, only to save the homeland. And she dedicated one poem to the Russian poet Yesenin. You will be enchanted by the poem in which Tsar Dušan is glorified, who planted vineyards, and Tsar Lazar shared his wine with his warriors. whom he led into battle in Kosovo. For us Serbs, it is a proud knowledge that the great Goethe learned the Cyrillic alphabet, spoke Serbian and truly loved and appreciated Serbs. How fortunate that such rulers of the world still exist today. The poem dedicated to Milenko Pavlović, the immortal hero, whose name she named FREEDOM, should be especially emphasized. I especially urge readers to read that poem – TO THE IMMORTAL HERO

– Milenko Pavlović. “While Miloš was in Kosovo, Milenko, you were in heaven,

writing a new history, fighting the executioners alone.”

Every verse of Zorka’s poems is worth quoting. Zorka sings about her native village;

“I love Modran, shining like a jewel, native fields where the ears of corn sway,

My Semberija is the most beautiful.” She dedicated one poem to Serbian-Russian friendship, and a poem that is difficult to remember is - Bloody February – in which Zorka depicts the crime of Bulgarian fascists against the Serbian population.

A particularly magnificent poem is, You bombarded our hospitality, in which

The verses are very impressive.

"We welcomed you with bread and salt, you killed us at Easter. And now we want to be the same, you have trampled on our hospitality." Or; "be ashamed, we are not the same, you have trampled on our hospitality." And every reader who has not lived abroad will learn from Zorka's poems that foreign bread is bitter and that neither friends nor relatives are met there. In her poems, Zorka described the Fruška Gora monasteries, adorned them with beautiful descriptions to remember. I do not particularly highlight the poems that were awarded second and third prizes, or praised, but I assure readers that they will read them with pleasure, because they are beautiful.

Zorka is such an author who does not allow anything to be found under her name.

Zorka has raised herself with her poems to such heights that any poet can hardly reach in the foreseeable future. And let us not leave out Zorka's words from the

Sonnetni veneć to her native Modran, where she says; "And when the roosters announce a new day, the people are worthy, on their feet, it is known."

Zorka Čordasevic is a prominent Serbian poet, her poems are extraordinary, first-class with which she immortalized Serbian Kosovo heroes, Serbian history, Serbian people and folk customs and everything that makes us Serbs magnificent. And since she proved herself in faraway Japan, it makes us Serbs even more proud among other nations. We have had good poets before, whom we loved as children. These were, first of all, Jovan Jovanović Zmaj, Đura Jakšić, Laza Kostić and many others, and now in our generation we have Zorka Avramović Čordasević, who joined them, perhaps even surpassed them in some ways, which is worthy of all praise and preservation. Among the rare world creators, Zorka is among the few in Serbia as a creator of poems in the Japanese "Haiku". She is represented in many world anthologies, collections of poems both in the homeland and in the diaspora. Right now, the Encyclopedia of the National Diaspora about the most important personalities in the diaspora is being prepared, in which Zorka's name is also highlighted. With that and everything she has published so far, Zorka worthily represents us, Serbs, in the world of books and as a people. Hence, it is our duty and pleasure to respect Zorka and to pay her due respect at every opportunity. Let us show our children who Zorka Čordasevic is. May our children and their children love Zorka and proudly recommend her to their friends. Zorka's sun shone in Modran in Semberija, and illuminated Serbia, Slovenia, Germany, Japan, Bulgaria, Russia, Macedonia, Italy and all the countries that have obtained Zorka's poems. Many of Zorka's poems are written in decameter, which makes them easily readable in Serbian. And there are few writers who have become famous in more than one literary discipline, and Zorka has achieved it, without a doubt surpassing many of our and world authors.

I congratulate the reader who now holds Zorka's collection of poems in his hands, having decided on the most beautiful thing in recent Serbian literature. Read and enjoy.

And to you, Zorka, many thanks and heartfelt congratulations for every poem you have given us. Good luck!

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