On Being A Citizen Of Literature

By

“There’s a scene at the end of Ugrešić’s 1993 essay collection Have A Nice Day: From The Balkan War to the American Dream where the author describes an encounter that occurred while waiting in line for her I.D. card in Zagreb.

When asked her nationality, she declares, “Anational.”

Some standing behind her in the queue speculated that she’s afraid to admit she’s Serbian, others urge her to declare she’s a Croat, or better yet, a Gypsy.”

Over at The Quarterly Conversation, Karen Vanuska explores the many transnational worlds of Dubravka Ugrešić and paints a convincing picture of an author who has captured the flux of cultural identity-shifting in the late 2oth Century.


Michael Berger is a barely-published writer and book-seller living in San Francisco. He is one of the founding Corsairs of the Iron Garters Bike Club and is currently pursuing a degree in applied pataphysics. He sometimes eats oatmeal for dinner. More from this author →