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Bosnian born poet
Semezdin Mehmedinovic

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has been receiving acclaim
since his first book

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Modrac received
the Trebinje Award

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for a first book of poetry.

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And I just found out this
award was a cause of Semezdin

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going to jail for 10 days.

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It's the first time I really--

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I've heard about poets
going to jail for books,

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but not necessarily awards.

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Apparently, he was
going to go and receive

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the award while
he was in the army

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and left his station
sort of covertly,

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and because the award was
televised, he was caught.

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So his third book, Sarajevo
Blues, comprising poems

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and prose pieces written during
the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina,

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is, quote, "considered here to
be the best piece of writing

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to emerge from this besieged
capital since Bosnia's war

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erupted," according to
the Washington Post.

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Mehmedinovic remained in
Sarajevo during the siege

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and continued to write and edit
the journal Phantom of Liberty

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while shrapnel literally
dusted his surroundings.

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In 1996, he emigrated to the
United States with his family

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where he currently lives
in Alexandria, Virginia.

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Mehmedinovic's fifth book
entitled, Nine Alexandrias,

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describes the poet's
travels across this country.

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Thus, his meditations on
Cadillacs, Andy Warhol,

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the film Paris,
Texas, and tattoos

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are filtered through
the experience

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of an individual who has
witnessed the tragedies of war

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firsthand.

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Described as a, quote,
"young Hemingway"

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by writer Paul Auster and
self-described as, quote,

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"an iceberg nicely formed
in Alexandria, Virginia,"

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Mehmedinovic observes the world
with both a cool detachment

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and a Hemingway-esque
drive to understand

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the bare truth of events.

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This combination of
detachment and desire

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enables the poet to
recount his experiences

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in a way that avoids
sentimentality, yet is always

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moving.

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Through straightforward language
and evocative precise details--

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often achingly precise--

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Mehmedinovic brings his readers
into the fray of the action

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and prevents them, like a
cameraman, from looking away.

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Whether he is describing a
tragic event during the war

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or meditating on the ritual
of waving goodbye to a train

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as it departs, Mehmedinovic
approaches every subject matter

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with the inquisitive
eye of a good journalist

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and the clarity of
a cinematographer.

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His poetry calls to
mind film stills.

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A decisive moment is captured,
but a more intricate, nuanced

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story is evoked.

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Please welcome poet, journalist,
editor, film scriptwriter,

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and film buff
Semezdin Mehmedinovic.

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