Lana Bastašić
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lana Bastašić | |
|---|---|
 Bastašić in 2023 | |
| Native name | Лана Басташић |
| Born | 27 August 1986 |
| Occupation | Novelist, translator |
| Nationality | Bosnian[1]
Croatian[1][2] Serbian[3] (from 2021) |
| Alma mater | University of Banja Luka, University of Belgrade |
| Notable works | Catch the Rabbit |
| Notable awards | 2020 European Union Prize for Literature |
Lana Bastašić (Serbian Cyrillic: Лана Басташић; born 27 August 1986) is a Bosnian writer, novelist and translator.
She was born in Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia to a Serb family in 1986 that had historically lived in Croatia for generations.[4] Due to the rise of nationalism throughout Yugoslavia and the intense social and political crisis at the time, the family moved out from Croatia when she was a young child, first to Slovenia[5] and then to Bosnia-Herzegovina, where they settled in Banja Luka.[6][5] Due to her place of birth, she acquired Croatian citizenship after the breakup of Yugoslavia.[2][1] She studied English at the University of Banja Luka and received an MA in Cultural Studies from the University of Belgrade.[7]
Career
Bastašić's debut novel Catch the Rabbit (Serbian: Uhvati zeca) was published in Belgrade in 2018, and then reprinted in Sarajevo.[8] The structure of the book draws inspiration from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with themes of exile, identity, and is divided into twelve chapters, as is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It won the 2020 EU Prize for Literature and was shortlisted for the NIN Award.[9] It was translated into English by Bastašić herself and published by Picador in the UK and Restless Books in the US.[10] In 2017, Bastašić has signed the Declaration on the Common Language of the Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks and Montenegrins.[11]
In addition to novels, Bastašić has written in many different genres: short stories, children’s stories, poetry, and stage plays.
In an article published in The Guardian in October 2023, Bastašić commented on the assessment of the Middle East conflict in Germany: " even the mention of the word “Palestine” in Germany risks getting you accused of Antisemitism. Any attempt at providing context and sharing facts on the historical background to the conflict is seen as crude justification of Hamas’s terror. [...] The stifling of opposition to the killing of civilians in Gaza even extends to Jewish people. [...] Germany’s unwavering official support for the Israeli government’s actions leaves scant room for humanity. [...] The white saviourist hypocrisy we are witnessing in Germany today will, in the long run, benefit white Germans only."[12]
In January 2024, Bastašić terminated her contract with German publisher S Fischer, accusing it of silence on the Gaza crisis and censoring pro-Palestinian voices in Germany.[13] Later that month, she revealed on Instagram that she has been disinvited from an Austrian literature festival, the Literature Festival Salzburg. The festival organizers cited the ongoing discussion around her publisher departure, stating that her participation would imply a stance they wished to avoid.[14]
