Zorica Hadžić, author of the monograph “100 years of Duško Radović”

At the end of 2022, the 100th anniversary of the birth of the renowned Serbian writer Duško Radović was marked.  The monograph “100 years of Duško Radović” was published by Mascom, in cooperation with the Public Company The Post of Serbia.

Dušan Radović, who was born in Niš in 1922 and died in Belgrade in 1984, was a versatile author – poet, writer, journalist, aphorist, and author of TV programs and children’s magazines. He was also editor of the Belgrade radio station Studio B, known and recognizable for the cult radio show Good Morning, Belgrade which was broadcasted on that radio station.

The first monograph dedicated to this famous Serbian author illuminates his private life and reminds of the entire literary work. Promoted in November 2022, the monograph 100 years of Duško Radović presents new, so far unpublished manuscripts, as well as the unique materials that illuminate Radović`s life and personality. The author of this monograph, Zorica Hadžič, professor of Serbian literature at Novi Sad University, spoke for Yu Biblioteka.

How did you start work on this monograph?

            I came across a booklet in which several letters and postcards from Dušan Radović were published. It was completely new and interesting for me. As I have been studying the manuscript material of our writers for a long time, I was interested in what has been preserved in Dušan Radović’s manuscripts. I wanted to read all his letters and “get to know” him better.

You worked on this book together with Dusko Radović`s son, Miloš Radović. What did that cooperation look like? Who else contributed a book?

My next step in my willingness to study  Dušan Radović’s manuscripts was to address his son. Fortunately, director and screenwriter Miloš Radović was willing to give me his father’s manuscripts. So, in the spring of 2020, our cooperation started. Miloš Radović was my associate and advisor during the creation of the book, he followed my work from the beginning to the finalization. His advice and suggestions were very helpful. In addition to Miloš Radović, others who knew Dušan Radović also helped a lot.

What is the concept of the monograph? Where did you collect all the materials? I saw that most of the book consists of texts, notes, and drawings that have not ever been published before. Interesting parts of the book are also testimonies by Radović’s close friends and associates.

            I looked for the material in the archives, and I was also searching for materials for the book in private ownership.

The monograph has a large number of unknown letters and texts by Dušan Radović. One part of the book is the writer’s correspondence. However, in addition to the correspondence, the book also contains polemical texts by Dušan Radović which were forgotten in periodicals and were not reprinted until this monograph. Dušan Radović’s drawings were taken from his manuscript legacy. In addition to the drawings, the book also presents a large number of the author’s photographs.

Who talks about Duško Radović in the book? Who did you talk to about him?

            Matija Bećković, Dušan Radović’s best friend, was of great help while I was working on the book. I talked with him a lot, and from those conversations, Matija Bećković’s foreword was born – his memories of Dušan Radović. Those memories open this monograph. Matija Bećković also has the role of a narrator – a guide through the book, because his statements are distributed throughout the book in such a way that they explain and comment on the correspondence and texts published in it.

            The book also contains short and very interesting memories of Miloš Radović, Brana Radović, and Olja Bećković.        

It is interesting that the book also contains scanned material, numerous letters, and postcards that Radović was sending to his friends and family members. What do these letters say about him?

            Those letters and postcards reveal the unknown side of Dušan Radović. Readers of the monograph will be able to see his letters to his parents, his brother Brana, his wife, his son, friends, and associates… The letters reveal Radović’s intimate side, the one which was very tender and sensitive even though he tried to avoid sentimentality, as he said in one letter. This part of the material has been scanned because Radović’s letters are also visually interesting. He was playing with words and drawings on the postcards.

What was Dusko Radović like? What was his life and professional path like?

 As I wrote in the afterword, he was a great writer and an unusual, special and unique man, with an unpredictable temperament and character. His young years were marked by living in Niš and Subotica, as well as the environment in the Railway Colony  (old part of Belgrade) in Belgrade, where the Radović family finally settled. His comrades, including Rajko Mitić (famous football player, note) marked his growing up. Duško Radović loved football and was very sociable.

When living in Subotica, he was known for writing songs, and he wrote letters to his friends in verse. Radović admired his father Uglješa who encouraged him to read and write. Duško Radović had also written songs and stories for his brother Brana, 18 years younger than him. All was an introduction to the “birth” of the poet Dušan Radović.

What did you discover about Radović while working on the monograph? What are the most interesting parts of the monograph in your opinion?

            I found the letters that Dušan Radović wrote to his son in the army (regular military service) very interesting. He wrote those letters every day. Miloš Radović noted a very interesting testimony about that, and it was published in the book. Those letters are universal and captivate with their content. The postcards he wrote to his son are also interesting, as well as the letters he wrote to his wife in the maternity hospital… As Matija Bećković said, there is more poetry in Dušan Radović’s letters and postcards than in some poetry collections. Some of Radović’s letters can be read as the most beautiful literature.

Duško Radović criticized and analyzed society, the local mentality, human nature, colored everything with specific humor… I would like to ask you – how alive and current are his aphorisms even today?

 Dušan Radović is still one of the most popular and most quoted writers today. His books are printed in large editions, and the texts from the radio program “Belgrade, good morning” (a popular radio program that was broadcasted every morning on the popular Belgrade radio station Studio B) have so far been published in circulation over 400,000 copies. Dušan Radović’s popularity continues to grow, he is still present on social networks, newspapers, and television… He is a living and current writer.

Radović is also regarded as one of the best local children’s poets. Which of his works for children do you consider the most significant?

            Everything he wrote for children is significant and important. The book “Dear Children” is considered revolutionary when it comes to children’s literature. Radović addresses children with respect, considering them equal readers. In his work intended for children, there are no general places, or shallow emotions. He tries to protect children from stupidity, sentimentality, and banality… Radović’s works for children are also understood by adults. For Radović, there is no small or big mind.

            I don’t see Dušan Radović only as a writer for children. He himself believed that those writers who know how to write only for children belong to the disabled category of writers. It bothers me when the work of Dušan Radović is narrowed down only to the field of children’s literature. That is a narrow and simplistic view

You are a professor of literature at the University of Novi Sad. I would like to ask you – How much do the younger generations know Duško Radović’s work and how do they perceive it?

            Dušan Radović is known to everyone, there is no generation that does not know him and that is not familiar with his work. While preparing this book, we photographed a student who has a tattoo of Dušan Radović on his leg. Asked why he has a tattoo of Dušan Radović on his leg, his answer was: “I have to!”.

What was the promotion of the monograph “100 years of Duško Radović” like?

            The promotion was held on November 29. That day was Dusko Radovic‚s birthday, and the promotion was held in the theater “Dusko Radovi攂 (children’s theatre in Belgrade city center named after Duško radović, note) Matija Bećković, Miloš Radović, Boris Miljković, Olja Bećković, and Brana Milunov spoke at the promotion. Bisera Veletanlić sang Radović’s song “Milo moje”. The promotion was well attended and very emotional.

The monograph  100 years of Duško Radović was presented in Belgrade and in several other cities in Serbia. It might also have its worldwide presentation this year, revealed Zorica Hadžić.

Jelena Jovanović