A COLLECTION OF POETRY TO DISCOVER: AT SUNSET BY JELENA J. DIMITRIJEVIĆ

Abstract

In this article, we will discuss the poetry collection At Sunset by Jelena J. Dimitrijević. First and foremost, the goal of our communication is to give greater recognition to this poetry, which places our literature within the European context – not only because it is in French, but especially because of its themes and motifs, and ultimately, its philosophical aspect that transcends spatial and temporal boundaries. Moreover, our comparative and intertextual analysis aims to show that the great inspirations of Jelena Dimitrijević come from French literature and culture, beginning with the French language, the “imperial” language as she calls it, which she chose for her intimate poetization of man, life, and world. Through that choice, she once again shows her open and cosmopolitan mind, which she had already spoken about in her previous works. Many of these poems carry an autobiographical trait, as Jelena Dimitrijević concentrated her own experience in them, which she poetically elevated, in a subtle Neoplatonic spirit, to a more general level: to intimate meditations on the body and soul, on spirit and matter, on transience and eternity, and ultimately on life, death, and immortality. This gives the impression of a “farewell to life” or a “preparation for symbolic death”, which is also suggested by the title of the collection: “when the sun sets” or “at the twilight” of life. Although the poems are written in free verse, without meter or rhyme, and thus formally unfinished, we will emphasize that they undoubtedly possess exceptional poetic value and even dramatic strength. Jelena Dimitrijević is always in search of a great civilizing essence, especially spiritual, and her ultimate goal is to plunge heart and soul into the spirit of humanity. As she travels across the world, she does not fail to evoke, and even to integrate, the great human conceptions of death and immortality, through the description of local customs that embody a universal moral dimension. Thus, the Towers of Silence in Bombay recall the memento mori of the Latin Middle Ages, that is, the visual representations of corpses being devoured either by worms or by scavengers. Consequently, we shall highlight Jelena Dimitrijević’s fascination with both the Orient and the Occident (the latter being represented through the image of Paris) and, finally, we shall examine her feminist positions, given that the female condition remains at the very core of her interest.