Bisera Alikadić, a prominent Bosnian poet and writer whose literary work lasted more than half a century and included poetry, prose, literature for children and young people, died in Sarajevo at the age of 87.
Alikadić was born in 1939 in Podhum near Livno, and already at the end of the forties she tied her life to Sarajevo. She completed her education in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and then spent most of her working life there.
For many years she was employed in the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where she worked as a librarian. Sarajevo thus became not only the place of her life and work, but also the space with which a significant period of her literary creativity was connected.
Wrote poetry, prose for children as well
During several decades of literary work, Alikadić created in different literary forms. She published poetry, novels and short stories, and a significant part of her oeuvre belongs to literature intended for children and young people.
In her work, her interest in everyday life, man and his emotions, interpersonal relationships, but also the time and society in which she lived, was particularly evident.
Her literary expression was recognizable, and she addressed readers of different generations through different forms. Children’s literature held a special place in her work, serving as a means to introduce young readers to the worlds of growing up, imagination, and literature.
Her poetry collections include Larva (published in 1974), Pjesme (1988), and Dok jesam Ciganka (1991).
She also published the storybook Kraljica iz dvorišta (released in 1983 and 1995), as well as the collections Pjesmice ljestvice and Voz do neba. Her body of work also includes the storybook Tačkasti padobran.
Her poetry has been translated into multiple languages.
Bisera Alikadić’s literary work transcended the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Her poems have been translated into English, German, French, Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish, and Italian.
This allowed her literary work to reach readers beyond Bosnia and Herzegovina, while she established a distinctive presence on the domestic literary scene throughout her career.
A special place in her body of work is held by the collection Grad hrabrosti, which was created during the first year of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In that book, the experience of war and life amidst profound social and personal trials became an integral part of her literary output.
Bisera Alikadić leaves behind a body of work that spans various literary genres and generations of readers, ranging from poetry and prose to literature for children and young adults.
