On Sunday, 23 October 2022, at the Kussmaul club in the heart of Vienna, the Austrian Prosvjeta’s Young Artists Club organized the eleventh Young Writers’ Evening. This club, a part of the Serbian Educational and Cultural Society Prosvjeta, is celebrating five years of existence this year, and it has been successfully headed by professor Vesna Špirić, engineer Uroš Uljarević, and Anja Rudić, MA. The club organizes various projects in the field of art and culture, and this year it expanded its activities to dance and painting.

The audience and performers were first greeted by the president of Prosvjeta, Marko Sarić, who pointed out the importance of preserving our literature and language in the diaspora. After that, the audience enjoyed works about beauty, love, patriotism, fear of transience, as well as humorous family songs. The evening was opened by the love poem Preboljeti njega (to get over him) by the talented poet Kristina Đenđinović from Montenegro, who is performing at such evening for the second time already.

‘Another inspiring evening, full of mixed emotions, timeless ideas and life lessons is behind us. We listened to verses about love, freedom and patriotism, reminders to enjoy the present moment, and admonitions not to fear what tomorrow brings. I am honored to be a part of this story, to have the opportunity to share my thoughts and to hear those of others. Last night, the space echoed with sentences and rhymes, and I do not think anyone remained indifferent. Although I respect the concept of art for art’s sake, which says that art is sufficient in itself, I still believe that art, in all its forms, erases differences, unites people and saves the world. The 11th Young Writers’ Evening has proved that’, said Kristina.

After that, the original poems and extracts from the prose works of young writers alternated. Among them was Nikola Despotović, who delighted the audience with his prose text, as well as Julija Ilić, the youngest participant, who completed the recitation of Desanka Maksimović’s poem Sreća (happiness) with accompaniment on her guitar. Katarina Novčić, an opera singer active in various art forms, also left a strong impression and delighted the audience not only with her verses, but also with her exceptional singing talent. Regarding dramatic performance, the strongest impression was made by Marija Živanović in her excellent performance of Mika Antić’s poem In Memoriam.

What gives the event a special charm is the fact that the performers come from all countries of the former Yugoslavia, and diversity in the selection of works makes the audience leave the event spiritualized and with a full heart.

Charismatic Katarina Stanisavljević, the moderator of the Young Writers’ Evening and one of the organizers, believes that such evenings are important for the preservation of the mother language and culture: ‘As someone who has been hosting the program at these gatherings since the beginning, I can say that every time I go home a little prouder and a little more spiritualized. Every time I hear something new, I always meet a handful of talented young people who really have something to say, and every time I get a little more delighted. Tonight I am especially proud because there were the most participants since the beginning of these evenings, and this proves that we are doing the right thing.’

Source: Serbian Educational and Cultural Society PROSVJETA AUSTRIA

Photo: Young Artists Club – Prosvjeta Austria