Versopolis Podcast #3: Poetry in the diaspora

How does living in exile influence the creative processes and themes in poetry? What challenges are encountered while trying to establish yourself as an artist in a new country? How to maintain the balance between cultural identity from your home country and new country in your art? These questions are explored by poet and interdisciplinary artist Merima Dizdarević in conversation with Dr Mitja Drab.

Merima Dizdarević, born in Yugoslavia in 1983, is a Swedish/Bosnian-Herzegovinian multidisciplinary and multilingual artist based in Malmö. Her expression stems from a poetic writing practice. She writes poetry, prose, essays and experimental texts. She translates between languages she speaks and sometimes from those she does not. She is a performer, musician and actress that engages in various artistic collaborations and processes. Merima also teaches art and art criticism, has worked as a cultural producer and engages in anti-fascist and decolonial thought and practice in the cultural field and beyond. Her poetry and prose, written in Swedish, English and Naški (language group BCMS) has been represented in anthologies internationally and translated into several languages. Her first major Swedish publication långt från ögat långt från hjärtat (out of sight, out of heart), published in November 2022, is a maximalist lyrical text that was nominated for the Catapult Prize, the Swedish Writers’ Union award for best Swedish literary debut.