Versopolis Podcast #28: Gender, trauma and anxiety in Ex-Yugoslav poetry

What does it mean to grow up with the legacy of war, displacement and shifting identities? In this episode, poets Marija Dejanović and Katarina Gomboc Čeh reflect on their very different experiences of Yugoslavia’s breakup – one as a refugee, the other through schoolmates displaced by conflict. Their stories open up deeper questions about anxiety, trauma and how people in the Balkans process emotions differently. While Western discourse often medicalises anxiety, Slavic perspectives tend to embrace it as part of life’s complexity – something that fuels art, even when that art gaslights us in return.

We also explore the myth of the heroic Balkan mother: Does this archetype empower women or trap them in a narrow ideal? And what happens when feminist and patriarchal narratives clash, especially as traditional gender roles make a comeback in the West? Can reverting to ‘tradwife’ ideals ease anxiety – or does it just hand autonomy back to men?

Finally, we dive into the crisis of masculinity. Why are women often quicker to adapt while young men struggle with outdated expectations? Masculinity itself isn’t toxic – but where are the positive depictions of it, and how can we increase them?

Join us as we navigate these tensions, where, as Marija Dejanović puts it, ‘writing poetry is like playing football in a minefield – forbidden, but irresistible.’

Marija Dejanović is a poet, critic and feminist whose work traverses borders – both geographical and literary. Growing up in Sisak, Croatia, she now divides her time between Zagreb and Larissa, Greece, while her words travel even farther, translated into over 20 languages. Her acclaimed debut, Ethics of Bread and Horses (2018), winner of the Goran and Kvirin awards, weaves together ecofeminism, Slavic mythology and war memory into an allegorical verse novel. Subsequent collections like Heartwood (2018) and Kindness Separates Night from Day (2021) – shortlisted for the Tin Ujević Award – expand her themes of displacement, matrilineal roots and ecological belonging. Critics note her ‘postcolonial potential’ (Zorana Simić) and ‘striking poetic images immersed in Mediterranean sun’ (Nikola Jelinčić).

Katarina Gomboc Čeh first captured the attention of Slovenian readers as a poet with her debut collection Negotovosti navkljub (Despite Uncertainties, 2018). Two years later, she published a bilingual Slovenian-Italian poetry collection, Naselili smo se v tkanine / Ci siamo insediati nei tessuti (We Settled into Fabrics), born from a literary residency in Italy. A columnist for Outsider magazine, Katarina holds degrees in Russian, Slovenian studies and linguistics and currently works at the University of Nova Gorica. Recently, she released her debut novel, Nihče nikogar ne spozna (No One Knows Anyone), a coming-of-age story following Maša, an anthropology student and choir singer navigating relationships filled with tension, self-discovery and personal growth.