Abdulah Sidran

Abdulah Sidran studied at University of Sarajevo. The recorded working language is Bosnian and Croatian. The field of work recorded is literature and poetry. Distinctions recorded are Zmajeva prize and Prize of the Association of Writers of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

• Name — Abdulah Sidran • Born — 2 October 1944 • Birthplace — Sarajevo, Independent State of Croatia • Died — 23 March 2024 • Place of death — Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina • Occupation — Poet and screenwriter • Genre — Poetry, prose, script

• Illustration — Sidran's grave in the courtyard of the Ferhadija Mosque in Sarajevo Abdulah Sidran, the second of four children, was born in Sarajevo during World War II, on 2 October 1944. He was born to Bosniak parents; father Mehmed Sidran (1915–1965) was born in Kiseljak and worked as a locksmith at a railway workshop, while his mother Behija (née Jukić) was a housewife.[5][6] Sidran had three siblings Ekrem (born 1942; deceased), Nedim (born 4 February 1947) and Edina (born 1953).[8] He was named after his paternal uncle, a typographer and compositor, who perished in 1943 at the Jasenovac concentration camp. The Sidran family roots trace back to the hamlet Biograd near Nevesinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Abdulah's paternal grandfather Hasan Sidran relocated to Sarajevo from Belgrade in 1903.[9]

After spending most of his life in Sarajevo, Sidran lived in Goražde before moving to a small village near Tešanj.[10] In 2019, Sidran, together with some thirty world intellectuals met with French president Emmanuel Macron. A meeting of world intellectuals with Macron was initiated by the prominent French philosopher, writer and journalist Bernard-Henri Lévy.[11] Sidran died in Sarajevo on 23 March 2024, at the age of 79 following a period of poor health.[12] Shortly after, many prominent Bosnian politicians and public figures reacted to his death and offered their condolences.[13] He was buried in the courtyard of the Ferhadija Mosque in Sarajevo on 27 March.[14]

Major works of Sidran include Šahbaza, Bone and Meat (Kost i meso), The Sarajevo Tomb (Sarajevski tabut),[15] Why is Venice Sinking (Zašto tone Venecija),[16] several books of poetry, and screenplays for films from Yugoslavia, such as Do You Remember Dolly Bell? (1981) and When Father Was Away on Business (1985), directed by Emir Kusturica,[17] and Kuduz (1989), directed by Ademir Kenović.[18] When Father Was Away on Business was awarded a Palme d'Or at Cannes, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 58th Academy Awards.[19]

• Šahbaza (Sarajevo, 1970) • Potukač (Zagreb, 1971) • Kost i meso (Sarajevo, 1976) • Dječija bolest: Otac na službenom putu: theater piece (Sarajevo, 1983), • Otac na službenom putu: screenplay (Belgrade, 1985) • Bolest od duše (Nikšić, 1988) • Sarajevska zbirka, izabrane pjesme (Sarajevo, 1991) • Sarajevski tabut (Sarajevo, 1993) • Planeta Sarajevo (Stockholm, 1995) • Zdravo Bosno, stižem iz Sarajeva: travelogue (Tuzla, 1996) • Zašto tone Venecija (Sarajevo, 1996) • Sarajevska zbirka i druge pjesme (Sarajevo, 1997) • Sarajevska zbirka (Sarajevo, 1999) • U Zvorniku ja sam ostavio svoje srce: theater piece (Tuzla, 2002) • Kuduz, screenplay (Zenica, 2003) • Sjećaš li se Doli Bel (Sarajevo, 2003) • Tvrđava Meše Selimovića: dramatization and screenplay (Sarajevo, 2004) • Izabrana djela 1-5 (Tuzla, 2004) • Morija (Sarajevo, 2006), • Pjesme poslije rata (Sarajevo, 2006), • Izabrane pjesme (Belgrade, 2007), • Dobročinitelj (with Mersad Berber, Sarajevo, 2008) • Suze majki Srebrenice (Sarajevo, 2009), • Otkup sirove kože (Belgrade, 2011), • Oranje mora: journalistic texts (Sarajevo-Zagreb, 2016), • A Nurija veli: journalistic texts (Sarajevo, 2021)[20]

Abdulah Sidran is recorded as poet, screenwriter and writer.