In the ceremonial hall of the Andrić Institute on October 15, the first promotion of the anthology of “Serbian Literature in Bosnia and Herzegovina” was held by prof. Dr. Saša Knežević and prof. Dr. Jelenka Pandurević. The anthology was issued by Matica Srpska and the Society of members of Matica Srpska in Republic of Srpska. There are four books: “Epic Folk Songs” by Saša Knežević, “Epic-lyrical Folk Songs” by Jelenka Pandurević, and two books produced in their co-authorship – “Lyrical Folk Songs” and “National Tales and Traditionss”.

Prof. Dr Saša Knežević expressed his great pleasure at the presentation of books for the first time in the Andrić Institute, which, as he pointed out, represents a cultural and scientific link between Serbia and Republic of Srpska. While speaking about the criteria when choosing songs in the book “Epic Folk Songs”, prof. Knežević stressed that the concept was based on the selection of songs, leading the origin of the writers. This criteria seemed as the most honourable one and on basis of which from the whole of the corps of Serbian folk epic poetry would for this purpose singled out songs that in the most representative way depict the tradition of epic singing on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The author of “Epic-lyrical Folk Songs”, prof. Pandurević, emphasized that the records included in this anthology belong to the Serbian cultural literary tradition, and in at least some segment they discover the connection with the geographical area in Bosnia and Herzegovina. “When it comes to such choices, and especially when considering collections that emphasize belonging to a local or regional rather than an ethnic community, the contextual data that speak of the publications itself, then about the collectors and singers, is of great importance,” said prof . Pandurević. Referring to the sources used in the preparation of anthology prof. Pandurević stated that, in addition to numerous collections of rare books, audio recordings and oral conversations, a particularly important source was the magazine “Bosanska Vila”, which was published between 1885 and 1914.

Co-authored books of “Lyrical Folk Songs” and “National Tales and Traditions” represent the first joint scientific project of prof. Knežević and prof. Pandurević, and according to authors this project was successfully completed, although until now these areas have not been the subject of their scientific research.