Not least thanks to the great success of Didier Eribon’s autobiographical Return to Reims, the personal essay is experiencing a renewed popularity. Perhaps it resonates so strongly today because it can be seen as a “crisis genre” — one that fits seamlessly into our crisis-ridden present. By analogy with Eribon’s title, our project might be imagined as a Return to Bosnia. Such a return, for the historical reasons mentioned above, would almost inevitably involve a confrontation with crisis.
The personal essay, which thrives on intimate reflection, offers remarkable creative freedom. Its narrative thread may unfold from a single, vividly remembered moment in the past: from an object, a scent, a photograph, a habit of a familiar person, a distinctive trait, a landscape — and much more.
At the same time, the project invites experiments in literary and artistic estrangement. Certain material may need to be pared back, reshaped, or reframed before it can truly find its voice.
[Cover picture: Emina Haye, 2022.]
