Hazim Akmadžić, is Bosnian author who was born in 1954 in Western Bosnian town of Cazin. His works were published in a number of overviews, panoramas, and anthologies in Bosnian-Herzegovian literature.

His work has been translated into English, German, French, and Turkish language. He has been the recipient of the Yearly award from the business association of Bosnian-Herzegovian publishers, for the novel „Mimar" in the year 2002. His novel „Gazi Husrev-bey" is currently being translated into Turkish language. Another of his novels, Gazi Isa-bey has been nominated for the highest B-H literary award Meša Selimović in the year 2007.

Akmadzic now lives and works in Sarajevo, BiH, and Balkan Chronicle talked to him about his interesting newest book and few more things.

BC: Long-awaited and announced novel ENDERUN & The bridge on the Drina I-II, is finally in front of the readers. The titles are almost identical to the title of the famous Andric novel „The bridge on the Drina"?

AKMADŽIĆ: I have found one old Bosniak folk song in which the verses are basically: „And you go to the town of Visegrad, where the bridge on Drina is being built", and those verses I have used as a slogan in the beginning of my novel. If the verses from Bosniak folk song could have served Andric for the novel title, why that should not be the case for Hazim Akmadzic?

On the other hand, you are forgetting that my novel also has a word Enderun, and Enderun was an university at the time of Ottomans, the type of boarding school, in the premises of the sultan's palace in Istanbul, where the students have been educated for the highest state offices. Main character in my novel, Mehmed-Pasha Sokollu, has also graduated from that university.

It is interesting that Porta (government) has in that way continuously refreshed the reigning structures with the new, young and educated staff. Hence, talking about „blood tax" is a complete nonsense.

The truth is that most of the attendants in those schools were from the Balkans, especially from the sandzak of Bosnia, which at that time was stretching from the river Sava all the way to the river Vardar in Macedonia, and those boys that have gone there with the absolute approval and support of their parents have achieved the highest levels of the state offices in the government hierarchy of the Ottoman empire.

BC: Bosnian literature critics are saying that some of your novels are „historical and neo-historical". Can you comment on that?

AKMADŽIĆ: Gladly. I think that we have to be careful when approaching such claims. I still to this day have not read from those critics clearly defined statements what is a historical or neo-historical novel. Is it not even this moment a part of history, and the one before this one, and the one that comes afterwards? That makes me wonder what is behind such statements which could mean anything. I believe that behind such statements are insecure literature critics, or maybe some insecure authors turn critics. There is only a bad or a god novel. Everything else is ephemeral.

BC: So what is a good novel for you?

AKMADŽIĆ: It's hard to answer such question. But if I am to try it seems to me that it is most simple to say that a good novel is one with carefully composed following elements: fable, characters, structure, and composition. If the author can control for that, the rest is his imagination, invention and creativity.

BC: You have been writing this book for a long time?

AKMADŽIĆ: I don't like to talk about that. Sometimes authors unnecessarily mystify their work. I am writing every day and I think that the biggest challenge of mine was to collect documents and archives for this but also for some of my previous novels, Mimar, Gazi Husrev Bey, and Isa bye. I have previously said that what I am doing is a series of novels in which I have attempted to, in a thematically sense, describe the period of 15th and 16th century during the Ottoman reign in Bosnia.

This is a challenging research project for which I spent countless hours in the archives of Sarajevo, Zagreb, Karlovac, Dubrovnik, Zadar, Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Moscow and Istanbul.

But, as a reward I managed to collect valuable historical materials about that period. In fact, I am surprised with the amount of the exceptionally valuable historical documents about this period of history of Bosnia which is still available and stored in the various archives.

BC: It would be interesting to our readers to give some specific examples.

AKMADŽIĆ: There are many. Each one of those documents has specific value. I was fascinated when I have found in the Ottoman archives in Istanbul the deed about the sale of the land on the left and right banks of the river Drina, in the place where later Visegrad Bridge was built. It was classic sales agreement with the names of the land owners, the amounts paid out to them by the main supervisor of the construction work chaus Mustafa, who was named to that position directly by the great vizier Mehmed-pasha Sokollu.

I believe that this document in great part denies a majority of the official histography, not only about the construction of the Visegrad Bridge, but also on the whole reign of the Ottomans in Bosnia, as well as the rest of the Ottoman Empire. Or another example, circumstances under which the future great vizier Mehmed-pasha has gone to his schooling in Istanbul to the tsar's lyceum Enderun...

BC: Can you summarize for our readers the theme of your last novel?

AKMADŽIĆ: It is a biography of the great vizier Mehmed-pasha Sokollu, who reigned under the government of the sultan Suleiman Kanuni, Selim the Second and Murat the Third with exceptional political and diplomatic influence during those times. In fact, we will not be mistaken if we conclude that he was one of the most powerful political figures of the 16th century, and who has left behind him a great number of important endowments, amongst which are the bridge in Visegrad.

Mehmed-pashas' origins are from Rudo, actually his origins are from the village Sokolovici close to Rudo. As deacon of fourteen years of age, some sources say even eighteen years of age, he has been taken by the ajami-ogluns to Istanbul where he has studied at the most elite tsar's lyceum Enderun in which he was prepared and educated for the highest government office in the Ottoman Empire, and so on.

So this is a biography of the great vizier Mehmed-pasha, while the construction of the Visegrad Bridge is one of the many motives in which he is a direct character.

BC: So you are actually not directly focused on the construction of the bridge in Visegrad?

AKMADŽIĆ: I have already accentuated that the construction of the Visegrad Bridge is only one of the motives in the novel. To be precise, action in my novel begins exactly on the date of in Frankfurt. The rest of it is a narrative organized though a sequence of the real and imagined historical events.

BC: Some literature critics have said about your novels that they possess a specific way in which you are building the structure and composition?

AKMADŽIĆ: Structure and composition are very important to me.

Experience has proven that it is hard to say anything in form of a modern novel, except through the structure and composition.

Don't be surprised ... Besides the Cervantes' „Don Quixote", and last year's recipient of Nobel's prize, Coelho, it is clear to notice that principle of search for innovations, are primarily in the content as well in the structure and composition sense. I would like to stress here that it is imperative to clearly differentiate between the attempts of introducing invocative elements into the structure and composition of modern novel to the epigones.

More often than not, when I get an opportunity to read a piece form a modern novelist, and we can say that about some authors from the past, that from their works we can see what that particular author has been reading in the last ten to fifteen years. In my opinion, that is unacceptable and speaks volumes of the author's literary impotency.

BC: Such as?

AKMADŽIĆ: I would not name names. To me, as an author, is important to be aware of that and not to go that direction.

BC: We know that people read your work, especially the Bosniaks, however I get the idea that you are avoiding the media?

AKMADŽIĆ: My readers are great motivation for me, and I am very grateful to them. Although the majority of them are certainly Bosniaks, I am happy to get e-mails daily from my readers that are not Bosniaks as well. After all literature should be a bridge among peoples.

I think that every book finds its way to the reader. Secondly, I don't like the sensationalistic approach of most the B-H media. To me it is a way of manipulation. I do not want to be a part of that.

BC: You have signed a contract to have your novel Gazi Husrev Bey translated into Turkish language?

AKMADŽIĆ: Yes, Gazi Husrev-bey is being translated by Suat Englu, the best Bosnian-Turkish translator, and I am proud of that.

Novel should be published by November of 2011 and I will be, God willing, promoting it in the International Book Fair in Istanbul.

Also, I am negotiating about the possible translation of my other book, Mimar into Turkish language. In these projects great credit belongs to the publishing house Connectum from Sarajevo.

There are also some negotiations about having some of my novels translated into German language as well. However, about that we can talk when and if it happens.

BC: In 2007, your novel Gazi Isa-bey was nominated for the literary award „Mesha Selimovic". But, the winner was Mirko Kovach.

AKMADŽIĆ: Mirko Kovach is an exceptionally good author and he has certainly deserved the award.

On the other hand, it is interesting when we talk about the particular award that it is customary given to the authors from our neighborhoods which do not write in Bosnian but some other similar languages. Just for comparison, in Belgrade, Zagreb, Podgorica or elsewhere in the region of south Slavic languages, similar awards are customary not awarded to B-H authors.

For the last couple of years, the award „Mesha Selimovic" has been awarded exclusively to the authors from the neighboring countries. While, it is a shame that late Nedzad Ibrisimovic has not been awarded that award for his novel „Vjecnik", who was nominated for the Nobel prize that year, representing Bosnia-Herzegovina.

BC: What is your opinion of literary critics in Bosnia-Herzegovina? To be precise, what is the role of B-H literary critics in valorization of the modern B-H literature?

AKMADŽIĆ: Negligible. B-H literary critics, at least majority of them, are following our literature flatly, limited by the nationalistic and ideological fences and prejudices, and that is not good. Just look at our print and literary periodicals. There is no room for serious analysis of any modern literary piece?

BC: Who are the best B-H authors for you?

AKMADŽIĆ: There are many great B-H authors such as Nedzad Ibrisimovic, Tvrtko Kulenovic, Abdulah Sidran, Irfan Horozovic, Dzevad Karahasan, Zlatko Topcic, Zilhad Kljucanin that are on the top of the bosnian-herzegovian literary scene. Unfortunately, our literature is being translated only sporadically since it is only done by some individual efforts.

BC: Does B-H literature belongs to the Slavic literature, can we talk about separate Slavic literature in such way?

AKMADŽIĆ: B-H literature according to its characteristic belongs to the European and world heritage, and with that also to the Slavic one. It is possible that you are aware of some authors who are of Slavic origin such as Solzenin, Brodski, Charles Simich, who have greatly contributed to the world literature. A B-H literature is part of that Slavic literature as well.

BC: Bosnia and Herzegovina is a multi-national country that has lived through many political and sociological changes. How does this complexes politician situation affect B-H literature?

AKMADŽIĆ: In many different ways. Some of the B-H authors see wealth in diversity and joint heritage of in the different cultures and religions, while others don't.

In different national communities, in Bosnia-Herzegovina exists something that I would call „collective memory", and also a specific attitude of some of the authors towards that „collective memory" and that is good. On the other hand, all of those which are driven by nationalism, chauvinism and hate, are bound to be trampled by time.

Although we still have a lot of problems, the light is looming. Compare Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1996 and 2011. We have progressed greatly. Whoever cannot see that is a blind person.

BC: Recently the new Bosniaks Academy of Arts and Sciences was formed. Do you think that is good for B-H literature?

AKMADŽIĆ: In general, I support anything that can benefit the progress and affirmations of the B-H culture, provided it does not damage anyone else's. The potentials are certainly there, but time will tell how well they going to do that.

Akmedzic published works:

Grijeh pjesme, poezija, 1973.

Dječak i ptica, radio drama, 1980.

Usamljeno pročelje, poezija, 1981.

Zarobljeni vjetar, radio drama, 1981.

Prijatelji, radio drama, 1982.

Tiše, probudit ćeš Ivana, TV drama, 1983.

Gola slika, poezija, 1988.

U zemlju ukopan, poezija, 1990.

Zelene beretke, publicistika, 1993.

Zelene beretke, dokumentarni TV film, 1993.

Mors mortis, priče, 1997.

Kristalni predak, poezija, 1997.

Izabrane pjesme, poezija, 1997.

Zločin je zaboraviti zločin, (zajedno sa Z. Ključaninom) publicistika, 1998.

Tajna dvorske lude, pozorična predstava, 1998.

Mislio sam da je mjesec žut, roman, 1999.

Tajna dvorske lude, roman, 2000.

Mala enciklopedija, priređivač, 2000.

Soneti, poezija, 2001.

Mimar, roman, 2002.

Gazi Husrev-beg, roman, 2005.

Gazi Isa-beg, roman, 2007.

ENDERUN & Na Drini ćuprija I-II, 2010.