Stone Sleeper

Inspired by tombstones and their inscriptions, Mak Dizdar`s rich and haunting poems in `Stone Sleeper`, his most famous work, are a journey into the mysterious heart of medieval Bosnia. The poems form a three-way dialogue between the modern poet, the Christian heretics awaiting Judgement Day beneath their enigmatically-carved tombstones, and the heretic-hunters. Beneath the local and temporal, Dizdar explores universal issues: the value of resistance, though it might be futile; of faith, though it might be illusory; and, of life, though it ends in death. Francis R Jones` inventive and beautiful translations convey his deep understanding of Dizdar`s purpose. In addition a penetrating analysis of `Stone Sleeper``s historical, religious and spiritual background is given by the distinguished scholar Rusmir Mahmutaehajia, whose book `Across the Water: On the Poetry of Mak Dizdar` is published by Fordham University Press.