Belgrade » Beograd | 73 1 00 y ears of Duško R adov i ć Belgrade’s good spirit remains forever among us For all thosewho desire to take a part of Belgrade with them, wherever they come fromandwherever they’re going Belgrade is this year commemorating the centenary of the birth of DuškoRadović, oneof themost important authors of Yugoslav and Serbian literature.This great jubilee will bemarked, among other things, by a monograph entitled 100 years of DuškoRadović, released byMascom Publishing. This major edition, dedicated to the life and works of this literary great, includes over 500 pages of personal correspondences, drawings, comments, critiques and othermaterial that’s largely previously unpublished. The rich legacy of this writer has been curated by Zorica Hadžić, while special contributions to the edition have also been providedbyMatijaBećković, asDuško’s personal friend and narrator, and Duško’s son Miloš Radović, who is himself a significant figure on the Serbian cultural scene. The book’s specific and unusual look was entrusted to Slavimir Stojanović Futro and Boris Miljković. Thanks to this jubilee monograph, everyonewill haveanopportunity to familiarise themselveswith DuškoRadović fromanew,more intimate perspective: as a great creator, free thinker and man of integrity, but also as a caring friend, husband and father, who can serve as a role model to all of us with his life and work. Duško was born in 1922 in Niš. His father, Uglješa, anativeof Čačak, was a railway worker. His mother, Sofija, had her origins in Niš. He inherited his father’s tenacity and dedication, but also his mother’s warmth and diligence. He adored his father, despite him being strict, anddedicatedhis first poemtohim. We learnfromthetestimonyofMatija Bećković that the Radović brothers knewhowtospendanentireday stackingwood, only for their Father Uglješatoturnup, takea lookat their work and pull out one stick, causing everything to collapse. He had thegift“tospot every shortcoming”. It was in 1928 that the family relocated to Subotica, whereDuško completed primary school and six years of secondary school. He continued his schooling in Belgrade, where he enrolled in the Faculty of Philosophy. Those threecitiesdeterminedDuško’s geographical biography, both privately and professionally. Following theendofWorldWar II, he became a “performer of literary works”, writing sketches, opening and closing announcements for radioand television, aphorisms, stories, poems, plot scenarios, parodiesetc.Hecreatedquicklyandwith ease, which is why his oeuvre is so extensive and diverse. He worked as an editor of the most popular children’s publications, editor of the Radio Belgrade Children’s Programme, editor of the Television Belgrade Children’s Programme and editor of Poletarac – one of Europe’s most prominent newspapers for children. He was also a journalist of daily Borba, and servedas editor of Belgrade televisionstationStudioBfrom1975to 1983, which was then a cult media house. Hegainedhis greatest popularitywith theshow“Belgrade, good morning”, during which time, from 1976 to 1983, he entertained the audiencewithaphorisms thatwould later be published in three books. The most popular titles among his collective works include: Belgrade, GoodMorning;Women’sConversations, Dear Children; FunnyWords; Vuk’s Alphabet; Captain John Peoplefox etc. His works live on and remain relevant to this day, which is why Duško is still among Serbia’s most quotedandbest-selling authors. He dedicated a special part of his creativity, and perhaps the best part, to children.Hisworksholdaprominent place in all Serbian language textbooks intended for first-year pupils and other schoolchildren. Duško bequeathed his grandiose literary (and media) oeuvre to Serbianculture, partofwhichstill remains popular amongabroad readership base. However, in the book 100Years of DuškoRadović, youwill also discover howhewas as a comrade, son, brother, colleague, friend, husband and father, how his childhood looked etc. “Of what I heard from him, his most vivid recollections of his childhood and youth were linked to Košutnjak. It was there that his father lived in a building that lives on today, and which belongedtotherailway. Somewhere around there, the famousBlueTrain is alsoparked,” saysMatijaBećković. You will discover that Duško supported Red Star for as long as footballer RajkoMitić lived in his neighbourhood, only laterbecominga fan of Partizan – and a passionate one at that! In the book, Bećković looks back on that periodwithanendearing episode describing a conversation he had with his mother... “I toldhimthat I’dtoldmymother that he supports Partizan, and that she said: How can such an intelligent and honourable man support Partizan?” When I recounted that to him, heuttered that famousRadović sentence: “I support Partizan, but I’m objective”. Thisbookwill reveal toyou that, hiddenbehind the black-and-white photos that represent themajority of those showing Duško, is an interesting, witty, unkempt, multitalentedpersonalitywhoused the power of his linguistic genius to mark an entire era, andwhose trackswill remain long into the future.
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