LITERARY IDENTITY OF UROŠ PREDIĆ: NENAD SIMIĆ, PICTURER QUILL, LETTERS OF UROŠ PREDIĆ

Abstract

The work deals with letters by Uroš Predić addressed to the greats of Serbian literature and culture, in which the painter's literary gift is discovered. A personal linguistic sensibility, authentic sensibility, and an unusual dose of humor, portray Uros Predić as a writer whose letters deserve the status of a work of art. Based on extracted examples from selected letters in Nenad Simić's book The Painter's Quill, the letters of Uros Predić, we will show how the literary identity of the great Serbian painter is built upon language games, skilful comparisons and reflections at the border of literature and philosophy. The method of close reading distinguishes the main elements of correspondence, which not only reveal the literary talent of Predić-correspondent, but also include views on the problems of his artistic creation. Predić himself recognizes originality and immediacy as features of his letters that could appeal to the readership, and on the basis of a more detailed literary-linguistic analysis, he finds an interesting blend of melancholy and fine irony in relation to the world and life. Uroš Predić's relation to those with whom he has been corresponded for many years is the topic of a separate piece of work, with the focus on his correspondence with Milan Savić. The aim of the paper is to highlight the neglected domain of Predić's artistic creation, which can be stimulating for future literary-critical studies.