The Escaped Mystery: The Poetry of Momcilo Nastasijevic

The Escaped Mystery is devoted to the poetry of Momčilo Nastasijević, whose poetic achievement is described by Edward Dennis Goy as “one of the greatest, if not the greatest, in the Serbian language of the twentieth century.” Although his output was small, Nastasijević was the supreme modernist Yugoslav poet of his time and is deeply respected by leading modern Serbian poets, such as Vasko Popa and Miodrag Pavlović. Emotions, sensory impressions, love, and fear make up the “mystery” behind Nastasijević’s poetry. In this book the mystery – the lyrical experience – is caught in its various aspects but never held too long or over-defined. Goy examines the language, music, and meaning of the poems in their original and through his own English translations.