Up the Walls in Dubrovnik

Publication Instance Details #412

Publication Overview

Translation	Is Multilingual	Explicit Irish Context?	Ekphrasis	Has Paratext?	Reference to News, Media or Technology
No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No

Details

Human Rights Issues	War Racism/anti-Semitism/Sectarianism HR & Weapons of Mass Destruction (incl. nuclear)
War / Genocide Referenced	War: Bosnian War
Irish Context	Other
Languages	English
Genre	Long (narrative) Poem
Medium	Print Collection
Notes	The speaker of the poem visits some of the areas of the Balkans - Dubrovnik in Croatia, Mostar in Bosnia, and reflects on their history and their troubled past, including the recent Yugoslavian wars, the Croatian War of Independence, and the Bosnian War. The poem underlines the separation and sectarianism inherent between Catholics and Muslims in the country, describing how Muslims switch to English around tourists, and how the city of Mostar is dominated by competing structures of Mosques and Catholic Churches. The damage to Dubrovnik is detailed as well - artillery holes, bombing targets, and houses set ablaze are all described by the speaker of the poem. The poem's conclusion appears to note the endurance and staying power of the Muslim communities in Mostar and Dubrovnik, despite the hardship of the previous wars and conflicts. There are references to the Irish language and Irish lament songs in the poem.