Philip David (1945-2025)

The fifth corner of a square room

A lot could be said about Filip David as a writer of Serbian literature from its most creative post-war era, but little has been said - wrote Branko Kukić at the beginning of the introductory text of the two-issue edition of "Gradac" magazine, which is dedicated to Filip David.
It contains a fragment of David's opus, such as Sketches for a dream story, A well in a dark forest, One night in Warsaw, No man's land, plays One day, my Jamel, scenario Worlds in chaos, his correspondence with Mirko Kovač and Borislav Pekić, as well as the text that Filip David spoke at the National Library of Serbia at the award ceremony for the Best Book in the Network of Public Libraries for the novel House of memory and oblivion, a text that began with a fence from the presence of Tomislav Nikolić, the then president of Serbia. "Respecting the institution of the president, I have not supported his nationalist and war policy since the 90s. He has no place here and on this occasion," said David in front of the guests.
The double issue also contains texts about him by admirers of Filip David. One of those, a text by Svetislav Basara Princ "Photogallery”, we announce.
At the end of the introductory text entitled Filip David - Everything is on fire, Kukić says that it was not his intention to publish all the important texts written about Filip David, but to say more "about a special atmosphere and temperature that bring a special current, presented in a special way, because each literary epoch has special creators who look at the world, internal and external, from a special angle - the fifth - in a square room. This fifth angle simultaneously demolishes the old house and creates a new one".