Serbian Sturgeon

Book excerpt: In this account, Anthony Howell, a frequent visitor to Serbia, describes the intellectual life which continued to flourish in Belgrade (at least until his last visit in the Spring of 1997), lectures by Victor Burgin and by the British Ambassador, exhibitions, theatre festivals and events by Serb artists, his own performances and how they were received, his excursions to historical sites and his intimate relationship with a young woman in Belgrade which revitalised his existence after the death of his mother. The journal is thus a contemporary 'sentimental journey' and concerned with describing the self as well as the environment. An afterword charts the author's reaction to the Kosovo conflict of 1999.