The Missouri Review

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Aleksandar Hemon was born in Sarajevo in the former Yugoslavia in 1964, of Ukrainian descent on his father's side and Bosnian, of Serb background on his mother's side. He graduated from the University of Sarajevo with a degree in literature in 1990. He worked as a journalist in Sarajevo and continues to write a biweekly column for BH Dani (BH Days), published in Sarajevo. He came to the United States as a tourist in 1992 and decided to stay when war broke out in Sarajevo. While living in the United States, Hemon has worked as a Greenpeace canvasser, sandwich maker, bike messenger, ESL teacher and salesperson in a bookstore.

He began publishing in English in 1995, his work appearing in The New Yorker, Esquire, Paris [End Page 85] Review and elsewhere. His first book of stories, The Question of Bruno, was published in 2000, and his first novel, Nowhere Man, was published in 2002 and was a nominee for the National Book Critics Circle Award. His most recent novel, The Lazarus Project, was published in 2008 and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, was a National Book Award finalist and was selected for the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2008. His collection of short stories, Love and Obstacles, was published in May 2009. He currently lives in Chicago.

This interview was conducted in Chicago in February 2009.

KNIGHT: How did you come to the United States?

HEMON: I was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 1964. I came to the United States in 1992 as a part of the International Visitors Program, which was run by the U. S. Information Agency, now defunct. I happened to be here when the war started in Bosnia. I live in Chicago. My parents live in Canada now, and my sister is in London.

KNIGHT: What significant events in your life have shaped your writing?

HEMON: All of them, and then many insignificant ones. But I would say that so far the war in Bosnia 1992–1995 has a special place.

KNIGHT: Much of your writing is about the immigrant experience. Has your understanding of being an immigrant--—of re-creating your life—changed over time?

HEMON: Well, early on I was a bit more interested in the traumatic aspects of immigration, the sense of indelible loss, particularly for refugees. Over time, however, the transformative aspects have become a bit more interesting: what happens after the loss.

KNIGHT: Why did you choose to write in English? Do you dream in that language?

HEMON: I realized as the war started that I would have to live here in the United States and that English would, therefore, be the language of my life and experience. Yes, I dream in English, and I also remember in English things that could not have happened in English.

I wasn't fluent in English when I came here, but I could communicate reasonably well—hold conversations, read newspapers. But that was when [End Page 86] the English language was outside of my mind, on the surface, as something to use when needed, not something that was related to the core of my being, like your native language is. But somehow, and I don't know how exactly, but—the stress of it all—the English language entered my subconscious mind.

KNIGHT: What was the first story you wrote in English?

HEMON: "The Sorge Spy Ring." I thought I would prepare for the act of writing English for a while. I was reading and collecting materials on Sorge, finding photos and whatnot, and for some reason or another I started writing a story. It just started coming out. As I was writing, there would be times when I wasn't exactly sure about the meaning of the word that I was using, so I would look it up, and it would be the exact meaning that I was hoping for. It doesn't happen to me that much anymore, but I was surprised by what was coming out because it was coming from the...