Uno scrittore popolare. Ivo Andrić e la narativa di consumo
The Popular Writer. Ivo Andrić and Pulp Literature

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the short article by Ivo Andrić O petparačkoj literaturi (“On pulp literature”), published in 1953 in the Sarajevo-based weekly magazine [7 Days]. Dating from the period when Andrić supported the Yugoslav socialist regime, the article addresses the issue of popular fiction that emerged in Yugoslavia – particularly following the split with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the subsequent move toward the Western bloc and its cultural models. In the text, Andrić condemned the low artistic merit traditionally ascribed to this kind of literature, aligning himself with the stance of the cultural establishment; at the same time, however, he asserted the readers’ right to entertainment. This discussion leads to a broader reflection on the “need for storytelling” in Andrić’s narrative work and on his portrayal within Yugoslav mass culture; in this context, the article briefly analyzes the short story Dug (The Debt) by Danilo Kiš, which imagines the writer’s final moments.

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