The Tim Heale Podcasts S3 E127 Ella Čolić
Ella is a student at Occidental College with a book out called Trees Without Roots. The book highlights what her family went through during the Bosnian War. She wants to have a career in reconstructive surgery.
A few months ago, she went back to Bosnia to support a festival “Moja Prva Knjiga” (My First Book Festival). In collaboration with the Bosanka Medijska Groupa (BMG) Tuzla (a publishing agency). She became an ambassador for this project that inspires young people to publish their first book. With the proceeds from her Bosnian translation of “Trees without Roots” and her additional sponsorship, BMG published a book called “Bosnian Child.”
She also gave a speech in Bosnia and introduced "Bosansko Dijete" (translation: "Bosnian Child") by Enes Hodžić. Enes Hodžić was a 13 year old talented musician and poet who wrote about politics and the fear children experienced in war. He was killed by a grenade in front of his home. In his memory, his poems have been published.
“His poems and the stories like the ones my father and my aunt told me are extremely important and key us in to the harsh reality of war,” Ella said. “These stories must be heard for future generations in order to avoid something like this happening again.”
She said she hoped the project would create a domino effect and encourage young people to write and to help other authors begin their careers as writers.
https://treeswithoutroots.com/
