[en] The Balkans are full of geographical and political contradictions, which becomes obvious by simply noticing the fact that their name has changed more than once during the course of history : starting as Illyrian peninsula, it was then transformed into Greek, then Byzantine peninsula while recently it is known as "European Turkey". Originally, the " Balkans " is a name that came from the Turks. This almost island has natural frontiers which are easy to cross. The boundaries proposed by geographers and historians are relative and often arbitrary, thus contested. Defining the Balkan frontiers may prove to be a task that is hard to accomplish, since being associated with the progression of the ottoman troops, this "zone of turbulence" holds, for some, a negative connotation by itself. Marked by geographical and historical upheaval, the Balkans constitute an area of demographical plurality and variety which in hand creates a number of questions and problems with regard to ethnical relations as well as the creation of identity, territorial or other. All claims made were relying in mythology as well as in historical facts. As the Nation State made its appearance as a formation in the region it created even more fragmentation, almost imitating the one caused by the great schism of 1054, where geographical space was used as a way to separate Churches, beliefs, empires, powers as well as styles of art or writing. The appearance of Islam, in the area, has generated new oppositions and intolerances. Foreign forces have intervened in this already fragile balance in an effort to provide stability, while determining their own spheres of influence, thus freezing with their interference (manifested through the signing of numerous treaties), a number of issues that were left unresolved, or controversial, without successfully bringing any durable solutions to the matter. These series of unresolved issues, in an area which has a history of division, promote frustration and need a revision, even a belated one, in order to satisfy and appease the different sensitivities that present themselves with regard to the Balkans. Literature becomes the echo of such questions, as it evokes the cruelty suffered under the ottoman occupation (see Ivo Andrić), as well as in more recent events. The Balkans, which "produce more history than they can consume", as W. Churchill has once put it, become the canvas for a rich literary and artistic production.

[fr] Les Balkans témoignent de contradictions géographiques et politiques, perceptibles dans le changement d'appellation des lieux au cours de l'Histoire : de la péninsule illyrienne, grecque, byzantine à la " Turquie d'Europe " plus récente. Il est resté une dénomination venue des Turcs, les " Balkans ". Cette presqu'île n'offre pas de frontières naturelles difficiles à franchir. Les délimitations des géographes et historiens sont relatives et souvent arbitraires, et donc contestées. Sa définition est difficile, car, étant associée à la progression des troupes ottomanes, cette " zone de turbulences " garde aux yeux de certains un caractère négatif. Marqués par les bouleversements telluriques et historiques, les Balkans témoignent d'une pluralité et d'une variété démographiques, ce qui pose un grand nombre de questions en termes de rapports ethniques, de constructions identitaires et territoriales. Les revendications s'appuient aussi bien sur le mythe que sur l'Histoire. L'apparition de l'État-nation a constitué dans ces régions de multiples fractures à l'image du schisme chrétien de 1054, divisant Églises et croyances, empires et pouvoirs, styles et écritures. L'islam a engendré de nouvelles oppositions ou intolérances. Les puissances étrangères sont intervenues dans ce jeu pour tenter de le stabiliser tout en déterminant leurs sphères d'influence, figeant par le jeu des traités une multitude de questions irrésolues ou conflictuelles, sans apporter de réponse durable. Cet inachevé, dans une histoire faite de partages, suscite des frustrations, et nécessite une réécriture qui tarde à se faire jour, faute d'apaisement entre les différentes sensibilités. La littérature se fait l'écho de ces situations par l'évocation de la cruauté, sous l'occupation ottomane (cf. Ivo Andrić) notamment, mais aussi dans l'actualité récente. " Cet espace qui produit plus d'histoire qu'il n'en peut consommer " (W. Churchill) est le cadre de création d'une riche production littéraire et artistique.