after war

by Dženana Vucic

after war is an unwavering exploration of brutality and its consequences, moving adroitly between personal experience and the written record to plumb the ‘ after’ and ongoingness of war, genocide and displacement. Unfurling from the Bosnian war and its traumas, this searing debut examines identity and un/belonging; language and its elisions; history and how we remember it; violence and how we are implicated in it. Through experiments in form and voice, Dž enana Vucic’ s deeply humane poetry bears witness not only to suffering, but to courage and strength. Generous and incisive, this extraordinary collection refuses both to look away or submit to despair; it compels readers not to either.

Genres: Poetry

128 pages, Paperback

Published July 28, 2026

About the author

Dženana Vucic is a Bosnian-Australian writer currently based in Berlin. Her essays and poetry have been published in Australian Poetry Journal, Cordite, Kill Your Darlings, Meanjin, Overland, Sydney Review of Books, and others. She has been awarded a 2022 Marten Bequest and the 2022 Peter Blazey Fellowship to work on an autotheoretical novel. ‘Because a wind blazes’ was shortlisted for the 2023 Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize.

Reviews

[Chris Benetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

after war is a striking and deeply affecting poetry collection that looks beyond conflict to explore what it means to live with what remains. Dženana Vucic creates an intimate space for considering memory, loss, identity, displacement, and the difficult possibility of renewal. I appreciated the way the collection invites reflection rather than easy answers, allowing the emotional echoes of war to remain present while still making room for resilience and hope. At once personal and universal, this is a poignant contemporary poetry collection that lingers in the mind long after reading.

[Svetlana Sterlin]

‘Weird how we can't stop / doom in our throats or make a sound / that isn't the opposite of rain.’