Only the Nails Remain

Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars is a chronicle of poet and critic Christopher MerrillOs ten war-time journeys to the Balkans from the years 1992 through 1996. At once a travelogue, a book of war reportage, and a biography of the imagination under siege, this beautifully written and personal narrative takes the reader along on the authorOs journeys to all the provinces and republics of the former Yugoslavia and surrounding countries. This literary meditation on war is a fascinating portrait of the poetry, politics and the people of the Balkans which will provide insight into the past, present, and future of those war-torn lands.

Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars is a chronicle of poet and critic Christopher Merrill's ten war-time journeys to the Balkans from the years 1992 through 1996. At once a travelogue, a book of war reportage, and a biography of the imagination under siege, this beautifully written and personal narrative takes the reader along on the author's journeys to all the provinces and republics of the former Yugoslavia—Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, and Vojvodina—as well as to Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, and Turkey. His journeys provide the narrative structure for an exploration of the roles and responsibility of intellectuals caught up in a decisive historical moment, many of whom either helped to incite the war or else bore eloquent witness to its carnage. What separates this book-the first non-native literary work on the conflict-from other collections of reportage, political analysis, and polemic, is its concern for capturing the texture of particular places in the midst of dramatic change-the sounds and sights and smells, the stories and observations of victim and perpetrator alike, the culture of war. Here is a literary meditation on war, a fascinating portrait of the poetry, politics and the people of the Balkans that will provide insight into the past, present, and future of those war-torn lands. Hear an interview with the author on NPR's Weekend All Things ConsideredFebruary 20th, 'Balkan Poets.'

Part 1 August-September 1992
Chapter 2 Journey
Chapter 3 Pohorje
Chapter 4 Ljubljana I
Chapter 5 Triglav
Chapter 6 Ljubljana II
Chapter 7 Venice
Chapter 8 Vilenica
Part 9 December 1992-February 1993
Chapter 10 Croatia
Chapter 11 Dalmatia
Chapter 12 Serbia
Chapter 13 Montenegro
Chapter 14 Macedonia
Chapter 15 Kosovo
Chapter 16 Flight
Part 17 May 1993-April 1996
Chapter 18 Sarajevo I
Chapter 19 Sarajevo II
Chapter 20 Mostar
Chapter 21 Sarajevo III
Chapter 22 Albania
Chapter 23 Expedition
Chapter 24 Barcelona
Chapter 25 Epilogue