prose
Lora Tomaš: An Excerpt from Salty Darkness
Lora Tomaš holds a bachelors degree in Indology and English Studies from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb. She earned her masters degree in Gender Studies from Central European University. Tomaš co-edited and co-translated two anthologies of modern Indian short prose and poetry- Popodnevni pljuskovi: izbor iz indijskog ženskog pisanja (2011) (Afternoon Showers: a selection of Indian women's writing) and Lotosi od neona: indijski autori o gradovima i drugim ljubavima (2017) (Neon Lotuses: Indian authors on cities and other loves). An early version of her first novel, Slani mrak (2020) (Salty Darkness), was a finalist for the V.B.Z. award for the best unpublished novel of 2019 and later she added her short story Prozor s pogledom (A Window With a View), also a finalist for a European award, to the novel. Her debut novel Slani mrak (2020) (Salty Darkness) earned her the 2020 Slavic award given by the Society of Croatian Writers.
Tomaš lived in Southeast Asia for several years, working as a journalist and literary critic for local publications. She now lives in Zagreb and works as a literary translator and a language teacher.
Read an excerpt from Tomaš's novel, Salty Darkness, in the link below.
Translation by Mirna Čubranić.
poetry
Poetry from Ana Brnardić: The Other Sister
Ana Brnardić was born in 1980 in Zagreb. She holds a Master’s degree in the Croatian Language and Literature and Comparative Literature from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb. She also earned a Master’s degree in Music, specifically for the violin, from the Music Academy in Zagreb. She has published five collections of poetry: Pisaljka nekog mudraca (1998) (Some Sage’s Pen), Valcer zmija (2005) (Waltzing Snakes), Postanak ptica (2009) (Genesis of Birds), Uzbrdo (2015) (Uphill) and Vuk i Breza (2019) (A Wolf and a Birch). Her poetry has been translated into fifteen languages and included in various anthologies, literary magazines and web portals. Brnardić has won several prestigious regional poetry awards for her work including the Goran’s Spring Award and the Slavić and Kvirin Award for Young Poets. She participates in various poetry festivals and online poetry platforms such as Versopolis, writes book reviews and also translates Romanian literature into Croatian. Brnardić lives and works in Zagreb.
Read Brnardić’s poem The Other Sister in the link below.
Translation by Chelsea Sanders.
prose
Karmela Špoljarić: Excerpt from Rashomon
Karmela Špoljarić was born in Zagreb in 1967. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Croatian Studies and Yugoslavian Philology from the University of Zagreb. She also holds a master’s degree in the Scientific Study of Literature from the University of Zagreb. She writes prose and theater scripts. She has published the teen drama Nula kuna po minuti (2011) (Zero kunas per minute), which won the Marin Držić award. Her novel Nije ovo Twin Peaks (2014) (This Isn’t Twin Peaks) won the DHK Slavić award. She has also published a collection of short stories Pazi što ćeš poželjeti (2013) (Be Careful What You Wish For), the novel Major Tom (2014) and the novel Rašomon (2019) (Rashomon). Her short stories have been published in various literary magazines. Another of Špoljarić’s passions is creating and running tailored creative writing workshops. She splits her time between Zagreb and the island of Krk.
As Dubravka Šćukanec writes in her review of the novel “The novel Rashomon is a bitter story about many of us, those of us who whine about the past, who ask ourselves at which station the train of life took a turn towards wastelands and bleakness, about those of us who seek causes and blame in other people and events which marked us with life’s misery.” (Šćukanec, Dubravka, 4.6.2021, GKR Magazin).
Read an excerpt from Špoljarić’s most recent novel Rashomon below.
Translation by Mirna Čubranić.
prose
Tomica Šćavina: Excerpt from A Room at the Bottom of the Sea
Tomica Šćavina was born in 1975 in Vodice. She holds a Psychology degree from the University of Zabreb. She has published two books which are compilations of her psychology columns: Unutarnji kompas (2009) (Internal Compass) and Koordinate sreće (2012) (Coordinates of Happiness). Her first novel Brod za Lajku (2011) (A Boat for Lajka) was shortlisted for the VBZ award for the best unpublished novel of the year. Her second novel, Povratak genija (2013) (The Return of Genius), won the SFera award for the best science fiction novel. Her most recent novel is Soba na dnu mora (2019) (A Room at the Bottom of the Sea). She has also published poetry in various regional literary magazines. In addition, Šćavina has written five documentary radio plays for Croatian Radio, which earned her a European Union award. Alongside her fiction writing and psychology columns, Šćavina has led numerous creative workshops and workshops dedicated to personal growth for children and adults.
Šćavina’s novel, A Room at the Bottom of the Sea, introduces us to Giana as she begins her new life as a cruise ship waitress, naïve to the dog-eat-dog conditions of her new workplace and haunted by her past of coming of age during the war in Croatia. Read a passage below.
Translation by Ellen Elias-Bursac.
panorama
Rebecca Duran's Take on Modern Day Life in Pazin (Istria)
Croatia is a small, charming country known today as a prime European tourist destination. However, it has a complicated often turbulent history and is seemingly always destined to be at the crossroads of empires, religions and worldviews, with its current identity and culture incorporating elements from its former Communist, Slavic, Austrian-Hungarian, Catholic, Mediterranean, and European traditions.
panorama
Ivana Bodrožić's Novel Recognized in America
Ivana Bodrožić’s novel We Trade Our Night for Someone Else’s Day was recognized as one of the Best International Crime Novels of 2021 by the American cultural website CrimeReads.
review
Review of Dubravka Ugrešić's Age of Skin
Dubravka Ugrešić is one of the most internationally recognizable writers from Croatia, but she has a contentious relationship with her home country, having gone into self-exile in the early 90s. Her recently translated collection of essays, The Age of Skin, touches on topics of of exile and displacement, among others. Read a review of Ugrešić’s latest work of non-fiction, expertly translated by Ellen Elias-Bursac, in the link below .
prose
Nenad Stipanić: Excerpt from Neon Gods
Nenad Stipanić was born in Senj in 1973, but has spent most of his life in Zagreb. His short stories have been published in numerous reputable regional literary magazines as well as various anthologies. He has published several collections of short stories: Sprinteri u labirintu (2005) (Sprinters in a Labyrinth), Odlično je baviti se kriminalom (2008) (It’s Great to Be a Criminal). Stipanić has also published several novels including Izbacivači Majke Božje (2012) (The Mother of God Bouncers) and Stvarno je odlično baviti se kriminalom (2015) (It’s Really Great to Be a Criminal). He won the Ministry of Culture Prize for the Best Literary Achievement in 2012 with his novel The Mother of God Bouncers and his novel It’s Really Great to Be a Criminal received the Balkan Noir Prize for the Best Croatian Criminal Novel in 2015. His latest novel Bogovi neona (2019) (Neon Gods) was a finalist for the Croatian Tportal Literary Award as well as the European Union Literature Prize.
Stipanić has worked various jobs throughout his life including all types of manual labor, ticket sales, tourist guide, bouncer in Croatian clubs and abroad, bodyguard, the owner of an art gallery and used book store, scriptwriter etc. He now devotes most of his time to his literary career. He currently lives in Berlin.
Read a passage below from Stipanić’s latest novel, Neon Gods, which the legendary editor Kruno Lokotar described as “…one of the most radical experiments in Croatian literature and an attempt to introduce the genre of bizarre fiction with elements of bizzare freaktion into the local literary scene…” (Lokotar, Kruno, 2019.6, Moderna vremena, https://mvinfo.hr/knjiga/12892/bogovi-neona).
Translation by Vesna Marić.
panorama
Vlaho Bukovac Exhibition in Zagreb Will Run Through May
Vlaho Bukovac (1855-1922) is arguably Croatia's most renowned painter. Born in the south in Cavtat, he spent some of his most impressionable teenage years in New York with his uncle and his first career was as a sailor, but he soon gave that up due to injury. He went on to receive an education in the fine arts in Paris and began his artistic career there. He lived at various times in New York, San Francisco, Peru, Paris, Cavtat, Zagreb and Prague. His painting style could be classified as Impressionism which incorporated various techniques such as pointilism.
An exhibition dedicated to the works of Vlaho Bukovac will be running in Klovićevi dvori Gallery in Gornji Grad, Zagreb through May 22nd, 2022.
prose
Ante Zlatko Stolica: Short stories from his book Close to Everything
Ante Zlatko Stolica was born (1985) and raised in Split. He holds degrees in Croatian Language and Literature and Philosophy. He has written several short documentaries, film scripts and a collection of short stories Blizina svega (2020) (Close to Everything). He is a co-screenwriter for the film Kratki izlet (2017) (A Short Excursion), which won the Zlatna arena award for the best film of the year.
Stolica’s eclectic stories deal mostly with the young protagonists’ ventures into the adult world of work and the string of dead-end jobs they are faced with, set in his hometown of Split.
Read some stories from Stolica’s book Close to Everything below.
Translation by Marta Huber.
review
Review of Neva Lukić's Endless Endings
Read a review of Neva Lukić's collection of short stories, Endless Endings, recently translated into English, in World Literature Today.
prose
Jasna Jasna Žmak: Excerpt from My Dear You
Jasna Jasna Žmak was born in 1984 in Pula. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Dramaturgy from the Academy of Dramatic Art (University of Zagreb). She then went on to complete a PhD in Literature, Applied Arts, Film and Culture at the University of Zagreb. Žmak has published a book of essays One stvari: eseji o ženskoj seksualnosti (2020) (Dirty Words: Essays on Female Sexuality, a book of prose Moja ti (2015) (My Dear You), two theater scripts Samice (2011) (Solitary Confinements) and Drugi sočasno (2012) (Others Simultaneously), one picture book Pisma na kraju šume (2018) (Letters at the End of the Forest), one scientific study, and countless short stories and critical essays. Žmak currently works as an assistant professor at the Academy of Dramatic Art (University of Zagreb).
Read an excerpt from Žmak's book of prose, My Dear You, in the link below.
Translation by Samantha Farmer.
panorama
A Guide to Zagreb's Street Art
Zagreb has its fair share of graffiti, often startling passersby when it pops up on say a crumbling fortress wall in the historical center of the city. Along with some well-known street murals are the legendary street artists themselves. Check out the article below for a definitive guide to Zagreb's best street art.
prose
Valent Pavlić: Excerpt from Evanesco
Valent Pavlić was born in 1985. He grew up in Zagreb and graduated from the University of Zagreb with a degree in French Language and Literature and Art History. He has published two collections of short stories Evanesco (2016) and Prepreke. Prečaci. (2019) (Obstacles. Shortcuts).
Pavlić’s unique and unsettling tale about a man who embarks on chosen isolation from others will resonate even more for readers who have lived through two pandemic years.
Read an excerpt from Pavlić’s debut novel, Evanesco, below.
Translation by Mirna Čubranić.
prose
Damir Karakaš: It's Me
Damir Karakaš was born and raised in a rural, impoverished village in the mountainous region of Lika in 1967. The rough, folksy surroundings of his childhood are often present in his work and are viewed through a critical lens. He studied Agronomy, Law and Journalism in Zagreb and worked for several years as a journalist. Karakaš is a prolific writer and his many publications include the travelogue Bosanci su dobri ljudi (1999) (Bosnians Are Good People), the novel Kombetari (2000), the novel Kino Lika (2001) (Lika Cinema), the novel Kako sam ušao u Europu (2004) (How I Entered Europe), the short story collection Eskimi (2007) (Eskimos), the novel Sjano mjesto za nesreću (2009) (A Fantastic Spot for an Accident), the play Skoro nikad ne zaključavamo (2009) (We Hardly Ever Lock Up), the collection of short stories Pukovnik Beethoven (2012) (Colonel Beethoven), the play Snajper (2013) (Sniper), the novel Blue Moon (2014), the novel Sjećanje Šume (2016) (The Remembering Forest), the novel Proslava (2019) (The Celebration), and his latest novel Okretište (2021).
Read Karakaš’s poignant, dark short story about returning to one’s childhood home as an adult and the weight of being confronted with emotions that were thought to have been left safely in the past.
Read his short story It’s Me in the link below.
Translation by Stephen M. Dickey.
panorama
Beloved Croatian Children's Show Professor Balthazar Now Available in English on YouTube
The colorful, eclectic and much beloved Croatian children's cartoon Professor Balthazar was created by Zlatko Grgić and produced from the late 1960s through the 1970s. Now newer generations will be able to enjoy the Professor's magic, whether they speak Croatian or English.
news
French Translation of Jurica Pavčić's Red Water Wins French Award for Best Crime Novel
The French translation of Jurica Pavčić's Crvena Voda (Red Water) snagged the 2021 Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere, France's esteemed award for the best international crime novel.
Crvena Voda was translated into the French by Olivier Lannuzel.
review
2021: The Best Croatian Literature in English Translation
Jonathan Bousfield delivers a real gift with his overview of the best Croatian literature that was translated into English in 2021.
panorama
New Book on Croatian Football Legend Robert Prosinečki
Robert Prosinečki's long and fabled football career includes winning third place in the 1998 World Cup as part of the Croatian national team, stints in Real Madrid and FC Barcelona as well as managerial roles for the Croatian national team, Red Star Belgrade, the Azerbaijani national team and the Bosnian Hercegovinian national team.
review
Review of Ivana Bodrožić's Novel: We Trade Our Night For Someone Else's Day
Read a review of Ivana Bodrožić’s bombshell of a novel We Trade Our Night for Someone Else’s Day, translated by Ellen Elias-Bursać.
prose
Darko Šeparović: Excerpt from The Pier
Darko Šeparović was born in 1987 in Vela Luka on the island of Korčula. Although he holds a degree in Architecture from the University of Zagreb, today he is mostly involved in writing poetry and prose. He has also published literary reviews and interviews in a number of regional literary magazines. His publications include the collection of poetry Autopilot (2015) and the novels Krvotok (2018) (Bloodstream) and Pristanište (2020) (The Pier). Šeparović’s works have been translated into English, Greek, Slovenian and German.
Read an excerpt from his latest novel, Pristanište (The Pier) below.
Translation by Rachael Daum.
news
Sandorf Publishing House Launches American Branch
Croatian publishing house Sandorf launched their American branch called Sandorf Passage earlier this year.
poetry
Marijo Glavaš: Jellyfish
Mario Glavaš was born in Split in 1986. He has published one novel, Libreto za mrtve kitove (2009)(A Libretto for Dead Whales) and three collections of poetry, GrAD (2012) (C/Shi/Ty), Ciklona (2012) (Cyclone) and Permutacije (2017) (Permutations). His work has received several regional awards, particularly for young poets. Glavaš has hosted and edited several TV and radio programs dedicated to literature. Besides poetry, he also writes short stories, literary criticism and essays and has been published in various reginal literary magazines and web portals.
Read Glavaš’s poem, Jellyfish, below.
Translation by Irina Škarica.
prose
Maša Kolanović: Unending
Maša Kolanović was born in Zagreb in 1979 and holds a PhD in Croatian Language and Literature from the University of Zagreb. She has published multiple books including the poetry collection Pijavice za usamljene (Leeches for the Lonely, 2001), the novel Sloboština Barbie (Underground Barbie, 2008), the monograph which served as her doctoral thesis, Udarnik! Buntovnik? Potrošač… (Striker! Rebel? Consumer…, 2011), the prose poem Jamerika (2013), and the short story collection Poštovani kukci i druge jezive priče (Dear Pests and Other Chilling Stories, 2019). Kolanović was the 2020 recipient of the European Prize for Literature. She also writes essays on literature and culture and has co-edited several books. Kolanović is an associate professor in the Croatian Studies Department at the University of Zagreb.
Peek into the less sunny side of motherhood that society doesn’t necessarily prepare women for as the protagonist of Kolanović’s short story Unending considers her own journey through pregnancy and motherhood including the required loss of independence at the most essential level: one’s body.
Read the short story Unending below.
Translation by Ena Selimović.
panorama
Jonathan Bousfield on the Seedy Side of the Seaside
From strange tales of mysterious murders to suspected criminals hiding out to scams, duels and gambling, Opatija, a favourite seaside escape for Central Europeans at the turn of the last century, routinely filled Austrian headlines and the public's imagination in the early 20th century.
prose
Ilija Đurović: Excerpt from Sampas
Ilija Đurović was born in 1990 in Podgorica, Montenegro. After finishing high school, he went on to study literature. He has been writing stories since 2005. His first book of prose, They Do It so Beautifully in Those Great Romantic Novels, came out in 2014 with Yellow Turtle Press, a small Montenegrin publishing house he runs. This was followed by Black Fish (2016) and the poetry book Brink (2018), which received an award at a festival in Belgrade. Đurović has been living in Berlin since 2013 and living as a versatile freelance author and publicist. In 2019 he was co-winner of the Montenegrin theater award for the best contemporary drama, Sleepers. His first novel, Sampas, will be published in Belgrade in 2021.
Translation by Will Firth.
This translation was done as part of the "texthelden - Berlin setzt über" project of the association Berliner Literarische Aktion, funded by the German Federal Government's Commissioner for Culture and Media, the German Translators' Fund and the "Neustart Kultur" programme.
prose
Ilija Đurović: Excerpt from Sampas
Ilija Đurović was born in 1990 in Podgorica, Montenegro. After finishing high school, he went on to study literature. He has been writing stories since 2005. His first book of prose, They Do It so Beautifully in Those Great Romantic Novels, came out in 2014 with Yellow Turtle Press, a small Montenegrin publishing house he runs. This was followed by Black Fish (2016) and the poetry book Brink (2018), which received an award at a festival in Belgrade. Đurović has been living in Berlin since 2013 and living as a versatile freelance author and publicist. In 2019 he was co-winner of the Montenegrin theater award for the best contemporary drama, Sleepers. His first novel, Sampas, will be published in Belgrade in 2021.
Translation by Will Firth.
This translation was done as part of the "texthelden - Berlin setzt über" project of the association Berliner Literarische Aktion, funded by the German Federal Government's Commissioner for Culture and Media, the German Translators' Fund and the "Neustart Kultur" programme.
prose
Ivana Bodrožić: Excerpt from Klara, Full of Wonder
Ivana Bodrožić was born in 1982 in Vukovar, Croatia. She graduated with a master’s degree in Philosophy and Croatian Language and Literature from the University of Zagreb. Her debut collection of poetry, Prvi korak (2005) (The First Step), received numerous accolades and awards. Bodrožić published her first novel, Hotel Zagorje (The Hotel Tito), in 2010 and the coming-of-age story about a young refugee girl whose father goes missing in the Croatian Homeland War of the 1990s was met with great acclaim in both Croatia and on the international stage and was widely translated into multiple languages and published abroad. Her most recent project is the children’s book, Klara Čudastvara (2019) (Klara, Full of Wonder), which she collaborated on with the prize-winning illustrator, Vendi Vernić.
Take a trip back to childhood and muse on what forces shaped your perception of the world when you read this whimsical tale of a brave little girl, Klara, full of wonder, and her unbelievable summer.
Translation by Vesna Marić.
review
Review of new English translation of Grigor Vitez's AntonTon
Hailed as the father of 20th century Croatian children's literature, Grigor Vitez (1911-1966) is well known and loved in his homeland. With a new English translation of one of his classic tales AntonTon (AntunTun in Croatian), children around the world can now experience the author's delightful depiction of the strong-minded and silly AntonTon. The Grigor Vitez Award is an annual prize given to the best Croatian children's book of the year.
poetry
Ernesto Estrella: A Selection of Poems from his Forthcoming Collection The American Heart
Ernesto Estrella is a New York-based poet and educator. He is the author of Boca de Prosas and Achronos, and is currently finishing his first poetry collection in English, The American Heart. Ernesto has translated the works of Henry David Thoreau and John Muir into Spanish and has written a number of books and articles on Poetic Theory and Performance Studies. He is a former Yale University professor of Contemporary Poetry and has been showcased in seminars at leading institutions such as the Great Books Foundation, New York Historical Society, Bowery Poetry Club, Walden Woods Project, and the Thoreau Society. In 2021, he launched The Voice of Recovery podcast which uses poetry and storytelling as tools for wellness and mental health. https://www.themapofyourtraps.com/podcast
The selected poems below are from Estrella's forthcoming poetry collection, The American Heart.
news
The Best of New Eastern European Literature
Have an overabundance of free time, thanks to the pandemic and lockdowns? Yearning to travel but unable to do so safely? Discover the rhythm of life and thought in multiple Eastern European countries through exciting new literature translated into English. From war-torn Ukraine to tales from Gulag inmates to the search for identity by Eastern Europeans driven away from their home countries because of the economic or political situations but still drawn back to their cultural hearths, this list offers many new worlds to explore.
panorama
Croatia to Soon Offer Digital Nomad Visa
Croatia is set to become the second European country (after Estonia) to offer remote foreign workers an easy path to staying in the country for an extended period of time through the newly created digital nomad visa. As remote working becomes more commonplace, driven by advancements in technology but now especially by the current pandemic, a new swath of the population is no longer tied to a geographical location to work.
panorama
Will Firth on Political Noir in Contemporary Montenegrin Novels
Several fascinating and socially critical novels by Montenegrin authors over the last decade give us a peek into Montenegro’s political underbelly, revealing its still precarious position between Eastern and Western spheres of influence.
prose
Dino Pešut: Excerpt from Bruised Knees
Dino Pešut (1990) hails from Sisak. He holds a degree in Dramaturgy from Zagreb's Academy of Dramatic Arts. Pešut has been active as a playwright since 2013. His plays have received the Croatian Ministry of of Culture’s Marin Držić Award. He is also the recipient of other awards including the German Deutschen Jungentheaterpreis. His debut novel was Poderana koljena (2018) (Bruised Knees) and his latest novel is Tatin sin (2020) (Daddy’s Boy). Pešut lived in Berlin for several years and his plays have been translated into over ten languages.
The passage below is from Dino Pešut's 2018 debut novel, Bruised Knees.
Translation by Tomislav Kuzmanović.
news
Robert Perišić: No-Signal Area
American critics praise Robert Perišić’s No-Signal Area
After the international success of Our Man In Iraq by Robert Perišić, translated into a dozen languages across the globe, his novel No-Signal Area continues to spark interest of international publishers. The novel was published in the USA last month by the prominent publishing house Seven Stories Press and received glowing reviews, confirming Perišić as a contemporary author of international renown.
news
Maša Kolanović 2020 Winner of European Union Prize for Literature
Maša Kolanović wins the prestigious European Union Prize for Literature as well as the Croatian Vladimir Nazor Prize for her collection of short stories, Poštovani kukci i druge jezive priče (2019) (Dear Insects and Other Spine-Tingling Tales).
prose
Bekim Sejranović: Excerpt from his novel From Nowhere To Nowhere
Bekim Sejranović (1972-2020) was born in Brčko, Bosnia and Hercegovina. He attended nautical school in Rijeka, Croatia where he also studied South Slavic Languages and Literature. He moved to Oslo, Norway in 1993 where he continued his studies, earning a master’s degree in South Slavic Languages and Literature. Sejranović is the author of a collection of short stories, Fasung (2002), and five novels: Nigdje, niotkuda (2008)(Nowhere, From Nowhere), Ljepši kraj (2010) (A Better Place), Sandale (2013) (Sandals), Tvoj sin Huckleberry Finn (2015) (Your Son Huckleberry Finn) and Dnevnik jednog nomada (2017) (The Diary of a Nomad). His novel Nigdje, niotkuda (2008) (From Nowhere To Nowhere) won the prestigious Meša Selimović award for the best novel published in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia or Montenegro in 2009. Bejranović was an official court translator and also translated Norwegian literature into Croatian. His own writing was translated into many languages including English, Norwegian, German, Italian and Polish.
The following passage is the first chapter in Sejranovic’s debut and award-winning novel, Nigdje, niotkuda (2008) (From Nowhere to Nowhere). This opening chapter deals with the protagonist’s experience of a traditional Bosnian funeral in his hometown, which raises emotions and questions encompassing religion, politics and identity.
Translation by Will Firth.
news
Bekim Sejranović Passes Away
Award-winning author and translator, Bekim Sejranović, passed away on May 21st, 2020 at the age of 48.
report
Ivan Sršen on the Earthquake in Zagreb
Ivan Sršen (b. 1979) holds a degree in History and Linguistics from the University of Zagreb. He worked in multiple publishing houses before co-founding his own publishing company, Sandorf, in 2008. He’s authored the novel Harmatten (2013), a collection of short stories Skela, bajke iz automata za kavu (2010) (Fairytales from the Coffee Machine), co-authored a nonfiction book, Povijest zagrebačkih knjižnica (2010) (The History of Zagreb’s Libraries) and edited the collection of short stories, Zagreb Noir (2015). He lives and works in Zagreb.
Zagreb, Croatia’s capital city, faced one of the biggest challenges in its 1000 year history on March 22nd, 2020. In the midst of a global pandemic, a 5.5 Richter earthquake struck the city of one million inhabitants. Ivan Sršen shares his personal experience of being at the center of dual disasters.
report
Tomislav Medak on Zagreb's 5.5 Richter Earthquake in the Time of Coronavirus
Tomislav Medak (b. 1973) holds a degree in Philosophy and German Studies from the University of Zagreb. He is currently a doctoral student at Coventry University in the Centre for Postdigital Cultures. Medak is the author of two books: A Guidebook to Domination by Abstraction (2016) and Shitty Tech for a Shitty World (2015). He has co-authored several other books and edited volumes. Medak has organized and participated in multiple conferences and talks with themes ranging from political theory to the commons to cultural policy over the last twenty years. He is also very active in the experimental theatre group BADco. as an actor, playwright, and director.
In his post on the convergence of two rare disastrous events in Zagreb (last week’s strong earthquake and Coronavirus), Tomislav Medak paints a jarring picture of Zagreb residents huddling outside in the cold after being quite literally shaken awake and at the same time their world is crumbling around them trying to observe social distancing so as not to reap the wrath of the current invisible threat that is Coronavirus. He challenges readers to observe how disaster preparedness and government response to disasters reveals attitudes about the collective good and asks readers to use these events as a catalyst for rethinking society’s relationship to the market.
interview
An Interview with Igor Štiks
In an interview with acclaimed Sarajevo-born author Igor Štiks, he discusses human agency in the face of consequential historical events, which is the central conflict in his new novel, W. Štiks also touches on the parallels between the events leading up to the breakup of Yugoslavia and current European nationalist politics as well as the common linguistic legacy shared by countries of the former Yugoslavia.
prose
Miro Gavran: Excerpt from Kafka's Friend
Miro Gavran is a prolific Croatian playwright and novelist whose work is celebrated both at home and abroad. His plays and novels have been translated into 40 different languages, and his scripts have been used in over 300 plays worldwide. The eponymous festival Gavranfest, consisting of a week of exclusively Gavran’s plays, is held annually in Croatia, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Gavran was born in Gornja Trnava in 1961. He holds a degree in Theater from the Academy of Theater, Film and Television in Zagreb. In the early 1980s, he worked as a theater director for then prestigious Zagreb theater, Theater &TD. He has made his living exclusively as a writer and playwright since 1993. Gavran has penned more than forty plays as well as ten novels. He has won twenty awards in Croatia and abroad for his work, including the prestigious Central European Time Prize, which recognizes Central European authors for their entire opus. He is an associate member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts and is a member of the Russian Academy of Literature.
In his novel, Kafka’s friend, Gavran explores and speculates what one of history’s most famous friendships of equals and opposites must have been like: that of contemplative, reserved and brooding Franz Kafka and his more open friend, also a writer, Max Brod, who as the executor of Kafka’s estate, famously published Kafka’s work against his wishes.
Read an excerpt from Gavran’s novel, Kafka’s Friend, in the link below.
Translation by Nina H. Kay-Antoljak.
panorama
More Zagreb Street Art
Explore TimeOut's gallery of fascinating and at times thought-provoking art in the great open air gallery of the streets of Zagreb.
prose
Marina Vujčić: Excerpt from The Anatomy Issue
Marina Vujčić, born in 1966 in Trogir, is a writer, columnist and editor. Vujčić holds a degree in Croatian Language and Literature from the University of Zagreb. She’s published Bijeg uz Brijeg (2002), Tuđi život (2010) (Someone Else’s Life), A onda je Božo krenuo ispočetka (2014) (And then Božo Started from the Beginning), Umri ženski (2014), Mogla sam to biti ja (2015) (It Could Have Been Me), Susjed (2015) (Neighbor), Otpusno pismo (2016) (Letter of Discharge), Pitanje anatomije (2017) (The Anatomy Issue). Her novel, Neighbor, won the VBZ and Tisak Media award for Best Unpublished Novel in 2015. She lives and works in Zagreb.
Vujčić’s novel begins with an unusual request: a widower places an ad in the paper looking for someone to scratch his back and his ad is cautiously answered by a woman looking to make some extra money. This is the starting point Vujčić uses to explore the boundaries of human relations in a post-modern urban society where people are increasingly alienated from one another, and many peoples’ lives and relationships are defined by a series of contractual agreements.
Read an excerpt from Vujčić’s novel, The Anatomy Issue, in the link below.
Translation by Mirna Čubranić.
panorama
Welcome to Zagreb's Hangover Museum
Partied too hard last night? Drop by Zagreb's Hangover Museum to feel more normal. People share their craziest hangover stories and visitors can even try on beer goggles to experience how the world looks like through drunken eyes.
review
Review of Ivo Andrić's Omer Pasha Latas
Ivo Andrić (1892-1975) was born in the small Bosnian town of Travnik. He earned his PhD in South Slavic Studies and Literature from the Univeristy of Graz. Andrić was a prolific novelist and writer of short stories and poetry and he received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1961. His most well-known work is Na drini ćuprija (1945) (On the River Drina).
Read a review of Andrić’s last work before his death, Omer Pasha Latus (1975), translated into English by Celia Hawkesworth. The story revolves around a real-life historical figure, the infamous commander and field marshal Omer Pasha Latus, who was sent to Sarajevo in 1850 on a specific mission. Andrić’s works often dealt with historical themes, especially life in Bosnia when it was part of the Ottoman Empire.
panorama
Jonathan Bousfield on the Future as Imagined in 1960s Socialist Yugoslavia
How will the futuristic world of 2060 look? How far will technology have advanced, and how will those advancements affect how we live our everyday lives? These are the questions the Zagreb-based magazine Globus asked in a series of articles in 1960, when conceptualizing what advancements society would make 40 years in the future, the then far-off year of 2000. The articles used fantastical predictions about the future to highlight the technological advancements already made by the then socialist Yugoslavia. Take a trip with guide, Jonathan Bousfield, back to the future as envisioned by journalists in 1960s Yugoslavia.
prose
Andrija Škare: The Games We Play
Andrija Škare was born in 1981 in Zagreb. He holds a degree in Journalism from the University of Zagreb. He has published four books: a non-fiction literary experiment on cafes and café culture in Zagreb, S više mlijeka molim (2008) (With More Milk, Please), two collections of short stories, Život svijeta koji će doći (2014) (The Life of the World to Come) and Društvene igre (2017) (The Games We Play) and the book Slušaj me (2016) (Listen to Me), a kind of meditation on the overlapping points of music and literature. Škare previously worked as a journalist and host for Croatian Television (HRT). His short stories have been published in various literary magazines and he is a founder of the literary movement eventualism. He lives and works in Zagreb.
In his collection of short stories, The Games We Play, Škare skillfully creates authentic characters whose dilemmas hint at the particular set of conflicts inherent in modern day Croatian society. Whether it’s the loss-of-innocence story of a young soccer talent’s difficult choice or an engineer whose matter-of-fact life is becoming messier by the minute, Škare exposes some underpinnings unique to Croatian society from the individual up against the seemingly inescapable web of far-reaching power that politicians wield to subtle class and regional tensions and prejudices, all while remaining firmly anchored in the realism of the present day.
Read an excerpt from his collection of short stories, The Games We Play, in the link below.
Translation by Tomislav Kuzmanović.
prose
Kristijan Vujčić: Excerpt from The Love Metamorphosis of Božidar Kukec
Kristijan Vujčić was born in Zagreb in 1973. He holds a degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies from the University of Zagreb. Vujčić has published five novels: The Love Metamorphosis of Božidar Kukec (2015), Ponavljanje: zaigranost proljeća i života (2012) (Repeating), Udruženje za mravlje igre (2009) (Society for Ants’ Games), Gospodin Bezimeni (2007) (Mr. Noname), and Welcome to Croatia (2006). His work has been published in numerous literary and cultural magazines as well as newspapers. His short story won the Večernji list Short Story Award in 2017 and he won the Kipklop award in 2006 for best novel and in 2014 for best editor. Vujčić works as a freelance editor and writer.
Part philosophical exercise, part light-hearted pondering of a series of failed relationships, Vujčić’s book offers readers a unique and amusing take on the age-old quest of finding love.
Read an excerpt from Vujčić’s book, The Love Metamorphosis of Božidar Kukec, by clicking on the link below.
Translation by Damir Biličić.
prose
Slađana Kavarić: Leaving
Slađana Kavarić, born in 1991 in Podgorica, Montenegro, writes short stories and poetry. She has published two collections of poetry: Ljudi niotkuda (2016) (People from Nowhere) and Sjećanje (2010) (Memory).
Kavarić boldly takes on the intricacies of existence with a deep plunge into the psyche of her story’s protagonist in Leaving.
Read Kavarić’s short story, Leaving, below.
Translation by Will Firth.
panorama
Istria Through a Literary Lens
It’s not hard to feel the pull of the glistening Adriatic in these especially hot summer months. Istria exerts a special magnetic pull with its rolling, green Tuscanesque hills, stunning historical towns, not to mention excellent seafood and local cuisine washed down with Malvazija wine, numerous blue flag beaches with crystal clear water and of course proximity to Zagreb.
Jonathon Bousfield as usual takes a look at Istria with a touch more depth and sophistication than the average visitor, inviting readers to observe it through the immortal words of famous writers who have some kind of connection to the peninsula.
Read Bousfield’s literary guide to Istria in the link below.
news
Lit Link Festival 2019
Lit Link, the annual summer literature festival whose unofficial motto is literature without borders, is upon us again. Every year, authors from a different country or language group are invited to read their work alongside Croatian authors. While the author reads in his/her native language, a translation is projected onto a large screen onstage making all readings cross culturally accessible.
This year’s festival welcomes authors from German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) and kicks off this Wednesday, June 26th in Zagreb at the cult café/cultural club and hangout for literary folks, booksa. The festival then moves to Pula on June 27th, Rijeka on June 28th and ends with a large event in Zagreb on June 29th in Zagreb’s alternative mecca, the club Močvara.
Guest authors who will present their work at the festival include Anke Stelling, Jonas Lüscher, Lauren Freudenthaler and Jovana Reisinger. Guest participants also include editors and publishers Kristine Listau and Jörg Sundermeier and literary editor Jessica Beer.
Croatian authors include (with more to be announced soon):
Pula- Željka Horvat Čeč, Neven Ušumovic, Viktorija Božina
Rijeka- Goran Ferčec, Damir Pilić
Zagreb- Asja Bakić, Nebojša Lujanović, Darko Šeparović, Zoran Lazić
All events are free and open to all literature lovers!
prose
Tanja Mravak: Meat
Tanja Mravak, born in Split in 1974, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education and a Master’s degree in Defectology. She works as a teacher in a Center for Autism in Split, is a regular columnist for the daily Croatian newspaper, Jutarnji List, and has written two collections of short stories to great acclaim. Her debut collection of short stories, Moramo razgovarati (2010) (We Have to Talk) won the prestigious Jutarnji list award for best fictional book of the year. She has most recently published a new collection of short stories Naša Žena (2017) (Our Woman).
Mravak’s stories often reveal the less glamorous side of her native Dalmatian culture, not found in the abundant tourist brochures and blogs devoted to the beauty of the historical towns that dot the Adriatic Sea. She often likes to probe what is beneath the surface of everyday interactions, what is left unspoken. Her short story Meat revolves around an unusual romance which will have you questioning even the most ordinary interactions between men and women and especially the roles women tend to be cast into.
Read Mravak’s short story, Meat, below.
Translation by Antonija Primorac.
review
Review of Daša Drndić's Belladonna
One of Croatia's brightest literary stars who sadly passed away last year left a trove of brilliant writing as her legacy. Read a review of Daša Drndić's novel, Belladonna (2012), in the link below.
prose
Olja Savičević Ivančević: Excerpt from Singer in the Night
Olja Savičević Ivančević, born in Split in 1974, holds a degree in Croatian Language and Literature from the University of Zadar. She has written multiple volumes of poetry, a collection of short stories Nasmijati psa (2006) (To Make a Dog Laugh) and two novels, Adios, Kauboj (2011) (Adios, Cowboy) and Pjevač u Noći (2016) (Singer in the Night). Her work has been praised by critics and the public alike: she's received multiple awards for her poetry and short stories and her novel Adios, Cowboy received the prestigious tportal award for best novel of the year in 2011. Adios, Cowboy was also adapted into a play which enjoyed an excellent reception.
In her novel, Singer in the Night, the war veteran protagonist's experiences and attitudes towards war are subtly and gracefully touched upon through his present day experiences that trigger flashbacks to significant moments in his time as a soldier. The reader gets a sense of what a master storyteller Olja Savičević Ivančevic is as she skillfully blends the protagonist’s present day feelings with his contemplations on his internal state in the past in a shockingly natural way.
Read an excerpt from Olja Savičević Ivančević’s novel, Singer in the Night, below.
Translation by Celia Hawkesworth.
panorama
Zagreb's Street Art
So you're visiting Zagreb and are curious about it's underground art scene? Check out this guide to Zagreb's street art and explore all the best graffiti artists' work for yourself on your next walk through the city.
prose
Stefan Bošković: Excerpt from Slap
Stefan Bošković was born in 1983 in Podgorica, Montenegro. He's published five collections of short stories: Na samrti (2014) (On One’s Deathbed), My Favorite Things (2014), Transparente životinje (2014) (Transparent Animals), Transkripcija (2015) (Transcription), and Romeo i Glok (2015) (Romeo and Glok). His debut novel, Šamaranje (2014) (Slap) won the award for best unpublished manuscript in Montenegro in 2013. He has published multiple theater scripts and screenplays for TV and feature-length films, documentaries and short films. Bošković is a co-founder of the Alternative Theater of an Active Company (ATAK) and the founder of The Boka Art and Film Festival and the multimedia festival, Besac festa.
The protagonist in Bošković’s novel, Slap, explores his insatiable need for sex, consumption of pornography, the tedium of his job and his ultimatley unfulfilling relationships. He skates the fine line between these challenges and realities of his life, probing questions of love, sex and closeness and searching for the point at which they coalesce, if they ever do. Bošković really challenges taboos with his text: at one point the protagonist, a drama professor, gives his students the homework assignment of imagining Othello as a porn movie. Will Firth’s new English translation gives an English-speaking audience the chance to experience one of Montenegro’s most interesting new voices.
Read an excerpt from Bošković’s novel, Slap, below.
Translation by Will Firth.
interview
An Interview with Olja Savičević Ivančević
Step into the award-winning author Olja Savičević Ivančević’s world as she peels away the many layers of her hometown Split and all of Dalmatia in the interview below.
prose
Slavenka Drakulić: Mileva Einstein, Theory of Sadness
Slavenka Drakulić is an accomplished author and columnist whose work is esteemed both in Croatia and abroad. Born in 1949 in Rijeka, she completed her studies in Comparative Literature and Sociology at the University of Zagreb. She has penned numerous novels, essays and short stories (numbering 18 books in total) and is a regular columnist for the high-circulation daily Croatian newspaper, Jutarnji List. The themes she covers in her work range from post-communist societies to war crimes to feminist issues. Her most recent works include: the collection of short stories, Nevidljive žene i druge priče (2018) (Invisible Women and Other Stories), the novel Mileva Einstein, teorija tuge (2017) (Mileva Einstein, Theory of Sadness), and the novel Dora i Minotaur: moj život s Picassom (2014) (Dora and the Minotaur: My Life with Picasso). Drakulić has won multiple awards in Croatia and abroad for her work. She is a contributing editor for The Nation (USA), her essays have appeared in publications such as the New York Times Magazine and she is a contributor to multiple international publications.
In her novel, Mileva Einstein, Theory of Sadness, Drakulić peers at the other side of genius. Taking a feminist perspective of one of the greatest minds of the 20th century, she looks at Albert Einstein throught the prism of his relationship with his first wife, the Serbian physicist, Mileva Marić, who gave up a potentially promising career in science to be his wife and mother to his children. This excerpt peeks into the undercurrent of a relationship, the part that isn't included in the public presentation of their lives, but is of the private sphere. Genius doesn't assume kindness, humanity, or equality.
Read an excerpt from Drakulić’s Mileva Einstein, Theory of Sadness in the link below.
Translation by Christina Pribićević Zorić.
interview
An Interview with Bekim Sejranovic
Read Bekim Sejranović's thoughts on adventure, the flow of life and why Rijeka is why one of the most special places in the world to him.
prose
Vedrana Rudan: Mothers and Daughters
Vedrana Rudan was born in Opatija in 1949. She holds a degree in Education from the University of Rijeka, specializing in the Serbo-Croatian and German languages. She has worked as a teacher, a tour guide a journalist and has been a novelist for the past sixteen years. She has written thirteen books: Uho, grlo, nož (2002) (Ear, Throat, Knife), Ljubav na posljedni pogled (2003) (Love at Last Sight), Ja, nevjernica (I, non-believer) (2005), Crnci u Firenzi (2006) (Black People in Florence), Kad je žena kurva, kad je muškarac peder (2007) (When a Woman is a Whore and a Man is a Fag), Strah od pletenja (2009) (Fear of Knitting), Daboga da te majka rodila (2010) (Mothers and Daughters), Kosturi okruga Medison (2012) (The Skeletons of Madison County), U zemlji Krvi i Idiota (2013) (In the Land of Blood and Idiots), Amaruši (2013), Zašto psujem (2015) (Why I Swear), Muškarac u grlu (2016) (The Man in the Throat), and Život bez krpelja (2018) (Life without Ticks).
In Will Firth’s new English translation of Rudan’s novel, Mothers and Daughters, the reader can peer into the complicated relationship the protagonist has with her mother amidst the unique backdrop of post-socialist Croatia. When the protagonist’s aging mother suffers a stroke and must be moved to a nursing home, which she loudly protested against her whole life, a push and pull between mother and daughter ensues. Firth has captured Rudan’s sharp language and wit for English-speaking audiences and the tragicomic descriptions in the first chapter will leave you wanting more.
Read the first chapter of Rudan’s Mothers and Daughters below.
Translation by Will Firth.
panorama
Zagreb's Amazing Daughters
International Women’s Day offers the opportunity to reflect on amazing women that have made a lasting impression on the world. But recognizing the important ways women shape and impact our world shouldn’t be limited to one day out of the year. Check out some of Zagreb’s most memorable women in the link below.
prose
Josip Mlakić: Like in That Film
Josip Mlakić was born in Bugojnu, Bosnia and Hercegovina in 1964. He completed his degree in engineering at the University of Sarajevo. Mlakić is a prolific and multiple award-winning author who has published ten novels, three collections of short stories and a collection of poetry: Puževa kučica (1997) (The Snail’s Little House), Kad Magle Stanu (2000) (When the Fog Lifts), Odraz u Vodi (2002) (The Reflection in the Water), Obiteljska Slika (2002) (A Family Photograph), Živi i Mrtvi (2002) (The Living and the Dead), Čuvari mostova (2004) (Guardians of Bridges), Oči androida (2004) (An Android’s Eyes), Ponoćno sivo (2004) (Midnight Gray), Psi i klaunovi (2004) (Dogs and Clowns), Tragom zmijske košuljice (2007) (Following the Trail of a Snake’s Skin), Ljudi koji su sadili drveće (2010) (The Man Who Planted Trees), Mrtve ribe plivaju na leđima (2011) (Dead Fish Float on their Backs), Planet Friedman (2012), Božji gnjev (2014) (God’s Rage), Svježe obojeno (2014) (Freshly Painted), Bezdan (2016) (Chasm).
His novel Živi i Mrtvi (2002) (The Living and the Dead) was turned into an award-winning film, which he wrote the screenplay for.
The feelings and impressions evoked by Mlakić’s short story, Like in That Film, will stay with you, just like the image of cranes in the sky. Read it in the link below.
Translation by Celia Hawkesworth.
review
Review of Dubravka Ugrešić's novel Fox in Asymptote
Dubravka Ugrešić's novel Fox won last year’s prestigious t-portal award for the best Croatian novel. Read a witty and in-depth review of her award-winning novel from Asymptote by clicking the link below.
prose
Hrvoje Ivančić: The Red Wedding Dress
Hrvoje Ivančić was born in 1983 in Zabok. He completed his degree in history at the University of Zagreb. He’s authored a travelogue, a novel and a collection of short stories: Dunavski blues (2011) (The Danube blues), Samsara: Put na istok (2014)(Samsara: Passage to the East), Za’atar: Priče s bliskog istoka (2016) (Za’atar: Stories from the Middle East). He’s also written a number of articles about his travels to Africa and the Middle East and has appeared on travel television programs.
Asked about his travels to war-torn countries, like Syria, Ivančić responded in an interview, “It’s the fate of the human species that one world is continually crumbling as a new one emerges.” (Ivančić, Hrvoje. Interviewed by Ana Đokić, Moderna vremena, 14.06.2017)
Read Ivančić’s short story, The Red Wedding Dress, from his book Za’atar in the link below.
Translation by Janja Smrekar.
panorama
Untranslatable Croatian Phrases
What’s the best way for an open-minded foreigner to get straight to the heart of another culture and get a feel for what makes people tick? Don’t just sample the local food and drink and see the major sights, perk up your ears and listen. There’s nothing that gives away the local flavor of a culture more than the common phrases people use, especially ones that have no direct translation.
Check out a quirky list of untranslatable Croatian phrases from Croatian cultural guide extraordinaire, Andrea Pisac, in the link below:
prose
Mirko Kovač: The City in the Mirror
Mirko Kovač (1938 – 2013) was a renowned novelist, playwright and essayist. Kovač was born in Montenegro, educated at the Academy for Theater, Film and Television (Dramaturgy Department) in Belgrade and established his career in that city, but spent the last few decades of his life in political exile in Croatia. He was a prolific and award-winning writer whose career was marked by persecution and censorship both in Communist Yugoslavia and in Serbia under Milošević. His work enjoyed domestic and international acclaim and he received multiple prestigious awards including the NIN award, the Meša Selimović award, the Vladimir Nazor award and the Kipklop award for lifetime achievement in literature among others.
Some of his most important works are Gubilište (1962) (The Gallows), Moja sestra Elida (1965) (My Sister Elida), Životopis Malvine Trifković (1971) (The Life of Malvina Trifković), Ruganje s dušom (1976) (Mocking with a Passion), Vrata od utrobe (1978) (A Door to the Insides), Uvod u drugi život (1983) (An Introduction to Another Life), Kristalne Rešetke (1995), Grad u zrcalu (2007) (The City in the Mirror), and Vrijeme koje se udaljava (2013) (Time Which Fades). He also wrote a number of screenplays for films, many of which were critically acclaimed, as well as scripts for plays. His work has been translated into more than ten languages.
Read an excerpt from his award-winning book, The City in the Mirror, below.
Translation by Tomislav Kuzmanović.
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Jonathon Bousfield on the Museum of Broken Relationships
Just got out of a serious relationship and don't know what to do with all those keepsakes and mementos of your former loved one? The very popular and probably most unique museum in Zagreb, the Museum of Broken Relationships, dedicated to preserving keepsakes alongside the diverse stories of relationships gone wrong, will gladly take them. Find out how the museum got started and take an in-depth look at some of its quirkiest pieces in the link below.
prose
Korana Serdarević: Irena Tot's Experiment
Korana Serdarević was born in 1982 in Zadar and holds a degree in Croatian Language and Literature and Comparative Literature from the University of Zagreb. She is a writer and a high school teacher and previously worked as a journalist for the widely read Croatian daily newspaper, Večernji List. Her award-winning short stories have been translated into multiple languages and can be found in her collection of short stories, Nema se što učiniti (2015) (Nothing Can be Done). Her debut novel, Eksperiment Irene Tot (2017) (Irena Tot’s Experiment), was short-listed for the prestigious t-portal prize.
In her novel, Irena Tot’s Experiment, Serdarević takes on questions of free will, freedom and change from the protagonist’s perspective, a woman in her early thirties who one day decides to veer off the well-trodden path she was on, leading towards a brilliant career, marriage, and children. She instead purposefully dives into the unknown. Since she doesn’t do what’s expected of her she consequently endures the strange looks and quiet judgment of others.
We’re all familiar with the steady expansion of women’s rights over the past fifty years, but Serdarević challenges the reader to probe the confines of what today's society still expects of "good girls" and "good women" with this important and engaging novel.
Read an excerpt from Serdarević's novel, Irena Tot's Experiment, in the link below.
Translation by Ellen Elias-Bursać.
review
Review of Vedrana Rudan's Love at Last Sight in World Literature Today
Read a review of the English translation of Vedrana Rudan’s heavy-hitting novel which challenges all aspects of the status quo, Love at Last Sight (2017).
panorama
The Lasting Impact of the 1980s on Zagreb
Find out how the 1980s, which saw the pinnacle of the domestic music scene, uncertain and rapidly changing political circumstances, and a more open and critical media, shaped the soul of modern-day Zagreb.
prose
Sven Popović: Loser by a Landslide
Sven Popović, born in Zagreb in 1989, holds a degree in Comparative Literature, English Language and Literature and American Studies from the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Philosophy. He has published a collection of short stories Nebo u kaljuži (2015) (The Sky in a Quagmire) and a novel Uvjerljivo drugi (2018) (Loser by a Landslide). His writing has been included in many literary magazines and anthologies and has been translated into English, German, Polish and Romanian. Aside from fiction he also writes music and literary criticism for various magazines. He is a co-founder of the literary group Tko čita? (Who Reads?), which organizes literary evenings with the goal of giving younger authors the opportunity to read and promote their work.
In Popović’s autobiographical novel, a nameless protagonist takes us through a narrative bursting with the familiar themes of youth like parties, drinking, endless hanging out, painful romances but all with the underlying current of his generation’s particular cross to bear: despite being well-educated, opportunities are hard to come by in a country where brain drain is in full force.
Read an excerpt from Loser by a Landslide in the link below.
Translation by Ivana Ostojčić.
prose
Amir Alagić: A Hundred Year Childhood
Amir Alagić was born in 1977 in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Hercegovina, but has resided in Pula, Croatia since the war broke out in the former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. He has written a collection of short stories, Pod istim nebom (2010) (Under the Same Sky), and two novels Osvetinje (2017) (The Revengers) and Štogodišnje Djetinstvo (2016) (A Hundred Year Childhood). He has also written and directed a short film Poigravanja ili pokvareni bojler (2012) (Fooling Around or the Broken Boiler).
In the passage below from his novel, A Hundred Year Childhood, Alagić paints a poignant description of a child's love for an animal and the eventual loss of innocence that ensues. He invites the reader to examine more closely how powerful events and moments of realization in our formative years can shape our emotional landscapes and have long-lasting consequences for years to come.
Read an excerpt from Alagić's novel, A Hundred Year Childhood, below
Translation by Vesna Marić
prose
Nora Verde: Until the Supplies Run Out
Antonela Marušić who now writes under her pseudonym, Nora Verde, was born in 1974 in Dubrovnik. She completed her degree in Croatian Language and Literature at the University of Zadar. She has published several collections of poetry as well as the semi-autobioraphical novel Posudi mi smajl (2010) (Lend Me a Smile), the novel Do isteka zaliha (2013) (Until the Supplies Run Out), and a collection of short stories O ljubavi, batinama i revoluciji (2016) (On Love, Beatings and Revolution). Marušić previously worked as a journalist and editor in the cultural sector as well as music, television and independent media. She is a contributor and editor for the feminist website Vox Feminae.
Her novel, Until the Supplies Run Out, which centers around a relationship between two female partners that is coming to a slow, painful and perhaps inevitable end in a city and a society that doesn’t accept their love is a stark, honest and thoughtful work.
Read an excerpt from Verde’s novel, Until the Supplies Run Out, below.
Translation by Paula Jurišić.
panorama
Cool Things To Do in Zagreb
Zagreb is Croatia’s relaxed, charming and pedestrian-friendly capital. Check out Time Out’s definitive Zagreb guide for a diverse set of options of what to explore in the city from unusual museums to legendary flea markets and everything in between.
poetry
Damir Šodan: ten poems
Damir Šodan was born in 1964 in Split. He earned his degree in English Language and History From the University of Zagreb. Šodan is a poet, a translator and a playwright. He’s written four collections of poetry: Glasovne promjene (1996) (Sound Changes), Srednji svijet (2001) (Middle World), Pisma divljem Skitu (2009) (Letters to a Wild Scythian) and Café Apollinaire (2013). Šodan has also authored several books of plays and many individual plays. He’s translated many notable American authors and poets into Croatian including Charles Bukowski and Raymond Carver. He works as a translator for the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in the Hauge, the Netherlands where he lives.
Read ten poems from Damir Šodan in the link below.
Translation by the author.
panorama
Jonathan Bousfield on Diocletian's Legacy in Split
Diocletian’s Palace is the main attraction in Split, the heart and soul of the city. Because of the palace, Split’s city center can be described as a living museum and it draws in the thousands of tourists that visit the city annually. But how much do we really know about the palace’s namesake who built it, the last ruler of a receding empire? Jonathan Bousfield contends that history only gives us a partial answer.
prose
Viktorija Božina: Turbofolk
Viktorija Božina was born in 1990 in Zadar, Croatia, where she is currently working on her master’s degree in Croatian Language and Literature. She spent three years in the U.S. studying Information Technology. She has published short stories and she recently finished her first novel, Turbofolk.
Turbofolk is a very popular type of music from the Balkans that has its own subculture. It’s loud, in your face, there are often horns involved somehow and popular themes include cheating and relationship issues, money and living fast. Critics call it trashy and it’s a phenomenon, especially among younger generations: on any given weekend the majority of clubs catering to under 30 year olds, whether in cities or small towns, will not only be playing turbofolk, everyone in the club will be singing along to the lyrics.
Božina’s semi-autobiographical debut novel is part chronicle of her time in America but also a look into the semi-rural Dalmatian environment where she grew up and an exploration of her generation and their experience in time, place, and in the time of turbofolk.
Read an excerpt from Božina’s novel, Turbofolk, below
Translation by: Una Krizmanić Ožegović
prose
Tomica Bajsić: A Hermit's Freedom
Tomica Bajsić (b. 1968) was born and raised in Zagreb where he also attended the Academy of Fine Arts, part of the University of Zagreb. Bajsić is a poet, a writer, an artist and a translator. He has published five collections of poetry, two travelogues and a children's picture book. His most recent collection of poetry is Nevidljivo more (2017) (Invisible Sea). He is the winner of the reputable poetry prize Goranovo proljeće for his 1998 poetry collection, Južni križ (Southern Cross). He runs the design and publishing organization Druga Priča (Another Story). He is also the president of the Croatian PEN center.
In his short story, The Hermit's Freedom, Bajsić's prose drips with his poetic sensibilities and his rich descriptions paint many vivid scenes for the reader. The protagonist comes into contact with a mysetrious, Polish artist who has made his home in a secluded tropical paradise far from his motherland.
Read Bajsić’s short story, The Hermit's Freedom, in the link below.
Translation by Boris Gregoric.
interview
The Poetry of Zagreb
Cities have served as sources of inspiration, frustration, and discovery for millennia. The subject of sonnets, stories, plays, the power centers of entire cultures, hotbeds of innovation, and the cause of wars, cities are mainstays of the present and the future with millions more people flocking to them every year.
Let the poet, Zagreb native Tomica Bajsić, take you on a lyrical tour of the city. Walk the streets conjured by his graceful words and take in the gentle beauty of the Zagreb of his childhood memories and present day observation.
prose
Tanja Mravak: While Roland Gaross Was On
Tanja Mravak (b. 1974) hails from Sinj. She garnered critical acclaim with her first book, a collection of short stories entitled Moramo Razgovarati (2010) (We Have to Talk), for which she won the prestigious Jutarnji List award. Her most recent book is another collection of short stories, Naša Žena (2017) (Our Woman). Mravak lives in Split and works at an autism treatment center.
Mravak is interested in the lives of ordinary people, particularly women. Her stories ring with authenticity of character and of environment. In Moramo Razgovarati (2010), she focuses on the traditional, patriarchal southern Croatian environment she knows well. Through the everyday interactions of her characters, she examines the roles we are given, the values of society, and what others expect from us which begs the question: how much of it all is truly us?
Commenting on her characters’ interactions in Moramo Razgovarati, Mravak states: “Encroaching nausea, hopelessness, complicatedness and its all wrapped up in unimportant, sometimes funny conversations. Those people never come into contact with themselves, let alone others. They live given roles, poorly acted.” (Mravak, Tanja. Interviewed by Barbara Matejčić, Moderna vremena, 02.06.2011).
Read her short story, While Roland Gaross Was On, below.
Translation by Tomislav Kuzmanović.
prose
Rumena Bužarovska: Excerpt from My Husband
Rumena Bužarovska (b. 1981) is a Macedonian author and a literary translator who also teaches American Literature at the State University in Skopje. She has published three collections of short stories. Selected as one of the Ten New Voices of Europe by Literary Live Europe in 2016, she went on to win the 2017 regional Edo Busić prize and is currently the 2018 fellow of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa.
In her collection of short stories entitled My Husband, Bužarovska peers into the intimate sphere of marriage, in fact many marriages, through the eyes of the wives who may have different social standings, different relationships, and different partners, but who all share the fact that their identities are still largely dependent on their husbands.
As Bužarovska remarked in an interview “…it’s true that I’m not interested in happy stories, but rather in the kinds of stories in which you can observe and criticize the ways in which our society is hypocritical and dysfunctional.” (Bužarovska, Rumena. Interviewed by Sandra Sabovljev, novilist.hr, 24.7.2016).
In this particular story, the female protagonist offers a no-holds-barred critique of her doctor husband, their courtship and their current troubled interaction.
Below is an excerpt from the short story Nectar in Bužarovska's collection of short stories, My Husband.
Translation by Paul Filev
prose
Daša Drndić: Excerpt from Doppelganger
Just recently, in the months before her death, Drndić's work received high praise from the international literary community. The Guardian named her novel, Belladonna, one of the best new European novels translated into English and it was also shortlisted for a new literary award for translated literature, the EBRD prize.
Below is an excerpt from Drndić’s 2002 novel, Doppelganger. In this passage, the protagonist observes rhinos in a zoo, leading him to contemplate unexpected parallels with his own life as he sifts through his memories and unexamined feelings.
Translation by Celia Hawkesworth and Susan Curtis
news
Ivana Sajko Wins the International Literature Award
Croatian author, Ivana Sajko, was named this year's winner of Germany's International Literature Award, for her novel Liebesroman (Love Novel). The award recognizes the best translation of an international novel into German.
prose
Igor Štiks: Excerpt from The Judgment of Richard Richter
Igor Štiks (b. 1977) is an award-winning author who has published three novels, a collection of poems, a play and multiple scholarly articles. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Comparative Literature and Philosophy from the University of Zagreb and a PhD in Political Science from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris. His novels have been translated into fifteen languages. Štiks was honored for his contribution to the field of literature with the prestigious French award, the Chevalier des arts et des lettres.
Štiks’s haunting prose will draw you into the mysterious life of Richard Richter and whisk you along for the journey to find out what sealed his fate. Štiks invites the reader to examine the wreckage the 20th century inflicted on those caught in its most heinous periods through the life of one man.
Read the compelling beginning of Štik’s much lauded and award winning novel, The Judgment of Richard Richter (originally published as Elijah’s Chair) in the link below.
Translation by Tomislav Kuzmanović
review
A Review of Ivana Brlić Mažuranić's Croatian Tales of Long Ago
Ivana Brlić Mažuranić (1874 - 1938) is a household name in Croatia and is best known for her beloved children’s tales. She was a talented and pioneering author who gained respect and admiration from her contemporaries at a time when women weren’t afforded respect for much else besides their domestic abilities. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize four times and was the first woman admitted as a member into the prestigious Yugoslavian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
Read a review of Brlić Mažuranić’s lauded book of collected Slavic fairy tales, Croatian Tales of Long Ago, in the link below:
panorama
Jonathon Bousfield's Take on the Croatian Cultural Landscape in 2018
What could possibly tie together island musicals, political thrillers, 60s Yugoslavian culture, contemporary Croatian authors, graphic novels set amongst a backdrop of urban decay, Le Cobustier inspired architecture and a classic 20th century author’s firsthand account of 1920s Russia? Proving that he really does have his finger on the pulse of Croatian’s cultural scene, Jonathon Bousfield expounds on all of this and more in his 2018 Croatian Cultural Guide, check it out in the link below.
prose
Marinko Koščec: Excerpt from Searching for the Beginning of a Circle
Marinko Koščec holds a PhD in Literature from the University of Zagreb. He's written seven novels, several of which have won prestigious regional awards. He is a professor of French Literature at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb. He worked for several years as an editor for the Zagreb publishing house, SySprint. He has translated several French novels, taught workshops on translating and currently teaches novel writing at CeKaPe (the Center for Creative Writing).
The passage below from Koščec’s book, Searching for the Beginning of a Circle, is a domestic scene, an intimate contemplation on the modern way of life that will make you reexamine your relationship with health food and will probably make you laugh as well. In a more serious vein, it may just make you peer beneath the veneer of modern day trends and obsessions to see what lies beneath. As Koščec put it in an interview, explaining the title of his book: “We began from nothing and we’ll become nothing; life journeys are by necessity circular.” (Koščec, Marinko. Interviewed by Ivana Čulić, tportal.hr, 19.1.2017).
Read an excerpt from Koščec’s novel, Searching for the Beginning of a Circle below.
Translation by Vesna Maric
prose
Edo Popović: Excerpt from Zagreb, Exit South
Beginning with the publication of his iconic debut novel, Ponočni Boogie (1987) (Midnight Boogie), Popović has published multiple novels, collections of short stories and essays in his three decades long career. He co-founded the esteemed literary magazine, Quorum, as well as the Festival of Alternative Literature (FAK).
In his book, Zagreb, Exit South (2005), Popović breathes new life into the clichéd mid-life crisis. Through the eyes of the protagonist, Baba, a washed-up reporter living in Zagreb and trapped in a dysfunctional coexistence with his wife rather than a marriage, he reflects on a changed system and what it means for the average person.
Read an excerpt from Popović's novel below.
Translation by Julienne Eden Bušić
news
Dubravka Ugrešić Wins Tportal Award for Her Novel Fox
Renowned Croatian author, Dubravka Ugrešić, has won this year's Tportal award for best novel of the year.
review
Jonathon Bousfield Reviews the English Translation of Krleža's Journey to Russia
Krleža, a giant of 20th century European literature, is woefully undertranslated into English. Read Jonathon Bousfield’s compelling review of the master Krleza’s part travelogue, part prose account of the time he spent in Russia as a young man in the mid-1920s, Journey to Russia, which is accessible to English readers for the first time.
news
Daša Drndić Dies
The award-winning, critically acclaimed Croatian novelist, Daša Drndić passed away this June in Rijeka at the age of 71. She boldly took on difficult subject matter in her novels from fascism to cancer. Her novel Sonnenschein (2007) won multiple awards in Croatia and the English translation (Trieste) was shortlisted for an international literary prize, as was her novel Belladonna (2012). Holding a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and Philology from the University of Belgrade, a Master’s Degree in Theater and Communications from Case Western University and a PhD from the University of Rijeka, her career was long and varied. She was a novelist, a playwright, an editor, a literary critic, a translator, she worked for twenty years as a writer, producer and editor for Radio Belgrade and wrote more than thirty radio plays and fifteen features. She taught Modern British Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Rijeka. Her writing has been published in numerous literary magazines and her books, thirteen in total, have been translated into multiple languages. Read a poignant tribute to her and her work in the Guardian.
interview
Interview with Ivana Bodrožić
Ivana Bodrožić earned great acclaim in Croatia with her debut novel, Hotel Zagorje (The Hotel Tito) (2010). Her moving, coming of age novel is also deeply personal since it is partially based on Bodrožić’s experience as a child refugee during the war in Croatia in the early 90s. Her book struck a chord internationally as well and has been translated into ten languages. Read an interview with Bodrožić below in which she discusses how the novel came about as well as her perspective on the widespread refugee crises occurring in the world today.
report
A Literary Road Trip: The 2018 Litlink Festival in Croatia (from Words Without Borders)
Just days before Croatia’s incredible performance in the 2018 World Cup, the sixth annual edition of the Croatian Litlink Festival brought together authors and publishers for a literary road trip that included readings in the cities of Pula, Rijeka, and Zagreb. Past guests have included Heidi Julavits, Sheila Heti, Tao Lin, and David Szalay. This year’s participants mostly came from the US and included Nell Zink, Catherine Lacey, Jesse Ball, Elijah Wald, Ashley Nelson Levy, Peter Blackstock, Janika Rüter, Buzz Poole, Olivia Snaije...
news
2018 Lit Link Literature Festival Begins, Welcoming American Authors This Year
The annual Lit Link festival brings together notable foreign authors and Croatian authors for a three-day event packed with bilingual literary readings across several Croatian cities. This year’s American guests include the author Nell Zink, the author and musician Elijah Wald, and two authors who Granta Magazine named among the Best Young American Novelists in 2017, Jesse Ball and Catherine Lacey, as well as a number of American editors and publishers. The festival opens Thursday (28.6) in Pula, moves to Rijeka on Friday (29.6) and concludes with a big closing event in Močvara Club in Zagreb on Saturday (30.6).
Festival Program
Pula: 28.6, Thursday, 20:30; “Dnevni boravak” in DC Rojc
Rijeka: 29.6, Friday, 19:00; Book caffe Dnevni boravak
Zagreb, 30.6, Saturday, 18:00; Močvara Club
panorama
Jonathon Bousfield on the Heyday of the Iconic Yugoslav Record Label, Jugoton
Jonathon Bousfield recounts the rise of Jugoton, the iconic Zagreb-based Yugoslavian record label that both brought Western music to Yugoslavia and later was at the forefront of the massive post-punk and new wave scenes in the region.
panorama
Mirogoj Cemetery: An Architectural Jewel
Going to a cemetery may not be the first idea that pops into your mind when visiting a new city. But the stunning Mirogoj cemetery in Zagreb, which was designed by the renowned Austrian architect, Herman Bolle, is definitely worth a bit of your time. Read more below to find out why.
prose
Gordan Nuhanović: The First and The Last Punker
Gordan Nuhanović (1968, Vinkovci) was a longtime reporter for multiple, well-respected Croatian journals and newspapers. He has written four collections of short stories and three novels.
Cafés are so prevalent in Croatia that it is genuinely difficult to walk more than a few blocks in any city without seeing at least one. Ask any city resident what their favorite café is and they will have a ready answer. Serving up all kinds of coffee and alcohol, they are considered a hub of social life. So it follows that waiters serve an invaluable function in Croatian society and tend to witness a wide spectrum of humanity on a daily basis.
Nuhanović’s short story, which is equal parts quirky and clever, steps into the shoes of one such waiter whose boss has an unusual fixation on keeping a certain segment of the population out of his café at all costs: the punks.
Read Nuhanović’s The First and Last Punker below.
Translation by Julienne Eden Bušić.
panorama
You Haven't Experienced Zagreb if You Haven't Been to the Dolac Market
Dolac, the main city market, is a Zagreb institution. Selling all the fresh ingredients you need to whip up a fabulous dinner, from fruits and vegetables to fish, meat and homemade cheese and sausages, the sellers come from all over Croatia. Positioned right above the main square, the colorful market is a beacon of a simpler way of life and is just as bustling as it was a century ago.
prose
Sanja Pilić: Ah, Madhouse
Sanja Pilić, born in Split in 1954, is a celebrated author whose work mostly consists of literature for children and young adults. She has won numerous awards for her work including the Matko Lovrak award for the best children’s novel in 2007 for Što mi se to događa (What’s Happening to Me). She has published thirty-three books so far and one of her novels for teens was turned into a play. Her stories and books have been translated into many different languages.
In her short story, Ah Madhouse, Pilić breathes life into her characters using vivid imagery and rich descriptions as she gracefully explores the boundary between sanity and insanity.
Read Pilić’s story, which won the second place prize for best short story in the daily national newspaper’s (Večernji List) competition in 1981, below. Translation by Vera Andrassy.
prose
Courtney Angela Brkić: Crossing the Rio Grande
Courtney Angela Brkić is an American author of Croatian descent. She has degrees in both archaeology and writing. Her writing is influenced by her family’s history as well as her work in post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina as a forensic archaeologist and at the United Nations International War Crimes Tribunal. Her work includes a collection of short stories, Stillness: and Other Stories (2003), a memoir, The Stone Fields (2004), and a novel, The First Rule of Swimming (2013).
In her short story about a family road trip across the U.S., Crossing the Rio Grande, Brkić deftly explores the contradictions inherent to the immigrant experience, as seen through the eyes of a Bosnian refugee. The protagonist’s vision of a romanticized American West, fuelled in part by a popular German cowboy book series he read as a child, conflicts with the realities he encounters on the problem-filled cross-country road trip he takes with his family in tow. The divide between his childhood fantasies of the freedom the Wild West promises and his experience as a foreigner in rural America further deepens with each additional mile traveled.
Read Brkić’s short story below in the original English.
panorama
Discover Professor Balthazar
If you’ve never experienced the magical world of the kindly and clever Professor Balthazar, then it’s about time you do. The popular children’s cartoon character, originally created by Zlatko Grgić of the famous Zagreb Film Animation studio, was a favorite of Yugoslavian children in the 1970s.The show was recently re-released and dubbed into English for children of all ages of enjoy.
poetry
Branko Čegec: 20th Century Fox
Branko Čegec, born in Kraljev vrh in 1957, is a leading figure in the Croatian poetry and literary scenes. Čegec holds a degree in South Slavic Studies and Comparative Literature from the University of Zagreb. He has published numerous volumes of poetry, including several award winning ones, as well as collections of essays and fiction. His poetry has been included in many Croatian as well as international anthologies and has also been translated into multiple languages. He served as the chairman for Croatia’s esteemed poetry festival, Goranovo proljeće (Goran’s Spring), from 1999 to 2007. He was a highly respected editor of the renowned literary magazine Quorum for years and is the founder and current editor-in-chief at the publishing house, Meandar.
Čegec’s vivid imagery and playful style thrust the reader into his unique and complex world. Read his poetry in the link below.
Translation by Stipe Grgas.
poetry
Ivica Prtenjača: Selected Poems
Ivica Prtenjača (b. 1969) was born and raised in the coastal city of Rijeka. He holds a degree in Croatian Language and Literature from the University of Rijeka. Prtenjača has published three novels: Tiho rušenje (2017) (Quiet Collapse), Brdo (2014) (The Hill), and Dobro je, lijepo je (2006) (It’s Good, It’s Nice). He has also written several collections of short stories, a play and numerous volumes of poetry. Prtenjača's work has received various awards and his prose and poetry have been translated into into twenty different languages.
In a recent interview, Prtenjača described how his journey as a writer began with the feverish consumption of all the volumes of poetry he could get his hands on as a young student in Rijeka. His first, equally passionate attempts at poetry were all discarded, but he says that the early passion and energy he had for writing and reading can still be found in his work today. Prtenjača further says, “My goal is to write, grow and seek what I’m not sure yet exists. And find it in the end.” (Prtenjača, Ivica. Interviewed by Siniša Pavić, novilist.hr, 9.7.2017).
Read a selection of his poems below.
Translation by Stipe Grgas.
panorama
How to Spend a Spring Day in Zagreb
Wondering where to start exploring Croatia’s small but vibrant capital city, Zagreb? Check out Time Out’s list of must sees in Zagreb from the most famous market in town to where to sample the best rakija (local brandy).
panorama
A Brief Intro to Yugoslav Queer Culture from the Balkanist
1980s Yuglosavian queer culture was a thing? Check out the history of gay culture in Yugoslavia and the bands that were at the forefront of it in the article below.
poetry
Olja Savičević Ivančević: Two Poems
Olja Savičević Ivančević is a prolific author whose work has garnered her much critical praise as well as awards. Read two of her poems below, which explore the depth and complexities of motherhood from the vantage point of both the child and the mother.
Translation by Andrea Jurčević
panorama
Croatian Phrases Translated into English
Do you find phrases and sayings give personality and flair to a language? Have you ever pondered how the culture and history of a place shape the common phrases? Check out some common sayings in Croatian with their literal translations and actual meanings below.
poetry
Evelina Rudan: blue vitriol
Evelina Rudan, born in 1971, was raised on the Adriatic coast, in the city of Pula. She earned her degree in Croatian Studies and Southern Slavic Philology from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zagreb. Rudan also holds a PhD in oral languages from her alma mater and now teaches there, in the Croatian Studies Department. She was the 2007 recipient of the Drago Gervais prize, awarded for her manuscript collection of poems: Breki and Ćuki. She has published many collections of poetry, including: Breki i Ćuki (2008) (Dogs and Owls), Pristojne ptice (2008) (Decent Birds), Uvjerljiv vrt (2003) (A Convincing Garden), Posljednja topla noć (2002, along with coauthors Slađan Lipovec and Denis Peričić) (The Last Warm Night) and Sve ča mi rabi ovega prolića (2000) (All I Need This Spring). All of her poetry collections are written in both standard Croatian and in the Chakavian dialect. Most recently she has published a monography, Vile s Učke. Žanr, kontekst, izvedba i nadnaravna bića predaja (2016) (Fairies from Učka. Genre, context, performance and supernatural Beings of Legends). She also wrote the picturebook, Little Prince’s Dream (2010), which was illustrated by Sven Nemet. Her poems have been translated into various Slavic and European languages.
Read her picturesque poem about wine country below.
Translation by Hana Dada Banak.
poetry
Simo Mraović: Selected Poems
In Natalija Grgorinić and Ognjen Rađen’s touching tribute to Simo Mraović, the good-natured, ‘good spirit of Croatian literature’ as the writer, Edo Popovic’ described him, they recount their friendship with him and present a selection of his abundant poems which they translated into English on their website, zvonainari.hr. Mraović (b. 1966, Kutina) published six volumes of poetry, a novel, Konstantin Bogobojazni (2002), a collection of essays, Varaj me nježno (2006) (Deceive Me Gently) and a collection of short stories, Bajke za plaže (2007) (Fairytales for the Beach), before his early death from cancer in 2008.
Mraović remarked in one interview: “Good poets, and even bad ones are simply the guardians and the engines of language. Language doesn’t develop through prose. One day the whole world will be explained through poetry and mathematics.” (Mraović, Simo. Interviewed by Edo Popović, moderna vremena, 3.6.2002).
Read a selection of Mraovic’s poems. Translations by Natalija Grgorinić and Ognjen Rađen.
essay
The History of Science and Fantasy Fiction in Croatia
According to Milena Benini, science and fantasy fiction has a long and unusual history in Croatia. Many women authors are among the most well-known and prominent in the genre.
prose
Mira Petrović: Anything Could Happen
Mira Petrović was born in 1989 in Split. She holds a degree in English language and literature and Italian literature and language from the University of Split. Her short stories have appeared in various online publications. She lives and works in Split as an English language teacher.
Petrović’s story is not the typical tale of forbidden love and lust. She explores passion and longing from two opposing perspectives. On one side stands youthful worldly openness and on the other the intense frustrations and disappointments that come with unfulfilled desires at a certain age, further compounded by the constraints of small town mores.
Read her short story, Anything Could Happen, below.
Translation by Nikica Mihaljević.
poetry
Alen Brlek: Blue
Alen Brlek was born in Zagreb in 1988, but grew up in the coastal towns of Rovinj and Pula. His first volume of poetry, Metakmorfoze (2014,) won the Na vrh jezika award for the best poetry by an author younger than 35. He recently published another collection of poems Pratišina (2017). You can hear him reciting his poetry as part of a performance art project called Zaron that he collaborates on with Darko Šeparović, a poet, and Emil Andreis, a musician.
Brlek has described his approach to poetry as not an escape from reality but a confrontation with it. “Through poetry I’ve reached some depths which are innate to us, but we avoid them because of fear, shame or some such thing because the world is defined that way.” (Brlek, Alen. Interviewed by Tijana Živko, ziher.hr, 14.2.2015).
Read Brlek’s poem, Blue, below. Translation by Mirza Puric.
news
Daša Drndić's Belladonna Shortlisted for First EBRD Prize
The new prize, awarded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, honors excellent English translations of books from countries where the bank operates- a vast stretch of land spanning from Central Europe to Central Asia. Dasa Drndic’s Belladonna, translated by Celia Hawkesworth, was shortlisted along with the Nobel Prize winner, Orhan Pamuk’s Red Woman. Tea Tulic’s novel, Hair Everywhere, which was translated by Coral Petkovich was longlisted for the prize. The 20,000 euro prize is split evenly between author and translator as the award intends to encourage more high quality English translations of authors from these regions. The winner will be announced in April, 2018.
panorama
Zagreb's Socialist Urbanism
The delightful pastel colors of Zagreb’s Austo-Hungarian era buildings in the historical downtown are usually what grabs tourists’ attention. However, savvier visitors who want to experience the whole city should not neglect the most obvious remnant of Zagreb’s socialist past- its Brutalist architecture. Some cultural icons from Yugoslavia have also endured the test of time from beloved brands that can still be found in stores today to music from the vibrant rock scene of the 70s and 80s. The truly adventurous can even step back in time in the odd café or restaurant in Zagreb that hasn’t yet abandoned its socialist roots.
prose
Jurica Pavičić: Saturday Showdown
Jurica Pavičić is best known as an award-wining journalist, who writes a weekly column for the national, daily newspaper, Jutarnji List. He is also a film critic, a college professor and a novelist. He recently finished his seventh novel, Crvena Voda (2017) (Red Water).
In Saturday Showdown, Pavičić explores the themes of familial obligation and self-determination in a story that is uniquely Croatian, in a place where multi-generational households are still common and opportunity doesn’t come knocking twice.
Read Pavičić’s short story below. Translation by Will Firth.
prose
Đurđa Otržan: The Four Most Still...
Đurđa Otržan (1953), a native of Bjelovar, holds degrees in comparative literature and musicology from the University of Zagreb. She served as the editor of the classical music show for Croatian Radio’s Third Program for many years and also worked for several years as the editor of the European Union Radio’s night program with classical music (Euroclassic Notturno). She’s written several screenplays, Volunteer (1984), the award-winning Parthian Shot (1990), and Silicon Horizon (1991) as well as three books, Prizor s kopljem (1988) (Scene with a Spear) and Penthesilea (2002) and Šah među zvijezdama (2002) (Chess among Stars). Her writing has been featured in various art shows in the UK and Germany.
panorama
Discover Croatia's Archaeological Secrets
Discover Croatia’s rich archaeological secrets, from the well known ancient Roman city of Salona near Split or the Neanderthal museum in Krapina to the often overlooked Andautonia Archaeological Park, just outside of Zagreb, which boasts the excavated ruins of a Roman town or the oldest continuously inhabited town in Europe, Vinkovci.
prose
Zoran Pilić: No Harm From Them
Zoran Pilić was born in 1966 in Zagreb. He was chosen by the European-wide literary project, Literary Europe Live, as one of their Ten New Voices of Europe in 2016. He has written two novels and several collections of short stories, one of which was turned into a play (Doggiestyle (2007)). The Croatian Ministry of Culture named his novel, Đavli od papira (2012) (Paper Devils), one of the best novels of 2012. His collection of short stories, Nema slonova u Meksiku (2014) (There Are No Elephants in Mexico) was also recognized by the Ministry of Culture as one of the best books in 2014. Pilić won the European Short Story Festival prize in 2015 with his story Kad su Divovi hodali zemljom (When Giants Walked the Earth). He has also published the novel Krimskrams (2009) and a collection of poetry, Dendermonde (2013). His short stories have been translated into English, German, Macedonian and Spanish.
Read Pilić's short story, No Harm From Them, below. Translation by Tomislav Kuzmanović.
news
Damir Karakaš wins Fric Award
On Tuesday, December 19, 2017 the literary FriC Award Ceremony was held in the Foyer of the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. The award was granted to Damir Karakaš for his novel, Remembering Forest.
The Fric Award, which takes its name from Miroslav Krleža's nickname, was launched by the weekly magazine Express with the desire to position it as an award for literary works that in their widest sense reflect the modern world.
panorama
Vasko Lipovac - life and works
Works by Croatian polymath Vasko Lipovac are celebrated at Klovićevi Dvori Gallery (till 25th February 2018). A master of Mediterranean modernism, this exhibition surveys the career of the artist, a varied body of work curated by art historian Zvonko Maković.
prose
Dora Šustić: Two Madonnas in a Hair Salon
Born in Rijeka, Croatia, Dora Šustić (1991) obtained her BA in Political Studies, International Relations, at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, in Slovenia. In 2012, she moved to Prague, where she currently studies screenwriting for an MA degree at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU). Her poems, fiction and non-fiction have been published in several international journals (GUTS Magazine, Hourglass Literary Magazine, Bosphorus Review of Books...). She has written and directed several short films and is currently finishing her first feature film screenplay, Virgins of Pomegranates.
Read her short story, Two Madonnas in a Hair Salon, below. The story was written in English.
poetry
Anita Pajević: Four Poems
Anita Pajević (b. 1989) is from Mostar. She holds a bachelor's degree in Croatian Language and Literature from the University of Mostar. She earned the first place Mak Dizdar award for the best unpublished poetry manuscript in 2015. Her collection of poems, Perlinov šum (2016) (Perlin’s Noise), won the second place award from the Foundation of Nijaz Slipičević.
prose
Ivan Vidak: Nokturne
Ivan Vidak (1981) hails from Sombor, a town in the historically multi-ethnic region of Vojvodina in Serbia. He earned a degree in Dramaturgy from the Academy of Dramatic Arts at the University of Zagreb. His collection of short stories Ugljik na suncu (2015) (Carbon in the Sun) was short-listed for the regional award, Edo Budiša. Vidak lives and works in Zagreb.
Read his short story, Nocturne, below. Translation by Sandra Juzbašić.
report
Moonlee - regional scenebuilder
The spread of influence from Serbian Repetitor to Croatian Vlasta Popić helped solidify Moonlee’s reputation as a regional scenebuilder (local scenes in Zagreb and Belgrade continue to thrive, with the shoegazey Žen and dreampop Bitipatibi among the standouts).
Ščapec’s Zagreb-based Vlasta Popić emerged in 2011. They won fans in both Jarboli and Repetitor, with Jarboli’s Mladenović recording their first album. The group’s second record, Kvadrat (“Square”), is one the best examples of Moonlee’s output and probably one of the greatest rock records put out by anyone in 2015.
By: Tom Nash
prose
Boris Greiner: Excerpt from She and He
Where does the self end and the self of our closest loved ones begin? Boris Greiner thoughtfully and philosophically explores the deep, inner workings of intimacy from the perspective of one half of a couple in this excerpt from his novel, Ona i On (2013) (She and He).
Boris Greiner, born in Zagreb in 1959, is a multi-faceted artist whose reach across the art, literature and film scenes in Croatia is extensive. He is the author of seven published books, the director of ten experimental films, and has performed in over twenty solo exhibitions and performances. He was a member of various well-known artist collectives for many years. His published literary works include: Interkonfidental (with Stanislav Habjan) (1999); the novel, Pješakov gambit (2003) (Pawn’s Gambit); the collection of short stories, Život na tavanu (2007) (Life in the Attic); the novel, Tajni agent Gan Flint (2012) (Secret Agent Gan Flint); and the novel Ona i On (2013) (She and He).
Read an excerpt from Greiner’s novel, She and He (2013), below. Translation by Sandra Jubašić.
prose
Katarina Luketić: Excerpt from The Balkan: From Geography to Fantasy
Katarina Luketić takes on the far-fetched but enduring stereotype still hanging over the Balkans that it is a land of ancient tribal hatreds and inevitable conflict, in her book, The Balkan: From Geography to Fantasy (2013). Her sharp critique of the stigmatized view of the Balkans that still persists in the West is eye-opening.
Luketić, born in Sarajevo in 1969, is an essayist and a journalist. She is the former editor of the well-known, independent cultural publication, Zarez. She co-founded the publishing house, Pelago, where she currently works as an editor. She is the recipient of the ‘Following the Traces of Totalitarian Heritage’ grant and is currently working on a new book entitled, Dealing with the Literary Past (Nationalism in Croatian Literature and Culture of the 1980s and 1990s). Read an excerpt from her first book, The Balkan: From Geography to Fantasy (2013), below. Translation by Una Krizmanić Ožegović.
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LitLink Thoughts. The Publisher's View by Mitch Albert, Periscope Books.
The curation of a festival of literature naturally entails the “curation” of its participants. Lit Link excelled in this regard – the authors invited from the UK represented a very fine, accomplished tranche of contemporary British writing, and the publishers, for the most part, represented a scrappy, independent ethos and pride in advancing thought-provoking fiction and literary fiction in translation.
prose
Enver Krivac: The Waiting Room
It’s hard to pigeon-hole Enver Krivac, the multidisciplinary artist whose unique artistic vision and expression have garnered him critical acclaim across several disciplines. Born in Rijeka in 1979, Krivac splits his time between writing fiction, composing and producing music for both theater productions as well as for the musical collective he belongs to, Japanski Premijeri (The Japanese Prime Ministers), and drawing comic strips. His collection of short stories, Ništa za pisati kući o (2013) (Nothing to Write Home About), won the national Prozak award, which honors talented young authors. His writing style has been described by critics as playful and imaginative. (Krmpotić, Marinko, “Ništa za pisati kući o: Vedrija i tamnija strana života”, novilist.hr, 28.8.2016). His short story, Čekaonica (The Waiting Room), is a surreal meditation on the experience of the doctor’s waiting room, a world one involuntarily enters and dedicates ample time to when participating in the public health system. The story is part poetry, part keen and often humorous observation, all seen through the eyes of a seasoned artist whose original perspective jolts the reader from the banality of everyday experiences into the realm of the extraordinary.
Read Krivac’s short story, The Waiting Room, below.
Translation by Martin Mayhew.
prose
Maja Ručević: Excerpt from High-Rise Phantoms
Maja Ručević was born in Zagreb in 1983. She holds a degree in Croatian Language and Literature and French Language and Literature from the University of Zagreb. Her first novel, Je suis Jednoruki (2016), was long-listed for this year’s prestigious t-portal award for best novel of the year, making her the youngest author to make it to the finals. Her award-winning poetry and short stories have been featured in numerous online literary magazines as well as anthologies of Croatian short stories. She currently resides in Sarajevo where she works as a journalist and translator.
Read a selected passage from Ručević's novel, High-Rise Phantoms, below. Translation by Petra Pugar.
report
Hollywood and Dubrovnik
The medieval city in Croatia is having a geek-culture moment as the setting for King’s Landing in the HBO series “Game of Thrones”.
Hollywood seems to have discovered Dubrovnik. Parts of The Last Jedi, the eighth episode in the Star Wars saga, also take place in the fortress town. Filming wrapped this year on a new Robin Hood film starring Taron Eagerton, Jamie Foxx, and Jamie Dornan (and produced by Leonard DiCaprio). The 25th James Bond film is reported to begin shooting in the city in January 2018.
But not everyone appreciates all the attention.
review
From Pioneer Croatian Settlers to the Oldest Family Owned Winery in New Zealand
Historian and author Kaye Dragicevich has been extensively researching the far north of New Zealand, the area where a large number of pioneering families came from Croatia in search of a better life over 100 years ago.
Her new book, titled "Pioneer Dalmatian Settlers of the Far North", took four years to complete and features 200 interesting stories of families who arrived in New Zealand’s gumfield area in the far north from Croatia. It also includes 900 historical photographs.
panorama
Great films shot in Zagreb
There's a surprising raft of indelible productions shot in and around Croatia's capital, like the world-dominating spy-caper 'James Bond: From Russia with Love' and Orson Welles' interpretation of Kafka's absurd, existentialist novel 'The Trial'...
panorama
Croatian popular music
Ivo Robić was one of the first acclaimed popular music artists in Croatia during the existence of the former Yugoslavia. He emerged in the late 1940s and later launched a very successful international career as well, closely cooperating with the famous composer and Polydor producer Bert Kaempfert, whom he convinced to produce the then upcoming act The Beatles after seeing them performing in the Top Ten Club in Hamburg. Robić is the author of the famous schlager that was later popularized by Frank Sinatra as Strangers in the Night.
Croatia is known for its specific Dalmatian folk music sound which mixed with various forms of popular music is represented at the festivals held on the Adriatic coast, such as the Split Festival and formerly the Opatija Festival. This style of music is similar to the Italian Canzone and the Sanremo Music Festival and some of its most notable act are Oliver Dragojević and Mišo Kovač.
panorama
New wave in Yugoslavia
As its counterparts, the British and the US new wave, from which the main influences came, the Yugoslav scene was also closely related to punk rock, ska, reggae, 2 Tone, power pop and mod revival.
Important artists were: Azra, Šarlo Akrobata, Idoli (famous for their song "Maljčiki" and its respective video in which they ridiculed the soviet soc-realism), Pankrti (first Yugoslav punk band), Prljavo kazalište (started as a punk unit; the title of their second album Crno-bijeli svijet which means "black and white world" holds a reference to the 2 Tone movement), Električni Orgazam (punk at the beginning, they moved towards post-punk and psychedelia later and were described as "The Punk Doors"), Slađana Milošević, Haustor (mostly reggae, ska and similar influences, but with a more poetic and intellectual approach compared to some danceable bands), Buldožer, Laboratorija Zvuka, Film (one of the first new wave groups), Lačni Franz and many others.
New wave was especially advocated by the magazines Polet from Zagreb and Džuboks from Belgrade.
prose
Zoran Ferić: Excerpt from Maya Calendar
In addition to being a high school literature teacher, Zoran Ferić is also one of Croatia’s most accomplished and awarded authors. Ferić’s expansive 600 page novel, Maya Calendar (2011), has been described as his most mature work to date as well as “an exceptional novel which in every sense far transcends what is today considered to be the standard for Croatian prose.” (Pogačnik, Jagna. Jutarnji List, 30.12.2011).
In the amusing selected passage from the novel below, the protagonist spots a woman who he thinks he recognizes from his younger years passing by while he is drinking his morning coffee in a downtown café. Ferić turns this nostalgic scene into a Woody Allen-esque neurotic contemplation on his position in his own life in that moment and how all other characters in his life, whether major or minor, view him as a nuisance.
Excerpt from Maya Calendar by Zoran Ferić.
Translation by Tomislav Kuzmanović.
prose
Andrea Pisac: Excerpt from Hacked Kiti
Andrea Pisac was born in Kutina in 1975. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Croatian Language and Literature and English Language and Literature from the University of Zagreb. She spent twelve years in the UK, where she earned her master’s degree from the University of London and completed her PhD in Anthropology at Goldsmiths College. Her latest novel, Hakirana Kiti (2013) (Hacked Kiti) was short-listed for the prestigious t-Portal award for the best book of prose in Croatia. She has also written several collections of short stories, Dok nas smrt ne rastavi ili te prije toga ne ubijem (2007) (Till Death Do Us Part If I Don’t Kill You Before Then) and Odsuće (2001), as well as numerous scientific papers. Her award-winning blog, Zagreb Honestly, has been delighting foreign visitors with quirky, insider tips on what to do in Zagreb as well as cultural insights for several years now.
Read an excerpt from Pisac’s novel, Hacked Kiti, below. Translation by the author.
report
LitLink. The Editor's View. By: Anna Kelly
As far as I know, LitLink festival is unique. Each year it takes a group of writers and publishers to three Croatian cities – Pula, Rijeka, and Zagreb – for a series of evening readings. Along the way there are coach journeys on winding roads, stunning vistas of deep green fields and icy mountains, excellent Croatian wine and food, sea swimming, plenty of book chat...
prose
Damir Karakaš: Excerpt from Remembering Forest
Karakaš’s vivid descriptions will jolt you into the world he grew up in- a remote, conservative community in Croatia’s mountainous region of Lika. He was always different and the simple, traditional values of his small village struggled to contain his vast imagination. When his first grade teacher called him a thoughtful boy, his mother considered it an insult or at the very least, a cause for concern. (Karakaš, Damir. Interviewed by Mirjana Dugandžija, Jutarnji List, 29.1.2017).
Read an excerpt from Karakaš’s semi-autobiographical novel, Remembering Forest below. Translation by Tomislav Kuzmanović.
report
A very rough guide to LitLink. The Author's View. By: Joanna Kavenna
Each night there is a bilingual Croatian-English event. Translations are projected behind the writers as they read. It becomes apparent that many contemporary Croatian writers are high ironists, forging dark comedy from aspects of life that most disturb them – war, corruption, the riotous hypocrisy of those who claim to govern us.
The tour runs from Zagreb to Pula to Rijeka...
CM extensions
Joško Marušić: Fisheye (a short animated film)
The Zagreb School of Animation was opened in 1956 and quickly gained international acclaim when the short film, Surogat, by Dušan Vukotić won an Oscar. (Wikipedia).
Read an article about Joško Marušić, an animator from the Zagreb school, in The Paris Review, and watch his short film, Riblje oko (Fisheye) from 1980 in the link below.
prose
Želimir Periš: Excerpt from Mima and Squaring the Debt
"A writer enters into the lives and personalities of his characters, their living situations as well as their emotional ones. That’s the immeasurable richness writing offers." (Periš, Želimir. Interviewed by Melita Vrsaljko, ziher.hr, 23.11.2013).
Read an excerpt from Periš's novel, Mima and Squaring the Debt, below. Translation by Paula Jurišić.
prose
Tea Tulić: Merman
J.A. Hopkins on Tulić’s writing in her novel, Hair Everywhere: “As the fragments gleam with images and insights, Tulić guarantees her story the vitality of fiction rather than allowing the prose to dwindle into maudlin memoir. Indeed, cumulatively, these short, tender sentences deliver something of a benediction, a gentle laying on of hands, to remind us all we’re human.” https://tinyurl.com/J-A-Hopkins-EuroLitNetwork
Read Tulić's short story, Merman, below. Translation by Mirza Purić.
report
Lit Link: Despite Brexit. By: Rosie Goldsmith
From the 2017 LITLINK FESTIVAL in CROATIA
The success of the three-day-LitLinking of Europeans, sharing our literatures and languages, proves beyond measure that the sun still shines and the stars still twinkle ‘Despite Brexit’.
prose
Marko Gregur: Booze Mirinda
Marko Gregur (1982) hails from Koprivnica. He has authored a book of poetry, Lirska grafomanija (2011), two collections of short stories Peglica u prosincu (2012), and Divan dan za Drinkopoly (2014) (A Fine Day for Drinkopoloy) and a novel, Kak je zgorel presvetli Trombetassicz (2017). His short stories and poetry have appeared in many Croatian and international literary magazines as well as the anthology of prose by young Croatian writers, Bez vrata, bez kucanja (2012) (No Doors, No Knocking). Gregur has received multiple awards for his writing, including the Ulaznica award as well as the Prozak award for the best prose by anyone in Croatia under the age of 35.
review
Olja Savičević Ivančević: Singer in the Night review
Read a review of the much acclaimed contemporary Croatian writer, Olja Savičević Ivančević’s book, Pjevač u noći (2016) (Singer in the Night).
poetry
Ana Brnardić: Various poems
Ana Brnardić (1980) is a Zagreb native. She holds a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature and the Croatian Language and Literature from the University of Zagreb, as well as a Master’s degree in Music (violin) from the Music Academy in Zagreb. She has published four collections of poems. Her debut collection of poems, Some Sage’s Pen (1998), garnered her critical acclaim and two prestigious awards: the Goran Award for Young Poets and the Slavic Award from the Croatian Writer’s Association for the best debut poetry collection. Her collection of poems, Waltzing Snakes (2005), received the Kvirin Award for Young Poets. Her other poetry collections are Genesis of Birds (2009) and Uphill (2015). Selected poems from Brnardić were translated into Romanian in the book Hotel cu muzenici in 2009. And Genesis of Birds was translated into Swedish in 2016. Aside from writing poetry and prose, Brnardić also works with with Adrian Oproiu to translate contemporary Romanian literature into Croatian. She also serves as the General Secretary for the Croatian Writers’ Society (h,d,p,).
poetry
Vesna Parun: You Whose Hands Are More Innocent Than Mine
Read a poem from one of Croatia's literary giants of the 20th century, the lauded poet, Vesna Parun (1922-2010).
prose
Ivana Rogar: Newcomers
Ivana Rogar was born in Zagreb in 1978. Her first collection of short stories, Tamno ogledalo (2014) (Dark Mirror) was awarded as one of the best Croatian books of fiction that year by the Croatian Ministry of Culture. Her next collection of short stories, Tumačenje snova (2016) (Interpretation of Dreams), received the prestigious Jankov Polić Kamov award for the best literary work published that year. Rogar earned her bachelor’s degree in Comparative Literature and English from the University of Zagreb. She is an editor for the publishing house Durieux as well as for the reputable literary magazines Quorum and Libra Libera. Rogar’s work has appeared in a number of Croatian and regional magazines including the Croatian Film Chronicles, 15 Days and Zarez among others. She has translated seven books from English to Croatian, including the Man Booker prize winner The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai. Several poems she translated from Serbian to English were published in The Café Review alongside one of her own poems.
report
Rosie Goldsmith: Lit Link 2017 - Despite Brexit
It’s very easy to be positive about Europe here in Croatia, when the sky and sea are turquoise blue, the sun is hot and bouncing off the white stone walls, and when you are surrounded by superb writers, publishers and editors from the UK and Croatia, excelling through their luminous prose, wit and warmth. The author Robert Perišić and author-publisher Ivan Sršen have been running the Croatian LitLink Roadshow for five years, inviting equal numbers of writers from Croatia and A Guest Country (this year, poor Blighted Britain) to travel together round the country, to debate, walk, eat, drink and hold public readings in unusual venues.
prose
Korana Serdarević: Birdcage
Korana Serdarević was born in 1982 in Zadar. Several of her prize winning stories are included in her first published book, a collection of short stories, Nema se što učiniti (2015) (Nothing Can Be Done). She received her degree in Croatian Language and Literature and Comparative Literature from The University of Zagreb. She previously worked as a reporter for the culture section of the national daily newspaper, Večernji list, and for the weekly paper, Forum, as well as writing for online publications. Currently she is a high school teacher and also does freelance translating from English into Croatian. She lives in Zagreb with her family.
prose
Željka Horvat Čeč: Selected Poems
LIT LINK FESTIVAL 2017
Željka Horvat Čeč was born in 1986 in Čakovec. She has published two collections of poems, a collection of short stories and a short novel titled 4 Locks (2016). She holds a master's degree in Croatian Language and Literature and lives in Rijeka.
review
Joanna Kavenna: Come to the Edge
LIT LINK FESTIVAL 2017
Joanna Kavenna is a British novelist, essayist and travel writer who grew up in various parts of Britain. Her first book, The Ice Museum (2005), came about as a result of her travels through Scandinavia and Northern Europe and was well received by critics. Her next book, a novel, Inglorious (2007), won the Orange Broadband Award for New Writers. Her subsequent novels are The Birth of Love (2010), Come to the Edge (2012) and A Field Guide to Reality (2016). Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the Guardian, the Times Literary Supplement, and the International Herald Tribune among other publications. She was named by Granta magazine as one of the Best Young British Novelists in 2013.
Kavenna will be reading a passage from her novel, Come to the Edge, and discussing her work as a participant in the 2017 Lit Link Festival which will take place in Pula (June 29th), Rijeka (June 30th), and Zagreb (July 1st).
interview
Samantha Harvey: Dear Thief
LIT LINK FESTIVAL 2017
Samantha Harvey was born in 1975 in Kent, England. She has a master’s degree in Philosophy and an MA in Creative Writing. She won the Betty Trask prize for her first novel, The Wilderness (2009), which was also shortlisted for The Guardian First Book Award and the Orange Prize for fiction and longlisted for the Man Booker prize. Her subsequent novels, All is Song (2012) and Dear Thief (2014) also received an excellent critical reception. Dear Thief was longlisted for the 2015 Bailey’s Prize for Fiction and shortlisted for the 2015 James Tate Black Memorial Prize for Fiction. Her short stories have been published in Granta magazine and appeared on BBC Radio 4.
Harvey will be reading a passage from her most recent novel, Dear Thief, and answering questions as part of the 2017 Lit Link Festival which will take place in Pula (June 29th), Rijeka (June 30th), and Zagreb (July 1st).
interview
David Szalay: All That Man Is
LIT LINK FESTIVAL 2017
David Szalay’s prose has been described by the New York Times as “…frequently brilliant, remarkable for its grace and economy.” (New York Times, October 2016). The Canadian born British author’s latest novel, All That Man Is, was shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize. Szalay’s previous two novels, Spring (2011) and The Innocent (2009), were also met with critical acclaim and he was awarded the Betty Trask and Geoffrey Faber prizes for his debut novel, London and the Southeast (2008). Szalay attended Oxford University and has written radio dramas for the BBC. Granta magazine named him as one of the Best Young British Novelists in 2013.
Szalay will be reading a passage from his novel, All That Man Is, and discussing his work as a participant in this year's Lit Link Festival, which will be held in Pula (June 29th), Rijeka (June 30th) and Zagreb (July 1st).
prose
Igor Rajki: Carnal Parasite
LIT LINK FESTIVAL 2017
Igor Rajki (1965, Zagreb) is a prolific author with a unique style leaning towards unconventional expression, experimentation, linguistic interplay and a peculiar sense of humor. He has published five novels, six short story collections, youth fiction, radio plays and dramas and his works have been performed on stage as well. Two of his novels, Truth Detector (2012) and Carnal Parasite (2014) were shortlisted for the most prominent Croatian award for novels, the T-Portal Award.
Below is an excerpt from Rajki's novel, Carnal Parasite
news
Lit Link Festival 2017 in Pula, Rijeka and Zagreb
The 'Lit Link Festival' in Croatia (or 'Književna karika' - in Croatian) is a three-day literary tour whose participants are writers, editors and publishers. This year the motto of the Lit Link Festival is “Despite Brexit” and the guests are British writers, editors and publishers.
The festival consists of three evening readings in which both Croatian authors and British authors participate. The readings will take place in the coastal cities of Pula (29th June, Centar Rojc) and Rijeka (30th June, Astronomski centar), as well as the inland capital, Zagreb (1st July, Club Močvara/Mochvara).
panorama
Jonathan Bousfield: Welcome to Hofbauerland
The publication of comic-strip collection Mister Morgen confirms Igor Hofbauer’s status as the unrivalled master of Croatian grotesque.
While Hofbauer’s poster designs represent a playful exercise in trash horror, his narrative strips are a much darker affair, featuring tales of obsession, anguish, and impending apocalypse.
prose
Jelena Zlatar Gamberožić: The Desk
Jelena Zlatar Gamberožić is the author of a collection of short stories, Odjavna karta (A Farewell Card) (2014), and a novel, Slijepa točka (Blind Spot) (2015), as well as numerous scientific articles. She received her PhD. in Sociology from the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in 2012. One of her short stories won the Kritična masa/Critical Mass Prize for Young Authors in 2016. She works at the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb.
The following short story, "The Desk", from Zlatar's collection of short stories, Odjavna Karta, originally appeared in the online literary magazine, Underpass.
review
How Are You? by Barbara Matejčić, a review
LIT LINK FESTIVAL 2017
"From time to time, a literary work would appear that would succeed in giving a voice to the voiceless ones. How Are You?, an excellent collection of short stories by a Croatian journalist and writer Barbara Matejčić, is one of these literary works.
The author has spent a period of her life with her characters, being with them, helping them and listening to their stories, and her method is hence intrinsically one typical of investigative journalism."
Saša Ilić, eurolitnetwork.com
CM extensions
Film festivals in Croatia
The Croatian Audiovisual Centre currently co-finances 59 film festivals and other audiovisual events. These serve various functions: they are particularly important for promoting Croatian audiovisual creation and serve as a platform for screening artistic content and non-commercial film forms, which makes them relevant on a local, regional, national and, in some cases, international level.
prose
Robert Vrbnjak: The Monument to the Unknown Buyer
"At noon on August 16th, when the sun was shining at its brightest, a man pushed a loaded shopping cart out of the cozy, air-conditioned atmosphere of a Liburnian supermarket. The man was no one special. Balding, between sixty to sixty-five years of age and wearing a Mickey Mouse t-shirt and flip-flops, he headed toward the parking lot, then suddenly stopped and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket (later found to be a receipt)... And then, under that hot Liburnian sun, he got sick."
essay
Dubravka Ugrešić: The Spirit of the Kakanian Province
"While I was leafing through a few Croatian Kakanian novels (which I'd last cracked in high school), I felt I was working not with literary texts but genes. It was like discovering something we have always known but failed to attend to, like discovering a birthmark exactly where it was on our parents, children, grandchildren. At the same time, the literary critic in me grumbled while reading the ongoing episodes of these provincial literary soap operas, which have been going on for a century."
interview
An interview with Zdenko Franjić
Starting out in 1987, Croatian record label Slusaj Najglasnije! (or Listen Loudest!) documented many of Croatia’s greatest bands, including Majke, Hali Gali Halid, Satan Panonski, Bambi Molestors, and many others. Over time, Listen Loudest! evolved, and today releases music from artists the world around. The mastermind behind Listen Loudest, Zdenko Franjic, has been kept his label/life mission together for over thirty years without a break.
report
The Little Black Egg: a punk excursion to Croatia
"It’s called Rijecki Novi Val. (Novi Val is Croatian for New Wave.) This is one of the best collections of anything I ever acquired. Punk and New Wave were huge in the Balkans. I said it once, and I’ll say it again: the ex-YU countries are responsible for the some of the best punk music made anywhere."
panorama
Jonathan Bousfield: Rijeka Rock City
It was the port city of Rijeka that led the way when it came to Croatia’s relationship with the electric guitar, and it is Rijeka that preserves most in terms of rock and roll heritage today. Label boss Goran Lisica Fox famously described Rijeka as a ‘musical Galapagos’, a self-contained city that always stood apart from the main landmass of popular culture. Indeed the city’s position in Croatia can be compared to that of Manchester in the UK: a place whose mixture of provincial isolation and self-reliance paradoxically puts it at the centre of national creativity.
prose
Dalibor Šimpraga: Gateway to Dalmatia (Ghosts)
Dalibor Šimpraga’s publishing credits include his novel, Anastasia (2007), a collection of short stories, Kavice Andreja Puplina (2002), and an anthology of new Croatian prose of the 1990s, 22 u hladu (2002). He is a cultural editor for the widely circulated weekly magazine, Globus. He co-founded the literary magazine, Fantom slobode. His debut novel, Anastasia (2007), received the well-respected t-portal prize for best novel of the year.
Born in Zagreb in 1969, he still resides there and graduated from the University of Zagreb with a degree in Croatian and Southern Slavic Literature and Linguistics.
news
World Literature Today on Dubravka Ugrešić - the laureate of the 2016 Neudstadt Prize
Dubravka Ugrešić’s work takes center stage in the most recent issue of World Literature Today. She is the winner of the 2016 Neustadt Prize.
prose
Roman Simić: Foxes
Roman Simić is a poet, an author and an editor. He has written a book of poetry and three collections of short stories. He is the Artistic Director for the "Festival of the European Short Story", an annual festival held in Croatia since 2002. He is also an editor for the Croatian literary magazine, Relations, which is published in foreign languages. His book, U što se zaljubljujemo (What Are We Falling in Love With) received the prestigious Jutarnji list prize (2005) for the best book of prose. His award winning short stories have been translated into many languages.
Roman Simić was born in Zadar and holds a degree in Comparative Literature and Spanish Language and Literature from the University of Zagreb. He resides in Zagreb and works as an editor.
panorama
20 Essential Films for an Introduction to Yugoslavian Cinema
Once upon a time there was a country, and that country made films. The films produced in the former Yugoslavia remain fascinating for anyone interested in the country or in films. This list is by no means definitive, for Yugoslav cinema is too rich and varied for that. It is rather, a primer for those unfamiliar with the region, the best bits from each era and each generation.
poetry
Gordana Benić: Four poems
Poet, journalist and a winner of the most prestigious poetry award 'Goranov vijenac', Gordana Benić was born in Split in 1950. She studied Croatian literature and philosophy in Zadar, completing her postgraduate studies in literature in Zagreb. For years she worked in Slobodna Dalmacija, the local paper, concentrating on historical monuments. In 2000 she received the Vicko Andrić conservation award for her articles on national historical monuments. Her poetry can be regarded as part of a significant movement in Croatian literature, that of the prose poem, which continues to resist fashionable trends and the commercial demands of a national literary marketplace made up as it goes along. Benić is indisputably one of the most important figures in that movement.
panorama
Peristil - Red, Green, Black and Yellow: Split Street Culture
The first art intervention on Peristil took place on January 11 of 1968. That morning the citizens woke up to a shock of seeing one of the main squares painted red. It did not take long to found out who were the perpetrators. A group of students (Pavao Dulčić, Tomo Čaleta, Vladimir Dodig – Trokut, Slaven Sumić, Nenad Đapić, Radovan Kogej, Srđan Blažević i Denis Dokić) spilled red paint on the square as a presentation of their dissatisfaction with the political and artistic scene of the time. The action is still mystified and serves as an inspiration for many other actions.
/by Mario Vuksa/
panorama
Croatian Design Superstore: These are Croatia's most loved designs and ideas one can bring home
Many try to create new and authentic souvenirs that would remind the tourists of an unforgettable holiday in our lovely country. One thing remains unclear: if Croatia is so fantastic, why do we need to praise it so much? And exaggerate? Instead, the authors decided to inaugurate a completely new concept and give a humble and objective presentation.
news
Slobodan Šnajder the winner of T-portal 2016 literary award
The finalists were the novels “The Brass Times” by Slobodan Šnajder, “Alone by the Sea” by Zoran Ferić, “No Signal Area” by Robert Perišić, “Skin-coloured Cloud” by Nebojša Lujanović, and “Your Son Huckleberry Finn” by Bekim Sejranović.
prose
Ivan Sršen: Harmattan
Ivan Sršen’s novel Harmattan deftly tracks the plight of Uhunoma, a young Nigerian woman caught in the logic-defying limbo of the German penal system for doing nothing more than trying to live a better life. But as Uhunoma learns as she comes to terms with the circumstances that have delivered her and other women to this facility, the abyss of European Union bureaucracy has little interest in the individuals whom are subjected to its whims, the same as the unforgiving Saharan
winter wind, which the novel is named after, cares not about what it relentlessly covers and smothers with dust year after year. While Uhunoma’s only crime was entering Europe without the proper papers, her incarceration brings her into close contact with myriad criminals from all over Africa and Eastern Europe—drug dealers, murderers, and women forced to make tough decisions just to survive. Harmattan tells a story that is becoming all too universal as borders the world over become more porous and less defined, both literally and figuratively. The implications of this on the human spirit transcend all boundaries.
AUTHOR BIO: Born in 1979. In 2007 he started the Zagreb-based
independent publisher Sandorf and he is also an editor, translator, writer, and literary agent. Prior to Harmattan, published in 2014 by Durieux, Sršen had published a book of short stories (2010) and a popular study on the history of Zagreb’s libraries (2010; co-authored by Daniel Glavan).
He has translated from English Croatian editions of Get in the Van by Henry Rollins and The Real Frank Zappa Book by Frank Zappa. Along with two other translators, he translated selected works of Robert Graves to Croatian, and edited Zagreb Noir for Akashic Books, while still writing novels and short stories.
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Croatian Sites on UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List
A little know fact is that Croatia, together with Spain, have the most cultural and historical heritage under the protection of UNESCO, and Croatia has the highest number of UNESCO intangible goods of any European country.
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Map world literature - Croatia
As could be expected given the upheaval in this part of the world throughout much of the 20th and 21st century, social issues and questions of identity figure strongly with many Croatian writers. Older and more conservative/right-wing writers are sometimes preoccupied with national identity, whereas younger authors tend to have a more diversified approach, looking at subcultural themes, gender/sexuality, social problems, economic migration, etc. There is a lot of sensitive, experimental and generally eye-opening literature to be discovered.
prose
Rumena Bužarovska: I don't want to eat
Rumena Bužarovska (Skopje, Macedonia, 1981) is one of 10 New Voices from Europe 2016, selected by Literary Europe Live, and one of the most popular translated authors in Croatia. Bužarovska is the author of three short story collections – Čkrtki (Scribbles, Ili-ili, 2007), Osmica (Wisdom Tooth, Blesok, 2010) and Mojot maž (My Husband, Blesok, 2014; Ili-ili, 2015). She is a literary translator from English into Macedonian and her translations include Lewis Carroll (Through the Looking Glass), J.M. Coetzee (The Life and Times of Michael K), Truman Capote (In Cold Blood) and Richard Gwyn (The Colour of a Dog Running Away). She is Assistant Professor of American Literature at the State University of Skopje in the Republic of Macedonia.
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Dancing under socialism: rare electronic music from Yugoslavia
In the last couple of years, various collections of electronic music from former Yugoslavia popped up, ranging from numerous downloadable CDR mixtapes to official compilation albums. Yet there are several more waiting in line to be pressed and, as you will see, these are most definitely worth waiting for.
news
First Croatian newspaper for asylum-seekers, refugees launched
The monthly publication was launched with the aim of establishing closer mutual trust and offering information to people who were forced to leave their homes in search of protection and security, it was said at the launch.
Most of the newspapers' authors are asylum-seekers.
poetry
Ivana Bodrožić: Selected poems
Selected poems from "First Step into Darkness" and "Wild Animals Crossing"
Translated from Croatian by Majda and Damir Šodan
Ivana Bodrožić was born in Vukovar in 1982. In 2005, she published her first poetry collection entitled Prvi korak u tamu (The First Step into Darkness) as part of the Goran Award for young poets.
Her first novel Hotel Zagorje (Hotel Tito) was published in 2010. The novel has been published at numerous respectful publishing houses and received a prestigious Prix Ulysee for the best debut novel in France, as well as numerous important awards in Croatia and the Balkan area such as the Kočićevo Pero Award, Josip and Ivan Kozarac Award, and Kiklop Award for the best work of fiction in 2010.
She has since published her second poetry collection Prijelaz za divlje životinje (A Road for Wild Animals) and a short story collection 100% pamuk (100% Cotton), which has also received a regional award.
Her works have been translated to German, French, Czech, Danish, Slovenian, Spanish, Macedonian.
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Ivan Kozarac
Croatian writer Ivan Kozarac entered the literary scene in 1902. During his short 8 years of active work (from 1902 to 1910) he produced sixty poems, 40 short stories and novellas, "Đuka Begović" novel and his autobiography.
Ivan Kozarac was not a typical writer nor was he a part of dominant modernist Croatian poetic movement. He affirmed and legitimized himself as a poet of vitalism and decadency, a poet of passion, joy, euphoria but also a poet of exhaustion, dying and agony.
"Đuka Begović" novel was the height of his creative work.
poetry
Drago Glamuzina: Butchers
“Butchers” (Mesari), a collection of poems by Drago Glamuzina, won the Vladimir Nazor Book of the Year Award and the Kvirin Prize for the Best Book of Poetry in Croatia, and was translated into German, Macedonian and Slovene.
Glamuzina was born in Vrgorac in 1967. His publications include Mesari (Butchers, poetry, 2001), Tri (Three, a novel, 2008), Je li to sve (Is That All, poetry, 2009), Everest (poetry, 2016)...
“Love and jealousy through a clash of one body against another become the origins of speaking about life and the world in general. Glamuzina’s act of switching the idyllic love couple with a dramatic love triangle ignites the lyrical narration that spreads in different directions. (…) His “butchers” often cut at the most sensitive spots.” (K. Bagić)
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Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb
The National Theater in Zagreb, Croatia’s capital, is one of those things which always finds its way to every visitor’s busy schedule.
poetry
Samuel (Srdjan) Sacher: Poems
Samuel (formerly known as Srdjan) Sacher is a composer, songwriter and poet. He was born 1955 in Zagreb, Croatia. Samuel studied archeology and ethnology at the University of Zagreb, but dropped out before graduation to pursue a professional music career. From 1980, he has been an active songwriter, singer and bass player in four Croatian bands - Haustor, Dee Dee Mellow, Brojani, and Vjestice. From the begining of his career, Samuel Sacher has been involved in TV and theatre production as a composer, songwriter or performer.
interview
Croatian-German writer Jagoda Marinić: 'Cultural identity is not absolute truth'
Jagoda Marinić is a prize-winning author, novelist, playwright, essayist, journalist and the head of the International Welcome Center in Heidelberg. She was born to Croatian parents and grew up bilingually. "Spiegel" called her 2007 debut novel "Die Namenlose" one of the most important new releases of that year. In 2013 she released "Restaurant Dalmatia" to critical acclaim. "Made in Germany. Was ist deutsch in Deutschland" was released in May 2016 in German.
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10 Books by Women We Would Like to See Translated: Balkan Edition
Only a small fraction of fiction published in English is translated, and only about a quarter of that translated fiction was originally written by women. This is an unfortunate state of affairs. In the second installment of our series from around the world, highlighting works by women we’d love to see reaching an English audience, we offer a literary tour of the western Balkans—specifically, the rich literary territory encompassing Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia, and Montenegro.
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The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction: Croatia
The SF scene in Croatia is rapidly growing, with new names appearing regularly. Some authors have begun to see their work translated into English. New anthologies and awards mark the health of the field, giving hope that sf will continue to evolve in the region, and that young authors, who are already making their mark here, will finally be recognized worldwide.
poetry
Tin Ujević: Nocturne (six poems)
One of the great Croatian lyric poets in the 20th century, Tin Ujević (1891 – 1955) has hardly been translated at all into English. His Collected Works number 16 volumes, and he is greatly loved as a lyric poet in Croatia as well as all the other countries of former Yugoslavia. Tin is a writer of voluminous intellect, whose use of language, gentle musicality, purity of literary form and mournful, melancholic sensibility are reminiscent in many ways of Verlaine. He lived simply, and was a frequenter of bars and cafés.
Ujević was born in Vrgorac (Dalmatia). He lived at various times in Zagreb, Belgrade, Sarajevo, Split and Paris.
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Who wants a selfie with a Croatian writer?
Andrea Pisac, a fiction writer and cultural anthropologist, takes her friend Linda for a walk through the magical Tuškanac forest and that's where this literary tour begins: not only did they learn about the greatest Croatian writers, but they also gave thanks to the amazing sculptors who immortalized them.
poetry
Darija Žilić: The Slow Soul
Darija Žilić is a poet, literary critic, translator, moderator, and one of the editors of literary journal Tema, born in Zagreb in 1972. She graduated in comparative literature and history from the University of Zagreb. Her published works includes Breasts and Strawberries (poetry, 2005), To Write in Milk (Essays on Contemporary Poetry, 2008), Muse outside Ghetto: Essays on Contemporary Literature (Julije Benešić award for the best book by critics in Croatia in 2012), Nomads and hybrids: Essays on Contemporary Literature and Film (2010), Parallel Gardens: Interviews with Theorists, Writers and Activists (2010), Tropics: Critics about Contemporary Poetry (2011), Dance, Modesty, Dance (Kiklop award for the best poetry book in 2010 in Croatia), Omara (prose, 2012) and Tropics 2: critics about poetry, prose and society (2014.)
poetry
Irena Matijašević: No one's around
Irena Matijašević, born in Zagreb in 1965, graduated with a degree in English and comparative literature from Zagreb's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. She served as a member of Croatian Semiotic Society’s board of directors and currently she works as an editor at Croatian Radio where she edits programs on poetry and literature, as well as on human sciences. Her work as a translator is marked by translations of theory, anthropological (Clifford Geertz, Interpretative Anthropology, 2010) and psychoanalytic (Anthony Elliott, Psychoanalytic Theory, 2012). Her publications include essays, published in literary magazines and newspapers, as well as three books of poetry: Naizgled (Seemingly, AGM, 2007), Južne životinje (Southern Animals, AGM, 2010) and Danska H20 (Dennmark H20, AGM, 2012). Her poems were translated into German, English, Slovakian, Swedish and Polish. In 2015 she published the novel Black Letter (Algoritam, Zagreb) and presently she is writing a novel Diary of the sea to be published by Hena.com in 2017.
poetry
Sonja Manojlović: I Remember Everything
Sonja Manojlović was born on March 15, 1948 in Zagreb. She graduated in philosophy and comparative literature from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb. Her poems have been included in anthologies and translated into more than fifteen languages.
prose
Neven Vulić: The Crap Master
Neven Vulić was born in Zagreb in 1983. He graduated in French Language and Literature and in General Linguistics at the University of Zagreb.
He regularly writes literary reviews for magazines. His story was included in the „Bez vrata, bez kucanja“ anthology, a selection of short prose written by the youngest generation of Croatian authors. Vulić has worked for the Subversive Festival (Director of the Book Fair, editor-in-chief of all publications, panel organizer and moderator), he currently works as an editor in Naklada OceanMore publishing house. Bibliography: 'Nagni se kroz prozor' (Lean Out of the Window, a collection of stories), Celeber, Zagreb, 2006, 'Povijest bolesti' (History of My Disease, novel), Sysprint, Zagreb, 2010.
news
Europe's best indie novels listed in support of UK remaining in EU
The independent publisher Dedalus Books is making its own small case for remaining in the EU, with its “Reading Europe” promotion, a selection of novels from EU countries intended to “let the reader know the literature, history and culture of each country better”. They are all from UK independent publishers, all translated into English, and of course, two of them are Croatian.
news
French Translations of Eight Poetry Collections by Croatian Authors
Eight poetry books by Croatian poets and poetesses have been translated into French and published by the French publishing house L'Ollave within the edition "Domaine croate/ Poésie". The editor-in-chief Jean de Breyne launched this special edition in 2012 in order to introduce the readers with this very prolific and heterogeneous poetic production of whose existence the French public was previously almost completely unaware.
poetry
Branko Čegec: Advertisement For Death
Branko Čegec was born in Kraljev vrh in 1957. He is a poet, a critic, an essayist and a fiction writer who graduated from the Zagreb Faculty of Philosophy in Croatian Studies and Comparative Literature. He has been editor-in-chief of many newspapers and cultural magazines. His poetry has been included in various reviews and anthologies in Croatia and abroad and translated into English, German, French, Italian, Slovenian, Ukranian, Macedonian, Polish, Ruthenian, Hungarian and Lithuanian. His books include: Eros-Europe-Arafat (1980), West-East Sex (1983), The Makeover of the Avantgarde (1983), A Melancholy Chronicle (1988), The Screens of Emptiness (1992 and 2001), The Freedom Phantom (1994).
news
11 Books To Read This Spring According to Paper Magazine
In the wise words of Kylie Jenner, 2016 is the year of "realizing things." If you want to speed up the revelation process, books are a good way to go. In the selection below, we've found a nice surprise: a ''dazzling, funny and deadly serious novel with which a glorious new European voice has arrived'' (The Guardian) - Adios, Cowboy, by Olja Savičević Ivančević.
prose
Faruk Šehić: excerpt from 'Quiet Flows The Una'
EU Prize for Literature winner (2013), Faruk Šehić, was born in 1970 in Bihac. Until the war broke out in 1992, Šehić studied Veterinary Medicine in Zagreb. However, the then 22-year-old voluntarily joined the army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which he led a unit of 130 men as a lieutenant. Literary critics regard him as one of the most gifted young writers in the former Yugoslavia, as a shining light of the so-called 'knocked-over generation'. His books have been translated into English, German, Bulgarian, French and Macedonian. His debut novel „Knjiga o Uni“ (Quiet Flows The Una) was awarded the Meša Selimović prize for the best novel published in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia in 2011, and the European Union Prize for Literature 2013. He works for the magazine BH Dani as a columnist and journalist.
CM extensions
Croatia's Once Mighty Shoe Firm Finds its Feet
Vogue’s recognition of its Startas sneakers is only the latest sign that the humbled economic giant in Vukovar is on the way back up.
news
Star Wars Adds Shine to Croatian 'Pearl' Dubrovnik
The new Star Wars movie will be part-filmed in the Croatian resort of Dubrovnik in March, bringing the city additional prestige among film fans and marketing potential.
CM extensions
Review of 'The Smith Tapes: Lost Interviews with Rock Stars & Icons 1969 - 1972'
Howard Smith's classic interviews reveal how little America has changed: a blowhard public figure running for political office without having any political experience; media culture obsessed with celebrities; talking about race relations without being able to improve race relations. Sound familiar?
prose
Želimir Periš: Greetings from Dalmatia
LIT LINK FESTIVAL 2017
A story translated by Tomislav Kuzmanović
Želimir Periš was born in 1975 in Zadar, Croatia. He is a member of ZaPis, an association of Zadar based writers, where he organizes literary events and runs creative writing workshops called Otpis. Also, he is one of the organizers of Kalibar Festival of Literature in Zadar. His stories, plays and poems have been published in several literary magazines and included in prose anthologies. He has received multiple awards for his short stories and poetry. His stories have been translated into Italian, Ukrainian and English. His book of short stories, Mučenice, was translated and published in Slovenia, and adapted into a theatre play. In 2015, his novel Mima i kvadratura duga was nominated for the literary prize of „T-portal“- best novel of the year. Books of prose:
Mučenice (Martyrs), Zagreb, 2013., Mima i kvadratura duga (Mima and squaring the debt), Zagreb, 2014., Mima i vaše kćeri (Mima and your daughters), Zagreb, 2015.
prose
What draws an Englisman's attention to Kamov?
Janko Polić Kamov, a Croatian writer and a poet, died at a very young age, but left behind a major work of Croatian modernist literature: the novel ‘Isušena kaljuža’ (‘The Dried Up Mire’). Literary critics often agree that his work was way ahead of the worldwide movements which were to follow in the years after his death, like surrealism and modernism, with writers such as Joyce, Kafka and Camus later leading the way, and they often label Kamov’s work as ‘revolutionary’. However, Kamov’s novel and much of his work has never been translated into English and an Englishman living in Croatia, Martin Mayhew, is now working on translating Kamov’s important novel.
poetry
Petra Rosandić: I can move south anytime
Petra Rosandić (Split, 1985, poet/editor) graduated with a Master's degree in Croatian and English language and literature from The faculty of humanities and social sciences at University of Split, Croatia. Her works are published in all relevant Croatian, Bosnian and Serbian literary magazines/collections. Book of poetry, 'Ako dugo držiš usta otvorena' was published in Serbia in 2014, while her manuscript in English, 'Why I died' was selected as one of 25 semi-finalists for the international award Tomaž Šalamun 2015 by the American magazine Verse. Several of her poems have been translated to Italian and Albanian. She is currently based in Dublin, Ireland, studying interior design.
poetry
Ivan Goran Kovačić: The pit
Illustration: Pablo Picasso, La Fosse Commune (The pit), Etching, 1947. From Ivan Goran Kovatchitch Book.
Ivan Goran Kovačić (1913 –1943) was a prominent Croatian poet and writer of the 20th century. Death is a central theme in much of Kovačić’s poetry, however this is not a reflection on his life outlook. His melancholy subjects came from outside events—such as his own and his brother’s affliction with tuberculosis—rather than from an internal disposition toward the morose. Jure Kaštelan, one of Kovačić's contemporaries, expressed that Kovačić was inclined both toward romanticism and realism in his poetry, and that Kovačić had an intense perception of life. His best known work is "Jama" (The Pit). His work is an example of anti-war poetry with messages against torture, mass murders and war crimes.
prose
Ivo Andrić: Of Words (Fragment from the book „Signs by the Roadside“)
Ivo Andrić (1892 –1975) was a novelist, short story writer, and the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1961).
The collection of notes entitled "Znakovi pored puta"/ "Signs by the roadside", published after Andrić’s death, can be best described as the writer's intellectual diaries. As may be imagined of a man who recoiled so consistently from any exposure of his private life and thoughts, Andrić was equally consistent in his dislike of the diary as a genre, seeing it as a misguided search for permanence.
poetry
Ivan Herceg: Poems
Ivan Herceg (1970, Krapina) is a Croatian poet, prose writer and editor, majored in Croatian language and literature studies and South-Slavic philology at Zagreb Faculty of Philosophy. He is the executive editor of the Zagreb-based journal Poezija, devoted exclusively to poetry, the assistant editor of Poezija’s book publishing section, and the co-organiser, along with Poezija’s editor-in-chief Ervin Jahić, of the SUR (Stih u regiji /Poetry in the Region/) Poetry Festival. He received several awards for his poetic work, and his poetry has been widely anthologised and translated into a dozen languages. Published works: Naša druga imena (poetry, 1994), Noć na asfaltu (poetry, 1996), Snimke zemaljskih uzdaha (poetry, 1997), Anđeli u koroti (poetry, Zagreb, 2004.), Nepravilnosti (poetry, 2007), Koliko naju bo ostalo (selected poems in Slovenian, 2009), Snimke zemaljskih uzdaha (poetry, 2010), Anđeli u koroti (poetry, 2011), Goli (short stories, 2011), Naša druga imena (selected poems in Polish, 2014), Nepravilnosti (poetry in Bulgarian, 2014).
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Zagreb Festivals and Cultural Events
Numerous festivals, shows and exhibitions are held annually in Zagreb. Search our what's on guide to arts & entertainment.
review
Marin Franičević: Dobriša Cesarić and his unique poetry
Dobriša Cesarić (1902 –1980) was a Croatian poet and translator born in Požega. Despite his limited output, Cesarić is considered as one of the greatest Croatian poets of the 20th century.
His first appearance on the literary scene was when he was 14 years old, with a poem "I ja ljubim" (eng. "I too love") which was published in a magazine for the youth called "Pobratim" (eng. "Stepbrother"). His work as a poet consists of ten poem books and a few translations.
He translated from German, Russian, Italian, Bulgarian and Hungarian to Croatian.
The article had been written by Croatian poet Marin Franičević (Vrisnik 1911 - Zagreb 1990), and it was originally published in Most/The Bridge literary review in 1981.
review
Paul Gravett on Comics Culture in Yugoslavia: World-Class Innovators & Remarkable Visionaries
Gravett's decided to share his fascination with the guidebook 'The Comics We Loved: Selection Of 20th Century Comics & Creators From The Region Of Former Yugoslavia' by Živojin Tamburić, Zdravko Zupan & Zoran Stefanović.
review
Akashic Noir series: Zagreb Noir
Zagreb Noir, edited by Ivan Sršen, is the newest anthology in the bestselling noir series by Akashic Press. It all began in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir, and has expanded to include major cities around the world from Havana to Singapore. Zagreb Noir is a peek into the Croatian capital and is charged with dark humor and vivid atmosphere. With original stories from Croatian writers, this unique anthology not only captures literary Zagreb but many of the city’s more harrowing tales.
review
Socialism and Modernity: A Hidden History
Rick Poynor tries to correct the injustice: not so many designers in English-speaking countries know about the growth of graphic design and visual culture in central and eastern Europe after the Second World War.
poetry
Damir Šodan: The Afternoon of a Clown
Damir Šodan (1964, Split) is a poet, playwright, editor and translator who graduated from Zagreb University with a BA in English Literature and History. He has published four volumes of poetry: Sound Changes (1996), The Middle World (2001), Letters to a Wild Scythian, (2009) and Café Apollinaire (2013), two collections of plays: Safe Area (2002), The Night of the Long Beams (2009) and an anthology of contemporary Croatian "neorealist" poetry: Walk on the Other Side (2010). He was awarded the Držić prize for the burlesque Chick Lit (2012) and the 1st prize at the playwriting competition for ex-Yugoslav writers in Vienna (2000) for the dark comedy Safe Area. Internationally, his work has been among other featured in The American Poetry Review (2007), New European Poets, (Graywolf Press, USA, 2008), Les Poètes de la Méditerranée (Gallimard, 2010), The World Record and A Hundred Years' War (Bloodaxe, 2012 and 2014). He translated Raymond Carver, Leonard Cohen, Charles Bukowski, Charles Simic, Richard Brautigan and Frank O'Hara into Croatian. He is an associate editor of Poezija and Quorum magazines in Zagreb.
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Animated films in Croatia to entertain and inspire
Watching Croatian movies is a great way to learn more about the country before an actual visit. And since cartoons are movies as well here is a list of what to see and what to expect from the world of Croatian animation.
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Krleža as Seen by French Critics
Six of Krleža's books have been translated into French: The Burial at Theresienburg (short stories, Editions de Minuit, translated by Antun Polanšćak, preface by Leon-Pierre Quint, Paris, 1956.), The Return of Philip Latinovicz (novel, edited by Calman-Lévy, translated by Mila Đorđević and Ciara Malraux, Paris, 1957.], The Banquet in Blithuania (novel, edited by Calman-Lévy, translated by Mauricette Beguitch, Paris, 1964.), I’m not Playing Anymore (novel, Edition de Seuil, translated by Janine Matillon, Paris, 1969.], Mars, Croatian God (short stories, Edition Calman-Lévy, translated by Janine Matillon and Antun Polanšćak, Paris, 1971.), The Ballads of Petritsa Kerempuh (Edition: Presses orientales de France, translated by Janine Matillon). All these books were well received. We give here some extracts from criticisms (Maurice Nadeau, Léon Pierre Quint, Claude Roy, Marcel Schneider, Robert Bréchon, Jean Bloch-Michel and others) who provide various insights into Krleža`s work.
The article was originally published in Most/The Bridge literary review (number 3-4, 1979).
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Croatia: Historical Heritage, Art and Important Cultural Events
Although Croatia developed under the impact of many different cultures, it gave its own and unique imprint to the history of European civilization.
poetry
Milko Valent: Poems
Milko Valent, a highly prolific author born in 1948 in Zagreb, graduated from the University of Zagreb with a degree in philosophy and comparative literature. He has been a professional writer since the autumn of 1976, publishing poetry, short stories, novels, essays on philosophy and literature, polemics, theater criticism, and plays for radio and stage.
review
Rick Poynor on how he discovered Boris Bućan
How visiting Zagreb, while accompanied by the collegue taking you to unknown places and holding the key to the door, can end up with discovering one of Croatia's most prominent artists.
poetry
Mehmed Begić: Close your eyes so no to see flags
Mehmed Begić (1977) was born in Capljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He studied South Slavic languages and literature at Pedagogical Institute of Mostar, as well as comparative literature at the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo. He has completed none of the above. Begić was one of the editors of magazine Kolaps.
He likes to believe that Kolaps is an ongoing dream, currently in hibernation. So far Begić published: L’Amore Al Primo Binocolo (1999) with Nedim Ćisić, Marko Tomaš and Veselin Gatalo, Tri puta trideset i tri jednako (2000) with Ćisić and Tomaš, Film (2001), with Lukasz Szopa, Čekajući Mesara (2002), Pjesme iz sobe (2006), Savršen metak u stomak (2010), Знам дека знаеш / Znam da znaš / I Know You Know (2012), Ponoćni razgovori (2013) with Marko Tomaš, Sitni sati u Managvi (2015).
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A History of Eastern European Matchboxes
Although they were produced under strict state-controlled production processes; that were aimed at exploiting them as a means of publicizing political initiatives, promoting public health and safety, and selling the communist ideal both at home and abroad, the artists used them as a vehicle to experiment with various imaginative ideas and artistic techniques, achieving truly stunning results.
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From Marulić to Krleža: Croatian literature across the centuries
Helena Cuss explores the work of two luminaries of Croatian literature, one of them being the father of Croatian literature while the other is considered Croatia's greatest modern writer. Both of them helped to define a national literature and identity in times of uncertainty and doubt.
poetry
Irena Delonga Nešić: A note to yourself
Irena Delonga Nešić (Sinj, 1984) is a Croatian poet and former editor of the The Split Mind magazine. In 2010 she published a poetry volume ''Riječi kupuju zločine koje ćeš počiniti" and was awarded Goran prize for young poets. She lives in Split, where she hosts literary events.
interview
Ernesto Estrella on The Voice Observatory
The guest of the first Lit Link Festival, held in Rijeka, Zagreb and Pula in 2013, unveils his, by all accounts, unique work of art.
poetry
Marko Tomaš: Poems
Marko Tomaš (Ljubljana, 1978) was one of the founders and editors of the Kolaps literary magazine in Sarajevo. He has worked as a journalist and radio speaker and has published extensively all across the region. He is a poet of a rare sensuality and emotional refinement with a rarefied bohemian touch reminiscent somewhat of young Leonard Cohen. Publications: Hands Under Head (2002), Mama I'm Successful (2004), Life is a Joke (2005), Marko Tomaš and Other Poems (2007), Goodbye Fascists (2009), Midnight Conversations (with Mehmed Begić) (2012), Boulevard of the People's Revolution (2013), The Black Prayer Book (2015).
news
Dubravka Ugrešić, winner of the Neustadt Prize
Dubravka Ugrešić announced as 2016 winner of prestigious Neustadt International Prize for Literature
review
Farewell, Cowboy by Olja Savičević review - coming of age in small-town Croatia
THE GUARDIAN, Sat, 9 May 2015
by: Kapka Kassabova
The publication of this dazzling, funny and deadly serious novel will bring nourishment to readers hungry for the best new European fiction... With this novel, which lodges itself in your chest like a friendly bullet, a glorious new European voice has arrived.
prose
August Šenoa: The Goldsmith’s Treasure
Numerous tales and legends exist in Zagreb and about Zagreb; some are remembered through the ages, other sink into oblivion, and even the origin of some is forgotten over time. August Šenoa’s The Goldsmith’s Treasure has successfully endured the test of time. It captivated audiences at the end of the 19th century, and still manages to do so today. Intertwining love and history, The Goldsmith’s Treasure tells the most genuine tale of Zagreb – it leads us into the Upper Town, back to the 16th century, introducing us to its own Romeo and Juliet.
Deciding not to let this tale be forgotten, the publisher, Spiritoso, reached for Croatia’s rich cultural heritage and gave The Goldsmith’s Treasure a new sheen. The novel is now available to visitors who want to get to know Zagreb in a truly unique way and take home an authentic keepsake – a book. The Goldsmith’s Treasure, translated from Croatian by Neven Divjakinja, is available in English for the first time ever.
The book owes its design and layout to Hamper studio, which managed to combine the traditional and contemporary, the decorative and the minimalistic, as well as the rustic and the elegant.
You can read the 1st chapter here.
prose
Peter Dentchev: I will be the mole over your upper lip
Peter Dentchev is a young and prominent Bulgarian fiction writer and theatre director whose novel “Just like a Man Kisses a Woman He Loves” won the first place at the contest for Best New Bulgarian Novels “Razvitie” in 2007. The next year the same novel won the special prize of “Raiffeizen Bank” at South Spring National contest. In 2008 with his short novel “Simple Story” he wins the second place at Ciela’s Novel Prize Competition. His latest novel, Silent Sun, was published in 2012.
prose
Stela Jelinčić: A Weed is Just a Plant Growing in the Wrong Place
STELA JELINČIĆ was born in Zagreb in 1977. She worked as an editor in a Croatian pop-art magazine, as well the editor for Konzor Publishing from Zagreb. Korov je samo biljka na krivom mjestu is her first book, which launched her as a young author of a peculiar style. In her writings she describes the subjective reality of a generation brought up in the dawn of post communist transition, followed by war and social double standards.
prose
Michael Stein: Death in Omsk
"Death in Omsk", the story we are presenting you, is deeply Slavic, with all the paradoxes of the transitional phase in former communist countries. Michael Stein, Philadelphia-born writer and journalist living in the Czech Republic, has written about Russia in the 1990s, mixing the American and Russian points of view. What is a field of "infinite opportunities" for one character is a curse for another. This is a story about dark, illicit contracts, futures lost and found, and pulling your roots up from the ground...
prose
Edo Popović: Naked City
Edo Popović, born 1957 in Livno (Bosnia), is a Croatian author and journalist, co-Founder of literary magazine Quorum and of the Festival of Alternative Literature (FAK). His debut short-story collection Ponoćni Boogie/Midnight Boogie (1987) became a generation´s cult book. The author then took a long 13-year break from writing. He returned to it around the end of the 1990s. From 1991 till 1995 he worked as a war reporter. In Germany, Edo Popovic´s novels have been published by Voland & Quist. “War is not the key for understanding my prose. There is no universal key. Each book is unique, as any human being, any squirrel, any sip of tea. Literature stirs from life – from places you have lived, jobs you have done, books you have read.”
Farewell Cowboy, by Olja Savičević: a beautiful, subversively appealing novel
THE IRISH TIMES, Sun, Apr 5, 2015
by Eileen Battersby
In Dada, the Croatian writer Olja Savičević has created a compelling witness who is also a survivor, not particularly heroic, but likeable and sympathetic.
essay
JURE KAŠTELAN: Dragutin Tadijanović and his poetry
The following article is about Dragutin Tadijanović (1905 –2007), one of the most popular and influential Croatian poets of the 20th century, and was written by Jure Kaštelan (1919 - 1990), also one of the most important Croatian poets. The article was originally published in the Bridge Literary Review (number 3 from 1980).
poetry
Nikola Šop: Poems
Mathematical concepts and geometric bodies, from being external become inner poetic symbols, and cannot from now on be subjected to the logos of the poetry, yet – from a completely principled point of view – the latter is not essentially opposed to mathematics.
Višnja Machiedo, The vivacious geometry of Nikola Šop
prose
Robert Međurečan: from the novel "Slightly used medals for sale"
Robert Međurečan (b. 1969) - veterinary school dropout (will never finish), former soldier (definitely never again), musician and singer (more and more). He says he's a real Balkan homo universalis – he knows all the things he never went to school for. His first novel For Sale: War Medals, First Owner (2008) entered the shortlists for the main national book prizes (Jutarnji list, Tportal, the MH prize, the HPB prize). The novel Silence of the lambs in Zdihovo (2011) was on the long list for the Jutarnji and Tportal awards. His third novel, with the working title Galloping Birds will be published late this year, as a sort of conclusion to the "war trilogy".
prose
Davor Mandić: Romi
Davor Mandić was born in 1976 in Pula. During studies in Rijeka he started writing poems, short stories and book reviews. After graduating he started working for the national daily newspaper Novi list, based in Rijeka, where he still works as a journalist and commentator, covering Croatian literary and culture scene. He has published: Mostovi (Bridges), a book of poetry (2009), and Valjalo bi me zamisliti sretnim (One Should Imagine Me Happy), a collection of short stories (2014).
poetry
Arian Leka: Poems
Arian Leka (1966) belongs to the group of authors, which have come to the forefront after the opening of the Albanian borders and are considered to be avant-garde. By origin from the port city of Durres, this author, except modernity, weaves a whole mythology around his homeland, making the principle maritime symbols regards in his work as a poet, short story writer, novelist and essayist too, and transforms also them in a new living aesthetic and urban language, signing the multicultural life of this city. He studied music at the Jan Kukuzeli’s Music Academy. He is the author of 15 books.
For his creativity work Arian Leka received numerous literary awards for his poetry in his country and abroad.
prose
Maša Kolanović: FROM iMurica
Maša Kolanović (Zagreb, 1979) is an author of five books, including three books of fiction.
Her novel Underground Barbie (2008) is translated in German. She works as a lecturer of contemporary Croatian literature at the University of Zagreb. She holds PhD in literary history and cultural studies. Her disertation is published with the title Worker! Rebel? Consumer...: Popular Culture and Croatian Novel from Socialism to Transition (2011). She was a research fellow at the Universtiy of Vienna in 2006 and University of Texas at Austin in 2012.
Her book Jamerika (2013) is an ilustrated book of fiction.
poetry
Marko Pogačar: Poems
Marko Pogačar was born in 1984. in Split. He is an editor of Quorum a literary magazine, and Zarez, a bi-weekly for cultural and social issues. His publications include four poetry collections, three books of essays and a short story collection. He was awarded for poetry, prose, and essays, his texts appeared in about thirly languages.
prose
Ivana Kovačić: Parafairytale (two excerpts from the novel)
lvana Kovačić was born in 1979 in Split. She finished elementary and high school on the island of Hvar, and studied Croatian and Russian languages and literature at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb. She does various occasional jobs, translation, writing and participation in art and activist projects. She lives in Zagreb. Her novel Parafairytale (2013) - which touches on motives of a father’s death and coming out - had a very good critical reception.
prose
Enver Krivac: Wormrumours and Thumbelinas
LIT LINK FESTIVAL 2017
Enver Krivac (1976.) is a multidisciplinary artist from Rijeka.
Versatile in his expression, inspired by pop-culture and extra-literary sources, Krivac produces short stories, comics and music described by the critics as poetic, imaginative and playfull. His short stories collection „Nothing to write about home“ (2013) won the national literary award Prozak, and was proclaimed by the critics as „an encyclopedia of ideas, but also of many possible approaches to changing those ideas to literature“. He is known for his experimenting with language, aesthetics and humor. His writing style has „a simplicity that both enchants and frightens“. He is also a member of a musical collective Japanese Prime Ministers in which he acts as a co-author and a producer.
prose
Dalibor Šimpraga: In the tram / The Storm
Dalibor Šimpraga was born in 1969 in Zagreb, where he lives today. He studied Croatian and Southern Slavic Literature and Linguistics in Zagreb. He was a free-lance author, now he is cultural editor of Globus, the main news-magazine in Croatia. He was a co-founder of the literary magazine Fantom slobode. He has published:Anastasia, a novel (2007), and Kavice Andreja Puplina, a collection of short stories (2002). He edited 22 u hladu, an anthology of young Croatian prose (1999). For his debut novel Anastasia, he received the literary prize ”roman@tportal.hr" (one of main prizes in Croatia) in 2008.
poetry
Željka Horvat Čeč: Poems
Born in Čakovec, in the year of Chernobyl and Maradona (1986). Published a book of poems The stars also laugh at frailty (2005) and was one of the authors in the poetry collection There are better things than dry clothes (2007). She was awarded at a competition for the short story "Zlatko Tomičić’ and published a short story collection The cowboy in the red Golf (2010). Published in literary magazines and attended various festivals. She won the first prize for poetry at the Ulaznica 2013 literary competition. In her poems and stories she speaks openly and without compromise. She organizes literary evenings and discussions. She lives in Rijeka, likes sarcasm, football and making a mess.
prose
Zoran Žmirić: Beardy (excerpt from the novel "Blockbuster")
Zoran Žmirić (1969) is a writer and musician from Rijeka. His publications include two short story collection, a book of essays and a novel. He was a finalist for 2008 national Best Unpublished Manuscript with the novel Blockbuster (published 2009) and a finalist for the national "roman@tportal.hr” Prize (2010) for the best novel. He has been awarded with "Literary Pen" for the Blockbuster by the Croatian Literary Society (Rijeka), and The City of Rijeka Award (2011) for special achievements in culture. His works are translated into Polish and Italian. He plays bass in three-decades lasting rock group Grč from Rijeka.
prose
Jasna Žmak: Three stories
Freelance dramaturg, playwright and scriptwriter, assistant researcher at the Department of Dramaturgy at the Academy of Drama Art of the University of Zagreb where she graduated in 2011. She is the co-screenwriter of three short feature films. Her author script was chosen as a part of the Zagrebačke priče 2 (Zagreb Stories 2) omnibus. She coordinates the screen-writing project Hrvatski filmski savez Palunko (Croatian Film Clubs' Association Palunko) and the editor of the screen-writing portal palunko.org. Since 2009 she is the director of the advanced screen-writing workshop in Kino klub Zagreb (Cinema Club Zagreb) and the art editor of Filmske mutacije – festival nevidljivog filma (Film Mutations – Invisible Film Festival). As an attendant she took part in several screen-writing workshops (Sarajevo Talent Campus, Visions of Paris...), and also as a member of the jury in several screen-writing competitions. As a dramaturge she worked together with producers Oliver Frljić and Borut Šeparović. She is a member of the editorial staff of the magazine for performing arts Frakcija (Fraction) and web portal drame.hr. She publishes short stories and critical reviews.
prose
Ksenija Kušec: Matrix
Ksenija Kušec does not like banks or corporations. Actually, she does not like the rules that are over a man, the rules in whom feelings are excluded, the impartiality of those rules. Well, Ksenija Kušec is anything but impartial, at least in her stories and at least for now.
She wrote Tales from the Solar System that are 100% true, collection of short stories Tell me everything, which are mostly stories about the wicked husbands and how to treat them, and novel Janko and weather-machine.
She writes two novels at the same time and in the meantime does not write.
report
Lit Link Festival 2014 to be held Aug 28-30
The second edition of the "Lit Link" literary festival will take place in Pula, Rijeka and Zagreb on August 28-30, bringing together US, Canadian, British and Croatian authors and editors to promote Croatian literature abroad and foreign literature in Croatia.
The foreign guests will include authors Adam Mansbach, Miriam Toews, Sheila Heti, Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall and Kathryn Borel, editor Anne Meadows, author and editor Buzz Poole, editor Dan Simon, editor Zeljka Marosevic, editor Andi Winnette, and author, journalist and editor Michael Stein.
The Croatian authors to attend the event are Željka Horvat Čeč, Maša Kolanović, Ivana Kovačić, Enver Krivac, Davor Mandić, Robert Međurečan, Marko Pogačar, Ivana Simić Bodrožić, Dalibor Šimpraga, Bojan Žižović, Jasna Žmak and Zoran Žmiric.
poetry
Branko Maleš: Poems
Branko Maleš is one of the leading post-war Croatian poets. He is an important innovator in contemporary Croatian poetry, and among other things he coined the term “semantic concretes” and introduced it into literary criticism.
prose
Senko Karuza: Is There Life Before Death?
Friends, it seems my troubles are ending. Will this be enough? Is it worth it at all? Let me know, I’d like to know. I’d like to drink myself under the table!
poetry
Arsen Dedić: Poetry
Arsen Dedić was born in Šibenik in 1938. In his hometown he graduated from gymnasium and music school. For a while he studied at the Faculty of Law, but his love of music was stronger so he dropped law studies and turned to the Zagreb Music Academy, graduating from it in February of 1964. As a flautist he played in various ensembles and orchestras and founded the Flute Quartet. He was a member of several music groups such as Zagrebački vokalni kvartet, Prima, Melos et al. His primary orientation has always been toward music, but by uniting musical and poetic inclinations he naturally achieved a distinctive singer-songwriter expression, his most remarkable characteristic. His verses have been published in Polet, Prisutnosti, Književne novine, Književnik, and his first award was from the Split magazine Vidik. His first book – Brod u boci – was published in 1971 and sold in more than 60,000 copies. Zabranjena knjiga is his seventeenth book of poetry.
nevergreen
Davor Međurečan & Marko Meštrović: Silencium
The film is based on Miroslav Krleza’s The Ballads of Petrica Kerempuh (1936), one of the capital works of Croatian literature. The subject of this film is freedom. Freedom which cannot be trampled underfoot, as much as the powers that be would want that.
CM extensions
Discopath: The Rat Saviour (Izbavitelj)
Inspired by 1976 Croatian horror Sci-Fi film directed by Krsto Papić. This film's story is based on a book by the Soviet writer Alexander Greene.
poetry
Dražen Katunarić: Poems
Dražen Katunarić studied Philosophy at Strasbourg University. He composed prose, poetry, and essays. His works have been translated into English, French, German, Spanish, Slovenian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Corsican, and Italian. He has received several awards, including the literary award "Naji Naaman" (Lebanon 2004) and the literary award of Steiermärkische Sparkasse (2009). He was named a Knight of Literature (Chevalier de la littérature et de l'art) by the French Ministry of Culture.
report
Under the surface of the Balkan floods lies a social disaster
Srećko Horvat
theguardian.com, Thursday 22 May 2014
People from across the former Yugoslavia were helping one another, but their governments enabled the tragedy
writers
Janko Polić Kamov
The Knight of the Black Swearword - the young man whose verses shocked his contemporaries.
Janko Polić Kamov (17 November 1886 – 8 August 1910) was a Croatian writer and poet.
prose
Petar Šegedin: Holy Devil
Petar Šegedin (1909-1998) was born in Žrnovo, on the island of Korčula. He worked as a professor and diplomat, and later as a professional writer.
From his debut novel, published in 1946, Šegedin's work broke away from socialist realism and (re)introduced existentialism into Croatian literature. He is also noted for his essays and travelogues.
Šegedin served as a president of Matica hrvatska and the Croatian Writers' Association. He was a full member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts since 1963. Šegedin is the 1991 laureate of the Vladimir Nazor Award for Life Achievement in Literature.
prose
Vjekoslav Kaleb: A Stick for a Stall
Vjekoslav Kaleb (1905-1996) was a Croatian short story writer and novelist. He has published 57 short stories and three novels, most of which deal with existential struggles of people in the remote hamlets of the rural Zagora during wartimes.
In addition to writing screenplays, articles and reviews, Kaleb was also a translator, his most notable work being the translation of Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio. Kaleb’s works have also been translated into Albanian, English, French, German, Italian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Slovene and Macedonian.
prose
Vladan Desnica: The Visit
Vladan Desnica (1905-1967), born in Zadar, wrote poems, short stories and novels, usually dealing with life in the cities and villages of Northern Dalmatia. His best work is the novel Proljeća Ivana Galeba (Springs of Ivan Galeb), published in 1957, in which he gives a first-person account of an intellectual lying in a hospital bed and meditating about illness and mortality. He lived in Zagreb until his death.
prose
Janko Polić Kamov: Bitanga
Rebellious by nature, Janko Polić Kamov (1886-1910) was expelled from his Rijeka high school and dropped out of high school in Zagreb. Because of his participation in the demonstration against the Hungarian governor in Croatia, Khuen-Héderváry, he was sentenced to three months in prison in 1903. Headstrong and temperamental, he called himself Kamov, after Ham (or Kam) from the Old Testament, who saw his father Noah naked but unlike his siblings Shem and Japhet did not cover his nakedness, thus issuing a curse. Kamov probably saw himself as a revealer of bourgeoise hypocrisy and wrote to his brother Vladimir in 1910 - "Kamov to me is a literary program..."
prose
Neven Ušumović: Chikungunya (extract)
Of course he didn’t take him all the way to the Croatian border. He left him near Parecag, at a bus station. This driver didn’t say a word, he drove all to Koper in silence; all right, true, it was Monday, no one felt like talking. He only said srečno, wished him good luck, and motioned him to get out. He crossed the road and after only a few steps found the place where he could wait for another car.
poetry
Sibila Petlevski: Poems
These recent poems from the forthcoming collection Passwords of Oblivion exemplify the interplay in Sibila Petlevski’s work between the outer and inner worlds.
prose
Sibila Petlevski: Correspondence (excerpt from "A State of Twilight")
Sibila Petlevski is the author of 23 books in different genres of fiction, non-fiction, drama and poetry.
Some of her sonnets originally written in English appeared in Douglas Messerli's anthology of world authors 50: A Celebration of Sun & Moon Classics (Sun & Moon Press, Los Angeles, 1995). Her poetry, drama and extracts from her fiction have been translated into numerous languages.
She won the "Vladimir Nazor" Award for literature for 1993. She also won the literary award for the best national novel published in 2009, tportal award, for her novel "Vrijeme laži".
"Correspondence" is an excerpt from "A State of Twilight", the third novel in the "Taboo" trilogy.
prose
Slađana Bukovac: Countryside - sample from an untitled novel
Listen to those mathematically identical pauses between the hoof beats, that trackless train engine which one must subordinate to one's own uncoordinated movements.
prose
Tea Tulić: The Hair is everywhere (Selection)
LIT LINK FESTIVAL 2017
Tea Tulić was born in Rijeka (Croatia) in 1978. Her work was published in various Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian and Slovenian literature and cultural magazines including McSweeney’s from San Francisco. In 2011, she won Prozak, a literary award for the best young author’s manuscript, which resulted in publication of her first book, a fragmentary novel Kosa posvuda (Hair Everywhere). The novel received numerous positive reviews and was included in the top five prose books of the 2011 by Vijesnik daily newspaper, The Croatian Ministry of Culture awarded it as one of the best prose books in 2011. Hair Everywhere is also translated and published in UK, Italy, Macedonia and Serbia. In 2014. in cooperation with the musical collective Japanski Premijeri, she published spoken word album Albumče on Bandcamp.
She is a jury member of international short prose competition Lapis Histrae and a member of RiLit, a non-formal group of writers from Rijeka. Her new novel “Maksimum jata” (Flock’s maksimum) is recently published.
prose
Vladimir Stojsavljević: Pula
In that rested 1995 in Pula I ran a theatre workshop for young literati, to which many applicants applied, high schoolers and perennial college students, and one employee of the Cement factory, then an infamous ecological timebomb. It looks like the idea to call the workshop "Joyce Was In Pula, Too" contributed to the great interest from talented idlers, jokey young men and women, among whom the most attractive was a certain mysterious Una.
review
Dubravka Ugrešić's Europe in Sepia
MUSIC & LITERATURE
22 Apr 2014
by Madeleine LaRue
Dubravka Ugrešić is a Croatian writer living in Amsterdam, which, as she remarks, tongue firmly in cheek, “is just the sexiest thing ever.” Ugrešić is always the first to subvert her own glamour. Indeed, she has distinguished herself throughout her thirty-year career by refusing to accept the romance, by staring down nostalgia until it splinters apart like her former homeland.
poetry
Anka Žagar: Poems
Anka Žagar was born in 1954 in Zamost, in the Gorski Kotar region of Croatia. She attended elementary school in Plesac, and high school in Cabar. Žagar graduated in Croatian and comparative literature at the Arts Faculty in Zagreb, and currently works as a librarian. One of the most acclaimed Croatian poets, she has published six books of poetry and a number of collector’s editions, illustrated with original etchings by famous Croatian graphic artists.
prose
Boris Dežulović: The Red Devil
BORIS DEŽULOVIĆ was born in 1964, in Split. From 1988, together with Predrag Lucić and Viktor Ivančić, he edited Feral, the satirical supplement of Nedjeljna Dalmacija and Slobodna Dalmacija; in 1993 they established it as the independent weekly Feral Tribune. Since leaving Feral in 1999, Dežulović has been an ongoing columnist for Globus (Zagreb), as well as a regular contributor to a wide range of media in the region. He lives and works in Split.
Dežulović’s publications include the novels Christkind and Jebo sad hiljadu dinara (Who Gives a Fuck About a Thousand Dinars Now) as well as story, column and essay collections. “The Red Devil” comes from a 2007 collection of short stories Poglavnikova bakterija (The Führer’s Bacillus).
prose
Mima Simić: Boys Don't Cry
Mima Simić, born 1976, graduated from Zagreb Faculty of Philosophy with a degree in Comparative Literature and English Language and Literature, and also holds an MA in Gender Studies from the Central European University (CEU) in Budapest. She is a writer, translator, and a cultural, gender and film theorist. So far she has published a collection of short stories Adventures of Gloria Scott (AGM, Zagreb, 2005) and had numerous short stories published in Croatian and international literary magazines and similar publications. Her stories have been included in several Croatian and international anthologies. She is a member of the editorial team of Sextures, E‐journal for Sexualities, Cultures and Politics, and on the editorial board of Ekviva ‐ the regional women's web portal.
prose
Drago Glamuzina: Three
Drago Glamuzina was born in Vrgorac in 1967. His publications include Mesari (Butchers, poetry, Naklada MD, Zagreb, 2001), Tri (Three, a novel, Profil, Zagreb, 2008), Je li to sve (Is That All, poetry, VBZ, Zagreb, 2009), and a book of selected poems called Sami u toj šumi accompanied by photographs by Stanko Abadžić (Alone in that Forest, Bibliofil, Zagreb, 2011). The novel Tri (Three) won the T-portal’s Award for the best Croatian novel published in 2008. Besides Croatia, Tri appeared in Serbia (Rende, Belgrade, 2009), Macedonia (Makedonska reč, 2009), and Slovenia (Beletrina, 2013), while its German translation is forthcoming.
news
The Eastern Iowa Gazette reviewers selected Perisic's Our Man in Iraq as one of their favorites in 2013
Gazette book reviewers who have shared their insights about more than 100 books in 2013 were asked to name just five favorites from the long list of books they read this year.
One of them, Laura Farmer, include in her favorites “Our Man in Iraq” by Robert Perisic. She wrote that this was one of the most striking novels of the year. When Boris begins sending incoherent reports back to Croatia from Iraq, Toni, Boris’ cousin, rewrites them, blurring the line between truth and fiction and raising points about the role of the media, truth, and the chances we take in life to do what we think is best.
prose
Bekim Sejranovic: Excerpt from his novel A Better Place
Bekim Sejranović (1972-2020) was born in Brčko, Bosnia and Hercegovina. He also lived and studied in Rijeka, Croatia and moved to Oslo, Norway in 1993 where he earned his master’s degree in South Slavic Languages and Literature from the University of Oslo. Sejranović is the author of a collection of short stories and five novels. His novel Nigdje, niotkuda (2008) (Nowhere, From Nowhere) won the prestigious Meša Selimović award in 2009.
Sejranović’s writing often centered around questions of identity and nomadism, perhaps mirroring his own life: a child of divorce, he was raised primarily by his grandparents, grew up in a town splintered by the war, spent his young adulthood in wartime Croatia and finally reached Norway as a refugee in 1993, where he had security and official status, but not necessarily a home.
poetry
Dorta Jagić: Some Selected Poems
Dorta Jagić writes poetry, short prose pieces, drama and theatre reviews, and translates from English and German into Croatian. Since 1999, she has been involved with various amateur theatre groups as a director and educator.
Her work has been widely translated.
Her poetry has been awarded both in Croatia and abroad.
panorama
A Little-Known Story about a Movement, a Magazine, and the Computer’s Arrival in Art
New Tendencies and Bit International, 1961–1973
published by ZKM / Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe and The MIT Press, documents a short but intense artistic experiment which took place in Zagreb fifty years ago, but whose impact has been felt far beyond that time and place.
panorama
An overview of e-book market in Croatia
The e-books research project ~ funded by Vetenskapsrådet - the Swedish Research Council
By Zoran Velagić and Franjo Pehar
Not much has been written about e-books in Croatia, another European small language market which shares some common traits with other similar milieus, but proves some distinctions as well.
Prosa
Josip Mlakić: A Summer Journey
At dusk, we entered a small town called S. that had been taken that day. I, colonel Petrovic, the commander of the second battalion, his driv¬er and a person from Belgrade called Markica were in a carelessly paint¬ed greyish-olive jeep with its previous white, UN colour showing through. Everyone in the brigade called Markica Aids. He was a thin and pale young man who was with Arkan when the war started. He was dressed up as if going to a parade, and over his back he had a long dag¬ger just like some post-apocalyptic samurai, even though it made the ride unbearable for him.
essay
Mladen Urem: An introduction to the Croatian avant-garde writer Janko Polic Kamov
Any comparative historical analysis of literature demonstrates from the context of examination that a point of division, a beginning or foreshadowing of something new, is present in various places. This time, aside from the usual division, let us consider the special status of the fin de siècle as an inherently undefinable yet sufficiently recognizable category and a motif for discussion of the intercontinentally virtually unknown but very important Croatian writer Janko Polic Kamov.
panorama
Overview of contemporary Croatian literature - Time Out
TimeOut Croatia gives a showcase of Contemporary Culture talent from the EU's newest member: art, film, music, design, architecture, fashion, literature, theatre... Read more about Croatian writers, and get an excellent overview of the present Croatian literary scene, at TimeOut Croatia‘s site.
poetry
Ivan Slamnig: Poetry - a brief selection
Ivan Slamnig (24 June 1930 - 3 July 2001), a Croatian poet and novelist, is considered one of the most important Croatian poets of the 20th century. His laconic, humor-infused modernist poetry is difficult to categorize, and proved popular with the critics and the public alike.
prose
Vlado Bulic: Brodosplit
The Brodosplit I know is in my family's photo albums. In the two most important ones - the white one and the black one, which were the first things packed whenever we moved, and finally settled down in Split's Sućider neighborhood, in an apartment Ma and I got from Brodosplit. In the white one are photos of my parents' wedding, and in the black one photos of my father's funeral.
poetry
Dinko Telećan: Poems
Poet and prose writer Dinko Telećan won this year's European Prize for Poetry at the Festival of Poetry in Curtea de Argeş.
review
Our Man in Iraq by Robert Perisic
World Literature Today, September 2013.
by Michele Levy, North Carolina A&T University
This postmodern, postcommunist picaresque hilariously skewers Croatian, Western, and global culture as it follows the rapid descent of quasi-journalist Toni
news
Literary Link - LitLink at UNIRI Library
uniri.hr
At the University Library in Rijeka at the American Corner, the LitLink programme will be held on Friday, September 27th, from 4:00 PM to 4:45 PM in the Glagoljica exhibition hall, with american writers Elianna Kan and Ernesto Estrella as guests .
news
Lit Link Festival 2013
26th-28th of September 2013
Pula 26.9. - Rijeka 27.9. - Zagreb 28.9. 2013.
The first edition of the festival hosts American writers, publishers and editors.
A number of Croatian authors present their work.
Lit Link Festival wants to induce the two-way exchange of fresh information.
Readings: Heidi Julavits, Damir Karakaš, Tao Lin, Zoran Ferić, Ernesto Estrella, Marinko Koščec, James Hopkin, Vlado Bulić, Buzz Poole, Sibila Petlevski, Renato Baretić, Tea Tulić, Bekim Sejranović, Drago Glamuzina, Nikola Petković, Vedrana Rudan, Slađana Bukovac, Gordan Nuhanović, Vladimir Stojsavljević, Drago Orlić, Neven Ušumović
Lectures and discussions: Richard Nash, John O’Brien, Elianna Kan, Buzz Poole, Gaston Bellemare...
review
FROM ZAGREB WITH ANOMIE
Steven Wingate
From: American Book Review
Volume 34, Number 4, May/June 2013
Perišić neither sentimentalizes or demonizes the worship of global capital, making his novel that much more tough-minded.
review
The First Rule of Swimming
Washington Independent, by Amanda Holmes Duffy, July 3, 2013
The yearning for and promise of refuge are symbolized by a fictional Croatian island in this novel about two devoted sisters, survivors who learn that the first rule of swimming is to stay afloat.
review
Staying Afloat - Courtney Angela Brkic’s ‘First Rule of Swimming’
The New York Times, by BROOKE ALLEN, July 12, 2013
The violent history of postwar Croatia, from 1945 until the turn of the millennium, created three generations of dislocated people. Some were dislocated from home and roots: many thousands fled their homeland during the years of Yugoslav Communism, with its informers, “eliminations” and prison camps. Others, who stayed on, were dislocated from their history as the Communist authorities rewrote the past, a process that continued during the bloody Balkan wars of the 1990s. And dislocation, as always, extended into the psychological realm: timeless ideas of value and even truth were warped by decades of lies.
report
Croatia: meet the new EU neighbours
James Hopkin
The Guardian, Monday 1 July 2013
Contemporary Croatian literature, in particular, is fast gaining recognition. Josip Novakovich was recently shortlisted for the Man Booker international prize, as was Daša Drndić for the Independent foreign fiction prize. Then there's Robert Perišić, Slavenka Drakulić, and Zoran Ferić.
Zagreb is crammed with cultural sites, including the impressive new Museum of Contemporary Art, and in spring and autumn the city is alive with weekly festivals such as the Subversive film festival (this year speakers included Oliver Stone and Slavoj Žižek).
news
Croatia’s biggest leap since independence
Independent, 16 June 2013, by Keith Micallef
The 1st July is seen by many as a historic day in Croatia’s relatively brief existence as an independent state, marking the country’s accession to the EU. Twenty-two years have passed since the country declared its independence from Yugoslavia. Before that, Croatia’s only experience as an independent state was between 1941 and 1945, as a German puppet state under Nazi leadership. After a civil war that ended in 1995, EU membership was only a distant image on the horizon. Yet, after a prolonged negotiation period spanning more than six years, in 2011 Croatia finally received the green light to join the elite club, two years later.
essay
The Mediterranean: Room without a view
Jurica Pavicic
Wespennest, Eurozine
The mythical Mediterranean of the tourist imagination masks a reality of debt, stagnation and social decline. Yet the region colludes in its own downfall, writes Jurica Pavicic, trading in former glories while acquiescing to political and economic exploitation.
interview
An interview with Damir Šodan
By poetryinternational / May 14, 2013
Poetry International, in collaboration with 3:AM Magazine, is pleased to showcase a group of amazing young European poets. Steven Fowler, the Editor of the Maintenant Interview Series, began this project in January 2010 as a result of experiencing the differing, and inspirational, attitudes of European poetic cultures and how they contrasted to the UK. He said “I really thought it was a shame that poets from outside of the English language in Europe were never recognised until they had reached middle age and a certain ‘prominence’ in their own countries. I also wanted to present a truly representative sense of what poetry is for different traditions and methodologies, from the most traditional to the most avant garde. ”
panorama
A glimpse into Croatian literature and what it brings to Europe
The Bright Old Oak, 5 June, 2013.
In less than four weeks Croatia will be the next country to join the European Union. The event will mark the first time since a former Yugoslavian country joins the Union after Slovenia, who had joined in 2004. Just six years after the end of the Croatian War of Independence, the nation has rapidly grown into a modern and flourishing country and is now ready to join in the other European countries from which it was long held apart from.
poetry
Olja Savičević Ivančević: Postcards from Istanbul (a selection)
Maybe it's time for a bit of poetic reflections from Istanbul.
news
Trieste wins Independent Foreign Fiction Readers’ Prize
The winner of the 2013 Prize is 'The Detour' by Gerbrand Bakker, translated by David Colmer'. Themes of infidelity, exile and isolation won over the judges of this year’s Prize to give the author his second major prize win. His previous novel The Twin won the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Translator David Colmer will share the prize money with Bakker, in this unique award that recognises writer and translator equally.
essay
Where Are the Women in Translation?
Words without borders, By Alison Anderson, May 14, 2013
Alison Anderson is the author of two novels, Hidden Latitudes and Darwin’s Wink. Her translations include Leila Marouane’s Sexual Life of an Islamist in Paris, two novels by Sélim Nassib, Amélie Nothomb’s Tokyo Fiancée, Lifeform, and Hygiene and the Assassin, and Muriel Barbery’s Elegance of the Hedgehog and Gourmet Rhapsody. She lives near Lausanne, Switzerland.
panorama
The ten best Eastern Europen books you've never heard of
BY JEFFREY ZUCKERMAN, THE AIRSHIP, May 13, 2013
Black Balloon has just published Robert Perišić’s Our Man in Iraq, translated by Will Firth. Despite its title, the novel takes place almost entirely in Croatia and feels so deeply Eastern European in sensibility that I found myself jotting down other books from that region once eclipsed by the Iron Curtain’s shadow. Without further ado, here are ten brilliant and barely-known books from ten countries in Eastern Europe . .
report
Croatians in love with Scandinavian writers
Natasa Radic, Independent Balkan News Agency, 03/05/2013
At the recently held Noir Festival, which hosts the world’s writer stars that dominate the global top bestseller lists, one author had an extraordinary huge audience in Zagreb Kaptol Center, where the literary critic Mima Simic had a public interview with him. His name is Jo Nesbo, Norwegian crime novel writer, whose novel “The Snowman” has been sold out in Croatia. Perhaps the secret relationship between the famous Norwegian and readers in Croatia can be found in the fact that in his novel “The Savior” main character is a Vukovar defender during the Homeland war.
panorama
”Post-LondonBookFair Blues” and UK prizes for Literature in Translation
Istros Books, May 1, 2013.
Like many other small publishers, translators and authors, I find myself suffering from a touch of post-LondonBookFair Blues. While we were gearing up for the action – preparing PR material, making appointments, co-coordinating events and talks, it was all in the realm of Possibility – an exciting place without borders.
interview
The Perils of Transation, guest post by Will Firth
ANZ LitLovers, Lisa Hill, April 28, 2013
Last week in the course of my review of A Handful of Sand by Marinko Koscec, I had the pleasure of ‘meeting’ his translator in the conversation that took place in comments about the book. Will Firth is a multi-lingual Aussie translator who works in Berlin, translating Russian, Macedonian, and all variants of Serbo-Croatian. Born in 1965 in Newcastle, Australia, Will studied German and Slavic languages in Canberra, Zagreb and Moscow, and since 1991, he has been living in Berlin, where he works as a freelance translator of literature and the humanities.
essay
Srećko Horvat and Igor Štiks: Towards a Utopia of Democracy
27/04/2013
“A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out the one country at which Humanity is always landing. And when Humanity lands there, it looks out, and, seeing a better country, sets sail. Progress is the realisation of Utopias.”
Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man under Socialism
review
Co-Winner of April Essay Contest: They Would Never Hurt a Fly (2005)
Piše: Daniel Rusnak
Published Monday, April 15, 2013
In They Would Never Hurt a Fly, Slavenka Drakulic follows the stories of the Hague War criminals from the former Yugoslavia. Drakulic argues that ordinary men transformed into war criminals gradually through intensifying rhetoric containing a perfect storm of prejudice, myth, propaganda history and culture. Becoming a war criminal is a process, she claims, that does not affect only those who are “predisposed” or “inhuman.” Indeed, anyone can become a war criminal under the right circumstances. Even well meaning, civilized people like you and me.
review
An extraordinary novel succeeds on all fronts
The Gazette, Laura Farmer, 28 April 2013
Extraordinary novels do more than tell a good story; they cross multiple orbits, discussing family, love, politics, money and art. What’s amazing about Robert Perisic’s “Our Man in Iraq” is that it does all of the above — while also being wickedly funny.
review
Mama Leone by Miljenko Jergović
Mama Leone, by Miljenko Jergović (b. 1966), has an interesting structure: the first part of the book, “When I Was Born a Dog Started Barking in the Hall of the Maternity Ward,” is a novella narrated from the first-person perspective, while the second part, ”It Was Then a Childhood Story Ended,” is composed of twelve short stories written by an omniscent narrator.
review
Every Day, Every Hour by Nataša Dragnić
Michele Levy, World Literature Today
Readers and foreign presses have embraced Every Day, Every Hour as an enchanting first novel. Alas, however, its fairy-tale romance collapses under the weight of stylistic and structural contrivance.
interview
Under the Covers: A chat with Josip Novakovich
The George town, April 25, 2013
Josip Novakovich is a writer of short stories, essays, and novels, with many published to popular acclaim. He was recently shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize for “literary excellence… in a writer’s entire body of work.” Born in Yugoslavia in 1956, Novakovich grew up in Daruvar, in what is now central Croatia.
interview
The Normal World Believes Its Own Stability
An Interview with Robert Perišić by Steven Wingate
When your first book in the U.S. comes out with a front cover blurb from Jonathan Franzen, you’re usually in a pretty good spot. That’s where Croatian author Robert Perišić finds himself with the fine, just-released novel Our Man in Iraq, one of the first offerings from the relatively new press Black Balloon Publishing.
(The U.K. edition of the novel was published by Istros Books in 2012 and the original, Naš čovjek na terenu in Croatian, came out in 2007.)
review
After the war
Prospect Magazine / by J A Hopkin / January 24, 2013
Our Man in Iraq, by Robert Perišic
Robert Perišic’s wry novel Our Man in Iraq was a bestseller in his native Croatia, and its US edition has been endorsed recently by Jonathan Franzen. It’s easy to see why. With a nod to the great Ranko Marinkovic’s novel, Cyclops, in which a theatre critic and his boho-intelligentsia friends try to make sense of Zagreb during the second world war, Perišic maps and mocks the rapid changes happening to his city following the end of the Domovinski Rat—the brutal Homelands War of 1991-95 in which Croatia fought for independence from Serbia.
news
Our man in America
ROBERT PERIŠIĆ ON HIS FIRST AMERICAN BOOK TOUR TO PROMOTE HIS NOVEL, OUR MAN IN IRAQ.
Visit www.ourmaniniraq.com
review
A Handful of Sand, by Marinko Koscec, translated by Will Firth
ANZ LitLovers LitBlog, Lisa Hill, April 20, 2013
A Handful of Sand by Marinko Koščec and translated from the Croatian by Will Firth, is billed on its blurb as an ‘ode to lost opportunity’ but I think it’s more than that. I think it asks, is it ever possible for psychologically damaged people to love? Or is it that they can only ‘sample’ what others have, only to lose it like sand slipping through their fingers?
news
Perisic's book launch in New York
Facing the U.S. tour of Robert Perisic
The author will undertake a North American reading & cultural tour. Inaugural U.S. Event will take place in New York City on Tuesday, April 23 at 7:00pm - Hausing Works, Bookstore cafe
review
Croatia via Iraq
Brave New Words, Thursday, April 18, 2013
B.J. Epstein
I had never read a Croatian novel, though I’ve been to Croatia, until a few months ago. Here’s my review of that Croatian novel in English translation. The review was published in Wales Arts Review.
Our Man in Iraq
Robert Perisic, translated by Will Firth
report
Listen to conversations at the London Book Fair Croatian stand
Contemporary Croatian Literature at Keats House
Robert Perišić in conversation with Will Firth
Josip Novakovich in conversation with Marinko Koščec
review
A handful of sand by Marinko Koščec
Every time a book from Istros books drop through my door, I know for a fact I’m in for a treat so far this is my fourth books from every one as different as the one before but equally as brilliant as the one before so no to the book from Marinko Koščec. He is a lecturer in French literature for the university in Zagreb, he works as an editor for the Sysprint publishing house and also teaches novel-writing. He has so far published five novel his novel someone else won a big prize in Croatia, this book Handful of sand was nominated for the Jutarnji list award .
news
Trieste Is Shortlisted
The shortlist for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize is announced, and Daša Drndić is on it!
review
Boston Globe: ‘Our Man in Iraq’ by Robert Perisic
By Saul Austerlitz (Published on Apr 11, 2013)
Given the uncountable billions of words they have dedicated to the war in Iraq, it might be easy for Americans to think of it as belonging solely to them. Even its possession by the Iraqis can feel tenuous at times. So it is a refreshing reminder of the new global village to read a novel like Robert Perisic’s “Our Man in Iraq,” which studies the fighting in Baghdad from the distant shores of Croatia.
review
Toronto Star on Robert Perisic's novel
By: Emily Donaldson (Published on Fri Apr 12 2013)
"When I say Our Man in Iraq is likely to be the best novel you've ever read by a Croatian writer, I'm not just cynically gambling that you've never read any Croatian novels; or rather, I'm doing it secure in the knowledge that Robert Perisic's first novel (originally published in 2007) is also terrifically witty and original."
news
Daša Drndić long-listed for the 2013 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
Drndić was shortlisted for her novel Trieste, a story about Jews of Gorizia in Northeast Italy during World War II.
The Independent Foreign Prize honours the best work of fiction by a living author, which has been translated into English from any other language and published in the United Kingdom.
news
Perisic's novel selected as one of the Most Anticipated Books of 2013
A very popular American site on books and literary culture, The Millions, selected Robert Perisic's novel Our Man in Iraq as one of the Most Anticipated Books of 2013.
essay
The Third Reich in Contemporary Fiction
RICHARD MARTIN
http://www.alluvium-journal.org
"The third and final novel that I would like to consider here – Daša Drndić’s Trieste (first published in Croatian in 2007 and in English in 2012) – features a much looser collage of historical materials. These include photographs, maps, transcripts (some taken from the Nuremberg Trials, others imagined), extensive footnotes and biographical summaries. These fragments seem to comprise the research archive of the novel’s central (fictional) character, Haya Tedeschi, who is searching for her son..."
essay
Hyperparents
DRAGAN JURAK
www.zivljenjenadotik.si
The reigning model of hyper-parenthood makes parents extremely reduced people. All these people gathering around nurseries and schools may be perfectly interesting and nice. When it comes to their children, they absolutely identify themselves with their role as a parent and transform from complex persons into caricatures.
review
Croatia: from our own correspondent
ANN MORGAN, A year of reading the world
Our Man in Iraq by Robert Perišić, Istros books 2012
'It is a thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking story, which, while recalling some of the comic greats that have gone before, add its own brave, quirky and refreshing perspective to the tradition. An unexpected delight.'
poetry
The Market-place in Dubrava
Five poems by Krešimir Bagić
THE RISE - METAL'S PERFIDIOUS SONG - THE MARKET-PLACE IN DUBRAVA - BLAŽ BLAŽ BLAŽ - GASTON D.
interview
An interview with Neven Ušumović
"At the end of the 1990s, the prevailing trend in Croatian literature was neorealism: the consequences of war, the sudden impoverishment of wide sections of society, the brutality of the economic transition were foregrounded. In this decade, there is more experimentation: intermediality and crossover of genres offer particularly productive solutions for an inventive dialogue with social reality. It would please me if people outside Croatia read Robert Perišić, Zoran Ferić, Boris Dežulović and Marinko Koščec; then new writers such as Vlado Bulić and Zoran Pilić. They are characterized by harsh satire, uncompromising analysis of the social situation, and poetic inventiveness." - from dalkeyarchive.com
prose
Vereš
Story by Neven Ušumović
Translated by Celia Hawkesworth
The story "Vereš" is published in the collection "Best European Fiction 2010" (Dalkey Archive Press) edited by Aleksandar Hemon.
interview
An interview with Igor Štiks
"The nineteenth-century idea that literature could be neatly compartmentalised into 'national' literatures was always a problematic one but increasingly so in a world of intensive migration. My literary identity certainly moves beyond the linguistic limits of my language due to the Weltliteratur character of this particular art."
Interviewer: Špela Močnik, asymptotejournal.com
writers
Neven Ušumović
Neven Usumovic won critical acclaim for his collections of short stories. His story "Vereš" is published in the collection "Best European Fiction 2010" (Dalkey Archive Press).
review
Tim Judah on Our Man in Iraq
TIM JUDAH
Our Man in Iraq by Robert Perišić
In general terms, there are only a few tests of a good book. The first and really big one, however, is whether you want to know what happens next. The second, which obviously does not apply if you are reading science fiction or a historical romance, say, is whether you think, “Yes, exactly!” about descriptions of people and places. I am not Croatian, but I am a journalist and I know lots of the people in this book – not literally, of course, but I recognise their characters. All the way through, not only did want to know what happened next, but I kept thinking, “Yes, exactly!”
Tim Judah is Balkans correspondent of The Economist
prose
How to tie The Shoelaces
Three excerpts from the novel How to tie The Shoelaces by Nikola Petković, originally published in Croatia, entitled Kako svezati cipele (Zagreb: Algoritam, 2011). It is a short novel divided in three parts that deals with a father-son relationship. It relates a story of a complex, unfulfilled and rather traumatic memories of a child whose father left him when he was seven. Having autobiographical elements to it and being particular in a way it does not shy away from addressing the universal topic both known through the literary history and to the territory where it in fact takes place: a patriarchal country where such episodes are kept behind the veil of silence while culturally understood as something that comes with the territory, and, as such, is perceived experienced, understood and endured as something quite natural.
The three excerpts from the novel have a thin red line of a plot-tracing connected with the three wandering motifs as stated in each of their titles.
prose
The Hoppers
The short story by Nikola Petkovic, published in the Canadian Literary Quarterly Exile, Barry Callaghan, editor-in-Chief
writers
Nikola Petković
His scholarly and literary works as well as book reviews Petkovic publishes in numerous national and international periodicals. He is a weekly columnist in the newspapers Novi list where he writes on poetry. Nikola Petkovic is the president of the Croatian Writers Society
writers
Ivica Đikić
Đikić's novel Cirkus Columbia (Edition Feral Tribune, Split, 2003) won the "Meša Selimović Award" for the best fictional book in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. The book focuses on individual and social breakdowns of the recent war, and takes place in a Bosnian province. Academy Award winner, Danis Tanović, directed the movie Cirkus Columbia (2010) with Đikić as a co-screenwriter. The novel Cirkus Columbia has been translated into Italian and Spanish. His latest novel is I Dreamt of Elephants (2011).
interview
An interview with Damir Karakaš
"You should look for the reason my character ended up the way he did in that context. Although this isn't an autobiographical novel, but a fictional novel with autobiographical elements, I happen to have ended up in that hell so I know very well what I'm talking about. It's a beautiful building that tourists like to take pictures of, and I passed by it a hundred times and admired it, but I never dreamed that some day I'd end up deep under its foundations, in the catacombs where during the French Revolution they kept people who were about to be sent to the guillotine. This is a novel about a different Paris, a novel about demystifying illusions."
prose
Our Man in Iraq
Toni, the economics correspondent of a Croatian newspaper, initially thought it would be a brilliant idea to send his Arabic-speaking cousin Boris to Iraq in his place to report on the war. However, when all news from Boris suddenly stops, Toni's career - and his increasingly complicated personal life - is left hanging in the balance as he is forced to fake his cousin's reports...
The bestselling, internationally award-winning novel from Croatian writer Robert Perišić is now available in English translation.
Read an extract from "Our Man in Iraq", published by Istros Books in June 2012, translated from Croatian by Will Firth.
essay
Computer and Visual Research - Ways of Thinking and Scope of Acting
An essay by Matko Meštrović from his book Dispersion of Meaning - The Fading Out of the Doctrinaire World? (Cambridge Scholars Publishing):
In his letter addressed to the Zagreb Museum of Contemporary Art, in June last year, Frieder Nake asked a curious question: How did it happen that Zagreb for a few years became a very important place for this kind of art and visual research … (Frieder Nake, June 16, 2003).
When I recently received a copy of his letter I was quite embarrassed: How a man who visited that city for several times and regularly participated in activity of its museum from 1968 to 1973 could ask such a question? But trying to react, I found myself uncertain of what really was happening there in those five years.
news
New Meštrović's book published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing
After having published his book Dispersion of Meaning - The Fading Out of the Doctrinaire World? (2008), the same publisher CSP - Cambridge Scholars Publishing has just published a collection of nine inter-linked essays by Matko Meštrović under the title Towards a New Orientation. A Croatian version of the book, Prema novom usmjerenju, was published by Zagreb publisher Antibarbarus.
report
Literary Austerity Measures - Cut a Long Story Short!
An unofficial report from the Festival of the European Short Story in Zagreb and Pazin - by James Hopkin (Literature Across Frontiers), writer from Manchester.
"And this is the wonderful thing about the festival thus far: the opportunity for the writers and organisers to discuss each other’s work, the short story as form, in unhurried surroundings, unlike UK festivals where the writer is shipped in and out with the minimum of fuss or contact, and you usually don’t have the time or the opportunity to sit down with other writers. Here it is different."
writers
Matko Meštrović
Matko Meštrovic was a leading figure in the international New Tendencies (in Croatian: Nove tendencije) art-movement in the 1960s. His publications cover inter-disciplinary critical theory, art criticism, and new information technologies.
His books Dispersion of Meaning - The Fading Out of the Doctrinaire World? (2008) and Towards a New Orientation (2012) are published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
prose
Symmetries of a Miracle
Short story by Zoran Ferić from the collection An Angel in Offside (Anđeo u ofsajdu)
Translated by Tomislav Kuzmanović
prose
Barefoot Experience
Short story by Gordan Nuhanović
"I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his characters, his quirky imagination, and unusual folklore. I also learned a great deal about the blossoming Croatian culture, which is still enjoying the expansion of urban sprawl. Rock music, odd obsessions with pristine, well manicured English lawns, and (don’t ask) gallstones become interesting symbols of normalcy. Although war and paranoia are still present within the stories, the reader is left with the impression that this violent consciousness is slowly evaporating."
The Literary Lollipop on “The Survival League"
interview
An interview with Gordan Nuhanović
In an interview with Ooligan Press, Gordan Nuhanović discusses writing The Survival League and his experiences as a Croatian author and journalist.
writers
Krešimir Bagić
Krešimir Bagić has published several collections of poetry, as the sole author and in collaboration with others. In 2003, he published Le palmier se balance (Paris, Editions Caractères), a selection of his poetry translated into French by M. Andrašijević. He has also published a series of essays and studies on Croatian literature.
prose
The Man for Cats
Short story by GORDAN NUHANOVIĆ, from 'Survival League' (Ooligan Press of Portland State University)
Translated by Julienne Busic
With edgy, evocative prose, Nuhanović weaves darkly optimistic tales where nothing ever works out quite right: English lawns grow daisies instead of grass, and a romantic weekend in the mountains turns into a near-death experience. Caffeinated punks, male pattern baldness, and Jehovah’s Witnesses are all part of the lives the characters observe or reclaim. Through Nuhanović’s natural storytelling voice, we hear the stories of survivors, not only of war, but of life and its spectrum—from the mundane to the insane.
writers
Gordan Nuhanović
His short stories have appeared in numerous literary journals, and his short story collections in Croatian include ‘The Survival League’ (2000), and ‘Battle for Every Last Man’ (2003). He is author of two novels - ‘Last Days of Punk’ (2006) and "Probably Forever" (2009).
His collection of short stories Survival League has been published in USA, Ooligan Press of Portland State University (2005).
review
Tainted Minds
MARK THOMPSON
The Times Literary Supplement, 01 June, 2012, Reviews, Fiction
Daša Drndić: TRIESTE
Translated by Ellen Elias-Bursać, 358pp. MacLehose Press
"With Trieste, the Croatian novelist and playwright Daša Drndić has bridged the gap between Yugoslav and post-Yugoslav fiction, between the work of Danilo Kis, say, writing in the Communist era, and that of Nenad Veličković or Vladimir Arsenijević, responding to the genocidal violence unleashed in the 1990s..."
prose
The Snake Collector
Jurica Pavičić's story translated by Marija Dukić.
Pavičić recently wrote: "Usually, trajectory of the fiction writer starts with writing short stories, with publishing of the stories in the magazines, an then, later, after the apprentice's maturity, comes Her Majesty- novel. In my case, history goes in an opposite direction. From late 90s, I published five novels, novels in which I tried to merge an elements of the unconventional, intelligent genre writing (thriller, crime novel) with social novel. After a decade as a novelist, I've started writing short stories and fell under the spell of it. After a long search, I've found out what kind of stories I write well: slightly longer, with longer time span, sometimes covering deacades, with more then a few characters in elaborate costellations – and yet, all that in short. Stories I like are like novels (or films) incapsulated in a small bottle."
writers
Jurica Pavičić
His novel Plaster Sheep (Ovce od gipsa) has been translated into German and published by Nummer 8. The book was proclaimed the third best book of the year in the German speaking countries in the category of crime stories and thrillers by the Swiss magazine Facts. The same novel was made into a film under the title Witnesses (Svjedoci), directed by Vinko Brešan and included into the programme of the Berlin film festival, where it received the Ecumenical Award.
poetry
100 PIECES by Vlado Bulić
In his Artist Statement Vlado Bulić asserts that for him literature should be a product of the author’s need to cope with the things around him which most often present themselves as problems causing frustration and frustration only. Bulić's book of poetry 100 Pieces (100 komada; published 2003) comes from this frustration.
The poems in this volume can be read as true anecdotes about the daily existence of individuals who do not have any perspective or objective in their lives.
writers
Marko Pogačar
Marko Pogačar (1984) has been publishing poetry, prose, essays and literary criticism. He is an editor of Quorum, a literary magazine, and Zarez, a bi-weekly for cultural and social issues. Awarded with various prizes, he took part in literary festivals and manifestations worldwide.
essay
Lost in Castration
Tomislav Kuzmanović
But what happens when we try our hand at translating a thing such as penis; when we attempt to erect it in a sociocultural context different from its original context? Some expressions contain the word kurac (penis), but they cannot be translated into English without the word being lost. Even when they get translated into English and the word is kept, the whole spectrum of the meanings of the phrase containing it is lost. What gets lost here is crucial for understanding the text at its full and it will be the topic of the ensuing discussion.
prose
Journey to the Heart of the Croatian Dream
Vlado Bulić's novel Journey to the Heart of the Croatian Dream won the Jutarnji list Prize for the best book of fiction in Croatia in 2006.
This is a journey from “the shovel to the Internet” that could easily be read as a “journey” of the society as a whole.
Read a sample translation from the novel translated by Tomislav Kuzmanović.
writers
Vlado Bulić
In 2006, Bulić published the novel A Journey into the Heart of the Croatian Dream (Putovanje u srce hrvatskog sna) which won the prestigious Jutarnji list Prize for the best book of fiction. A Journey to the Heart of the Croatian Dream, a collection of stories that can be read as a serial novel, is actually a coming-of-age novel which follows Bulić's early years in wartime and post-war Croatia. This is a journey from “the shovel to the Internet” that could easily be read as the “journey” of the society as a whole.
prose
Wonderland
Sample translation from "Wonderland", a novel by Marinko Koščec, translated by Tomislav Kuzmanović.
Wonderland is an ironic portrait of Croatian academic community, epitomized by a 40-year-old professor of literature. His professional and family-life traumas, midlife crisis and fantasies of escape from the prison of his individual existence, intertwine with the context of syndromes related to societies in transition.
Wonderland was awarded with the prize «VBZ» for the best novel manuscript in 2003.
prose
Marinko Koscec: A Handful of Sand
Koščec's novel A Handful of Sand (To malo pijeska na dlanu, 2005), translated by Will Firth, is published by "Istros Books", London, in January 2013.
A Handful of Sand is a love story and an ode to lost opportunity.
writers
Marinko Koščec
His novel "Netko drugi" (Someone Else) was awarded with «Meša Selimović» prize 2002 (the best novel published in 2001 in Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro). The novel "Wonderland" was awarded with the prize «VBZ» for the best novel manuscript in 2003. English translation of the novel "To malo pijeska na dlanu" (A Handful of Sand, 2005) is to be published by “Istros books”, London, in Spring 2013.
essay
The Enemy Never Sleeps? Not Any More - Nowadays It Is Just Taking a Nap!
Robert Perišić
"The laziness became an ideological story so that we would not think about the system. In the past, everybody said that the enemy never sleeps. This is not the case nowadays. Nowadays the enemy is asleep far too often. He is taking a nap under a cypress tree, slowly sipping his uzo. The ideology of laziness has incidentally brought about a new kind of racism. And this ideological propaganda, as it always does, has taken root."
writers
Igor Štiks
He has published two novels - A Castle in Romagna (Dvorac u Romagni) in 2000 and Elijah's Chair (Elijahova stolica) in 2006. Elijah’s Chair (2006) received both the Award “Gjalski” and the “Kiklop” and it has been translated into a dozen European languages.
news
Horvat and Štiks in Monthly Review Magazine
An article 'Post-Socialism, the European Union, and a New Left in the Balkans', published in Monthly Review is a theoretical paper written by Srećko Horvat and Igor Štiks who are also the editors of theoretical part of the Subversive Festival in Zagreb.
writers
Zoran Ferić
Zoran Ferić (1961) is one of the most widely read contemporary Croatian writers. His work has received numerous prizes, including the Ksaver Šandor Gjalski Prize in 2000 and the Jutarnji List Award for the best work of prose fiction in 2001 and then again in 2011. His books have been translated into English, German, Slovenian, Polish, and Hungarian.
writers
Slavenka Drakulić
Slavenka Drakulić's books and essays have been translated into many languages. She has published five novels in the U.S.: Holograms Of Fear; Marble Skin; The Taste Of A Man; S. – A Novel About the Balkans (made into a feature film: As If I Am Not There ); and Frida’s Bed.
prose
Hotel Zagorje
The protagonist is a young girl who is nine years old when she is sent to the seaside in the summer of 1991 – but the holiday turns into a timely escape, because war breaks out in her hometown of Vukovar while she’s away. And her father has disappeared without a trace...
The voice of the young narrator is deft and engaging as she tells the story of the life that follows in a refugee camp, where she will spend the next six years together with her mother and brother.
Ivana Bodrožić's first novel, Hotel Zagorje, was published in 2010 and received high praise from both critics and audiences. In 2012, it was translated into German and published by the publishing house Hanser Verlag, which has bought the rights to the novel and its international promotion. This year it will also be published in France. As a co-scriptwriter Ivana Simić Bodrožić is currently working on the film adaptation of her novel with the renowned Bosnian director, Jasmila Žbanić.
writers
Ivana Bodrožić
Ivana Bodrožić was born in Vukovar in 1982. In 2005, she published her first collection of poetry entitled Prvi korak u tamu (The First Step into Darkness) as part of the Goran Award for Young Poets. Her poems have been included in numerous Croatian and international magazines and anthologies of
contemporary poetry.
Her first novel Hotel Zagorje (Hotel Tito) was published in 2010, receiving high praise from both critics and the public and was a Croatian bestseller. Hotel Zagorje is a coming-of-age story that takes place during seven years of displacement and the endless waiting for news about a father listed as “missing”.
The novel has been published by numerous reputable publishing houses and it received the prestigious Prix Ulysee award for the best debut novel in France, as well as numerous important awards in Croatia and the Balkan region such as the Kočićevo Pero Award, Josip and Ivan Kozarac Award, and Kiklop Award for the best work of fiction in 2010.
Bodrožić has since published her second collection of poetry, Prijelaz za divlje životinje (A Road for Wild Animals) and a short story collection 100% pamuk (100% Cotton), which received a regional award.
Her works have been translated into German, French, Czech, Danish, Slovenian, Spanish and Macedonian.
Leica format
Extract from the novel "Leica format" by Daša Drndić
editions and awards:
Leica format, «Meandar», Zagreb, 2003,
Leica format , "Samizdat B92", Belgrade, 2003.
(Nominated for «Vjesnik», «Jutarnji list», «Vladimir Nazor» and «Kiklop» awards for Book of the year 2004)
Leica formátum, Nyitott Könyvműhely, Budapest 2010, translation Viktória Radics
Leica format, Društvo 2000, Ljubljana 2011, translation Sonja Polanc
writers
Robert Perišić
"Robert Perisic is a light bright with intelligence and twinkling with irony, flashing us the news that postwar Croatia not only endures but matters." - Jonathan Franzen
"How deeply satisfying it is to hear Perisic’s wry voice take a different angle, and tell a different story."—ZYZZYVA
writers
Nenad Popović
1991 Co-founder of the publishing house Durieux. Durieux publishes books and, since 2003, the review Phantom of Freedom (Fantom slobode).
Books: In 2008, at Pelago, Zagreb, an essay about immigrant workers A world in the Shadow (Svijet u sjeni) and in Germany an anthology of new Croatian Prose, Kein Gott in Susedgrad (Schoeffling Verlag).
essay
Culture as Ressource
Nenad Popović
The irresponsibility of elites towards culture is today not that dangerous as it was at the end of the eighties and in the first half of the nineties. At least it is not dangerous in a direct way. Back then these elites were co-responsible or direct responsible for killings, tortures and destruction. Today they have restructured themselves. However, the priority national task of culture in each of these countries and nations should be to stop this strategy of mental and cultural crippling.
writers
Daša Drndić
The award-winning, critically acclaimed Croatian novelist, Daša Drndić (10 August 1946 - 5 June 2018) passed away in Rijeka at the age of 71. She boldly took on difficult subject matter in her novels from fascism to cancer. Her novel Sonnenschein (2007) won multiple awards in Croatia and the English translation (Trieste) was shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize in 2013, as was her novel Belladonna for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Award in 2018.
Holding a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and Philology from the University of Belgrade, a Master’s Degree in Theater and Communications from Case Western University and a PhD from the University of Rijeka, her career was long and varied. She was a novelist, a playwright, an editor, a literary critic, a translator, she worked for twenty years as a writer, producer and editor for Radio Belgrade and wrote more than thirty radio plays and fifteen features. She taught Modern British Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Rijeka. Her writing has been published in numerous literary magazines and her books (thirteen in total) have been translated into multiple languages.
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Quorum Generation Prose
article by Krešimir Bagić
RELATIONS
"To the writers of the Quorum generation the most inspirational world literature writers are the short story authors Daniil Kharms, Dino Buzzati, Jorge Luis Borges and Raymond Carver, the autoreferential prose of Umberto Eco and Italo Calvino, and ‘hipster’ and erotic literature ranging from authors such as the Marquis de Sade to Charles Bukowski, Henry Miller and William Burroughs.It is generally possible to point out three prose models used by the writers gathered around the Quorum library and magazine: minimalist prose, conceptual prose and urban landscape prose."
prose
To Make The Dog Laugh
Olja Savičević Ivančević
Nasmijati psa, short stories, 132 pp., AGM, Croatia 2006
Nasmijati psa (To Make the Dog Laugh) is a collection of twenty-two short stories of different genres that deal with seemingly ordinary themes such as relationships between men and women, fringe groups, growing up, love, sickness, ageing and death. Savičević tells her stories with a casual precision, with sensitivity and sometimes spite, often with surprising turns or poetic flourishes, but she is always a master of observation. Ultimately there is a lot more to these "ordinary" stories than meets the eye.
"A colourful and bold book by a daring, imaginative author. The boisterous and unbridled style, vibrant with emotion, is topped off by many a beautiful ending. You put her down, glowing, and think: Wow! That's what you call literature."
Deutschlandfunk
"The Croatian writer Olja Savičević enshrouds our senses with her captivating short stories about breast cancer, anorexia and enslavement. She does not deliberately evoke the gravity of these issues, yet they creep into our consciousness. Suddenly we lost in this mesmerising mist and cannot escape. Nor do we want to."
blond
prose
Adios, Cowboy
Novel "Adios, Cowboy" by Olja Savičević Ivančević follows Dada who returns to her home town, in a suburb, in Mediterranean Dalmatia, where her brother Danijel committed suicide four years ago because of anti-gay bullying...
"… a wild ride through the dusty streets of a coastal city in Dalmatia; clouds of memories are stirred up and verbal hot lead fills the air. The dust settles to reveal a subtle and cleverly crafted family story, which revolves around a pervasive past waiting to be addressed."
Wortlandschaften
Look inside sample translation of the novel translated by Tatjana Jambrišak.
prose
Damir Karakaš: A Perfect Place for Misery
LIT LINK FESTIVAL 2017
An excerpt from the novel translated by Marino Buble.
The novel is about a young Croatian writer in Paris. Through his everyday struggle emerges a whole new parallel world of the Parisian underground marked by immigrants literally trying to survive. He meets a girl from an Arab neighborhood in Paris, signs up for French classes at the university in order to more successfully charm the French publishing houses as well as get a residence permit... The novel follows in parallel his adventure and his search for a publisher and success which does not achieve the result he was hoping for.
Damir Karakaš was born in 1967 in the village of Plašćica in Lika, the mountainous region of Croatia. He is the author of nine books, which consist of three short story collections and four novels. His books have been translated into German, Czech, Macedonian, Slovenian, Arabic... In 2008, a movie based on his collection of short stories 'Kino Lika' was released. The film was directed by Dalibor Matanić and won numerous awards in Croatia and abroad.
writers
Damir Karakaš
In 1999, he published a travelogue entitled ‘Bosnians Are Good Folks’, followed by his first novel ‘Kombetars’ (2000) and collection of short stories ‘Kino Lika’ (2001) (The Lika Cinema). Kino Lika enjoys a cult status in the Croatian literary scene. His novel ‘A Perfect Place for Misery’ was published in 2009. His latest novel is Proslava (2019) (Celebration).
review
Trieste, by Daša Drndić
Amanda Hopkinson
The Independent
Friday, 24 February 2012
This extraordinary work of fiction concludes with the narrator, Haya Tedeschi, reflecting on all she has compiled in eight long years of research and remembering. "I have arranged a multitude of lives, a pile of the past, into an inscrutable, incoherent series of occurrences... I have dug up all the graves of imagination and longing... I have rummaged through a stored series of certainties without finding a trace of logic."
writers
Olja Savičević Ivančević
Olja Savičević Ivančević undoubtedly belongs to a group of the best Croatian contemporary authors of a younger generation. Her narrative style, vocabulary, plot structuring, construction of figures and types, basically all aspects of her literary expertise have been praised by acclaimed critics in Croatia, Serbia, Germany and elsewhere.
interview
That Which is Expounded as Unfathomable
Interview: Branko Čegec
"Quorum in its first phase, that is, in the first five years while I was editing it together with my editorial board, must in some way be understood as a generational magazine, for it is a fact that it was dominated by an upcoming generation. When I, as you put it, declined the possibility that Quorum might be a generational project, I primarily had in mind a comparison with the existing tradition of generational magazines in Croatia, such as Krugovi, Razlog or the first issues of Pitanja."
Interviewer: Tvrtko Vuković
RELATIONS
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Rebecca Duran's Take on Modern Day Life in Pazin (Istria)
Croatia is a small, charming country known today as a prime European tourist destination. However, it has a complicated often turbulent history and is seemingly always destined to be at the crossroads of empires, religions and worldviews, with its current identity and culture incorporating elements from its former Communist, Slavic, Austrian-Hungarian, Catholic, Mediterranean, and European traditions.
review
Review of Dubravka Ugrešić's Age of Skin
Dubravka Ugrešić is one of the most internationally recognizable writers from Croatia, but she has a contentious relationship with her home country, having gone into self-exile in the early 90s. Her recently translated collection of essays, The Age of Skin, touches on topics of of exile and displacement, among others. Read a review of Ugrešić’s latest work of non-fiction, expertly translated by Ellen Elias-Bursac, in the link below .
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Vlaho Bukovac Exhibition in Zagreb Will Run Through May
Vlaho Bukovac (1855-1922) is arguably Croatia's most renowned painter. Born in the south in Cavtat, he spent some of his most impressionable teenage years in New York with his uncle and his first career was as a sailor, but he soon gave that up due to injury. He went on to receive an education in the fine arts in Paris and began his artistic career there. He lived at various times in New York, San Francisco, Peru, Paris, Cavtat, Zagreb and Prague. His painting style could be classified as Impressionism which incorporated various techniques such as pointilism.
An exhibition dedicated to the works of Vlaho Bukovac will be running in Klovićevi dvori Gallery in Gornji Grad, Zagreb through May 22nd, 2022.
review
Review of Neva Lukić's Endless Endings
Read a review of Neva Lukić's collection of short stories, Endless Endings, recently translated into English, in World Literature Today.
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A Guide to Zagreb's Street Art
Zagreb has its fair share of graffiti, often startling passersby when it pops up on say a crumbling fortress wall in the historical center of the city. Along with some well-known street murals are the legendary street artists themselves. Check out the article below for a definitive guide to Zagreb's best street art.
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Beloved Croatian Children's Show Professor Balthazar Now Available in English on YouTube
The colorful, eclectic and much beloved Croatian children's cartoon Professor Balthazar was created by Zlatko Grgić and produced from the late 1960s through the 1970s. Now newer generations will be able to enjoy the Professor's magic, whether they speak Croatian or English.
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New Book on Croatian Football Legend Robert Prosinečki
Robert Prosinečki's long and fabled football career includes winning third place in the 1998 World Cup as part of the Croatian national team, stints in Real Madrid and FC Barcelona as well as managerial roles for the Croatian national team, Red Star Belgrade, the Azerbaijani national team and the Bosnian Hercegovinian national team.
news
Sandorf Publishing House Launches American Branch
Croatian publishing house Sandorf launched their American branch called Sandorf Passage earlier this year.
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Jonathan Bousfield on the Seedy Side of the Seaside
From strange tales of mysterious murders to suspected criminals hiding out to scams, duels and gambling, Opatija, a favourite seaside escape for Central Europeans at the turn of the last century, routinely filled Austrian headlines and the public's imagination in the early 20th century.
review
Review of new English translation of Grigor Vitez's AntonTon
Hailed as the father of 20th century Croatian children's literature, Grigor Vitez (1911-1966) is well known and loved in his homeland. With a new English translation of one of his classic tales AntonTon (AntunTun in Croatian), children around the world can now experience the author's delightful depiction of the strong-minded and silly AntonTon. The Grigor Vitez Award is an annual prize given to the best Croatian children's book of the year.
news
The Best of New Eastern European Literature
Have an overabundance of free time, thanks to the pandemic and lockdowns? Yearning to travel but unable to do so safely? Discover the rhythm of life and thought in multiple Eastern European countries through exciting new literature translated into English. From war-torn Ukraine to tales from Gulag inmates to the search for identity by Eastern Europeans driven away from their home countries because of the economic or political situations but still drawn back to their cultural hearths, this list offers many new worlds to explore.
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More Zagreb Street Art
Explore TimeOut's gallery of fascinating and at times thought-provoking art in the great open air gallery of the streets of Zagreb.
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Welcome to Zagreb's Hangover Museum
Partied too hard last night? Drop by Zagreb's Hangover Museum to feel more normal. People share their craziest hangover stories and visitors can even try on beer goggles to experience how the world looks like through drunken eyes.
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Jonathan Bousfield on the Future as Imagined in 1960s Socialist Yugoslavia
How will the futuristic world of 2060 look? How far will technology have advanced, and how will those advancements affect how we live our everyday lives? These are the questions the Zagreb-based magazine Globus asked in a series of articles in 1960, when conceptualizing what advancements society would make 40 years in the future, the then far-off year of 2000. The articles used fantastical predictions about the future to highlight the technological advancements already made by the then socialist Yugoslavia. Take a trip with guide, Jonathan Bousfield, back to the future as envisioned by journalists in 1960s Yugoslavia.
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Untranslatable Croatian Phrases
What’s the best way for an open-minded foreigner to get straight to the heart of another culture and get a feel for what makes people tick? Don’t just sample the local food and drink and see the major sights, perk up your ears and listen. There’s nothing that gives away the local flavor of a culture more than the common phrases people use, especially ones that have no direct translation.
Check out a quirky list of untranslatable Croatian phrases from Croatian cultural guide extraordinaire, Andrea Pisac, in the link below:
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Jonathon Bousfield on the Museum of Broken Relationships
Just got out of a serious relationship and don't know what to do with all those keepsakes and mementos of your former loved one? The very popular and probably most unique museum in Zagreb, the Museum of Broken Relationships, dedicated to preserving keepsakes alongside the diverse stories of relationships gone wrong, will gladly take them. Find out how the museum got started and take an in-depth look at some of its quirkiest pieces in the link below.
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Cool Things To Do in Zagreb
Zagreb is Croatia’s relaxed, charming and pedestrian-friendly capital. Check out Time Out’s definitive Zagreb guide for a diverse set of options of what to explore in the city from unusual museums to legendary flea markets and everything in between.
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Jonathan Bousfield on Diocletian's Legacy in Split
Diocletian’s Palace is the main attraction in Split, the heart and soul of the city. Because of the palace, Split’s city center can be described as a living museum and it draws in the thousands of tourists that visit the city annually. But how much do we really know about the palace’s namesake who built it, the last ruler of a receding empire? Jonathan Bousfield contends that history only gives us a partial answer.
interview
The Poetry of Zagreb
Cities have served as sources of inspiration, frustration, and discovery for millennia. The subject of sonnets, stories, plays, the power centers of entire cultures, hotbeds of innovation, and the cause of wars, cities are mainstays of the present and the future with millions more people flocking to them every year.
Let the poet, Zagreb native Tomica Bajsić, take you on a lyrical tour of the city. Walk the streets conjured by his graceful words and take in the gentle beauty of the Zagreb of his childhood memories and present day observation.
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You Haven't Experienced Zagreb if You Haven't Been to the Dolac Market
Dolac, the main city market, is a Zagreb institution. Selling all the fresh ingredients you need to whip up a fabulous dinner, from fruits and vegetables to fish, meat and homemade cheese and sausages, the sellers come from all over Croatia. Positioned right above the main square, the colorful market is a beacon of a simpler way of life and is just as bustling as it was a century ago.
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Croatian Phrases Translated into English
Do you find phrases and sayings give personality and flair to a language? Have you ever pondered how the culture and history of a place shape the common phrases? Check out some common sayings in Croatian with their literal translations and actual meanings below.
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Discover Croatia's Archaeological Secrets
Discover Croatia’s rich archaeological secrets, from the well known ancient Roman city of Salona near Split or the Neanderthal museum in Krapina to the often overlooked Andautonia Archaeological Park, just outside of Zagreb, which boasts the excavated ruins of a Roman town or the oldest continuously inhabited town in Europe, Vinkovci.
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Croatian Sites on UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List
A little know fact is that Croatia, together with Spain, have the most cultural and historical heritage under the protection of UNESCO, and Croatia has the highest number of UNESCO intangible goods of any European country.
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Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb
The National Theater in Zagreb, Croatia’s capital, is one of those things which always finds its way to every visitor’s busy schedule.
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Zagreb's Street Art
So you're visiting Zagreb and are curious about it's underground art scene? Check out this guide to Zagreb's street art and explore all the best graffiti artists' work for yourself on your next walk through the city.
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Zagreb Festivals and Cultural Events
Numerous festivals, shows and exhibitions are held annually in Zagreb. Search our what's on guide to arts & entertainment.
Authors' pages
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