An Anthology of Croatian Literature

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Foreword In 1973 Professor Vasa D. Mihailovich issued together with Professors Dragan Milivojević and Branko Mikasinovich their useful and timely Introduction to Yugoslav Literature: An Anthology of Fiction and Poetry (New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc.) The volume was well received and it eventually sold out. Then, in the midst of the epochal changes that first shook and then shattered Yugoslavia, Professor Mihailovich proposed to me—the exact date was April 17, 1990—the possibility of reissuing the anthology, with some revisions and one major modification, a renaming, which would also entail an expansion. Thus the idea for an Anthology of South Slavic Literatures was conceived, whose contents would include not only Croatian, Macedonian , Serbian, and Slovene literary excerpts, but also, for the first time, Bulgarian. Three fascicles of this anthology have appeared thus far (for details , see footnote 3 in the essay “Ten Centuries of Croatian Literature” which follows), and the volume in hand is the fourth. At least one more volume is anticipated, dedicated to Macedonian literature and in preparation at present in Skopje. On the whole, and especially in comparison to other South Slavic literatures , Croatian literature is relatively well represented in English translation, as a number of recent studies have shown. But despite this apparent diversity, all too often the same works are anthologized over and over again. The current compilation is to some degree guilty of that shortcoming as well. Where possible, however, less commonly published samples of a writer’s translated work have been chosen for inclusion here, not only for the sake of novelty or variety, but to provide the English reader with additional evidence of Croatian writers’ breadth and depth as well. This volume, with its introduction, occasional explanatory footnotes, and brief biographical sketches for each author, also seeks to contextualize Croatian writers, so that the curious reader is able to seek out and understand other translations not included here, both in previously printed anthologies but also increasingly in electronic formats. Whatever the absolute artistic merits of a piece might be, and these are always muted by the act of transposing that work into another linguistic environment, knowledge of the historical and culture context of any work of Croatian literature is essential for an informed appreciation of that work. An Anthology of Croatian Literature 
 The editor of this volume would like to express his appreciation to his many friends in both Croatia and North America for their warm support and encouragement over the years. He acknowledges with gratitude the helpful suggestions, corrections, and insights offered to him by Dr. Tomislav Bogdan of the University of Zagreb in reviewing the essay outlining Croatian literary history. He recalls with great pleasure the warm hospitality and assistance extended to him by Professor Dunja Fališevac during his sabbatical stay at the university in 2008, as well as the ongoing friendship and support of the many Fulbright and post-Fulbright Croatian visitors he has hosted over the decades at Indiana University. In house, he wishes to express his gratitude to Slavica Publishers for their enduring support of this long-term anthological project, as well as to his home Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures for the productive circumstances and collegiality that have nurtured his scholarly endeavors during and after his active teaching career there. Finally, he dedicates this volume to all the students who over the years have read and reacted to these selections: it has been a learning curve, I trust, for us all. Henry R. Cooper, Jr. Indiana University December 13, 2010 ...