My English translation of Vladimir Nazor’s ‘Veli Jože’ has been published my Modernist d.o.o. from Varaždin. The book is an exact, faithful reproduction of the original 1908 edition and includes all the excellent illustrations by Saša Šantel.
To promote this edition myself and the editor from Modernist, Robertino Bartolec, presented the book to the pupils at the Vladimir Nazor Primary School in Motovun, where the story of Veli Jože takes place, in April 2024.
Along with a slideshow of Saša Šantel’s original illustrations the pupils asked us very interesting questions about the story, the characters and locations, etc. It was a lively discussion. There is more info on the school’s website here.
I am very grateful to the teachers and pupils and of course to Modernist for publishing the book which is now available on their website here and also for distributing it to the public libraries across Croatia.
Janko Polić Kamov – Poe An extract – translated by Martin Mayhew
Turgenjev brings tears to our eyes; Maupassant tickles our lips; Poe makes our hair stand on end: the first grabs us by the heartstrings, the second by the spirit, the third by the nerves.
Tears, a smile and a chill – those are their comments, and not erudition. Because erudition is just the comment of comments and one hair of a sensitive intellectual is more competent in the understanding of Poe, than all the dissertations of bald professors.
To me Poe appears like an ominous bird, which has flown over the mute field of our inner self; and when it plunged somewhere into space, it left a shadow of its great, black wings behind itself. Or even like the memory of a cat’s eyes in the dark; of a dog’s tucked under tail on a deserted road; of a snake’s tongue on a scorched cliff; of the ridge of a dolphin on an oily surface and of the shadows of the deceased that pull us by the legs in a dream.
And this is why Poe is mysterious – because of the fear irrational like all beauty and mysticism, living buried in the hands of our psyche, where in the glory of the Absurd they were also born.
Poe’s life was quite miserable so even a Croatian literate could envy him………
Punat, 7.IV.1910
This is an extract from the full essay that Kamov wrote in Punat on the island of Krk, 7th April 1910. The full text is available in the book ‘The Curse’ – the collection of Kamov’s poems which he published in 1907 as ‘Psovka’, translated into English. ‘The Curse’ is available as a paperback from Modernist nakladništvo here. It is also available on Amazon and all other ebook channels.
The original 1907 edition of ‘Psvoka’ and my English translation ‘The Curse’.
My first book of my translations of Janko Polić Kamov’s work is now available on Amazon and all major ebook channels… Apple, Nook, Kobo, Kindle….
It is also available to buy from the publishers Modernist in Varaždin.
Farces The Beard – Brada In The Country – Selo Woman – Žena The Disaster – Katastrofa The Suit – Odijelo The Earthquake – Potres The Bedbug – Stjenica ‘A Confession’ – ‘Ispovijest’
Legendfest is a three-day festival of myths, legends, folklore and live performances held every year in the small hilltop village of Pićan, in Istria, Croatia. During the festival the village becomes the backdrop for storytellers, children’s workshops, live theatrical shows, local food, arts and crafts and concerts, which draw on the rich traditions and history of Istria. Visitors have the chance to go back in time and experience anything from medieval poetry to ancient myths in the picturesque setting.
Each year the festival has a different theme. I have written and performed at Legendfest since 2011. The theme for 2011 was pirates – and so myself as author, Cyborgix 4E75 as composer and musician, Miki as orchestral composer and Jasmina Jazzy as performer, wardrobe and make-up manager, put together the audio/visual piece “Captain Morgan’s Hidden Treasure”. I played the ghost of the Caribbean pirate Captain Morgan (yes, him from the brand of rum) who, as legend says, visited the province of Istria, settled and established the real-life village of Mrgani (meaning the “place of the Morgans”). The myth recalls how he had buried his last stash of gold and treasure nearby. Our 15 minute performance was his story and how he had returned from the spirit world to Istria to uncover the location of his buried treasure after 300 years.
Performing as the ghost of Captain Morgan
Cyborgix 4E75 – composer, arranger and musician on keyboards
Jasmina Jazzy played the seductive spectre
In our performance we were joined by Alen Tibljaš – one of Croatia’s most respected drummers, who added some extra drama to the composition. The show was held in the tiny chapel of Sv. Mihovil on the outskirts of the village of Pićan situated at the top of the surrounding cliffs – the perfect location for our dark tale of ghostly pirates and treasure.
Alen Tibljaš added atmospheric percussion
At the end of the performance, which closed the festival on the last evening, many of the festival’s other performers came and joined us for pirate revelry and choruses of “Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest. Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum. Drink and the devil had done for the rest….” The audience thoroughly enjoyed it!
You can listen to the studio recording of “Captain Morgan’s Hidden Treasure” here:
The theme for Legendfest 2012 was witches, wizards and goblins and so we delved into Istria’s rich heritage of myths, legends and folklore and wrote, composed and produced a new concept and performance – “Legend From Istria”. Based upon tales of Istrian gods I played Stribor, son of Svarog – The God of Wind and I narrated the terrible story of good versus evil to take back the land of Istria which had been conquered by the Underworld demons of Bjesomar and Morana played by Cyborgix 4E75 and Jasmina Jazzy.
Pićan’s tiny chapel of Sv. Mihovil was the perfect setting for our dramatic show
Svarog summoned up the help of Slavic gods Perun – the God of Thunder and Gerovita – The Master of War to defeat the two devils in a final cataclysmic battle scene which would see peace return to the beautiful land of Istria. … you can listen to the epic story below 🙂
Our excellent costumes, make up, lasers and dry ice enhanced the performance
Once again we closed the festival programme after midnight on the last day, leaving the audience enthralled.
Catalogue design for an exhibition of photography and drawings featuring the history of Mošćenice. This colourful brochure was created for Katedra Čakavskog Sabora Općine Mošćenička Draga in 2009.
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The latest edition in this series. Catalogue and exhibition design about the mariners and sailors who sailed around the world from Brseč in the early 20th century.
This project was produced for Katedra Čakavskog Sabora Općine Mošćenička Draga.
The image of a young, black, servant dressed in fine clothes, wearing a turban, encrusted with gold and jewels, was adopted as the symbol of the city of Rijeka.
Known locally as ‘morčić’ its origins could be dated back to the 17th-18th century and the Venetian ‘moretto’. This was the time when the nobility was obsessed with all things from the Orient and North Africa including Moorish slaves “imported” from Muslim countries. The Venetian nobility would dress-up their pages and servants in fine clothing and jewellery to show off their own wealth and extravagance. In their image various figurines and jewellery were designed and produced (a style later referred to as ‘Blackamoors’).
This symbol was soon transmitted to Rijeka (Fiume) where similar forms of jewellery were manufactured by local goldsmiths and this soon seeped into tradition among the women of the region, especially in the form of earrings.
Singularly worn earrings also became popular with their sons as well as sailors and fisherman for whom they became talismans and lucky charms. The ‘morčić’ became as symbol of wealth and prosperity and these pieces of jewellery were soon passed down through the generations from mothers to daughters throughout the Rijeka region.
Morčić earring – image via wikipedia
This tradition reached its peak in the mid-19th century with the establishment of the Gigante & Co. and their production of earrings, brooches, pins and necklaces.
After WWII many goldsmiths of the Rijeka region, who had been producing the now locally renowned pieces of golden jewellery, emigrated and so their skills and knowledge also disappeared. It has only been since the early 1990s that the morčić image and jewellery has been resurrected and adopted as the mascot of the city of Rijeka.
Moričić souvenirs on sale at the Mala Galerija shop in Rijeka
The morčić motif can be seen throughout the city and is widely recognised, and jewellery and souvenirs are once again being produced. During the annual Rijeka Carnival (Riječki Karneval) many participants and dignitaries can be seen dressed as ‘morčići’ reflecting the area’s centuries-old tradition.
My design above has appeared around the city, online and even as street art – this murale appeared in early 2024 near the train station 🙂
How are the Morčić souvenirs made? Watch the video…
During the Rijeka Carnival revellers dress as Morčići – pic via Roberta F. wikipedia
The morčić has also made its way into popular music – here’s Neno Belan’s “Rijeka Snova”, featuring scenes of Rijeka and the motif of the city, one of my favourites 🙂
Experience the beauty and heritage of the Croatian islands of Cres and Lošinj.
Recover from the stress of modern life by living a traditional way of life and activities on the islands. Would you like to be islanders for a couple of days and get to know the life of the people who live here? We offer activities such as: shepherding, olive picking, fishing, hiking, walking and dry stone walling, or explore the islands on mountain bikes.
Graphic design of entrance tickets for the interpretation centre at Eko-centar Caput Insulae Beli on the island of Cres. This was a complex piece of design work involving perfing, consecutive security in-line numbering with overall and spot UV lamination.
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B2 size poster on behalf of the Eko-centar Caput Insulae Beli on the island of Cres. The poster highlights of the northern area of the island known as Tramuntana. It was posted at tourist points all over the island.
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