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Showing posts from July, 2023

ROGER ZELAZNY: NOVELS TO READ THIS SUMMER!

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 Hello dear readers!  Roger Zelazny is perhaps* best known for his Amber series. However,  your summer break might not be long enough for you to tackle a series consisting of ten books.  Series are not everyone's cup of tea, anyway.Moreover, Zelazny has written many amazing stand alone books. Today I'll recommend some of my favourite stand alone books by Roger Zelazny.  I used the adjective *perhaps because some of Zelazny's works are quite well known. Many of his novels won a Nebula and Hugo award (some even both). This Immortal shared a Hugo award with Frank Herbert's Dune in 1966. Still, I think that The Chronicles of Amber are Zelazny's best known works. Not everyone might agree and I might not be right, but there's something about writing a successful series that ties an author's name to it. This especially seems to be the case when it comes to science fiction and fantasy series (and  The Chronicles of Amber are a mix of both genres). Speaking of the d

TRANSLATING VESNA PARUN'S POETRY: THREE ISLANDS, A MAN HAUNTED BY FIRE & I WAS A BOY

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How is Summer treating you? Do you have any Summer reading recommendations? I have quite a few  books to recommend, but all in its due time. The location for these shots is beautiful Spli city, Croatia.  I've actually been reading a lot of poetry lately. Today I'm in mood for poetry. So, we'll do some poetry.  In this post, I'm going to translate some poems by Croatian poetess Vesna Parun. It will be my own personal translation and interpretation.  Considered by many to be the greatest Croatian poet of 20th century,  Vesna Parun had a distinct and unique voice. Besides her poetry, I'm moved by her life story.  Throughout her  hard and long life, Vesna Parun always remained true to her poetical voice. Vesna Parun is often mentioned as the first woman who lived exclusively from her writing.  I always found that statement odd, considering the long tradition of female voices in Croatian literature. Didn't Croatia have the first female European journalist (who lived