302 NOVA ISTRA Literary, Art and Cultural Journal Zeitschrift für Literatur, Kunst und Kultur Rivista di letteratura, arte e cultura Pula, Croatia / Kroatien / Croazia, No. 3-4/2025 Summary This year marks two major anniversaries for us: the 35th anniversary of the founding of the Istrian Branch of the Croatian Writers’ Association, and the 30th anniversary of our journal devoted to literature, art and culture. The final issue of this year opens with a solemn remembrance of our recently departed friend and collaborator, designer and photographer Alfio Klarić (1950–2025), who designed and shaped many of the books we have published and whose graphic concept still defines the present visual identity of our journal. We are proud to present a major exclusive: a previously unpublished (originally radio) interview with Nedjeljko Fabrio (1937–2018), a distinguished Croatian writer of European stature and the “wartime” president of the Croatian Writers’ Association. In this interview, recorded by colleagues from Radio Pula during the Croatian Homeland War, Fabrio reflects on the social, cultural and political climate of the time, on literature and writers, on his own oeuvre, and on history as an embodiment of barrenness, madness and death – especially as expressed in his great novels within the Adriatic Trilogy. The poetry and prose section features new works by contemporary Croatian authors of diverse poetics and generations. An extensive essay is dedicated to writer and critic Stanislav Šimić (1904–1960), focusing on a largely unknown aspect of his life – as a prominent figure of the Workers’ Chamber in Zagreb between the two world wars, and as the librarian and later director of its library. Particularly noteworthy is his role during and immediately after the Second World War, when, under the relentless pressure of totalitarian regimes, he literally saved from destruction numerous“undesirable” books by equally“unacceptable” authors – first to the fascist authorities before 1945, and later to the communist regime after 1945. The following section, consisting of essays and studies, focuses on another major Croatian writer, Antun Šoljan (1932–1993) – one of the most versatile literary voices in Croatian literature of the latter half of the twentieth century, widely translated abroad. Here, experts examine his work from theatrical, intertextual and intermedial perspectives. The translation section presents new translations from contemporary Italian literature. A philosophical essay, “Psyché as the Essence of Decadence”, explores certain aspects of the work of Vladimir Jankélévitch (1903–1985). The regional section includes contributions on the history of Croatian education in Istria and on the life and work of Drago Gervais (1904–1957), a writer of both regional and national significance. As usual, the final section offers critical reviews of recent and brand-new titles by both domestic and international authors, covering works of various genres. Ed.
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