The award of the Croatian Writers’ Association (DHK), named after the famous poet of Croatian modernism in exile Fr Lucijan Kordić, was presented on November 16 in the hall of the Croatian Writers’ Association in Zagreb to the American-Croatian writer with a current residence in Canada, Josip Novaković, for the collection of storis “Honey in the Carcase,” which was published in 2021 by one of the oldest and most respected publishing houses in the Republic of Croatia – Matica hrvatska in Zagreb.
The judging committee for the Prize named after the poet Lucijan Kordić, as noted by committee member writer Đuro Vidmarović, pointed out that the characters in the sixteen stories of this book by Novaković are seemingly ordinary people, living in an alienated world in Croatia, an American province or somewhere else. Novaković writes about events devoid of logic, about absurd situations that take place in Croatian villages, on American roads and American provincial towns, about loves and friendships, family relationships and relationships with animals, said the writer Vidmarović. In this work by Novaković, the reader comes across people obsessed with psychotherapy, follows people’s dark sides, the emptiness, sadness and alienation of modern man, Vidmarović added. It is clear, the committee believes, that the author is particularly interested in migration, exile, persecution, the lives of separated persons and human poverty. Despite their bitterness, love for people can be seen in Novaković’s inspired stories, said the writer Vidmarović, adding that there is no optimism in them, but there is hope, faith in a better future and the beauty of life.
The stories are all interesting in their own way, exciting and tense, and he singled out in particular the first story titled “Honey in the Carcase”, after which the collection got its name. In it, the author Novaković interweaves the realistic war theme of a man who, during the bombing of his village, is engaged in beekeeping, he noted, adding that the obscure story “Wool”, which deals with the complex theme of family relationships, is particularly valuable. It was assessed that the book was written in a very skillful way because Novaković successfully combines surreal and realistic situations and harmonizes dialogues and descriptions, thus allowing readers to enjoy unpredictable literary solutions that encourage him to think.
The Friar Lucijan Kordić Award has been awarded since 1993 for an innovative poetic work that artistically reflects the theme of Croats abroad and general human efforts for the universal values of freedom of movement of people. Twenty-two books were submitted to the competition. This year, the prize was awarded as part of the 4th World Festival of Croatian Literature, and the award-winning collection of Josip Novaković’s stories was translated into Croatian by Saša Drach.
Writer Josip Novaković (Josip Novakovich) was born in 1956 in Daruvar. After finishing high school, he went to the USA. He has taught literature and creative writing at Penn State, the University of Cincinnati, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and currently teaches at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. He writes mostly in English, and his works have been translated into twenty languages. He published a dozen books, including the novel April Fool’s Day and collections of short stories: Yolk and Salvation and Other Disasters (a selection from both collections was published in Croatian translation under the title Grimizne usne, Zagreb 2000), Infidelities: Stories of War and Lust (Croatian translation: Požuda, Zagreb 2007), The Heritage of Smoke (Croatian translation: Dimna zavjesa, Zagreb 2016), Tumbleweed and Honey in the Carcase (Croatian translation: Truplo puno meda, Zagreb 2021). He also published three collections of essays and two manuals on the art of writing: Writing Fiction Step by Step and Fiction Writer’s Workshop (translated into Croatian: Radionica pisana fikcije, Zagreb 2007). The latter is used in many universities in the USA. He has won several literary awards: the Whiting Writers Award, the American Book Award, the Ingarm Merrill Award, and a few years ago he was a finalist for the Man Booker International literary award. As a scholar, he worked at the Cullman Center (New York Public Library), and he also received a Fulbright scholarship in St. Petersburg and a Guggenheim scholarship.
Source: Hina/HMI
Photos: Hina
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