Miro Gavran is the greatest contemporary Croatian playwright, translated to as many as 40 languages worldwide. Miro Gavran: ‘The Paris edition of my drama is a continuation of my rich cooperation with French translators, I had five premiers in Paris, and I also had seven books published in that extraordinary city. Regarding the Chinese publication of my comedy The Doll , I see it as a great acknowledgement to my theatre writing. So far only my novel How We Broke Our Legs was published in Beijing, and now they can finally get to know me as a dramatist.”
Category: Croatian Language
Nikola Tesla's autobiography "My Inventions" published by Electrical Experimenter in 1919
With this article, we mark the centennial of Nikola Tesla’s autobiography “My Inventions” in the USA. Nikola Tesla wrote that at the age of 14, ” My studies were continued at the Higher Real Gymnasium in Carlstadt, Croatia ,… I had become intensely interested in electricity under the stimulating influence of my Professor of Physics , who was an ingenious man and often demonstrated the principles by apparatus of his own invention . ” The name of his professor was Martin Sekulić, who was not only a high school teacher, but also an active scientist. During Tesla’s schooling in Carlstadt (now Karlovac), Sekulić became an associate memeber of JAZU in Zagreb (now Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts), in the department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.
Vladimir Novak: Croatians in America, fascinating photomonograph published in 2018
 Vladimir Novak (1928-2016)
Oliver Dragojevic 1947-2018 distinguished Croatian pop musician and composer
Except in Croatia, he had concerts at Olympia in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, Pearl Theatre in Las Vegas, Royal Albert Hall in London, Konzerthaus in Vienna, Opera House in Sydney. Umra je Oliver. Zamuča je rašpavi glas koji smo svi volili. Michael Bolton iz Vela Luke. Zamučala je Dalmacija, zamučali smo smi mi koji smo uz njegove pisme živili. Resli, jubili, pivali, guštali, sičali se, sanjali. … Ne znan kako vaman, ali meni je ona najtipičnija slika Dalmacije zalaz sunca iza otoka, bonaca, i zvuk četverotaktnog motora na trabukulu negdi u kanalu. A najtipičniji glas Dalmacije voljene je Oliver. Bog ga blagoslovija! Maja. Written by Maja Cioni (b. Bulić), Paris.
Miro Gavran to have premieres in Cuba, the Netherlands, Romania, Macedonia and Kosovo, May & June 2018
Miro Gavran: “It is a great pleasure to have five foreign premieres in such different cultures in short period of time. I am very happy to have my first premiere in Cuba which I can thank Zeljka Lovrencic. I am also happy to have another Dutch premiere after 30 years which wouldn’t be possible without the help from Sanja Kregar who published several books of my prose in Amsterdam in last few years. Premieres in Romania, Macedonia and Kosovo and extension of successful cooperation so far. …” With these performances Miro Gavran confirmed that he is the most performed Croatian writer in Croatia and abroad. His work has been translated into 40 languages.
Ivana Marija Vidovic translated into Croatian the verses written in 1876 in honor of Franjo Krezma in Verona
In 1876, young Croatian violinist Franjo Krežma (on the photo), then at the age of 14, had a series of three consecutive concerts at the Ristori Theatre in Verona, on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th December. The concerts have been announced by beautiful verses written by anonymous Italian author G.D. The verses have been translated into Croatian in 2018 by Ivana Marija Vidović, distinguished Croatian pianist, poetesse and writer. Franjo Krežma was a violin prodigy: he earned his diploma at the Conservatory of Vienna at the age of 13! He died very young, at the age of 19.
Miro Gavran's plays "The Doll" and "Death of an Actor" published in Hindi in Jaipur, India 2018
“The Doll” and “Death of an Actor” – two popular plays written by Miro Gavran were published as two books in hardcover in Hindi in Jaipur, India. Publisher is Bodi Prakash. Both of these were translated into hindi by Saurabh Srivastava. Gavran’s plays had performances all around India – from Mumbai to Puni and Hyderabad, Assam and Bangalore in the last 15 years. This is first time that his texts were published as books in India.
Senoa House in Zagreb The Museum of August Senoa described by Lady Jadranka Beresford-Peirse
Lady Jadranka Beresford-Peirse, b. Njerš, of Croatian origin, lives in London, and is a founder of The International Trust for Croatian Monuments already in 1991. Since then, she has organized numerous humanitarian and cultural events and undertakings. Here we reproduce her very interesting article published in London by “The Bridge”, a journal of Croatian community in England, which deals with The Šenoa House, which is a private museum in the city of Zagreb, directed by Mrs. Jasmina Reis. August Šenoa is significant Croatian writer from the 19th century, one of the trademarks of Croatian literature.
Miro Gavran the greatest contemporary Croatian writer received ''Dr. Alois Mock Europapreis 2017'' award
The greatest contemporary Croatian writer Miro Gavran is the winner of this year’s prestigious international ‘Dr Alois MockEuropapreis 2017’ award. As soon as it arrived, the announcement of this year’s selection was signed by Michael Spindelleger, the president of the ‘Dr Alois Mock’ Foundation and former Austrian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the Foundation. The plays of Miro Gavran have been translated into as many as 40 languages worldwide. Congratulations to Mr. Gavran!
Miro Gavran will have premieres in India, Russia and Germany in October 2017
Croatian writer Miro Gavran will have three premieres across the globe in October 2017. Ensemble Theater from Augsburg, Germany, will have premire of comedy “The Doll” on October 28th. On the same day theatre “M-ART” from Moscow, Russia, will have premiere of Gavran’s play “My Wife’s Husband”. WeMove theatre from Bangalore, India, will have premiere of Miro Gavran’s comedy “All About Women” in Kannada langauge. Miro Gavran so far had more than 300 premieres all around the world which were seen by more than 3 million viewers. His plays were translated into 40 languages!
International conference in Biograd and Zadar on the phenomenon of glagolitic script in May 12-13th, 2017
Thirty three scientists from Croatia, Austria, Italy, Japan, Russia and Slovenia participated at the Conference. It has been superbly organized by the city of Biograd and the University of Zadar (which the oldest Croatian university, founded in 1396), as well as by Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Old Slavonic Insitute, Matrix Croatica Zadar. The Conference was held under auspices of the President of the Republic of Croatia. On the photo Dr. Keiko Mitani from Tokyo, one of the participants and contributors to the Conference. She speaks Croatian, and completed her PhD at the University of Zagreb, Croatia.
Hrvojka Mihanovic Salopek presenting Croatian Mariological Heritage of the Varazdin Bishopric
Dr. Hrvojka Mihanović-Salopek prepared already her tenth DVD covering various aspects of extremely rich mariological heritage among Croatians. This DVD refers to the Varaždin Bishopric on Croatian north. Numerous baroque churches, lavishly decorated by Ivan Ranger and other Baroque artists, provide a special touch into the architecture of the city of Varaždin and surrounding towns and villages. A special emphasis is placed on the natural beauties of the region, liturgical and folk melodies, as well as on centuries old Croatian literature.
Miro Gavran's seventh Festival in Prague 5-10th April 2017
The festival was initiated in 2003 at the Theater of Jan Palarik in Trnava, Slovakia, where it ran four times until 2009 before relocating in 2013 to Theater LUDOWY in Krakow, Poland. As of 2016, GavranFest takes place in Prague, Czech Republic. Gavran is the only living writer in Europe who has a theater festival dedicated to him, that continuously operates outside his homeland. His books and plays have been translated from Croatian into as many as 38 languages throughout the world.
Days of the Croatian Language celebrated 11-17th March each year
Days of the Croatian Language (in Croatian, Dani hrvatskoga jezika) is an annual week-long cultural event established by Matica hrvatska (Matrix Croatica) which celebrates the Croatian language. It is held from March 11 to March 17. It was first organized upon Croatian independence in 1991. In 1997 the Croatian Parliament (Sabor) declared that this week would officially commemorate the Declaration on the Status and Name of the Croatian Standard Language published exactly thirty years earlier, in 1967. We provide an interesting article about Croatian language by Armenian scholar dr. Artur Bagdasarov, living in Moscow, who is an expert in Croatian language and author of a dozen of books and dictionaries.
Croatian Tales and Stories for Russian readers published in 2016
This wonderful and simple book will help the Russian reader enter into the world of Croatian language. The texts composing the book are provided without any simplifications with respect to the Croatian original. The book is supplied with the translation into Russian and with indispensable lexical and grammatical explanations, using the method of Ilja Franko. The front cover page has the following motto: Let us learn a language by reading interesting books!
Nikola Tesla Croatian citizen advised the City Hall of Croatia's capital Zagreb in 1892 about electrification
In 1892, Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) has been invited by Milan Amruš, Mayor of the city of Zagreb, to visit the City Hall in order to give advice about future electrification. An interesting article from 1892 has been published in the Zagreb newspapers, which we provide for the first in English translation from Croatian original. We cite the following significant sentence from this 1892 article: Mr. Tesla considers it his duty, as a native son of this country [Croatia] , to assist the Zagreb City Council in this matter offering his advice and helping in every way he can . The country he meant here is without any doubt Croatia. As a Croatian citizen, Nikola Tesla possessed the passport issued in the city of Zagreb in 1883. On the photo Nikola Tesla in 1941 with Fritzie Zivich, known as the Croat Comet, the then welter-weight boxing world champion.
Mia Negovetic Croatian teen singing prodigy participating in the Steve Harvey NBC show 2016
As part of NBC’s new midseason shows in 2016, Little Big Shots follows Steve Harvey as he showcases the nation’s most extraordinary young people. Among them is Mia Negovetić, very beautiful 13 year old lady from Croatia, who is an unusual singing talent. However, her major interest for the future is cooking, so she plans to becom a singing cook. The show is superbly directed by Steve Harvey, who learned his first Croatian words from Mia – “Bog, kako si?” (Hello, how are you?). Mia spent 9 days in Los Angeles filming for the show which has just started to air in the U.S.
Traditional celebration in Subotica Prelo sicanja to be organized on 7th February 2016
CROWN is very proud to announce a traditional celebration of Prelo 2016 in the city of Subotica. The whole region of Bačka where the city is situated is one of the trademarks of Croatian culture, especially via beautiful songs and dances of Bunjevci Croatians in Bačka. At the beginning of the 20th century, the city of Subotica was the largest Croatian city (larger than Croatian capital Zagreb). Also, the oldest Croatian soccer club called Bačka has been founded there, and its trademark was the Croatian Coat of Arms. The celebration of P relo sićanja starts on 7th Feb 2016 at 5pm near the Franciscan church and continues at the Croatian Cultural Center Bunjevačko kolo at 7pm. Traditional Bunjevci suits are obligatory.
Croatian writer Miro Gavran nominated for the 2016 Hans Christian Andersen Award
Croatian writer Miro Gavran has been nominated for the 2016 Hans Christian Andersen Award, the most significant prize for children’s literature in the world. This prize has been awarded every two years to authors since 1956, and to illustrators since 1966. Works by Miro Gavran have been translated into 38 languages. Gavran has published ten books for children and teenagers, eagerly read by young and old alike: “How Dad Won Mum”, “Try to Forget”, “All Sorts Of Things In My Head”, “Head Over Heels”, “Happy Days”, “The Teacher Of My Dreams”, “A Summer To Remember” …
Merry Christmas and a Happy New 2016 accompanied with beautiful Croatian Christams carols
Croatia has as many as 500 traditional Christmas carols, the oldest ones dating from the 12th century, and sung also today. This number is probably greater than in the case of any other nation in the Christian world. We provide several video recordings to illustrate this important religious and musical heritage of the Republic of Croatia, which was a source of inspiration for numerous composers. On the photo a Christmas detail from the wooden portal of Andrija Buvina in the Split Cathedral, dating from 1214, of 530 cm of height. This is a top monument of Croatian culture.