Nova Istra

302 NOVA ISTRA Journal for Literature, Art and Culture Zeitschrift für Literatur, Kunst und Kultur Rivista di letteratura, arte e cultura Pula, Croatia / Kroatien / Croazia, No. 2/2017 In the introduction, we think back to the prominent Croatian prosaist and playwright Ivo Brešan (1936 – 2017), who has recently passed away. The next contemporary literature section, as usual, presents prose and poetry pi- eces; this time, they have been contributed by a number of distinguished or rather established national writers. The section with new translations first includes recast verses – literally or metap- horically – inspired by the Adriatic coastline and written by the well-known Austrian writer of the Croatian origin Paula von Preradović (1887 – 1951), who actually signed the lyrics of the Austrian anthem Land der Berge, Land am Strome (The Mountainous Land, Land on the River). She spent her childhood and adolescence in Pula, and is also known as a granddaughter of one of the most important poets in the history of mo- dern Croatian literature, Petar Preradović.This contribution is published on the 130 th anniversary of her birth.Then, there is also a translated story by the Italian author and actress Goliarda Sapienza (1924 – 1996), which is titled The Coercive Destiny ( Il destino Coatto ). The central section includes the essays that were presented in October 2015 during the international 13 th Pula Essay Days, which is the only meeting exclusively dealing with essays in Croatia. The topic (No)Freedom or Democratic Censorship gathered writers, researchers, philosophers, theoreticians... fromChile,Macedonia, Poland, Slo- venia and Croatia. We are also reminded of two intellectuals, who have recently departed this life: Ante Stamać, (1939 – 2016), the writer, university teacher, translator, philologist... member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, as well as Darko Gašparović (1944 – 2017), the writer, theatrologist, dramaturge and university teacher. Both of them were our contributors. The section on philosophy is focused on ‘the architecture of iconic turn’. Along with a contribution on the history and Modern History of the native region, the essay section contains a comparative record of prose writing ( Staljinova slika i druge priče / The Picture of Stalin and Other Stories) by the important Croatian author Stjepan Čuić (1945) and a fantastic literary discourse of the novel One HundredYears of Solitude ( Cien años de soledad ) by the great Gabriel García Márquez (1927 – 2014). Finally, this issue includes reviews considering some recent publications, that is, travelogues, poems and narratives, along with a historiographic work released on the 200 th anniversary of the Vienna Congress, the event that largely changed the picture of Europe and set the framework for a new order on the Old Continent. Translation: R. Šamo, Pula