Nova Istra

312 NOVA ISTRA Literary and cultural journal Pula, Croatia, No. 3-4/2013 Summary The Contemporary Literature section contains some great examples of poetry, drama and short stories, written not only by authors who have already become the leading names, but also by the ones who are still waiting for their reputation in the Croatian literature. The section that follows, New Translations, usually presents the first Croatian translations of prose pieces, which are now signed by several Chilean, Danish, and Italian contemporary authors. The essayistic section considers the Croatian literary-historical Late Middle Age and Early Modern Age (15 th century), contemporary Montenegrin literature, and music-and-travel homage toWagner on the occasion of this year’s round anniversaries. This issue contains contributions in our memory of two late writers, Mirko Kovač and Anđelko Novaković. The section on theatres includes the reviews of performances staged on the famous Brijuni Islands in August 2013. Contributions on the native region, among other things, comprise rather po- lemic remarks about James Joyce’s short-term stay in Pula (1904-1905), where he used to live with his wife Nora and teach English. We are also very glad to make you familiar with the poetry written by Dim (The Smoke). This informal but very active group was founded in Pula, mostly by undergraduates or fresh graduates, focused on the promotion of poetry and its writing in public, informal venues. Some of them have already asserted their in- dividuality and their poetic voices and expressions have become recognized, while some of them are still on the way to achieve this. However, they continue to pro- mote their poetry together. Closely related to the previous section, there are literary pieces by young Croatian writers, successfully gathered by the editorial board, during the traditional reading around the Pula park sculpture erected in memory of ‘the father of Croatian litera- ture’, the great world-known humanist Marko Marulić Marul (Split, 1450 -1524). The last section, Reviews, usually provides critical insights into new editions, and this time a few of them ranges from the theory of literature and poetics, essay, poetry and prose writing, up to the native region history. Translation: Renata Šamo, Pula