A collection of short stories entitled Authorial Boras which originated within the Lungomare Art flagship of RIJEKA 2020 – European Capital of Culture was announced this Saturday at the Rijeka fish market. A location many residents are more than familiar with has on this occasion taken on a whole new look, serving as an excellent backdrop of a well-attended literary evening.
Authorial Boras (Autorske bure) is a collection of short stories written by renowned authors from Croatia and the region, who spent a month of Springtime 2018 in various locations of Kvarner writing sixteen short stories that became part of a collection of short stories published by Rijeka 2020 and V.B.Z., designed by Studio Sonda and edited by Kruno Lokotar.
“Welcome to the Fishscale Cathedral”
, was the opening line of Rijeka’s Mayor Vojko Obersnel at the event, borrowing the title of one of the stories, by Faruk Šehić who drew his writing inspiration exactly from the Rijeka fish market.
“The day officially marking the beginning of the Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture project is racing towards us, and we are in for a treat of more than 600 programmes for all of us to enjoy, so I believe the fish market will get to host a few more events like this one.”, Obersnel said.
The CEO of Rijeka 2020 Emina Višnić said that the fact that this collection of short stories was created by top authors, and that the stories were influenced by the communities the authors resided in, and by their conversations with locals serves as an indicator that the ECoC project wants to become deeply ingrained into the community.
“This collection is a lasting legacy of the project, as are the sculptures that will be installed throughout Kvarner under the Lungomare Art flagship, which will be announced in the near future.”, Višnić said.
Visitors were also welcomed by Sonja Šišić, Head of the Department of Culture, Sport and Technical Culture of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, who pointed out her belief that the cultural and natural riches of our region, along with its tradition and practices that the authors encountered at their respective locations were a great source of inspiration for them. She also said that the authors’ works now remain a permanent legacy to these small communities, who can leverage the stories as a means of their further promotion.
The editor of Authorial Boras Kruno Lokotar expressed his conviction that this project has been an enriching experience for all the participating authors, as well as for all the communities where they resided.
“The new perspective, gained by all the local communities involved in this project, guarantees that they will never be the same again. This project was, among other things, our opportunity to showcase the heterogenous nature of our Port of Diversity, so I want to thank everyone who took part in it”, Lokotar concluded.
The announcement of Authorial Boras attracted many visitors who could not hide their amazement, particularly at the new look of the fish market.
Fragments of the short prosaic texts from the collection were read by students of the Acting and Media Studies department of the Academy of Applied Arts in Rijeka, followed by a performance by the Marinada band, while the visual identity of the fish market in the form of video projections was the work of VJ OBLIK 3 (Damjan Šporčić).
Authorial Boras came to be thanks to the participation of authors of the region, writing in “BHSC” languages: Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian and Montenegrin, while the programme selector was Željka Horvat Čeč.
The Rijeka fish market inspired Faruk Šehić to write a story entitled “The Fishscale Cathedral” (Katedrala od riblje krljušti), Dorta Jagić created “The Secret of the Black Notebook” (Tajna crnog notesa) in Volosko, and Milena Benini devised her “Forest Above the Sea” (Šuma ponad mora) in Mošćenička Draga. Vladimir Arsentijević used Rijeka’s beaches as a source of inspiration for his story “Spirits of a Place” (Duhovi mjesta), Lejla Kalamujić wrote her “Overhaul of Human Destinies” (Remont ljudskih sudbina) in Kostrena, Nora Verde created her story “The Shark” (Ajkula) in Bakar, while a bit further down the coastline, in Crikvenica Robert Perišić wrote his story “Say Hi to Car!” (Pozdravi Cara!).
Enver Krivac went to Zebar which inspired his story “In the Ford” (U Fordu), Edo Popović used Baška as a source of inspiration for his “April in Baška Valley” (April u Bašćanskoj dolini), while Asja Bakić spent her time in the neighbouring island of Rab, more precisely in Lopar which inspired her story “The Season” (Sezona). Damir Karakaš was also a temporary resident of an island, the town of Cres inspired his story The Sea (More), while Tea Tulić wrote her “Lady of Čikat” (Dama iz Čikata) in Mali Lošinj.
Another story comes from Bekim Serjanović, who wrote his “Miss Misery” during his residence on the island of Susak. Olja Savičević Ivančević wrote her story “Tramuntana” during her residence in Filozići (on the island of Cres), Zoran Žmirić wrote his “Flicker of Blue” (Titraj plave boje) in Lovran, while Opatija’s promenade “Lungomare” inspired Josip Novaković to write his “Flavour of the Sea” (Okus mora).
At the promotion visitors were able to purchase Authorial Boras in two editions, the hardcover deluxe one, and the softcover edition. Starting from this week the collection of short stories will also be available for purchase in bookstores.
? Tanja Kanazir
