In a Sentimental Mood

by Ivana Bodrožić, Ellen Elias-Bursac Elias-Bursac (Translation), Damir Šodan (Translation)

Ivana Bodrožic's In a Sentimental Mood is emotional, but never woeful, deliberate, yet playful poetry capable of reaching both the highest and deepest registers of expression. From abstract jazz-inspired musings to bedroom intimacies, these poems converse with the idea that being alone is not the worst thing that can happen to a person. To lose your dignity and the dignity of your words—that is the worst thing.

Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Adult

64 pages, Hardcover

Published April 7, 2021

About the author

Ivana is a Croatian poet and writer.

She studied philosophy and Croatian Language and Literature in Zagreb.

She was awarded for her poetry book Korak u tamu (Pace into the Darkness) with the Goran-award for young writers, as well as the Kvirin Award in 2005.

Her poems have been published in various newspapers, magazines and anthologies, and some of them have been translated into English, German and Polish.

Her first novel Hotel Zagorje is a coming-of-age-novel. It's a book about the girl's life as a refugee, sharing a few squremetres with her mother and her brother, all of them waiting for a message of the lost father.

Ivana currently lives in Zagreb with her husband and two daughters.

Reviews

[Puella Sole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Odlučila sam se da kupim ovu zbirku i pročitam je nakon što sam slušala Ivanu Bodrožić dok je čitala nekoliko svojih pjesama. I uopšte se nisam pokajala. I ima tu dirljivosti, bola, blagosti, muzike, ljubavi, života, smrti, rata, svakodnevice i dirne te nekako, a to je, na kraju krajeva, ono što je bitno.

Ali više se ne mogu opustiti,
ne mogu mirno ležati,
predugo su žene koje su me rodile
spavale tako da bi mogle bježati.
(***)

Voljela bih biti otac mojoj kćeri
s mekanim i mirisnim dlačicama na rukama
u koje zabija nos i opija se
tamnim, muškim, sigurnim
(...)
očevi pouzdano znaju nestati
majke ostaju za mržnju

krivih usana
ukočenih ramena
općenito propadljivijeg tijela
s malo ili sasvim bez trikova

mrzeći svoje majke
koje nikada nisu znale
kako im biti očevi
(***)

Svu tugu svog života
moja mater je jučer
prelila u maleni leš
dvanaestogodišnje kuje
od svega dvije kile.
(...)
Još jednom, mislila sam tada,
bez da i sa kim podijelim,
Platon je bio u pravu,
sve je ovo samo odraz odraza,
i ova smrt, i ova ljubav, i ova patnja,
sve se više primičemo Ideji.
(PASJI ŽIVOT)

[pikica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kad je riječ o Ivani i njenoj poeziji, ona jednostavno zna što i kako.

[Mirna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dajem šansu poeziji nakon upornog i dosljednog ignoriranja.
Sasvim slučajno, uzimam zbriku dragu osobi koja ne vjeruje u slučajnosti, a ja vjerujem njenim preporukama. :)

[faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

picked this book up from the shelf of random books in my dormitory... mainly because of the title (jazz!!) and the cover. poems were a hit or miss... some i LOVED (summertime, in a sentimental mood, some of the astericked poems) and others didn't quite do it for me. there's a wonderful mood this book evokes though, very distinct poetic voice (which is also why sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't) that deals with themes like love and war and is unflinchingly unafraid to swear and be "vulgar". i like to savour a poem before bed on different days, momentarily be transported to a world i have no understanding of except for the space of those few words on the page.

[Bono · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zbirka prepuna autobiografskih toposa, nadovezuje se na neke dominantne preokupacije koje su doživjele literarnu obradu i u prozi.
Prisutna je erotika, život bez očinske figure, trauma nakon oslobađanja optuženih, reference na glazbu.

[Katarina Josipović · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stihovi koji se ne ulaguju, koji nisu sladunjavi, niti se žele svidjeti svakome. Pogađaju u srž i navode na promišljanje.

[Daniel Radočaj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ako usporedim ovu novu autoričinu zbirku s njenom nešto starijom: „Prijelaz za divlje životinje“ koja je fenomenalna, primjećujem dva konkretna koraka unatrag: 1. u samoj ideji koja nije baš nešto "osobita", i 2. u životnom entuzijazmu likova, što zbirku, neminovno, čini manje zanimljivom od spomenute prethodnice. Kao da čitava zbirka odiše svojevrsnim umorom. Ivana definitivno zna bolje.

[Nataša · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pioniri razgovora bićemo valjda mi, naše generacije. Nek se priča, piše, šalje poruka. Stići će na adresu.
Pozitivan utisak pre čitanja hvaljenog romana (ne neposredno, sačekaće).