Winner of the Ksaver Šandor Gjalski Prize

These are the first two volumes of the Croatian poet and novelist Irena Vrkljan's lyrical autobiography. Although each novel illuminates the other, they also stand alone as original and independent works of art. In The Silk, the Shears, Vrkljan traces the symbolic and moral significance of her life, and her vision of the fate of women in her mother's time and in her own. Marina continues the intense analysis of the poetic self, using the life of Marina Tsvetaeva to meditate on the processes behind biography.

IRENA VRKLJAN is a Croatian writer. She was born in Belgrade and is a graduate of Zagreb University and the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin. She writes in both Croatian and German. She is the winner of the Vladimir Nazor Award and Ksaver Šandor Gjalski Prize. In addition to novels, she has published numerous poetry collections, including Parallels; The Room, This Frightful Garden; and In My Sister's Skin.
 

"A noteworthy addition to the small body of contemporary Croatian writings available in English, and a lyrical study of the form and meaning of biography." —Kirkus Reviews

"One senses the small, daily moments which make up the magic of life, as well as the almost secret community liking women of different generations, different lands." —Women's Review of Books