Initial Coordinates - by Monika Herceg (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A magical realist novel in verse exploring family history and resilience in war-torn Croatia.

Initial Coordinates meditates on Monika Herceg's childhood memories in a small rural village near Petrinja as war breaks out in the 1990s. This unforgettable work mimics oral traditions, reflecting the people whose lives shaped Herceg's voice. Explore themes of financial hardship, domestic violence, and the decline of village life, all rooted in the resilience of nature's rhythms.

Drawing directly on Croatian mythology, this collection offers a bold perspective on family sagas and historical events. Perfect for readers interested in European literature, translated poetry, and magical realism. Discover the power of verse in capturing the essence of a family's journey through adversity.

Review Quotes

"[Herceg's] poems resonate on their own terms . . . outside of time, like the best enduring art." --Cory Oldweiler, Los Angeles Review of Books

"In Monika Herceg's Initial Coordinates, a deeply uncanny family history unfolds . . . Herceg's compact poems mix old wives' tales with personal lore, reanimating these stories . . . Initial Coordinates tirelessly weaves these reversals of birth and death until their distinction dissolves." --Layla Benitez-James, Poetry Foundation

"The first and the last book of the new Croatian poetry." --Miljenko Jergovic, author of Kin and Mama Leone

About the Author

Marina Veverec is a student of literary translation at the University of Zadar, Croatia. Her translations have appeared or are forthcoming in Denver Quarterly, Exchanges, Poetry International Web, Asymptote, Verseville, Harvard Review, and Words Without Borders.

Monika Herceg, born in 1990, is the author of three poetry collections, including the widely acclaimed Pocetne koordinate (Initial Coordinates, SKUD Ivan Goran Kovacic, 2018), Lovostaj (Closed Season, Jesenski i Turk, 2019), and Vrijeme prije jezika (The Time Before the Tongue, Fraktura, 2020). She has received six national prizes, most notably the Goran for Young Poets and the Fran Galovic Prize. English-language translations of her work have appeared in Denver Quarterly, Exchanges, Asymptote, Harvard Review, and Words Without Borders.