“A coral, a rock, a woman”: NSK marking 100th anniversary of birth of Vesna Parun
On 11 April 2022, starting at 14:00, the National and University Library in Zagreb (NSK) will host A coral, a rock, a woman (Žena koralj, žena hrid), a special get-together and exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vesna Parun (1922-2010), one of the greatest authors of Croatian literature and the most translated Croatian female poet, whose remarkable and prolific oeuvre stands as a treasure chest bursting with unique poetic images and exceptional feats of language.
The participants in the get-together, journalist and book editor Denis Derk, painter, graphic artist and designer Zdenka Pozaić and stage actor Marija Sekelez, who all personally knew Parun and closely collaborated with her, will reminisce about Parun, her work and legacy, while Sekelez will give a performance spotlighting Parun’s most famous verses.
The accompanying exhibition will feature resources in the Library’s Print Collection, Manuscripts and Old Books Collection and Music Collection, along with material included among other NSK holdings, ranging from Parun’s manuscripts, through print portfolios including her verses, to manuscript music to which Parun’s poems were set. Also displayed at the exhibition will be the photographs of Parun by a notable Croatian photographer Zlata Vucelić and a mural linking the celebration, its main motif and one of Parun’s best known poems (Coral returned to the sea), created under the supervision of the Dean of the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts Professor Tomislav Buntak and artist Dr Melinda Štefčića, authored by Nika Vrbica and co-painted by Anđela Majica, Ena Antunović and Marta Dijak, all students of the Academy.
The exhibition will remain on view until 23 April 2022.
Interest in attending the event has to be announced by emailing the Library’s Marketing and Communications Section.
(Featured image: photo by Zlata Vucelić and a segment of a mural by the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts)
A photograph of Vesna Parun by Zlata Vucelić and a segment of a mural created by the Zagreb Academy of Fine Arts dedicated to one of the most famous Parun’s poems (Coral returned to the sea)
