Wordcraft Presents: Five Croatian Poets

In this first edition of 'Wordcraft presents', we are delighted to organise a poetry evening with a special flare. We welcome five women poets from Croatia to give us a taste of contemporary trends in the country. All five poets have engaged in various writing communities, both at home and abroad, and will share their impressions. 

The evening features readings and brief interviews. Each poet will answer a couple of questions about communities, writing in different languages, role of poetry in society, etc. They will then do the readings in Croatian, so that the audience can hear the rhythms of the language. Translations of the poems will be projected on screen. After the event, the poets and the audience can chat and exchange at the Pianofabriek bar. Read more to meet the poets!

Sanja Baković is a poet, a journalist and a communications specialist. Born in Split in 1976. She has a degree in journalism and currently lives and works in Zagreb. Launched project 'Let’s get blown by poetry' (Odvalimo se poezijom) with the aim of increasing the visibility of poetry in the public space. Organised and led numerous poetry events and panels. Published poetry books 'Waterway places' in 2016 (Plovna mjesta) and 'Bus for Trnava' in 2020 (Autobus za Trnavu).

Katarina Brajdić is a Croatian poet who recently moved to Brussels. In 2023 she published her debut poetry collection 'Shortcuts' (Prečaci), shortlisted for international poetry award Škure. She is a former university teacher and author of literature reviews and scholarly articles on contemporary poetry. She spent a decade as a co-organiser of the Festival of the European Short Story hosted in Croatia. She holds a degree in comparative literature and Croatian language and literature.

Barbara Klepić was born in 1991 in Zagreb. She grew up in Dubrovnik and studied in Zadar where she earned a degree in Croatian language and literature. She published her first poetry book 'Marzipan pockets' (Džepovi od marcipana) in 2013. Her poems can be found in most of the Croatian magazines for literature: Dubrovnik, Nova Istra, Poezija, Tema etc. She is just finishing her second poetry collection.

Katja Knežević is an award-winning poet and short story writer. She holds a Master’s degree in English and French literature. In 2012, she won the 'Sea of Words' literary competition organised by IEMed and the Anna Lindh Foundation with her short story, 'Invisible mother'. In 2014 she won the Croatian national Young Poet Laureate award, with the manuscript “Birches made of glass”. The collection was subsequently published in April 2015. She writes in English and Croatian. Her poetry and prose have appeared in anthologies such as 2019 Brussels Writers' Circle and So Long as You Write, as well as literary magazines Tether's End, Thimble, Popshot Magazine and Molecule Lit Mag.

Zrinka Posavec is an academic musician, singer, vocal cocah, singer-songwriter, conductor, producer and poet. She was born in 1981 in Đakovo. Her music albums have been nominated for the prestigious Croatian Porin discography award, including nomination for the category of Best World Music Album in 2023. She wrote music for the theatre play 'The Bald Soprano Opera'. She has published three books of poetry: 'Room to wake up in' in 2015 (Soba za buđenje) 'Sing, Molly' in 2020 (Pjevaj, Molly) and 'Maria Callas throws herself into the sea' in 2022 (Maria Callas se baca u more). The last one earned her the Dragutin Tadijanović award for the best poetry collection in 2023. It was also shortlisted for Janko Polić Kamov Award.