Vinko Vrbanic
Dear Reader,
I put my stories on paper after re-telling them multiple times to my family and friends. Thus, the demarcation line between real and imaginary fades to let imagination seep into a fundamentally truthful story.
I published my first short stories in a local periodical Moji Vinkovci in 2009 and in 2010. In 2011, I published my first book Furmani - Sokolov let with two distinct stories bound together. My second title Glasovi u šumi was published in May 2012, and is available in the book-stores . Please, watch on your radar an English translation under the title
Voices in the Forest
because it will pleasantly surprise you. At the moment, I am working on my third book falling in historical fiction genre.
I was born on May 12, 1951 in Novi Varos, Croatia. My father read novels of August Senoa, Victor Hugo, Ferdinand Gregorovius, and many more. These classic writers most likely shaped my early interest in history. During primary education, I scored very well. Then, I studied agriculture in Pozega, Croatia and commuted from home to school by a train for four years.
Upon a promise for a scholarship, I moved to Vinkovci, Croatia to continue studying. The company offering the scholarship withdrew from the contract and I lost much needed financial support. I gave up studies and then worked for a brief period in a local cattle-food factory. I daydreamed to build a brick house; so, I saved some money and took a loan from a close friend to buy a piece of land for the future construction. The event cemented my decision to stay in Vinkovci, Croatia.
While I was working on excavations in historical places, I met with salvage archaeologists overseeing construction sites, and discussed history with them. I wrote a novella Sokolov let (The Flight of the Falcon), but again did not publish anything. During Croatian War of Independence, I reflected on early life and put on paper a coming-of-age novel Glasovi u šumi (Voices in the Forest).
My employer provided a limited financial support; so, I picked the text from scattered handwritten material. I bound an informal book, which the company gave away to business clients. Then, I published a few selected stories in a periodical Moji Vinkovci (My Vinkovci).
I gave Sokolov let (The Flight of the Falcon) to Ruzica Cerni from Ilok to organize the material and capture historical inaccuracies.
During an e-mail correspondence, Ivo Zuric from Zagreb, Croatia described the stories as inspired and excellent literature. His words encouraged me to remove from the manuscript a few disconnected stories, and to reshuffle the text. I published Furmani i Sokolov let (Carters and The Flight of the Falcon) in 2011 and Glasovi u sumi (Voices in the Forest) in 2012.
Yours truly,
Vinko Vrbanic
“As the children of God, we think of Him as a perfect, almighty, loving, caring and forgiving persona. We pray to Him to bless us and our food, and to fix our troubles. Will we ever become the grown-ups of God?”
“Marina Orlova was hooked on my quote about women not owing men. I scrolled through her posted paintings and recalled a Slovak friend once commenting on a guy wanna-be a great painter, something like this: "Aaano, on bol profesionalnym maljiarom na Slovensku, maloval tam pice a hakove krize po stenach". He meant graffiti, but I hesitate to translate it in detail for it may sound too rough. Another thought is about surreal, sometimes spurious aesthetics mixed with hinted or daring sexuality, which Marina Orlova endorses, deliberately or not, in line of her claimed profession. The posts call to mind The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover or even Titus Andronicus. No wonder, thousands of bozos are attracted to her internet activity because ..., well, the woman is hot.”
“If a story is w/out flaws or doubts, it is flattery or even brainwashing. You should read it as if drinking a glass of water. But be prepared - you would not remember its taste.”
“Alamo has been a strong inspiration for nations striving for freedom all around the globe since 1836. Gvozdansko has not earned public reputation, but profoundly touched the heart of the bitter enemy Ferhat-paša alone in 1578. Croats have a duty and obligation to learn about Gvozdansko.”
“Sloboda nije mjera žita da se na kantar stavlja, već onaj soko što leti iznad Polja Sinjskog.”
“Facing problems is like looking at a sink piled up with dirty dishes. More you think more they stink. It takes only to roll up the sleeves and start washing them, one by one. In just ten minutes they are done.”
“Women should not feel obliged towards any men for eternity. They earned this privilege by gathering berries, digging roots, picking wild rice, and chewing the skin to make it soft for 999 thousand years, while the men were having fun in the open chasing deer and fighting among themselves.”
“Žene se zauvijek ne trebaju osjećati obaveznim prema bilo kojem muškarcu. One su tu privilegiju zaradile dok su skupljale bobice, kopale korijenje. brale divlju rižu i žvakale kožu da omekša tijekom 999 tisuća godina, dok su se muškarci zabavljali ganjajući jelene i tukući se međusobno.”
“Pajšl je jako dobar jer piće iza njega teško 'vata.”