Jonathan Bousfield
@jonbousfield.bsky.social
Lives in Zagreb, wanders around a bit
Thanks Marc!
Si queréis saber más sobre este excelente autor bosnio, tristemente fallecido a los 48 años, y sobre su vida y obra, marcadas por el nomadismo, el desarraigo y los excesos, tenéis un avance en este artículo de @jonbousfield.bsky.social para @straysatellite.bsky.social: straysatellite.com/bekim/
The Nowhere Man
With the late Bekim Sejranović’s award-winning novel <em>From Nowhere to Nowhere</em> appearing in English for the first time, we look back at the career of an extravagantly talented writer
straysatellite.com
February 5, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Thanks Marc!
Reposted by Jonathan Bousfield
Martin Pollack 1944-2025. A friend, a guide, an example. One of the great Austrian writers of the last half century, a conceptualiser of the moral heritage of WWII, a human link to eastern Europe & populariser of Polish and Ukrainian literature. It might be a time to read his Dead Man in the Bunker
January 17, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Martin Pollack 1944-2025. A friend, a guide, an example. One of the great Austrian writers of the last half century, a conceptualiser of the moral heritage of WWII, a human link to eastern Europe & populariser of Polish and Ukrainian literature. It might be a time to read his Dead Man in the Bunker
I've read my fair share of Marinetti's writings over the years and much as I dislike the man I can't see any meaningful comparisons between him and Musk. I suspect the latter was parachuted into the article to serve as clickbait.
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
‘We will glorify war – and scorn for women’: Marinetti, the futurist Mussolini sidekick who outdid Elon Musk
He was the brilliant yet alarming writer of the Futurist Manifesto, a bohemian poet jailed with Mussolini who helped forge the modern world. As a new show re-examines his troubling legacy, we explore ...
www.theguardian.com
January 9, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I've read my fair share of Marinetti's writings over the years and much as I dislike the man I can't see any meaningful comparisons between him and Musk. I suspect the latter was parachuted into the article to serve as clickbait.
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
Croatian books I read in 2024 & which deserve an international audience kick off with Dora Šustić's Psi ("Dogs"; originally publ. in 2022 but I'm a bit slow), a story of a Croatian film student in Prague and her passionate encounter with an older man. 1/2
December 30, 2024 at 1:50 PM
Croatian books I read in 2024 & which deserve an international audience kick off with Dora Šustić's Psi ("Dogs"; originally publ. in 2022 but I'm a bit slow), a story of a Croatian film student in Prague and her passionate encounter with an older man. 1/2
Reading Cro historian Grga Novak's 1933 account of his trip to Egypt which (quite apart from being a gem of a travel book) clearly shows that most of the 'relevatory' themes featured in Nat Geo and Viasat History documentaries about Egypt were already well known to the educated public of the 1930s
December 24, 2024 at 12:31 PM
Reading Cro historian Grga Novak's 1933 account of his trip to Egypt which (quite apart from being a gem of a travel book) clearly shows that most of the 'relevatory' themes featured in Nat Geo and Viasat History documentaries about Egypt were already well known to the educated public of the 1930s
Xmas 1920-2024... Some lessons from D'Annunzio's Fiume by one of its most perceptive historians
A few years ago I wrote a short piece about how a charismatic, hateful, nationalist leader "destroyed christmas" + what we can do to fight that narrative. As I'm facing going into xmas with precisely this tale repeating, I thought of this piece again. www.zocalopublicsquare.org/christmas-of...
How a Charismatic Populist Destroyed Christmas
In 1920, in a small town outside Turin, Italy, 17-year-old Luigi De Michelis was everything his middle-class parents could have asked for. His teachers liked him
www.zocalopublicsquare.org
December 22, 2024 at 12:15 PM
Xmas 1920-2024... Some lessons from D'Annunzio's Fiume by one of its most perceptive historians
2024's best translated fiction part 3: few are better than Kurkov when it comes to mixing strong characters, a sense of period, narrative thrills and ironic humour. And he only seems to get better at pulling these things off, while making serious points about the identity of Ukraine at the same time
December 21, 2024 at 4:53 PM
2024's best translated fiction part 3: few are better than Kurkov when it comes to mixing strong characters, a sense of period, narrative thrills and ironic humour. And he only seems to get better at pulling these things off, while making serious points about the identity of Ukraine at the same time
2024's best translated fiction from CEE part 2: Bulgarian Vera Mutafchieva's highly original 1967 novel about the C15 Ottoman prince who challenged his brother for the throne. Takes the form of a case file containing witness statements of Cem's contemporaries. sandorfpassage.org/product/the-...
The Case of Cem – sandorfpassage.org
sandorfpassage.org
December 18, 2024 at 4:18 PM
2024's best translated fiction from CEE part 2: Bulgarian Vera Mutafchieva's highly original 1967 novel about the C15 Ottoman prince who challenged his brother for the throne. Takes the form of a case file containing witness statements of Cem's contemporaries. sandorfpassage.org/product/the-...
So my list of 2024's best CEE-region transated fiction would kick off with Croatian Damir Karakaš's Celebration (publ. @twolinespress.bsky.social), a deeply nuanced and disarmingly lyrical exploration of the links between harsh landscape, rural poverty, emotional damage and political extremes.
December 17, 2024 at 3:21 PM
So my list of 2024's best CEE-region transated fiction would kick off with Croatian Damir Karakaš's Celebration (publ. @twolinespress.bsky.social), a deeply nuanced and disarmingly lyrical exploration of the links between harsh landscape, rural poverty, emotional damage and political extremes.
The history book I most enjoyed reading in 2024 is @alicehunt.bsky.social's Republic, a deftly woven account of a decade uniquely full of change, ideas, ambiguities and possibilities. It also has something of the thriller about it: we know that the republic fell, but keep on reading to find out why
December 12, 2024 at 6:26 PM
The history book I most enjoyed reading in 2024 is @alicehunt.bsky.social's Republic, a deftly woven account of a decade uniquely full of change, ideas, ambiguities and possibilities. It also has something of the thriller about it: we know that the republic fell, but keep on reading to find out why
Finally got to grips with one of the outstanding UK non-fiction books of recent years, a searing account of Leeds during the lockdowns - when author @stuhennigan.bsky.social was a volunteer delivering food & meds to the needy and isolated. Published by indie mavericks @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
December 9, 2024 at 12:44 PM
Finally got to grips with one of the outstanding UK non-fiction books of recent years, a searing account of Leeds during the lockdowns - when author @stuhennigan.bsky.social was a volunteer delivering food & meds to the needy and isolated. Published by indie mavericks @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
What with xmas markets in Zagreb and Tallinn it's an opportune/istic moment to mention that I wrote travel guides in app form to both these places (Croatia's Best and Tallinn & Estonia's Best) for Touchscreen Travels. Availble for I-phone & android (and 50% off this week) www.touchscreentravels.com
TouchScreenTravels
Independent travel apps to guide the independent traveller
www.touchscreentravels.com
December 7, 2024 at 3:17 PM
What with xmas markets in Zagreb and Tallinn it's an opportune/istic moment to mention that I wrote travel guides in app form to both these places (Croatia's Best and Tallinn & Estonia's Best) for Touchscreen Travels. Availble for I-phone & android (and 50% off this week) www.touchscreentravels.com
"Spirited prose, microscopic attention to character and environment"; praise for Damir Karakaš's haunting landscape-and-history novel Celebration (publ. @twolinespress.bsky.social) from Robert Allen Papinchak at Asymptote www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2024/12...
Moving in Circles: On Celebration by Damir Karakaš - Asymptote Blog
[The] translation is exemplary . . . Karakaš’s original language lends itself to vivid descriptions, figurative imagery, and crisp exchanges.
www.asymptotejournal.com
December 6, 2024 at 12:58 PM
"Spirited prose, microscopic attention to character and environment"; praise for Damir Karakaš's haunting landscape-and-history novel Celebration (publ. @twolinespress.bsky.social) from Robert Allen Papinchak at Asymptote www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2024/12...
Greatest reading pleasure of 2024 (so far) was finally getting to grips with 2021 Nobel winner Abdulrazak Gurnah. His novels beautifully evoke a richly storied (& frequently tragic) East African space scarred by colonialism, often crafting moving, decade-spanning epics in the space of 260-300 pages.
December 3, 2024 at 4:32 PM
Greatest reading pleasure of 2024 (so far) was finally getting to grips with 2021 Nobel winner Abdulrazak Gurnah. His novels beautifully evoke a richly storied (& frequently tragic) East African space scarred by colonialism, often crafting moving, decade-spanning epics in the space of 260-300 pages.
Reposted by Jonathan Bousfield
Today and tomorrow, friends: our 2025 subscription is only $80! 👏👇📚📚👇👏 #cybermonday
From 12/2-12/4, we’re running a #cybermonday sale on our 2025 subscription: 7 books for $80! This includes our 6 2025 titles and a backlist title of your choice. Help spread the word and support independent publishing. sandorfpassage.org/product/sand...
December 2, 2024 at 2:16 PM
Today and tomorrow, friends: our 2025 subscription is only $80! 👏👇📚📚👇👏 #cybermonday
Sadly can't make it to the promotion myself - the eagerly awaited Croatian edition of an Eng-lang original heartily recommended to anyone interested in new perspectives on Adriatic/Central European history. And stylishly rendered in readerly prose to boot
On my way to Zagreb for a book talk tonight! Hope you can join me (and Tvrtko Jakovina and Srđan Grbić)
November 28, 2024 at 3:46 PM
Sadly can't make it to the promotion myself - the eagerly awaited Croatian edition of an Eng-lang original heartily recommended to anyone interested in new perspectives on Adriatic/Central European history. And stylishly rendered in readerly prose to boot
Electric Dreams at Tate Modern takes a globe-spanning look at pre-internet electronic art and computer art, taking in the role of Zagreb's 60s-70s New Tendencies movt, which brought international and local artists together and acted as catalyst in a developing scene
www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tat...
www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tat...
Electric Dreams | Tate Modern
www.tate.org.uk
November 27, 2024 at 11:02 AM
Electric Dreams at Tate Modern takes a globe-spanning look at pre-internet electronic art and computer art, taking in the role of Zagreb's 60s-70s New Tendencies movt, which brought international and local artists together and acted as catalyst in a developing scene
www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tat...
www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tat...
Arguably it was Roth more than any other writer who introduced me to Central Europe: a vast body of outstanding journalism and fiction was written by a man who roamed the continent without ever seeming to settle - a chaotic but epic life told in gripping style by biographer @keironpim.bsky.social
November 26, 2024 at 3:02 PM
Arguably it was Roth more than any other writer who introduced me to Central Europe: a vast body of outstanding journalism and fiction was written by a man who roamed the continent without ever seeming to settle - a chaotic but epic life told in gripping style by biographer @keironpim.bsky.social
Krešimirac, the prettiest of central Zagreb's parks, especially when the light is right
November 24, 2024 at 3:49 PM
Krešimirac, the prettiest of central Zagreb's parks, especially when the light is right
Popped into my local 2nd hand bookshop on impulse and found the 1969 edition of Blue Guide's Yugoslavia: Adriatic Coast staring irresistibly back at me. A dour colourless read when 1st published it's a fascinating historical source 55 years on
November 22, 2024 at 1:27 PM
Popped into my local 2nd hand bookshop on impulse and found the 1969 edition of Blue Guide's Yugoslavia: Adriatic Coast staring irresistibly back at me. A dour colourless read when 1st published it's a fascinating historical source 55 years on
Reposted by Jonathan Bousfield
Adria Blue is the deeply researched, convincingly argued study of how, and why, imperialism shaped the tourism industry along the Adriatic coastline, starting prior to World War I. Out in 2026.
My book on the history of tourism on the Eastern Adriatic is due out just as soon as my gallant publishers at @sandorfpassage.bsky.social figure out how to edit my first draft.
November 21, 2024 at 6:54 PM
Adria Blue is the deeply researched, convincingly argued study of how, and why, imperialism shaped the tourism industry along the Adriatic coastline, starting prior to World War I. Out in 2026.
Like many over here I am somewhat humbled by the dramatic increase in the number of followers accrued in recent days. By way of introduction I spent most of my career writing guidebooks about Central- Eastern European destinations although in recent years have written more about history and culture.
November 21, 2024 at 10:15 AM
Like many over here I am somewhat humbled by the dramatic increase in the number of followers accrued in recent days. By way of introduction I spent most of my career writing guidebooks about Central- Eastern European destinations although in recent years have written more about history and culture.
Two outstanding titles imho
These are our bestsellers to date. Purchase a 2025 subscription before January 1 and get 7 books for $100, which includes 6 new books and a backlist title of your choice. Maybe you want one of these? sandorfpassage.org/product/sand...
November 18, 2024 at 2:30 PM
Two outstanding titles imho
A reminder that November 11 is a major commemorative occasion in Latvia too (tho the article itself is a few years old and could do with a re-edit): straysatellite.com/riga/#content
The Battle for Rīga
It is 100 years since a combined force of Germans and Russians were beaten back by a nascent Latvian army, backed up by British and French warships
straysatellite.com
November 11, 2024 at 9:40 AM
A reminder that November 11 is a major commemorative occasion in Latvia too (tho the article itself is a few years old and could do with a re-edit): straysatellite.com/riga/#content
Looks like the irrepressible Borderlines made it to the table-top display at the Znanje bookshop in central Zagreb, @lewisbaston.bsky.social
September 11, 2024 at 9:49 AM
Looks like the irrepressible Borderlines made it to the table-top display at the Znanje bookshop in central Zagreb, @lewisbaston.bsky.social