Poetry and Engagement: Monika Herceg in the Labyrinth of Herstory and Itstory
Poetry and Engagement: Monika Herceg in the Labyrinth of Herstory and Itstory

Summary/Abstract: Monika Herceg is an award-winning Croatian poet of the young generation. She haspublished three volumes of poetry: Početne koordinate (2018), Lovostaj. (2019) and Vrijemeprije jezika (2020). Herceg’s poetry abounds in multi-layered, open metaphors, and makes nu-merous references to vital contemporary problems, primarily connected with systemic violenceagainst women and nature. Particularly the second volume, which is less personal than thepoet’s debut, yet more programmatic and engaged, refers to the issues raised by feminist theory.Its compositional axis determines the theme of femininity and women’s stories (herstory). Her-ceg’s poetry’s engagement not only concerns the choice of specific topics, but is also visible inthe gesture of the lyrical subject taking over the perspective of the characters, including non-human actors (itstory). Another major thematic field of the poems is nature, which functionsboth as a capacious metaphor and in its actual shape. Above all, nature’s and women’s worldsare related by the experience of patriarchal oppression.

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