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SPONDE: Časopis za jezike, književnosti i kulture između dviju obala Jadrana / Rivista di lingue, letterature e culture tra le due sponde dell’Adriatico / A Journal of Languages, Literatures and Cultures between the two Adriatic coasts, Vol. 1 No. 2, 2022.

Original scientific paper

Italian Authors and Croatian Readership from 2012 to 2020

Vanda Mikšić ; Sveučilište u Zadru
Marta Huber ; Sveučilište u Zadru

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Abstract

According to Hans Robert Jauss, the history of literature
is viewed as "a process of aesthetic reception
and production that is reflected in the realization of
literary texts by participants of the literary scene such
as receptive readers, reflexive critics and authors in
their continuous productivity" (Jauss 1982: 21). This
means that literary works influence the community
if the members of that community have a need for
them and consume them. The reception of Italian
literature in Croatia should be observed through
strong cultural and historical ties, bearing in mind
the cultural globalization that has occurred in the
last three decades. In this paper, which is a part of
a larger study of translation and reception of Italian
literature in Croatia, we focus on readership as one
of the parameters of reception. For this purpose, we
investigated the most borrowed Italian authors in the
twenty largest Croatian libraries and which authors
and titles the required reading lists include. We surveyed
librarians and Croatian writers about the readership
of Italian literature. Despite the existence of a
large Italian community in Croatia, Italian literature
in Croatia is mostly read in translation, and some
of the most widely read authors are Elena Ferrante,
Andrea Camilleri, Federico Moccia and Alessandro
Baricco, in addition to canonical authors represented
in reading materials for primary and secondary
schools, namely Carlo Collodi, Dante Alighieri,
Giovanni Boccaccio, Francesco Petrarca and Umberto
Eco. The results of the research highlight the
fact that, apart from the reading lists, no significant
correlation can be established between the canonical
status and readership, so Italo Calvino or Claudio
Magris, who, despite the many published translations
and the great reputation they have among Croatian
writers, do not rank highly on the most borrowed
book list. It can also be concluded that it is increasingly
difficult for Italian writers to find their way to
Croatian audience.

Keywords

Italian literature; Croatian translations; reading; reception; borrowing

Hrčak ID:

290701

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/290701

Publication date:

28.12.2022.

Article data in other languages: croatian italian

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