Obiteljski savjet
Ana Dragu, a contemporary Romanian poet, brings short, sharp and ironic poems about everyday life, family habits and social norms to her collection Family Advice (Croatian translation/selection).
The title song – "Family Advice" – provides practical, frugal and traditional instructions: do not turn on the heating until the end of November, eat more potatoes (soup, goulash, stew with yoghurt, fried, boiled, mashed, gratinated, fried, French), accept old clothes as charity because the new ones are "Chinese anyway" (with the exclamation "Fuck China!").
The songs are minimalist, everyday, with a touch of sarcasm and criticism of consumerism, austerity, national stereotypes and family pressure. Dragu writes simply, directly, with biting humour – portraying Romanian (and wider Eastern European) everyday life through irony and subtle rebellion against routine and poverty.
The collection is part of her oeuvre (along with "Trava za zvijeri", "Mâini cuminți", etc.), appreciated for its lucidity, economy of words and subtle criticism of society. In the Croatian context, it was presented at festivals as Versopolis – a fresh, cynical voice of 21st century Romanian poetry.
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