More i daleki gradovi

The Sea and Distant Cities by Frano Alfirević is an anthological poetic collection of Mediterranean and Adriatic lyrics, created at a crucial historical moment in the early 1940s, which gives it additional cultural and historical value in the context of Croatian literature. It is a book that rarely appears on the antiquarian market today, especially in a well-preserved condition, and is interesting both as a bibliographic and literary artifact.

Alfirević's poetic world is shaped by an intimate meditation on the sea, travel and distant spaces, where a discrete background of the experience of the Bay of Kotor is often recognized, which is felt in the sensibility of the sea as a vital and mental horizon. The sea in the collection functions as a central symbol – a space of calm, nostalgia and inner reflection – while the "distant cities" denote an imaginary projection of otherness and the unattainable.

Stylistically, the collection combines traditional versification with mild modernist shifts, without avant-garde radicalism, but with a pronounced introspection and picturesqueness. In the broader context of the author's work, the book represents the mature phase of his lyrical expression and a characteristic example of the Mediterranean poetic sensibility of the first half of the 20th century. Due to the historical context of the edition and limited availability, this edition is relevant for both collectors and researchers of Croatian literary heritage.