Cvijeće Moje

Life is a funny thing.

My trilogy The Bookminder begins in what is now modern day Istria, Croatia. I chose the location for its particularly interesting history… and the fact that it is the heritage of one half of my family.

A lot of people know that I’ve been performing with a Croatian folk ensemble since I was 8 years old.

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(Me and my sister in Chicago for our first CFU Festival. I was 9 at this point.)

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(Sis and I again. 2002 concert.)           +             (A little love for my brač.)

Needless to say, I’ve lived and breathed the culture for a fair portion of my life.

 

Now for the strange coincidence that led to this post.

The Bookminder takes place in the late 17th century, and so I needed (read: wanted) a song that was time and place appropriate. Music being so important to me–and important within Croatian culture–I simply had to get a song into the book. Cvijeće Moje itself dose not make direct appearance in the text, the version in the novel being a derivation (in English) meant to aid the reader rather than distract. But the heart of it is there.

Last week, I was helping my sister with some song lyrics — we each have a 4″ binder of the songs we played while in ‘the group’ (MCT) — and found myself staring at the sheet music and lyrics for Cvijeće Moje.

“What? We PLAYED this one?????”

Yes. Yes we did. In 1998, apparently. (Funnily enough, my fingers still know how to play it even if my brain has forgotten both the words and the fact that we even did this song!)

 

So. That happened.

 

 

 

 

[image error]Still playing!

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