In the current series of books within Remembrances of Vanished Yugoslavia, Borka Tomljenovic presents a more comprehensive collection of her memories and commentaries about the distinctions between the culturally different parts of Yugoslavia. In part I: Bosnia, she writes about the powerful influence of Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian occupation on the life and culture of Bosnia. In Book II: Croatia, the author describes her experiences of the cultural life in Zagreb and along Dalmatian coast that were enriched by centuries-long contact with Western European neighbors. In part III: Serbia, Borka Tomljenovic writes about her experiences in Belgrade between 1962 and 1992, including references to the rich Serbian literary history, and echoes of the disruptive effects of 400 years of Turkish occupation on the cultural life in Serbia. Finally, in book IV: America, the author continues with her observations of human interactions and writes about her experience of the new world from 1992 to the present. In the Remembrances of vanished Yugoslavia, Borka Tomljenovic joins a multitude of Yugoslavs, some now living in fragments of the former country, others in diaspora around the world, in yugo-nostalgia, a regret at the disintegration of the richly diverse country remembered for the good life during its 73-year lifespan, and a desire to see its pieces reunited once again.
About the Author: Borka Jovanovic Tomljenovic was born in 1917 in Zenica, Bosnia. Her study of English that began in the Tuzla high school, was enhanced during a semester of study at the University College of North Wales in Bangor in 1938, and led to a bachelor's degree from the English department of Philosophical Faculty of The University of Zagreb. Borka Tomljenovic married to Dr. Juraj Tomljenovic in 1939. They were parents to Katarina Tomljenovic born in 1940, and the marriage dissolved in 1950. Although Borka Tomljenovic did not expect to have to earn a living, the political and economic upheavals during her lifetime made teaching English her professional career. She spent about two decades as a lecturer of English language at the Philosophical and Pharmaceutical Faculties of the University of Zagreb and at the Academy for the Theater Arts in Zagreb. Under the editorship of Rudolf Filipovic, she was one of the eight co-authors of the English Croatian or Serbian Dictionary (Englesko Hrvatski ili Srpski Rjecnik) which underwent 17 editions between 1955 and 1990. Widely read and fluent in several languages, Borka Tomljenovic fully engaged in the rich cultural life of Zagreb, Croatia where she lived between 1940 and 1962. Her daughter left for college in the United States in 1961. To help relocate her parents from Tuzla to Belgrade, Borka Tomljenovic left Zagreb and moved to Belgrade in 1962. Her opportunities to teach were now limited to occasional special language courses which brought her to institutions along the Dalmatian coast. She now devoted her free time to writing. The first book, Family Chronicles was written in 1984 for the benefit of her American grandchildren. It documented family genealogy, history, and accomplishments. Following the death of her parents and sister and disintegration of Yugoslavia, Borka Tomljenovic moved to the United States in 1992. She spent six years working at the University of Michigan International Center interacting with and providing help and advice to American students travelling abroad and foreign students adjusting to America. Now her motivation to write extended to personal testimony about ethnic tolerance and positive quality of life that existed in the integrated Yugoslavia during her life there.