Selected Writings

Set in the crumbling ruins of Yugoslavia, In a Time of Drought explores the images and realities of war, destruction and dictatorship, and of fertility, nurture and peace. The key figure is the Balkan rain maiden. This gypsy or peasant girl takes on an ancient mythological authority and a wholly modern moral presence. In the wake of waste and war she is the incarnation of hope and renewal. In a Time of Drought has received the international Morava Charter Award. It forms the second part of Richard Berengarten's Balkan Trilogy and is published with the other two parts, The Blue Butterfly and Under Balkan Light. This edition is also the fourth volume of his Selected Writings.