Why did Slavenka Drakulić never learn to cook?

The final book by renowned writer Slavenka Drakulić, titled Why I Never Learned to Cook, was presented at the World Literature Festival (FSK) on Monday as part of the program "In Memory of Slavenka Drakulić." The work delves into patriarchal ideology hidden within everyday objects, family rituals, and marital expectations through a series of intimate, witty, and moving stories. Friends and collaborators of Drakulić, Jasmina Kuzmanović, Alemka Lisinski, and Marija Ott Franolić, spoke about the book during its presentation. Seid Serdarević, program director of FSK and editor of Fraktura, noted that the book had originally been planned for presentation directly by Drakulić herself. However, she unexpectedly passed away in June of this year, leaving her absence deeply felt. Serdarević emphasized that Drakulić, like all writers, drew from personal experience but also listened carefully to others. He mentioned that it is often said writers steal and lie, using other people's stories as tools of their trade. Yet, he found something intriguing in Why I Never Learned to Cook. There had been plans to create three such books, and while he hopes to produce a second one, he is uncertain whether there will be enough material for a third. Serdarević described how the book begins with wall plaques found in rural homes and kitchens of women in suburban areas, above stoves. One well-known inscription reads: "Wives, less chatter so your food doesn't burn." He praised these plaques as brilliant inspiration for Drakulić, adding that they were an extraordinary source of creativity. He called the book the most personal of Drakulić’s works, noting that it starts from very personal experiences and thus represents the most intimate side of her writing. Marija Ott Franolić, who helped organize Drakulić’s archives, agreed with Serdarević that this was the most personal of her books. She explained that Drakulić, as she did in her other works, started from seemingly trivial and unimportant things like cooking, family relationships, and shared meals to draw broader social conclusions. Franolić highlighted Drakulić’s ability to act as an exceptional social diagnostician, addressing the pressures still faced by women today, the expectation that they should know how to cook and enjoy it. She added that Drakulić was particularly irritated when someone would say something was easy to cook. Jasmina Kuzmanović recalled a friend asking her, “How come she never learned to cook?” Kuzmanović clarified that Drakulić did learn to cook, she could prepare thirty different dishes and chose not to expand beyond them, neither as a consumer nor as a chef. Alemka Lisinski, film critic and cultural analyst, remarked that when she first read the book before its publication, she felt Drakulić had entered the waters of memoir writing without fear. She described the book as exceptionally personal yet never private, emphasizing Drakulić’s unique gift for separating these levels. Born in Rijeka on July 4, 1949, Slavenka Drakulić graduated in literature and sociology from the University of Zagreb. She wrote articles, columns, and political commentaries for both domestic and foreign newspapers and magazines. Writing in Croatian and English, some of her books have been translated into thirty languages. In her journalistic works, she primarily focused on daily life in socialism, wars in former Yugoslavia, and Europe. Her first journalistic book, Mortal Sins of Feminism (1984), was among the earliest contributions to feminism in Eastern Europe. In her literary works, Drakulić turned her attention to the female body, illness, trauma, and aging, exploring themes that resonate deeply with contemporary issues.