Dragi Kamen

Dragi Kamen ("Dear Rock," or "Precious stone") is a collection of poems by Croatian author Mijo Mirković, better known by his pen name Mate Balota.

[2] The poems that compose this collection have been said to "bring to life events and feelings of the lives of [the Istrian people], their happy and (mostly) sad and tragic moments, their struggle for survival.

"[3] The older reader relates to the poem because they describe life as it used be or their parents told them it was, with its happy notes and all the hardships and tragic moments.

[3] The poem My Mother (Moja mati) was included in the anthology Poeti croati moderni (Garzanti, 1942), edited by Luigi Salvini.

[4] The conference honouring Balota Susreti na dragom kamenu (literally, "Encounters on a Precious Stone"), owes its name to this book.