“SOCIETY IS IN FLAMES ON A GLOBAL SCALE…”, Interviewer: Jakhongir Nomozov (Uzbekistan)

“SOCIETY IS IN FLAMES ON A GLOBAL SCALE…”

Our guest today is Živko Grozdanoski, the Chairman of the Writers’ Association of Macedonia, a renowned poet, writer, and literary scholar, and a laureate of numerous national and international literary awards.

– Parents play an irreplaceable role in shaping their children’s future, and support begins first and foremost within the family.

What role did your parents and family play in your formation as a poet and writer?

– When I first started writing poems – not long after I was taught to write – I have a vague memory of my mother observing me with curiosity. Next memory (one, two, three years later?): I remember my mother showing me a notebook with my poems written there. I was so surprised! I would write poems and carelessly leave them to linger around, and she had been collecting them all and meticulously copying them in one notebook. Correcting the mistakes and everything, by the way. So, I guess my mother was my first editor. I guess I was shaped by this story. By the surprise.

 – Literature is often described as a sacred realm that should be entered with a pure heart.

Yet some poets and writers create primarily in pursuit of personal gain or awards. What is your attitude toward this phenomenon?

– We are all guided by two opposite drives: the need of “authenticity” and the need of “attachment”. Some people mostly write because it brings them closer to their authentic self, others mainly because they see in this a way to make connections and prosper in the world. It is pure heart (yearning for Oneness) next to a pure (collaborative and competitive) thought. I was simply not made for No. 2, and all I have is “ink”, as a metaphor for writing, honesty, authenticity. The title of my last book is “Like a cuttlefish, I use ink to make space for myself in the world”.

 – Being human, above all, requires having a conscience. In your view, what are the main criteria and responsibilities of a poet or writer?

– The main responsibilities of a poet, or a writer, according to my criteria, is to stab his knife into the rotten part of the fruit, and turn it into a feast, a celebration of life. Imagining, in doing so, that every living person is a fruit.

 – With your work Fingerprints on Ice Cubes, you brought a fresh breath into the genre of short prose. What is the most challenging and the most enjoyable aspect of writing short stories or flash prose for you?

– The most challenging aspect of it is to avoid spare letters. The most enjoyable aspect of it is the surprise, the excitement you feel as you “hunt” for the final shape of it.

– It is often said that every writer becomes a different person at the writing desk. How does your own creative process unfold?

– It depends on the genre. Long prose comes like stockpiling thoughts and concepts from time to time, capturing them and putting them down on paper. Then the long winter comes, and you see what you have. Poetry is an idea, a fleeing thought. One has to be vigilant. In all cases.

 – When writing for children, what do you draw inspiration from most? Where does your creative impulse come from?

– My personal well of curiosity, my need to defeat boredom. To surprise myself.

 – In your opinion, what is the greatest difference between children’s literature and literature for adults, and how do these two directions enrich one another?

– There are many differences, as well as similarities. It’s a complex question.

 – How would you describe the current level of attention given to literature and culture in Macedonian society today?

– There are different types of literature, but its presence in the media is rare. Media in general, are pathetic, showing 0 creativity. Some would say that there are plenty of bookstores in the center of Skopje. But there are almost non in other cities.

 – How are the literary gaps between writers and readers manifested today, and what new creative movements are emerging among the younger generation?

– The gaps are manifested by the lack of good (if any) literary critique that could set some reference points when it comes to writing. As far as the creative movements are concerned, lately, I have an impression that more reading clubs emerge. Most of young ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬people, nonetheless, seen to be not concerned with literature, primarily, I would say, due to the total lack of official policies that could point in that direction.

 – Which literary genres are developing most dynamically in contemporary Macedonian literature, and which ones seem to be developing more slowly?

– Novels are dominating, poetry is low profile (and that’s an international standard, I would dare say), and short stories seem to be developing more fynamically.

 – Against the backdrop of the rapid growth of the internet and social media, a decline in reading habits is often observed. Do you think it is fair to blame the internet alone for the decrease in readership?

– No, it’s not the internet alone. It’s the internet, combined with poor to none (none at all, to be precise) interest in/capability of creating official policies by the state apparatus. Imagine if, on the one hand, youngsters under 16 are disallowed to use smartphones, like it is in Spain. And if, on the other hand, libraries are supplied with high quality literature, and young “influencers” are incited to “operate” there.

 – How do average-quality works published under the label of “bestsellers” by various publishing houses affect the development of genuine literature?

– Not much, I would say. Because authors have access to all sorts of texts today, and everyone can be influenced by from many sides. I would argue that good authors are mostly influenced by good authors. (Not to be confused with those authors, that, lacking authentic inspiration, copy other authors’ ideas and words.) Mediocre authors, on the other hand can be influenced by bestsellers, or “trendy” literature.

– In today’s world, can literature still change society, or is it primarily limited to enriching human thought and emotions?

– The society is on fire, globally: capitalism and imperialism, assisted by technology, are putting us at the threshold of… what? WWIII? What literature can do is enrich and encourage some individuals, and this should be more than enough.

– Which genre do you plan to focus on more in the future—poetry, short stories, novels, or children’s literature?

– I want to give more visible contours to the novel I have started sketching. Despite this, I write shorter compositions. On Forgiveness Day, a week a go, I happened to write a children’s poem about forgiveness.

 – What does “creative success” mean to you personally?

– To write something and to be feeling joy and gratitude about it; to see a glimpse of timeless value in it. For example, the poem that I wrote a week a go, “Forgiveness for the king”.

 – What important projects and initiatives is the Macedonian Writers’ Association currently implementing?

– There are several ongoing projects, but I would single out the promotion of the book “What is remembered lives on” – a collection of 21 autobiographical short stories cherishing the memory of Macedonian writers, colleagues, former members of the Association that are no longer with us. This is a project keen on preserving the cultural memory and fortifying the cultural identity of our country, which consists of authors from different national, religious, etc. backgrounds.

 – Which poets and writers from Azerbaijani literature are you familiar with?

– Last year, the Struga Poetry Evenings hosted Farid Hussein, and we met. We had a short conversation, and he handed me his book of poems in Azerbaijani and in English. The verses were simple and striking. I still remember some from one of his poems, because I was reciting them to friends and to close ones. May the author forgive me, if he reads this, for I will probably demolish partially those verses, as I paraphrase them: “Time passes, and you are slowly losing the right to demand what you didn’t have the courage to desire”. So simple and striking. Beautiful.

Interview by:

Jakhongir NOMOZOV, is a young poet and journalist from Uzbekistan.

He is also a Member of the Union of Journalists of Azerbaijan and the World Young Turkic Writers Union.