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WORLDWIDE
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OUR
POETRY ARCHIVE
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Tuesday, August 1, 2023
OPA AUGUST 2023 ISSUE No. 101
ZLATAN DEMIROVIC INTERVIEW
NILAVRONILL TALKING WITH
POET OF THE MONTH
ZLATAN DEMIROVIC
AUGUST 2023
NILAVRONILL: Welcome to Our Poetry Archive, dear poet.
And congratulations as the poet of this month. I would like to know your
personal views on literature or poetry in general.
ZLATAN
DEMIROVIC: Literature is indivisible part of civilised life; without it
we wouldn’t be able to
step back in time and learn about history on Earth before us. It is also a part of our personal life from the time we’re born. Even our
life is nothing, but the story written ahead. We are just re-writers, in the
field of our recreation. Successful writers are helping others to wake up from the illusion of
material existence, opening the path of inspiration in trying to find some
higher life purpose.
NILAVRONILL: What are the factors that have influenced
you immensely in the growing phase of your literary life. When, most probably
you were not certain of your future as a poet or writer. Do you think society
as a whole is the key factor in shaping up you as a poet, or your poetry
altogether?
ZLATAN DEMIROVIC: I started playing the guitar
and writing my first songs and lyrics as a very young boy, 6 years old.
Since then, till now, my whole life has been a journey of experiencing the
unknown based on inspiration. Turning back in time, I would mark the
first factor, or significant
circumstance that has influenced the growing phase of my literary life. I
was a student, 19 years of age, as I got a part-time job in a publishing house.
I was surrounded by books, feeling like a fish in water. Meeting with new
topics like, Master and Margarita, The Magic Mountain, Siddhartha, Demian,
Stepenwolf, The Alchemist, 1984, Solaris, and many others…It was my first break
through… But the serious life situation which pushed me in long term
process of writing was the war in my country. My exodus of seeking
for refuge was hand in hand with my definite orientation on writing novels. It
made me different, something like growing up overnight.
NILAVRONILL: Is there anyone in your life, influenced
you personally to develop your literary skills? Or inspire you to become a
poet?
ZLATAN DEMIROVIC: Absolutely, there are many
writers, poets, also great songwriters, who influenced me. When it comes to
prose, Russian writers Bulgakov and Gogol, made a big impact on my
style, combining realism fiction and satire… You’ll probably be glad to hear
about Rabindranath Tagore as one who deeply influenced me in the field of
poetry and philosophy.
NILAVRONILL: Do you consider your literary life as an
extension of your self-existence? If so, how it is related with the time around
you?
ZLATAN DEMIROVIC: In my case, existence and time
are very sensitive phenomena. My literary life couldn’t be extension, but
only the essence, purpose and aim of my existence. The spiritual aspect of
material existence is leading light on downward endless spiral journey in
unknown. Time exists only as a continuum of infinite now. It is inseparable,
unmovable, we are those who travel on journey of atomic molecular
transformation into nonmaterial dimension in only one and stabile NOW.
NILAVRONILL: According to you, what are the conditions
to develop the creative soul of a poet in general? We would like to know from your personal
experiences.
ZLATAN DEMIROVIC: The
soul is creative itself, or it’s conditioned to keep the essence of creativity
in this material world in general. So, it is a lighthouse that illuminates the
highest values of living. The one who carefully listens and articulates all
what has heard from his soul, could be called poet. Personally, I see
creativity as the most valuable attribute of existence of all.
NILAVRONILL: Do you think in this age of information and
technology the dimensions of literature have been largely extended beyond our
preconceived ideas about literature in general?
ZLATAN DEMIROVIC: If you consider dimensions of
literature as a quantitative category, we can hypothesize
that today we have hundred times more writers than
100 years back, or we are able to write (type and print) one book hundred times
faster, using computer technology. On the other side, technology, or artificial
intelligence can slow down our pure essence in soul connection. It distances us from reading books by hiring us to digest data instead,
also, we are losing a lot of time and energy on troubleshooting or improving and
updating new technical skills. The speed of the creative process does not
necessary guaranty a quality of creative work. Quantity doesn’t correlate
with quality.
NILAVRONILL: As a poet, do socio-economy and politics
in general influence your literary visions? If so how, and if not, why?
ZLATAN DEMIROVIC: Poets, writers, or philosophers
reflect a current social economic and political situation in the mirror of
their creative works. Primarily, in the “primitive” tribal community,
their task was to show how to live in the best harmony with nature, to help in
finding some solutions for survival, trying to explain all the mysteries of
life and the Universe. In the modern age, it has become the opposite,
a reversal process of bringing us back to our lost connection with Nature,
not only in the way of living, but in the field of alienated science. Poetry is
always the first who doesn’t know border in shaping a trajectory for any fundamental
change. As a poet, I am highly influenced by the socio-economic impact on
people’s lives. The less we have political power, or economic tools, the more
we are profiled to create a virtual solution for a change.
NILAVRONILL: Do you consider, your national identity as
an important factor to influence your literary creativity? Is your national
identity an incentive for you to find your own literary voice?
ZLATAN DEMIROVIC: Absolutely. It is our core, traditional
heritage, without it, any soul-connection wouldn’t be possible. Our collective
consciousness echoes through each of our words, reflecting memories of
accumulated feelings as intuitive knowledge. National identity defines our
style, sense of humor, love for truth, craving for freedom, the
fight for the preservation of customs etc. As a refugee from my country and
culture, I had to rebuild my inner fundamental core life library, creating a
parallel network of multilingual emotional connections and brain plasticity,
which ultimately helped me in new, different perception of the world.
NILAVRONILL: In between tradition and modernism, which
one influence you most and why?
ZLATAN DEMIROVIC: Modernism attracts,
initiates, and determines my creative activity. It is understandable process of striving
for progress and new forms of expression and promotion. Tradition is something that always brings us back “down to
the ground” reminding us how things should be, or, even more, indicating where
a change in values should
occur.
NILAVRONILL: Do you think honest literary criticism has
much to do with the development of a poet and the true understanding of his or
her poetry?
ZLATAN DEMIROVIC: Criticism helps us in
reconsidering our self-esteem, or pinpointing some areas for change, even provokes
numbness of comfort to wake up from being caressed with hymns. In
my case, criticism has nothing to do with determination of using clear power of
inspiration and synchronicity, which is above any realm of critical observations.
NILAVRONILL: I would like to know, whether your
contemporaries inspire your writings in any way.
ZLATAN DEMIROVIC: Very much. Many of them helped
me to make sure that what I do is exactly what I must do. It helps me to
strengthen my tools and open new fields of interest for the unseen. More so, I
don’t have a problem of comparison in terms of confidence, as I’m firmly on my
way. The art is innovation, uniqueness, and there’s nothing to compete with,
but only yourself. As a publisher, I use to share manuscripts, translations
with various authors around the world. I’m fortunate that I have some close
friends, top poets, whom I can treat as my personal English language editing
advisors, or sometimes even co-creators.
NILAVRONILL: Do you believe, literature can eventually
help people to uplift human conscience?
ZLATAN DEMIROVIC: Historically, literature plays
the main role in raising consciousness. It is above all big political or social
changes. Without literature and philosophy, society wouldn’t make any move from
old forgotten tribal and shamanic way of life organization. I call it esoteric
literary-philosophic civilizational movement. Basically, each great book is
directly involved and reflects in raising a global consciousness.
NILAVRONILL: Humanity
has suffered immensely in the past, and is still suffering around the world. We
all know it well. As a poet or even as a literary person, how do you foresee
the future of mankind?
ZLATAN
DEMIROVIC: As a literary person, I would
say it like this: As we can see, all big happenings throughout history look like
and are like each other. Official history and science don’t offer any
explanation for that. So, who other than the writer is there to offer solutions.
The history of civilization is not something that can go spontaneously. It must
be some scenario for that, and some “authors” or “directors “somewhere behind
the scenes”. In literature we recognize different genres, like drama,
melodrama, or tragedy. We can just speculate what kind of scenario we are part
of. All these happenings are ruled by a narrow group of people, or minds, from
the shade. Our thoughts are not even ours. We just think that we are thinking
beings, like ego related subjects, but our brains are only relays processing
messages from infinite higher intelligence, or some middle force which could
appear between. Btw, the whole Universe is composed of electromagnetic
particles of light. All around us is thinking think, which, as invisible substance permeates
the infinite space in constant unmovable NOW. Tesla called it Ether. In Nature,
everything is happening in cycles, based on Universal laws. The future
of the world directly relies on Cosmic Cycles of energy. Before us, there were civilizations which
totally disappeared, thanks to those cyclical processes. Regarding the actual
situation, we are sinking fast to a similar end. It looks like a kind of
big “natural reset “of civilization, which wouldn’t be the first nor the
last one in history. That’s why we know very
little about ancient civilizations on Earth. I am afraid that after the
incoming Natural Cycle of Earth-Cleansing, the possible new future generations
will also know very little about us...
NILAVRONILL: We are almost at the end of the interview.
I remain obliged to you for your participation. Now, personally I would like to
know your honest opinion about Our Poetry Archive. Since April 2015 we are
publishing and archiving contemporary world poetry each and every month. Thank
you for sharing your views and spending much time with us.
ZLATAN
DEMIROVIC: I was privileged to be present in OPA already several times
before, thank you for that. So, I paid attention to each of your releases, and,
out of my own professional curiosity, evaluating the quality. I’m really
impressed with the high technical level of presentation, very professional
approach, consistency, perseverance in improvement, and will highlight the
sense of maintaining a good relationship with the authors. All in all, CONGRATULATIONS.
ZLATAN
DEMIROVIĆ Bilingual
book writer, novelist, critic, internationally acknowledged poet, and
trilingual translator (English, Czech, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbin languages). *
The founder of PRODIGY LIFE ACADEMY and author of the PRODIGY LIFE PROGRAM,
which serves as a platform for spiritual and personal development. * Founder
and Editor in Chief of PRODIGY PUBLISHED-USA * Founder and Editor of PRODIGY
MAGAZINE-USA Translated into: Italian, French, Spanish,
Portuguese, German, Swedish, Greek, Turkish, Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Hindu,
Bengal, BCS (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian), Albanian, Dutch, Hausa Nigerian,
Arabic, Aleut (Alaska), Pakistan, Bahasa-Indonesia, Kurdish, Persian,
Azerbaijan, Tajik, Bulgarian, Romanian, Hebrew, Punjabi, Slovenian, Czech,
Slovak, Tamil, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Nepali, Assam, Vietnamese and more, on the way.
ZLATAN DEMIROVIĆ
Your Eyes In Glass Of Sorrow
Your eyes in
glass of sorrow
rosemary scent
and picture on the lap
Memories full of
roses
And dreams of
guilt with pain
Childish
bittersweet refrain
This little
soldier in the left brain
Singing song of sadness
Fighting to
sustain
Your eyes in
glass of sorrow
rosemary scent
and picture on the lap
Heavy rains with
clouds of dust
vanishing the
stories on pictorial scene
melting
everlasting blue reflection on the screen
There was a boy
in flame of passion
it burned him to
the skin and bone
Once he was
awake by the scream of love
reminded that
his true love’s gone
Don’t ever
challenge a vulnerable child
his wounds are
deep enough,
he bears the
heart of the bravest soldier.
Never ever say
to someone “you old man”
Don’t ever
disregard the wrinkles of wisdom
Carousel of life
is shining in a bigger picture
The wheel of
blindness, turning up and down...
He’s sitting
calm now, observing the sky, breathing the stardust...
Your eyes in
glass of sorrow
rosemary scent
and picture on the lap...
©® Zlatan Demirović
Holy Trinity
A Guardian
Angel, Black Devil, and I.
Living together
and very inseparable!
Just as the sun,
moon, and Earth,
with the stones,
water, and air.
While breathing
the stardust,
the sun is
caressing him,
and the storms
are bathing him.
Traveling the
paths,
carved by
dreams,
in search for
his unknown “I”
how can he
compile or compare it?
On the split
ends of tiled trails,
bounded by
flowers
choked in the
midst of thorns and weeds,
he followed a
light shining from his heart,
absorbing
flashes of lightning
descending from
above,
grasping the
brazen images carried by them.
So, bless the
angels for every sign they send
on the only path
to the stars!
Do it really
quietly with a pleasant voice,
and patiently –
not to wake the devil!
Thusly, for that
reason,
painfully
stumbling on bloody knees,
he’s to embrace
and greet the stone in his shoe,
and the sand and
pollen in his hair and eyes
with the
arriving evening wind.
Well, even with
that eyelash pinching in his eye,
he will be
blessed,
with eternal
gratitude from the angels
for his abundant
eyelids radiating beauty.
© Zlatan Demirović
Double Sun
Double sunshine
will soon appear in the sky!
Two suns will go
from the west,
like two twins,
and then neatly
fled to the east ...
It wouldn’t be
an illusion, directed by
known human
delusions creators...
It will surprise
them, as well!
So, everything
will disappear on the horizon...
All the
mountains and the sea
will be delayed
as well,
and will sink
into the abyss of oblivion
in lost memory
of those,
who, don’t exist
anymore.
Less more,
nothing changes,
because
everything
suppose to
happen,
already
happened...
It’s just
someone’s dream,
and, who knows,
who’s that
or does him
exists army all...
However, must
be,
at least, just a
particle of knowledge,
stored in
eternal consciousness,
which, according
to the law of existence,
had been given
to someone,
somewhere,
sometimes!
To someone,
much more aware
than us...
Maybe...
©® Zlatan Demirović
The Composer
What does that
composer compose?
As if sowing
grain,
he does it
skillfully.
He's a
connoisseur, obviously!
Cause he’s not
in rush to reap it yet...
As if he knows well,
not just about the stars,
but also, that higher sphere,
from which everything comes,
his notes as well...
He's not a lumberjack,
which brings joy
and a poplar of love to the house...
He is something much more,
that soul-breathing weirdo,
who seeks it in matter.
When it appears to him,
he doesn't rush to hug it (her)
rather he invites her for a walk,
over glades, lakes
and paths of her memory,
to find from her,
what’s that traveler's way,
who, while flying
through clouds and time,
can see, or it seems to him,
that he’s here now...
So, she tears
him up
over dewy
sheets,
leading him
through
her abysses, all
the way
to secret
waterfalls,
where the
rainbow paints,
as the water and
stone
hug each other
in one heart...
What’s that
seeker’s void,
while flying
through the clouds,
assuming, as he
dreams,
that he is here
right now?
Weird notes are
now composed
by that
composer...
©® Zlatan
Demirović
Woman
It’s poison!
Elixir of
happiness,
floating through
the veins...
Mesmerizing
shadow
at the edge of
all dreams,
vibrating in
telomeres...
Childish killing
dream,
the old man’s
self-esteem...
First teenage
creation,
the neuroplasticity
visions of
imaginary worlds.
Just like an
apple,
and a sin,
divided in two...
Who’s to lose,
it’s always you!
Why?
Because there’s
one
secret pristine
shape,
the color of
violet light,
the smell of
mother’s milk,
imprinted in
every heart,
driving us to
the end
of endless
road...
And there’s
always,
a woman of your
dream...
©® Zlatan Demirović
ZLATAN DEMIROVIĆ
ZLATAN DEMIROVIĆ Bilingual book writer, novelist, critic, internationally acknowledged poet, and trilingual translator (English, Czech, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbin languages). * The founder of PRODIGY LIFE ACADEMY and author of the PRODIGY LIFE PROGRAM, which serves as a platform for spiritual and personal development. * Founder and Editor in Chief of PRODIGY PUBLISHED-USA * Founder and Editor of PRODIGY MAGAZINE-USA Translated into: Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Greek, Turkish, Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Hindu, Bengal, BCS (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian), Albanian, Dutch, Hausa Nigerian, Arabic, Aleut (Alaska), Pakistan, Bahasa-Indonesia, Kurdish, Persian, Azerbaijan, Tajik, Bulgarian, Romanian, Hebrew, Punjabi, Slovenian, Czech, Slovak, Tamil, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Nepali, Assam, Vietnamese and more, on the way
XANTHI HONDROU-HILL
Peace
Committees
Writen
in St Nicolas Naoussa Springs 13th of May 2022
In Peace
Committees war reports,
heated
solidarity, unspoken oppositions,
in times of war
imprisoned
opinions, anonymous statements
scared publications
in peaceful countries and free newspapers
I will NOT
choose which bomb I like best
- who’s
destroying my earth, my water, my air -
I choose the
people who are suffering
by both sides!
Always!
How much river
how many
springs
how much more light
to fight
injustice...
Pathways
Through The Past
Points of
reference
Tunnels
Castles
Walls
metallic
monsters
Broken days
memories aren’t
gifted
streets are
blocking
all happiness.
Lightning
Out Of The Blue
I open the
memories
That cloud
finds me
That has always
been over
the city I
lived in,
to remind me
that I was looking
for the hands
that lifted me up,
the embraces
that were far away,
and I would hit
my head every morning
in the parallel
life
in the corners
of the paper attic
that was
dripping with misery,
when it rained
and I'm still
looking for the companionship,
by the huts, by
the streams
with the
tablecloths lying on the grass
and the true
glances of people
who have left
far too soon...
XANTHI HONDROU-HILL
XANTHI HONDROU-HILL: Xanthi Hondrou-Hill has studied German and English
Literature, Linguistics, Journalism and Public Relations Management in Germany.
She has worked as Public Relations Manager at the Greek Consulate in Stuttgart,
as teacher for German, Greek and English and is translating poetry from and to
all three languages. She is an award-winning Greek poetess who gained
international recognition. She is writing poetry since high school and her
poems have been published in many international prestigious media and
anthologies around the world. She has won in 2022 the first prize at the
Gandhian Global Harmony Association and many awards in China, Ukraine,
Philippines and Equator. She has been nominated as one of the 30 Stars
worldwide in India. She is cultural Ambassador for OXYGEN PEN Sri Lanka,
NAMASTE magazine in India and editor for poetry columns at www.faretra.info in
Greece and HUMANITY in Russia, as well as co-editor for the international
poetry magazine in China. Selections of her poetry have been translated into
Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish,
Slavic as well as in two Languages of India: Hindi and Bengali.
WILLIAM ZHOU
Affective Flowers Of Spring
Spring spitting out many white flowers
crying for the cough and death in winter
Spring exploding many bloody flowers
paining the land and history of Ukraine
Spring bearing
many medicinal flowers
applying the accumulated wounds of the
earth
Spring waking up
many fragrant flowers
comforting the troubled and
sleepless soul
春天的情花
春天吐出许多白花
哭冬天的咳嗽和死亡
春天爆开许多血花
痛乌克兰大地和历史
春天噜出许多药花
敷贴地球的累累创伤
春天醒来许多香花
抚慰忧思难眠的灵魂
2023.3.28凌晨1：24临屏于床
Sacrifice Alive
Water, making
the river thin by flowing
Flowers, falling
and withering the spring
Bird chirps,
falling the tree leaves
Raindrops,
leaking the black clouds
Sunshine jumping
into sea, crashing into deep darkness
Shooting star
flying into time, igniting the light
活的牺牲
水，流瘦了河
花，落残了春
鸟啼，坠了树叶
雨滴，漏了乌云
阳光跳进大海，冲撞深黑
流星飞入时间，点燃光明
2023.4.4上午10：34湔江畔
The Fragrance Of Wheat Flowers
Didn't smell it
while playing hide and seek in the wheat field
Didn't smell it
while planting wheat, watering wheat, watching wheat, and cutting wheat
Decades after
leaving my hometown and entering the city
While going to a
rural tea shop with classmates for tea
I just run into
wheat blooming and the sun shining brightly
I surprisingly
encounter the bouncing and intoxicating fragrance of wheat flowers
The fragrance of
wheat flowers can also fill stomachs
Like the
fragrance of rice flowers, the fragrance is surging to be the ocean of crops
The fragrance is
changing into the hope of not starving
I hold up the
fragrance of wheat flowers that I fall into love lately
Also bring out
the sunshine from my heart
麦花香
麦田捉迷藏时没闻到
种麦浇麦望麦割麦时没闻到
离乡进城几十年后
和同学去乡村茶坊喝茶时
才偶遇麦子开花阳光亮
惊遇麦花扑鼻的香醉心的香
麦花的香还能填肚子
和稻花的香一样，香涌庄稼的海洋
香成不挨饿的希望
我捧起晚恋的麦花香
也捧出心中的阳光……
2023年麦花香时于锦花村
The Sunshine Of Pamir
The time
accumulated by Pamir has elevated me
I am so high
that I'm closer to the sun
Sunshine is
passing through the jungle of history
pouncing on me
like a lover
My skin has been
baked red brown
My heart is
heading into the high and distant vicissitudes of life
The sun over
Pamir is draping in a veil of cloud
Is she the bride
in my dream
Don't shoot that
magic arrow at me again
I am about to
turn into a golden statue in pain
帕米尔的阳光
帕米尔堆积的时光抬高了我
我高到更靠近太阳
阳光穿过历史的丛林
像恋人扑在我身上
我的皮肤烤成了红褐色
我的心胸热成高远的沧桑
帕米尔太阳披着云的面纱
难道是我梦中的新娘
你不要再射，那魔力的箭
我快要痛成 金色的雕像
WILLIAM ZHOU
WILLIAM ZHOU, has studied and
written poetry for over 30 years and published Chinese, English and translated
works in literary newspapers and magazines both at home and abroad. He won the
international and domestic poetry award, poet award, literature award and
poetry collection award. He published 2 books of Chinese poetry and 2 books of
Chinese English bilingual Poems. He was invited to attend the World Congress of
Poets 8 times，and also participate in
the International Poetry Festival 3 times. He is now a lifelong member of the
World Congress of Poets and a member of the Chinese Poetry Society.
E-mail:
ghzhoudaomo@163.com
作者简介
周道模 学诗30余年，在国内外文学报刊上发表汉语、英语和翻译作品。 获国际国内诗歌奖、诗人奖、文学奖、诗集奖。出版汉语诗集2部、汉英双语诗集2部。8次应邀参加世界诗人大会，3次应邀参加国际诗歌节。现为世界诗人大会终生会员、中国诗歌学会会员。
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