Sunday, September 1, 2024

September 2024 V-10 N-6 Issue No. 114

 


A

WORLDWIDE WRITERS’ WEB

PRESENTATION!

 

PUBLISHED BY

 

OPA

 

OUR

POETRY ARCHIVE

ONLINE MONTHLY POETRY JOURNAL

https://ourpoetryarchive.blogspot.com

email us to:

ourpoetryarchive@gmail.com

**************************************

SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA IN AN INTERVIEW WITH NILAVRONILL SHOOVRO

 NILAVRONILL TALKING WITH

POET OF THE MONTH

SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA
September 2024

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.


SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA: In a beautiful and very famous thought by Leonard Cohen, it is said, “Poetry is only proof of life. If your life burns well, poetry is just ashes.' Poetry is our personal, but also our collective mirror. Historically speaking, poetry is the first literary form, closely related to singing, to music, to song... because man has always had the need to express his deepest thoughts and feelings. Birth, celebration of important events, weddings, going to war, social upheavals, and even death were always marked with a song, that is, a poem. The poet is a medium between the earthly and the heavenly, he is someone who knows how to see and the invisible, to understand the sound of the grass growing, to speak in the language of birds, to paint with words the world around him, as it is or as it should be.


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?

 

SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA: I started writing poetry very early, at the age of ten. However, in high school, and mostly in college, I think that the greatest influence on me was the French and Russian romanticists and symbolists. The appearance of romanticism and symbolism as literary trends is proof that poetry is a direct response to social circumstances and developments. Since 'no one is an island unto himself' and we are all part of the society to which we belong, historical and social influence is inevitable. However, true poetry does not melt, it is a response, a rebellion, it points out the negative aspects of living, and it elevates everything that is virtuous, noble, sublime.


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?

 

SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA: Poetry is not a matter of exclusion. A poet is someone who thinks through the prism of the artistic in every moment of his life. That is why my literary life and my existence are intertwined, my poetry is my deepest Self. In the context of temporal and spatial markers, poetry is said to be timeless and cannot be framed within any boundaries. However, each time brings its own way of living and thinking, and poetry is a reflection of all that.

 

NILAVRONILL: As a poet, do socio-economy and politics in general influence your literary visions? If so how, and if not, why?


SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA: They do not affect my personal political and literary visions, because I see poetry as a universal language that unites people and does not divide them on any basis. Starting from the thought of Dostoevsky who said that 'beauty will save the world', poets often know to say that poetry will actually save the world, because it has the power to purify and heal souls. However, I think that poetry alone cannot do that, but the powerful messages it can contain can influence and change both people and society.


NilavroNill: Is it possible to put into the words everything that as a poet you wish to express literarily? If not, why?

 

SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA: Not entirely. Plato pointed out that art is only 'the shadow of shadows'. Man is God's creation and, in his essence, he is the Universe in miniature. Words are a way to express all that we carry deep inside, but they only capture and can never fully describe the depth of our spirit and soul.

 

NilavroNill: Do you agree with John Keats (1795-1821) on his ardent believe, “Truth is beauty, beauty is truth”? Even if we take for instance the war of Kurukshetra, the conflicts between Kauravas and Pandavas, or the fall out of second world war in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, how can we manage to reconcile between those truths with beauty as promulgated by Keats?

 

SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA: The concept of the interconnectedness between truth and beauty is something that has challenged philosophy for centuries, and Keats managed to explain it in one sentence. According to him, beauty and truth are inseparable aspects of ultimate reality. For Keats, the appreciation and study of beauty - in art, in nature, or in human life experiences in general - actually reveals to us the truth about the world and our place in it. We live in a world in which, on the one hand, we see that man is capable of great evil, but on the other hand, man's true nature, in fact, longs for beauty and sublimity.

 

NilavroNill: Too many writers believe imagery is an essential part of poetry. Do you agree this notion? Even if we consider Leonardo da Vinci’s words that poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.

 

SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA: The essence of poetry is in its power to describe things beyond words, to create and awaken in us images that we will experience with all our senses and tell our own personal story deep inside. Hence, poetry must possess that imagery, otherwise it would not be poetry.

 

NilavroNill: Do you believe, passionately falling in love with a particular language is essential to excel in poetical ventures? And is it possible to write poems in multiple languages preserving same literary quality? We would like to know your own experiences.

 

SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA: I believe that language is the basic tool that a poet uses to create his poems and that is why he must be a master of his craft and have an excellent command of the language in which he writes. I personally write in Macedonian, English and Serbian. But it is one thing to express thoughts and feelings through lyrics in a particular language, and it is quite another to try to translate a song from one language to another. In poetry, a translation differs from a paraphrase, precisely because it is particularly difficult to translate the verses of a poem without losing its original message and essence.

 

NilavroNill: Do you consider poetry as an emotional outbursts of poet’s personal sentiments? Or is it a long journey to realize and express the universal sentiments beyond all personal limitations? Again, we want to understand your views through your personal experiences of your literary life as a poet.

 

SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA: Poetry is a combination of personal and universal experience of oneself and one's place in the world. In every poem there is a lot of the mind, spirit and soul of the one who wrote it, but at the same time every poet strives to convey some universal messages in the verses. I have already mentioned before, the poet is like a bridge between the earthly and the divine. He knows that each person is a person on his own, but at the same time each of us is a part of one universal energy that connects us in one ultimate principle - Love. So, even when we write only for ourselves, it always affects other people.


NilavroNill: I would like to quote T. S. Eliot, “No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation is the appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists.  You cannot value him alone; you must set him for contrast and comparison among the dead.” We would like to know your views in details on Eliot’s comments.

 

SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA: In my opinion, poetry contains the collective memory of humanity. Literature, philosophy, art as essential cultural values ​​are something that are passed from one generation to another. They are our cultural and spiritual wealth. That is why it is impossible to write poetry without transferring the cultural code that we have inherited from the past. Each of us has been influenced by a poet, an artist, a philosopher from whom we have learned just as we ourselves will influence someone else.

 

NilavroNill: Would you consider, it should be the goal of a poet to enlightens the readers towards much greater apprehensions as well as appreciations of life and eternity in general? Or is it better to write poems only to console the poet’s soul?

 

SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA: The purpose of the poet is to convey a message that will awaken powerful feelings in the readers and encourage them to think more deeply about themselves and the world around them. Poetry has the power to touch the souls of others, and even to have a healing, or according to Aristotle, cathartic influence. Therefore, as I said above, even when the poet writes only for himself, his poetry affects and reaches other people.

 

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.

 

SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA: For me, OPA is an incredible poetic and life experience that helped me grow emotionally and spiritually both as a poet and as a person. OPA unites quality poetic names from different parts of the world and in its monthly editions actually shows in the best possible way the power of poetry to overcome all boundaries and spread a universal message of art and beauty. It is an honor to be part of OPA.

 

SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA: She was born in 1981. in Skopje. She graduated from the Faculty of Philology 'Blaze Koneski' - Skopje at the Department of General and Comparative Literature in the Macedonian language, and later she also completed the One-Year School for Journalists at MIM (Macedonian Media Institute). She was the coordinator of the literary circle 'Mugri' and the editor of the poetry almanac of the same name. She is the organizer of several poetry readings and promotions. Silvana writes poetry, short prose, essays and haiku verses published in the first Macedonian haiku magazine Mravka. She is the author of the anthology Angels with five wings, published as part of Struga evenings of poetry. She appears as a reviewer of several collections of poetry by young, but also by already renowned authors. She is the winner of the second and third 'Blaze Koneski' prize for a scientific essay. For her first collection of poetry, “You, who came out of a song”, she won the prestigious national award 'Atso Karamanov'. For her short story 'Butterfly Skirt' she won the first prize at the national competition 'I tell a photo 2021'. She is the winner of the third prize at the international poetry festival 'Vigil of Kokinski Mugri 2022' and the second prize at the same poetry festival for 2023. In 2023, she won the second prize at the international poetry festival for children's poetry 'Stihuvalki'. In 2023, at the international poetry festival 'Literary Sparks 2023', she was also the winner of the second prize, and at the same poetry festival in 2024, she was again the winner of the second prize. In 2023, she was declared one of the laureates of the prestigious 'Naji Naaman' world prize for poetry and was awarded the title of honorary member of the Academy of Culture of the same name in Lebanon. In 2023, she won the third prize for poetry at the international poetry festival 'Tafil Kelmendi' in Kosovo. In 2024, she was also the winner of the third prize at the international poetry festival 'Antevo slovo'.

 

 


SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA

 



Verdict

 

You sit on the chair and watch:

the sunset engulfs the city

and the people hungry for games and bread.

The women untied their hair.

The men held out their hands.

The children stuck out their tongues.

It is the people with a decisive and strong voice.

It roars from the womb like a voracious beast

its 'justice' and 'freedom' and order.

To get an answer, and not necessarily have questions.

To call things by their familiar names.

All else be rejected and cursed,

because the day is passing

and the sunset rushes like the last horse,

beats out the counted time relentlessly.

Tick tock tock tock...

The veil of sunset must be torn

and to pour out the heavens upon the ominous seed.

We need to wash our hands and silence the world.

A time should be set for speaking

or to remain silent forever.

The truth needs to be stamped.

You sit, Pilates, in your chair at the top.

You closed your eyes. You washed your hands. You broke the hermit's silence.

You said to the sunset: come! And it came.

But the people you did not silenced.

 

Forgiveness

   

Forgive them, God!

They knew what they were doing.

And when they kneaded the bread

and they secretly put leaven in the dough,

and then they offered it for communion

as a sinless sacrifice for sins.

And when they loved their neighbor's wife,

only in thoughts only in thoughts

but in their minds they cast fishing nets

and they fished that body of fish,

in times of fasting and in times of famine.

They turned their eyes hungrily to the heights,

and without looking at the land they cast the first stone.

Forgive them, God!

Forgive them.

They knew what they were doing.

And when they despised the birthright.

And when they said No when they should have said Yes.

And when they declared a lie told a hundred times to be the truth.

And when they sealed them with a seal

the destinies of nations.

And now that they believe that

heaven and earth and everything under the heights

exists only for their glory.

They always, always know what they are doing.

But you forgive them, God! Forgive them!

Because they are just some kind of clay,

a vessel in the hands of heaven

who receives a soul

only because of your forgiveness!

 

A Half

 

Spring is shyly coming.

She peeks half-faced around the corner.

I see them in her reflection

the flowers in the garden

half dewy with salt.

They stand in that moment of hesitation

has the hour of twilight come

or the hour to flourish?

Spring is half peeping.

She wants to get into my cup

like half a teaspoon of sugar.

Half sweet, half bitter.

Like a half smile on my face.

Like half the sky trapped in the eye.

Like half a coin in a child's hand,

long dreamed of, long desired

halfway through desire and crust

bread for a snack.

Half day. Half night. Half moon.

Coffee without you is that half.

As a verse, that stand between the man and the poet.

It stands halfway between thought and soul.

Reaches up to touch the heavens,

and remains registered in the law of the land.

 

SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA

 

SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA was born in 1981. in Skopje. She graduated from the Faculty of Philology 'Blaze Koneski' - Skopje at the Department of General and Comparative Literature in the Macedonian language, and later she also completed the One-Year School for Journalists at MIM (Macedonian Media Institute). She was the coordinator of the literary circle 'Mugri' and the editor of the poetry almanac of the same name. She is the organizer of several poetry readings and promotions. Silvana writes poetry, short prose, essays and haiku verses published in the first Macedonian haiku magazine Mravka. She is the author of the anthology Angels with five wings, published as part of Struga evenings of poetry. She appears as a reviewer of several collections of poetry by young, but also by already renowned authors. She is the winner of the second and third 'Blaze Koneski' prize for a scientific essay. For her first collection of poetry, “You, who came out of a song”, she won the prestigious national award 'Atso Karamanov'. For her short story 'Butterfly Skirt' she won the first prize at the national competition 'I tell a photo 2021'. She is the winner of the third prize at the international poetry festival 'Vigil of Kokinski Mugri 2022' and the second prize at the same poetry festival for 2023. In 2023, she won the second prize at the international poetry festival for children's poetry 'Stihuvalki'. In 2023, at the international poetry festival 'Literary Sparks 2023', she was also the winner of the second prize, and at the same poetry festival in 2024, she was again the winner of the second prize. In 2023, she was declared one of the laureates of the prestigious 'Naji Naaman' world prize for poetry and was awarded the title of honorary member of the Academy of Culture of the same name in Lebanon. In 2023, she won the third prize for poetry at the international poetry festival 'Tafil Kelmendi' in Kosovo. In 2024, she was also the winner of the third prize at the international poetry festival 'Antevo slovo'.


YASMINE ABDEL SALAM HARMOUSH

 



Scary Woman

 

I searched

In the city

About the coat

It covers my beauty

But he didn't cover it

 The magic of her beauty

It was her legs

Longer than a winter's night

Her steps are faster

 From the heartbeat

 She struts with pride

he said to her:

I will carry you from among

Loin of balconies

I will fly with you like a feather

Lighter than the breeze

And I hear your words

Not like words

I will squeeze your letters

In the alphabet cup

And pour you into the toast of life

I will give you medicine

It cures my illness

Who mutes languages

I will pick pomegranate blossoms from you

And I plant it in an orchard

 Turquoise

And pour the scent of roses

On the edge of your mouth

Dripping with the fragrance of passion

 One of the characteristics of your hair

It pours drop by drop

In a bottle filled with love

What a whisperer he was jealous of

 Playing flutes

I'll spill ink on you

In the pool of poets

And whenever you violate

The Ten Commandments

I'll punish you with a hug

The fountain pen breaks

He scatters words

And when you are obedient

I will free your braids

And he took you away

 We rock together

 With the raging wind

Our hair is flying

With wave frequencies

We collect love letters

From the sky dictionary

Then we walk around

 In areas of space

we sit

Around a fireplace full of stars

We're chatting

 With dust particles

And right before nap

Magic flashes

We accept the furrows of the moon

We sleep in light dormitories

We seek refuge under the quilt of the abyss

Without whispers and night whispers

 

New Birth

 

Clouds pregnant with jealousy

She frowned at me

She complained to fate...

So she gave birth

And drops soaked in blood

Then the censers of life went out!

 

Clouds said

Oh girl of the moon

And the neighbor of the stars

Choose magical flowers

Choose a flower

 Not like the rest of the dice

Not Narcissus

Like an arrogant daffodil

Nothing like the magic of a lotus flower

Choose her as a rebel

And break the power of her pride

Pluck its petals

one after another

Make it a puppet in your hands

Feedback

did..

The first petal was... 

He doesn't love me!

Last..

Ascetic in the temple of my love

So I announced my birth date

I have given up the reproach of life

I wandered into a space of hope

I lived among the mountain peaks

And she took a red rosy cheek

velvety

"Wreaths of mountains" were distributed.

And I fell asleep

 Without discomfort and insomnia!

I dreamed

Daydream...

Mixed between reality and fantasy

In which he escapes from the swarm..

And loitering on the sidewalks of the mirage!

Yasmine Abdel Salam Harmoush

 

Soul Friend

 

I caught a glimpse of my soul mate

On the edge of imagination...

So I walked a distance

 Three decades and a few wounds...

Without misery or trouble..

We met at the intersection of imagination

Ain al-Ghadir sank.

A flood that drowned the ocean...

After a sigh broke the silence...

We exchanged conversations in whispers.

With letters containing

 Secrets of the soul...

Jasmine scent

It was imprinted on his cheeks

 You melted away from me

A whirlwind of memories...

sadiq alruwh

 

YASMINE ABDEL SALAM HARMOUSH

 

YASMINE ABDEL SALAM HARMOUSH: The literary writer Yasmine Abdel Salam Harmoush, from Lebanon, the country of beauty and culture, her birthplace is Safira, Dinniyeh, born on 8/15/1988. She has a work entitled (Jasmine) Her academic specialty is experience and auditing in financial accounting. Her writings appeared in most newspapers and magazines, and she dealt with social issues as well as poetic texts.

 

William Zhou

 



A Steelyard

 

A bolt of lightning splitting through dark clouds

A spring thunder awakening the heavy dreams

A steelyard, is weighing heaven and earth

 

A broadsword white light from hands rising and head falling

A body full of sorrow and anger of stepping into Miluo River

A steelyard, is weighing history

 

A hand of scars of the old farmer selling vegetable

A rainbow from the child's painting brush

A steelyard, is weighing life

 

A steelyard, is weighing the dragon sometimes appearing or disappearing

A steelyard, is weighing the wind and clouds sometimes gather or disperse

A steelyard, is weighing the people hearts sometimes heavy or light

 

This steelyard, words are engraved on the time pole

This steelyard, stars are engraved on the space pole

This steelyard, Where is the weight? Who is weighing?

 

一杆秤

 

                (中国) 周道模

 

劈开乌云的一道闪电

惊醒沉梦的一声春雷

一杆秤,在称天地

 

手起头落的一刀白光

步入汨罗的一身悲愤

一杆秤,在称历史

 

卖菜老农的一手茧疤

儿童笔下的一弯彩虹

一杆秤,在称生活

 

一杆秤,称时隐时现的游龙

一杆秤,称时聚时散的风云

一杆秤,称时重时轻的人心

 

这杆称,时间杆上刻着词语

这杆秤,空间杆上刻着星星

这杆秤,砣在哪?谁在称?

 

 

2024.1.31859广汉居

 


TYRAN PRIZREN SPAHIU

 



Today!

 

...in this WORLD of injustice and sick selfishness

humanity barely breathes

feudal capitalism continues to rule

definitely rights are stifled

freedom is limited

life insurance is conditional

as in bloody communism

unaccepted liberal socialism

supposedly damned democratic capitalism

we wear the same subordinate shoes

*

I, apolitical live life of a number

whereas they are skin branded

howling as walking robots for voting

humanity, take a look

world is entering a shell of human inexistence

generally being arrested as a mentally ill creature...

 

Pleasure Feels Today

 

... when nature spills it’s glamour,

embracing gentle world,

I feel innocent passion of the female creature,

what a pleasure!

At this very moment

I sat on the rock of life,

throne of silence of the soul,

light, angel stream, tear of happiness dropped,

today,

I decided to love ahead of tradition,

while her face

more than deeply entered my heart,

beauty that awakens, reviving senses,

gazelle, virgin body, blue eyes,

nectar for my sensitivity,

but no, no

something precious is hidden behind the silky curtain,

magnificent warmth, a great spiritual character.

*

Oh magic, the proximity that gives birth to adore,

wisdom of nature,

invites two adventurers of the soul,

whispering divine words, I Do Love You,

yes, this blessed day

let we walk towards the path of meritorious future ...

 

Sing To Me

 

... the Bohemian romantic has submitted himself to poems,

long ago he has become conscious

of the divine world built on the power of friendship and prose ...

*

...he says, challenges me the highest-art painting

it is so beautiful, I feel love in it,

colors excite me beyond the delight,

being inspired, I am enjoying the hidden meaning ...

*

...while breeze brings heavenly notes of cosmos,

time when divine peace reigns,

years of youth browses,

remembrance brings to life happiness that still live in memories...

 

TYRAN PRIZREN SPAHIU

 

Prof TYRAN PRIZREN SPAHIU: Being emotionally connected with peace, loves calm life and he continues to spread kindness…. So far Tyran has written SIX Novels and around FOUR Thousand Poems.

 


TIL KUMARI SHARMA

 



Flowers of Varieties

 

 Flowers in the earthly garden,

Green and many colours.

 Red and white in the essence.

 The grass is singing.

 The ground is joyful.

 Peace is invited.

 Intellectuality is invited.

 The green and different flowers are dancing.

 The wall has surrounded.

 The people are talking.

 Office is opening.

 People are busy enough.

 The life is really dancing to the nature.

 Flowers are blooming.

 

  Clouds and Sky

 

 The white clouds are heavy.

 Rain is stored.

 The fire is furnished.

 Lightening is firing.

 The shining sun is dancing.

 Hidden mystery of nature is shone.

 The white cloud makes joyful.

 Black cloud is higher to bring rain.

 The sky is hidden.

 Sea is balanced by cloud.

 The earth is fertilized.

 The cloud and sky are mingling.

 

Thunderbolt

 

 The natural weapon from nature

 The cloud and sun furnish it.

 The life is handled in the natural destination.

 The life is shining to be explained in nature.

 The shining stars are bow down to the natural thunderbolt.

 The cloud is its veil to cover the thunderbolt.

 The nature is strong enough.

 The weapon of nature is fire.

 Taking birth from sun and sea.

Thunderbolt is powerful entity.

 It is the natural conflict against the enemies' side.

 

 

TIL KUMARI SHARMA

 

Ms. TIL KUMARI SHARMA as Multi Award Winner in writing from international literary branch is from Bhorle- Hile, Paiyun 7, Parbat, Gandaki, West Nepal.  Her parents are Mr. Hari Prasad Basel / Bashyal Sharma (Mayor of Village Assembly) and Mrs. Lila Devi Bhusal/Bashyal. Til is known as Pushpa too as youngest daughter. She  has published many  thousands of poems, some essays, and stories and other  literary writings in  International  magazines, groups and anthologies from ( amazon)  Russia, America, England, France, Germany, Iran, Japan, Kosovo, Algeria, Korea,  Turkey, Sweden, Argentina, Lebanon, Hong Kong, Greece, Philippines, Hungary,  Brazil,  Chile,  Scotland, Indonesia, Egypt, Serbia, Tajikistan,  Bangladesh, South Africa, Kenya,  Nigeria, North Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Spain, Sweden, India, Nepal and many  other  countries. She is featured-poet and best-selling co-author too. She is world-renowned poet now. She has got gold, silver and excellent awards from different international groups of poetry.  She is poet of World Record Book named HYPERPOEM. She is an international peace ambassador of Bangladesh and ambassador of Moncheri Escapes of India too. Her World Personality is published in Multi art 8 & 12 magazine, and from Argentina and Mexico.