GIULIO MAGRINI INTERVIEW

 

NilavroNill Talking With

Poet Of The Month

GIULIO MAGRINI

DECEMBER 2024

NILAVRONILL: Welcome to Our Poetry Archive, dear poet. I would like to know your personal views on literature or poetry in general.

GIULIO MAGRINI: We are a human family, and must first recognize inclusion through artistic expression. Any initiative through any organization that serves to separate us from one another does not properly reflect the true nature of human family and the purpose of art. We love to have a sense of belonging, but it must be vigorously stated that insiders in art are repugnant and detrimental to the purpose of raising our dynamic through literature. When a biography becomes a listing of braggadocio accomplishment rather than a proper introduction to showcase the illumination of the work , we discover an unpleasant barrier between the artist and discovery.

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?

GIULIO MAGRINI: My background in an Italian American family growing up in 50’s and 60’s America likely had great effect on my future as a local artist. We strived through the dynamic of American superiority, regardless of truth. We believed in our place, and the structure provided as a reality regardless of moral righteousness. Staying on track provided us with the comfort of place, and our losses and gains were accepted as a plan in those days. It was these times that provided me with the insight I was to gain later in my life. I remain grateful for the gift of ignorance. It better afforded me with the will to provide another choice through my writing in the present.

NILAVRONILL: Is there anyone in your life, influenced you personally to develop your literary skills? Or inspire you to become a poet?

 

GIULIO MAGRINI: My academic career was not disciplined. Through the radicalized fashion of young American cultural revolution via protest, marches, and even fashion, I was exposed to the Beats, Bukowski, Rimbaud, and Neruda, among others. Have you heard this story before? Their skills could not exist for me as exemplars through my writing. For me their writing was enjoyable, and I learned what was popular, but being the next Bukowski was not my goal. I needed to scratch out my developing skills through time and error, which has stayed an intimate friend on my writing passage. I looked to the local community of writers, and turned inward to unearth the fossils of my words. Could they have life and pertinence today, and exist through my readers? I found no fossils, but only transferals of living words, individualized by those who wish to partake of my food of literature. I continue to be hungry for the nourishment of poetry. Sometimes I am satiated, and sometimes I leave the page feeling empty. There will always be room for more.

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?

GIULIO MAGRINI: The anthology of my work The Color of Dirt is chaptered: Amore/Love; Arte/Art; Odiare/Hate; Politica e Guerra/Politics and War; Sporco/Dirt; Famiglia e Relazioni/Family and Relationships. I felt it was sensible to offer these important chaptered guidelines as recognition to my life. These were the cornerstones of my life, and were reflected in the book. The family, friends, organizations, and conspirators that romped without guidance in my life governed my inspirations. They were neither invited or forbidden, but I must recognize their influences. At this time my wife Barbara and I have been together 59 years, and married 54 of those years. I have written many poems and flash fictions with her as a subject. She is an important, but not exclusive element of inspiration. As a writer I try to stay balanced, not obsessed… with any specific revelation.

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.

GIULIO MAGRINI: An environment that offers venues for a poet is a must. Every opportunity to listen to poetry must be provided and be a part of every reader’s life. One may be credentialed academically, and manifest many publications in presses, but a poet needs to touch his audience that will benefit and communicate the work as it should. A life that is lived within the world community is a must. My literary life is not an extension, but a primary elemental necessity of my existence. All lovers of the word must breathe literary paradigms every day. There can be no insiders! We are all part of the solution to the lighted candle that leads us from obscurity. The creative soul must be clearly defined as an intimate choice each writer takes to define their work. These alternatives must be made in an environment defined by the writer, not defined by a group that expresses itself to be determinative of art as a proper noun, or what is commercially acceptable by the masses. The beauty of our contribution must have a path individual to specific human definition. Otherwise we are commercials and mass media designed for business, not the light of the world. There must not be any definitive conditions to develop a creative soul. We all belong to the universe, and there must not be exclusions of any kind. We take our individual channels and use them in creativity to share the illumination for others on their avenues. Every path is sacred, and can be shared together to make a brighter world for 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?

GIULIO MAGRINI: I think the character of literature will never change. Information and technology are the shadings of what was always the beauty of the mind. Inroads in technology cannot supplant the indefinable beauty and creativity of the human mind. We can admire the results of such efforts, but the true and distinct charm of our art has no peer or equivalence in the world. New technology and the information it provides can assist the world if they are legitimate. Too many times the lack of a human component, even if copied, are the results of an obedient pet retrieving a bone.

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

GIULIO MAGRINI: I deal with politics because it is part of the world I occupy, but I will not permit it to completely steer the wheel of my art. We must engage all gears in the vehicle of poetry. My art must define my participation and responsibility, and that is to engage in the fight for justice. There are many tools in the war for righteousness. We must use them all, but not to the exclusion of joy, and the discussion of other necessities of our lives.

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?

GIULIO MAGRINI: No writer can ignore their voice, which includes the world in all its limitations, charms, and most unfortunately for the majority… living without comfort. Politics is a means that for many of us does not address the needs of those they are promised to protect. The art of the word is hopefully one of the crosses that we bear to help our beleaguered fellows carry such inequities through the ages. We do not always succeed, but the effort through the answers of our literature can at least be suggested. We are not alone, and our work must accompany us in our journeys for justice, love, and peace. How we define ourselves is our right, regardless of national, cultural, sexual or gender characteristics. Yes, I have used my cultural identity to define my subjects. It is done through my personal visions, not the definitions typified by the world. The world has seldom succeeded in defining humanity correctly, with a sum of general misapprehensions. Our job is not to narrowly define a source, but to take the light from that source and create a brighter light that will enable others to see. Pass the lasagna.

NILAVRONILL: In between tradition and modernism, which one influence you most and why?

GIULIO MAGRINI: Tradition is more properly represented through my work. I understand that modernism has the possibility to impart new ideas and approaches through life and art. But for me, through my writing, traditional values have always withstood the challenges of modernity. Also, my personal values reflected in my life and through my poetry are a living, working reality. I therefore trust the core of tradition.

 

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?

GIULIO MAGRINI: Not really. Literary criticism must ascribe to an effort worthy of the subject but principally motivate engagement with the artist, whose job it is to raise us to higher possibilities.

NILAVRONILL: I would like to know, whether your contemporaries inspire your writings in any way.

GIULIO MAGRINI: My contemporaries must find their paths, and I am glad to recognize them in their journeys. Every passage is individual and developed in singular beauty and pain. My standing in the audience is the same as my fellows. i.e., To appreciate a peer’s manifestation of art. Our responsibility as an audience is to pay attention. We will measure the quality of art and its pertinence to the world. The possibility of a heightened measure of humanity will be our gain. Who knows what enlightenment is yet to be seen by our compatriots in poetry?

NILAVRONILL: Do you believe, literature can eventually help people to uplift human conscience?

GIULIO MAGRINI: The purpose of literature is many and varied. If we can manifest and elevate human consciousness, so much the better. To expand the mindfulness of humanity must be our goal. But we must add amusement, comfort, and celebration. Every journey taken through the word is an exercise in proper cognitive listening, and replete with possibilities. 

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?

GIULIO MAGRINI: I suspect the future of mankind will be determined through its principal qualities. Foremost among them is limitation and weakness, which showcase the unfortunate harmony of our species. It is startling that we have accomplished miraculous beauty through our history as occupants here. That may be the astounding revelation of us. In our imperfect nature, we have bruised the predictable negativity of our species. Our saving grace must be the continual push of human dignity to continue to raise the level of human consciousness to unrealized proportions. We do this through many means. I believe our literary gifts are a consecration to the world.

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.

GIULIO MAGRINI: Thanking NilavroNill Shoovro and Our Poetry Archive for the opportunity to share my thoughts with your talented readers and artists through the world. My specific purpose as an artist is to share. In the beginning through readings and performance, I neglected publishing my poetry as I perceived I was more effective as a performer of my written work. I was partly wrong. It is profoundly important that venues such as Our Poetry Archive exist to provide writers throughout the world to share their work with their compatriots. We are the soldiers of the light of the world, and we must persist without cessation for our fellows in civilization. This is the only war that is worth winning.

 

GIULIO MAGRINI has been nominated by Lothlorien Press for a Best of the Net award and for a Pushcart Prize by Brownstone Poets. The Color of Dirt is an anthology of his poetry and flash fiction. Giulio asks interested readers in the USA and Canada to contact him by email at: giulio27@verizon.net and request a personalized copy. I will pay all mailing fees. Other readers may buy the book through the usual internet sources at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. As Giulio Magrini tells us, “We have put our hands in the dirt and sanctified each other.”