IBRAHIM HONJO INTERVIEW

 

Poet Of The Month

MAY 2025

NILAVRONILL: Why do literature and poetry in particular interest you so much? Please give us some idea about your own perception of literature or poetry in general. 

IBRAHIM HONJO: Literature and poetry as a significant part of it are an inexhaustible mine of knowledge. From it, we draw the necessary knowledge to go through life more easily and become literary creators. Writing is an excellent preventive psychotherapy for humans. Writing helps us run away from problems, but that does not mean that running away from problems creates a writer. The entire literature is characterized by themes about pain, sadness, personal or human misfortunes. By writing about our own problems, we actually label the problems and relieve our pain and sorrow, but we never clear our memory of it. They live in us weakened, in a form that cannot harm our health. It is precisely because of this health effect that I am interested in literature as a whole, and especially in poetry, which requires the reader to understand every word that the poet uses in the poem, so that he can build his own opinion and attitudes from this knowledge and continue to walk more normally through life, because life is a set of numerous activities, and each of them require special knowledge.

 

NILAVRONILL: How do you relate your own self existence with your literary life in one hand, and the time around you, in the other. 

 

IBRAHIM HONJO:  I write and breathe. So, I exist. But a person cannot survive if they’re only engaged in writing. All other activities I practice are related to writing, which has surrounded my entire life. What are the internal connections between these activities do not depend on writing, but writing depends on all of them and how each person manages to organize them individually, and then as a whole that will pull them forward into a better future. Everything takes time and nothing can be done in an instant, and we have as much time as we create for each segment of life, according to priorities.

NILAVRONILL: Do you believe creative souls flourish more in turmoil than in peace?

IBRAHIM HONJO: Troubles are an integral part of every person's life and everyone deals with them as best they know how. Those who do not know, seek help from others. Creative souls struggle alone with their troubles, writing about them and sharing their views and opinions with readers. Writers who write about their peace, and peace in the souls of others are rare. If flourishing is creation, creative souls flourish more in restlessness than others.

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

IBRAHIM HONJO: Of course, socio-economics and politics influence my overall visions of life, including my literary visions. The poet must follow all events and write about them as he experiences them and thinks they should be. What happens in life is his and all people's reality. He must actively participate in it and with his actions indicate the necessity of changes that lead to betterment.

NILAVRONILL: Do you believe that all writers are by and large the product of their nationality? And is this an incentive for or an obstacle against becoming a truly international writer?

IBRAHIM HONJO: All writers are primarily born as writers of their nation. They live and create where they were born. Not all writers become truly international writers. Many good writers remain unknown even within their nation. There are unwritten limits, to who will be a true world writer. First of all, it depends on the written work of each writer, on literary analysts and the media, whether they follow these works or not, whether they are positive or negative reviews. Then it depends on the literary translators from the writer's native language to other languages and finally on the world critics and media whether they will accept someone's works or not. Unfortunately, today in the age of information technology, there is a lot of manipulation about who is a world writer. There are many writers whose works do not deserve to be recognized as international writers due to their quality. This is the result of various groups in which work is done according to the system where you give me, I give you. All writers are not the product of their nation. It is a common phenomenon that a writer becomes a writer thanks to another nation where they recognized the qualities of his work, and very little or nothing is known about him in his own nation. For writers who are a product of their own nation, it is an incentive to become international writers, and for those who are a product of another nation, not their own, that the other nation is an incentive.

NILAVRONILL: Now, if we try to understand the tradition and modernism, do you think literature can play a pivotal role in it?  If so, how? Again, how can an individual writer relate himself or herself to the tradition and to modernism?

IBRAHIM HONJO: Tradition is the root of the existence of humanity, and therefore of literature. The first literary works arose from tradition. Every new direction in life and literature developed from tradition. If we follow the development of life activities and the development of literature, we will see all are closely connected and that one cannot exist without the others. Literature is a very important link in the chain of human existence. It encourages a person to think about a better future. Of course, there is no literature without creators. The basis of everything is the writer, who draws material for his work from tradition and the present, incorporating it in a modern way. It is a reaction to romantic poetry and prose, which died out as a literary fashion in the middle of the 19th century. Each new direction brings a new approach to writing, thus keeping pace with time and the development of technique and technology.

NILAVRONILL: Do you think literary criticism has much to do with the development of a poet and the true understanding of his or her poetry?

IBRAHIM HONJO: First of all, every creator should be self-critical of his work, to make that work as good and acceptable as possible for readers and to leave literary critics as little room for negative criticism as possible. Literary criticism plays a big role in the development of poets. The life path of that work also depends on the critics and their perception of the work. The problem today is that there are many writers and few real critics. Because of this, many good works remain unnoticed and do not reach the hands of too many readers. In addition, the media does not deal much with this issue.

 

NILAVRONILL: Do you think society as a whole is the key factor in shaping you up as a poet, or your poetry altogether?

IBRAHIM HONJO: The key factor in the formation of poet is primarily the poet himself, and the helping factor is social movements and society as a whole.

NILAVRONILL: Do you think people in general actually bother about literature?  Do you think this consumerist world is turning the average man away from serious literature?

IBRAHIM HONJO: People don't bother with literature. What bothers many people in literature are works imbued with philosophical thoughts. Today's readers like literature that can be read in one breath. The pace of life we live does not give us much time to think about what we read. Hence the desire to read literature that is sweet to the ear but empty to the spirit. 

 

NILAVRONILL: We would like to know the factors and the peoples who have influenced you immensely in the growing phase of your literary life. 

IBRAHIM HONJO: I don't have an idol among writers. I have read many books and I am still reading. I adore world classics and their works, but also many modern and contemporary creators. I cannot single out a single creator who had an immense influence on my literary path and literary life. I built my direction and I'm still building it myself. It is a process that lasts the writer's entire life.

 

NILAVRONILL: How would you evaluate your contemporaries and what are your aspirations for or expectation from the younger generation?

IBRAHIM HONJO: Judging your contemporaries is not an easy task. Perhaps it is pretentious, just as it is pretentious to talk about opinion. I think that today there is a considerable absence of opinion, which is the basis for evaluation. Nevertheless, my opinion of my contemporaries is positive, although each of them has its negative side. What to expect from the new younger generations?  Active participation in all phases of life and to write about everything that concerns modern humanity. I expect that through their writing they will be born for truth, justice, peace in the world and a healthy human environment, to spread love among all people.

 

NILAVRONILL: Humanity has suffered immensely in the past, and is still suffering around the world. We all know it well. But are you hopeful about our future? 

IBRAHIM HONJO: Our future, as well as the future of future generations, is partially in our hands. If we are inert, blind, and deaf to everything happening, and leave it to the ruling class to shape our future, then we cannot hope for a good future. The current situation in the world is not good at all. In addition to bloody wars, there are also cold and economic wars, which will bring betterment to some, and an even more difficult existence to many.

 

NILAVRONILL: What role can literature in general play to bring a better day for every human being? 

IBRAHIM HONJO: Literature today is in the phase of hyperproduction. There are more and more writers and published works and fewer and fewer readers. Many works will remain unread. The question is how much poetry and prose are engaged among them and whether they manage to reach readers, and above all, to those who decide the fate of humanity. In order for literature to play its role in bringing about a better life, writers would have to write more about current life, critics would have to write about these works, publishers would have to publish and present them to the public, and the media would have to write and talk about these works. I believe that such acts would also reach those who rule. 

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.

IBRAHIM HONJO: OPA is a specific poetry organization, which nurtures poetry in a way I like. It is open to all creators of the world, and publishes excellent poetry, both in the group and on the WEB site, and anthologies. Archiving everything published creates a huge arsenal of poetry for current and future generations. Because of all this, I am happy to participate in the work of this organization.

Ibrahim Honjo is a Canadian/Bosnian poet-writer, who writes in Bosnian, and English language. He has worked as an economist, journalist, editor, marketing director, and property manager. He is currently retired and resides in Canada. Honjo is author 26 published books in Bosnian Language, (7 books in English, 3 books bilingually (in English and Bosnian language). In addition, 5 joints’ books of poems published with Serbian poets. His poems have been represented in more than 80 world anthologies, and more than 60 literary magazines. Some of Honjo’s poems have been translated into Italian, Spanish, Korean, Polish, Slovenian, Bahasa (Malaysia), Mongolian, Turkmen, Turkish, Russian, Bengali, Portuguese, French, Thai, Arabic, Tajik, Vietnamese, Chinese, Macedonian, Filipino, Persian and German. He received several prizes for his poetry.