ΧRYSOULA FOUFA INTERVIEW

 

NILAVRONILL TALKING WITH 

POET OF THE MONTH

ΧRYSOULA FOUFA

NILAVRONILL: Welcome to Our Poetry Archive. 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.

 

ΧRYSOULA FOUFA: I would like to thank you wholeheartedly Mr. NilavroNill Shoovro, esteemed global poet and publisher, for your kind interview invitation and congratulate you on your exceptional work on the distinguished OPA POETRY ARCHIVE. It is really a great honor for me and I feel both happy and moved.

 

I always loved to indulge in literature books. I was immensely attracted towards language writing down my thoughts. I began writing poetry lines on notebooks and papers when I was at high school because it seemed appealing, motivating and creative. It interested me so much. I just wanted to. It was a kind of self-expression, a newly born meaningful discovery, an outlet for my introverted inner self. I relish poetry for the depth of emotions and the freedom of creativity. Literature is a precious treasure to find and explore. It is a never-ending source of human thinking. Poetry in particular, can be the warmth of your soul fire. Lines flow like river water invigorating one's thoughts. It is like a vivid dream that you have to paint in words. Words go beyond their literal meaning and become a means on which a lone traveler can travel either as a poet or reader.

 

NILAVRONILL: Do you believe that your literary self is actually an extension of your soul?  We would like to know the factors and the peoples who have influenced you immensely in the growing phase of your literary life.

 

ΧRYSOULA FOUFA: Yes, my literary self is an extension of my soul. My imagination works through poetry as a means of self-expression. Poetry is self-expression for sure. The way my heart speaks, my lines speak too, conveying my thoughts and sentiments. I use poetry to express and explore myself, my experiences and my imagination. I clearly recall the time when I read The Prophet by Khalil Gibran, the renowned Lebanese poet and writer. His words influenced me tremendously. I had not been involved so emotionally in poetry before. The next day I went to the bookshop in my neighborhood and bought all the poetry books by the same poet. From then on, poetry sparkled and warmed my heart. It opened up the road to indulge in poetic pages. I was also taught English and American Literature and Poetry in university. Some years ago, I participated in the 1st national poetry competition by Koventareios Municipal Library of Kozani and won the prize for distinguished literary style for my poem The light. It was my first participation in poetry competitions and from then on I took part in many more.

 

NILAVRONILL: Do you think the primary obligation of a poet should be to communicate with the temporal as well as with the eternal essence of life and the universe? If so, how can one fulfil that particular obligation?

 

ΧRYSOULA FOUFA: Yes, of course. A poet is a man of the universe, a thinker of humanity even from ancient times. He contemplates on human nature and discovers his love for poetry. He composes sentiments and experiences to build up images of human contact in the society he lives in. He observes the whispers of the universe and weaves them word by word applying his sentimental world. Thus, by observation, critical thinking, emotional response and continuous studying he gets to know the temporal as well as the eternal essence of life and universe so as to communicate it through poetry.

 

NILAVRONILL: It is an established fact that every poet should create his or her own poetic language as an unique literary signature that would eventually keep him or her alive beyond his or her time. I would like to know your personal experience in this regard, and how can one achieve that unique literary language in his or her lifetime?

 

ΧRYSOULA FOUFA: Every poet expresses himself or herself in a personal way creating his or her own poetic language. It becomes his or her literary signature. My mind power triggers my imagination and my sentimental heart puts it into words. My lines carry emotional power. Personification, figurative language, word repetition and vivid imagery are used in my poetry. I love using language appealing to senses. My interests and experiences throughout my life took the form of writing in verses and established my own poetic language -the tear of my soul. That unique literary language is the result of the way I respond to the world I live in.

 

NILAVRONILL: Do you consider particular language, culture and nationality shape up the poet’s literary self? What is your personal experience being a Greek poet? I would like to understand how much and in what way your language, your culture as well as your nationality paved your literary self.

 

ΧRYSOULA FOUFA: Every culture and nationality shape up the poet’s literary self. I was taught poetry and prose in school textbooks -poems dealing with Greek tradition, family, friends, religious, historic or contemporary matters, death, life, poems that talk about promising start for the future. My teachers in elementary and high school affected my love for language and encouraged its growth. As far as my poetry is concerned, my imagery may refer to a specific natural landscape of my country or I sometimes incorporate idiom words in my poems. My lines also respond to historical events; independence struggles and cultural traditions. These are indications that nationality has paved my literary self although a poet's imagination knows no borders.

 

NILAVRONILL: No literature can survive without communicating with different languages and cultures, as well as various literary and cultural traditions and heritages. I would like to know your opinion regarding the growth and evolution of Greek literature.

 

ΧRYSOULA FOUFA: Cultural traditions and heritage contribute to communicating literature worldwide. It is the beauty of cross-cultural exchange. In particular, Ancient Greek literature shaped language and culture. Greek mythology symbolizes power. Epic, lyric, tragedies, comedies, philosophy developed in Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods in Ancient Greece. Homer is the writer of the two epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey with Achilles and Odysseus their main heroes. Sophocles, Euripides, Plato, Aristotle dealt with universal themes of human nature forming in this way our historical and intellectual heritage that influenced the Western civilization. Ancient writings educate and inspire. They provide insight into human values, passions, morals, complexities and heroic deeds. In my opinion ancient literature is a timeless treasure to explore. It transcends time.

 

NILAVRONILL: Greek literature has a great heritage. I would like to know your viewpoints on contemporary Greek literature. Where does it stand now in comparison with its past glory?

 

ΧRYSOULA FOUFA: Greek language is as beautiful as Greece itself. Literary production remains rich, large and outstanding nowadays. Contemporary literature lies mostly on narrations embodying cultural elements, autobiography, fairytales, personal stories or writings on historic past, everyday life or future. There have been a lot of prominent contemporary Greek writers and poets such as Seferis (he was awarded with the Nobel Prize in Literature by the Royal Swedish Academy), Kazantzakis (his books are translated and read worldwide), Cavafy (with his great historical, philosophical, erotic works), Elytis (he was awarded the Nobel Prize), Papadiamantis (a humble writer).Poetry-a Greek word -continues to shine all over the world carrying on its past glory.

 

NILAVRONILL: Literature encompasses every aspect of life; it blends the various shades and textures of human aspirations as well as drawbacks. It also lights up the new horizons and new dimensions of human capabilities relentlessly. I would like to know your particular viewpoints; how do you relate all these in your own writings?

 

ΧRYSOULA FOUFA: Literature exposes all painful moments of humanity. It enlightens good will, people’s endeavours to fulfil their dreams. It condemns vice and hostilities. My writings include all aspects of life. They depict human sorrows, violence, passion, hopes and aspirations, people’s sad or cheerful disposition, environmental worries, equality and human rights issues. My verses call for understanding human relationships, inspire for change, ask for optimism or urge for contemplation.

 

NILAVRONILL: We cannot live immune to the sociopolitical disturbances of our surroundings. How much these disturbances make substantial impacts upon your literary self? Do you actually respond to all these factors through your words? I mean in your poetry, especially.

 

ΧRYSOULA FOUFA: Surely, we cannot live untouched by the sociopolitical disturbances around us. We are faced with so many problems from climate change to social movements. I am grieved over the loss of human innocence. I am deeply affected by any kind of unfair behaviour, violent attack or war issue. I use words to activate thinking and convey messages that can change the world. I would like to create awareness on contemporary issues and become an activist through poetry words. I hope for a better society that respects the environment, adopts nonviolent verbal or physical behaviour patterns, is helpful and considerate. I envision a world that believes what is right and embraces light.

 

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

 

ΧRYSOULA FOUFA: Unspoken words and inner complex thoughts can be expressed literarily. To the absolute extent? I cannot tell exactly. The point in poetry is to involve the reader, to influence him the way you feel, to make him read through your lines. I could say that sometimes even the words could slightly lack the exact power of the real feeling (a tear drops, a wide smile, nodding, stress, nervous movements) that the poet experiences at the time of writing. There are too many things to be told, too many words to be written but in the end the reader's interaction depends on his or her own soul reflection. Every poet has his or her own personal style. The reader just opts for whoever touches his or her own soul.

 

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

 

ΧRYSOULA FOUFA: A plurality of poetry practice is reflected in journals, reviews, anthologies. There are a lot of contemporary poets that deal with important issues in their poetry, show openly their worries on world matters, tackle philosophical or political subjects universally. They use their own kind of language and imagery. They aspire for changes and portray their personal opposition in their lines. They even act as peace ambassadors. A poetic voice is a human’s voice that needs to be heard. It carries people’s voice. It is the essence of humanity. As far as my expectations from the younger ones are concerned, I long for more future poetic voices. I urge students from my classes to love reading literature and poetry, write down their inner thoughts and take part in poetry competitions. Some of them have already shown interest and they now like writing poems on their own. They have even received awards in poetry competitions but the most important of all is their creative participation in the beautiful literature world as well as their involvement in studying poets' biographies and poems.

 

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.

 

 

ΧRYSOULA FOUFA: The pleasure is mine. Thank you once more for your kindness to invite me to this interview. I participated with gratitude and appreciation. Our Poetry Archive remains a highly esteemed contemporary world poetry voice sharing love, hope and creativity messages globally. It is a source of knowledge and wisdom. Hearty congratulations on this significant literary and poetry universal journey that plays an important part on the international poetry scene.

 

 

ΧRYSOULA FOUFA: She was born in 1971 in Farsala Greece. She graduated from the Department of English Language and Literature of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki with honors in 1993 and then worked as a tutoring school owner for 6 years. After that, she successfully passed the ASEP exams and was appointed to the high school in Astakos Messolongi. She has been teaching   English in the 1st General Lyceum of Farsala since 2000. She attended various seminars on her subject as well as on psychology, computing and environmental protection issues. She loves literature, poetry, travelling and dancing. She writes poems in Greek and English. She has been awarded several poetry prizes in national and global poetry competitions so far. Her poems have been included in Poetry Anthologies, newspapers, magazines, online magazines. Some of her poems in Greek have been translated into Portuguese and English. She participated in International Poetry Festivals. She is an elected vice mayor in her town. She had been the president of a local cultural club concerning Epirus traditions and customs for six years (2018-2024). She is a member of the Board of the Academy of Farsala and a member of the Board of the Chess Club in Farsala.