Irena Jovanović
How did you start your poetic career?
I wrote my first poem in my second year of college. I graduated in ceramic and porcelain design from the Faculty of Applied Arts and Design in Belgrade, which is now equivalent to a Master's degree. Poetry started from within me then; something drove me to express myself through poetry. Certain inner levels of mine felt imperative to be put into words. I also had a background in my family; my mother studied Yugoslav literature, and my father has a Master's degree in ceramic design. All of this influenced me, as if it paved the way for me. I started writing poetry in English when I began using the internet and Facebook, so the whole world could understand me. Typically, I don't translate my poems from one language to another; I write some in English and others in Serbian because these are two differently constructed languages, and you have to think in them when you write.
What theme or motif inspires you the most in your writing?
My themes are of a spiritual nature. I write about inner depths, energies, crystals, nature, consciousness, God, harmony, what should fulfill a person from within, about seeking and finding purpose and the beauty of life and existence. There are variations and slight deviations, but mainly I want to offer the reader the best of myself, if I can help them in any way to find the essence in everything... that's one perspective on the world and reality.
How would you describe your poetic style?
I wouldn't try to define it; my style varies. What matters to me is that it comes out spontaneously from within me. I'm not a professional poet or writer; it's an inner need, but also freedom, and if that's not there, I don't write. It flows like a stream; words string together as images unfold in the mind, and I don't know how it will end, but many of my poems have a circular form, where the initial motif reappears, now seen from a new angle. Sometimes rhyme or rhythm appears in my free verse, but it's all optional, spontaneous. I may refine and enrich it here and there, but I'm careful not to destroy the initial freshness and meaning.
Which literary figures or poets have influenced your work the most?
I've always loved reading Lorca, Vasko Popa, and Branko Miljković... They are an indispensable foundation of knowledge about poetry. But when I write, I don't think about style; the words come to me. Later, the form can be refined if needed.
How does Serbian culture influence your work?
My family is a family of intellectuals; they graduated from universities in Belgrade and moved to Zaječar, originally from Knjaževac. During communism and socialism, orthodoxy wasn't particularly emphasized, and they didn't try hard to fit in. I also wasn't greatly influenced by the external environment; from high school, I attended the School of Fine Arts in Niš, then the academy in Belgrade. My mind is quite abstract. Engaging in meditation and yoga, I entered spirituality through another door. Now I don't need any of that anymore; I just write what I experience, without any specific affiliation to any spiritual practice. Serbian culture has given me an exceptional language as a means of expression. If I were to delve deeper, I would certainly find words that I haven't encountered yet, and I would include them in my vocabulary for writing poetry. But there's also another part of everyday, existential life that requires energy, attention, and time, which I could devote to those explorations.
What are the biggest obstacles you face in the writing process?
Disorganization. I write haphazardly, and I post haphazardly, not caring much about publishing a book. It's like a hot potato to me, as if it's not something significant; somehow, I don't want to print a poetry book in my native language half-heartedly, because everyone does it, and they have several collections, following established paths. I want to gather all that I've written, refine, improve, compose, and polish it in one moment, so that I can stand behind it officially in the form of a collection of poems, which I truly want to represent and stand behind. It's not the same as giving a few poems to a magazine; that's easy. The poetry book in English came about from a contest where I submitted just one poem and got the book published. That drove me to seriously comb through everything I had written in English up to that point, select, arrange the order of those poems, so that the collection has a cohesive whole. And, my sincere and crucial acknowledgment, it meant a lot to me that I didn't have to invest financially in printing. Nor did I have to compete with others to win the printing of the book. Everything happened spontaneously; I stumbled upon the contest by chance, sent one poem just like that, and unexpectedly, it passed. It was all easy, light, and effortless. And I am very grateful to God for that. In the writing process, I write what I write and post it, then I write the next thing that comes to me. It may happen that I repeat in the choice of words and themes that inspire me, if one were to look at everything I've posted so far. But I don't do that; everything flows for me, I forget what I've written, and I write the next thing, embracing the moment. But at some point, when I decide to seriously engage with it, at least I'll have an abundance of material, and I won't lack poems that I could sift through and incorporate, maybe with some minor interventions, or maybe without them.
How do you feel about the reception of your poetry in Serbia and beyond?
Serbia hardly knows about me, and I also enjoy a bit of anonymity; it can be intimate and provide peace to a person, suitable for fluidly diving into explorations of reality and self. Today, everyone rushes to promote themselves everywhere as soon as possible. I felt the need for anonymity. Whoever really wants to, will find and read it. It's important that I offered it somewhere; the possibility exists. Obviously, today hardly anyone goes alone to someone's page to read their poetry; usually, it has to be posted everywhere, in all groups and social networks. A person spends half a day posting links and posts, instead of writing... and delving deeper... For now, I feel great. Now that I have the support of my poetry group, which always means a lot to everyone, I think I will work on promoting myself more.
How do you see the role of poetry in today's society?
The role of poetry today is manifold. It can be a vent for stressful life, an escape from reality and salvation, a creative elaboration of an individual's mind when creativity is its own purpose, and it can also attempt to elevate the world to a higher level of awareness and lead it into a new perception of reality and experience, understanding and finding enduring beauty. It's like shifting gears or transitioning like an electron to another orbit. Engaged poetry strives for peace in the mind.
How do you choose titles for your poems and collections?
The writing process emerges from spheres of being that aren't obvious, and it's sometimes mystical how a poem or a series of poems is born, as if in one breath, as if the person channels words without being aware, as if the words themselves arrange and come together at times... in ancient times they mentioned Muses... Titles, too, are an organic whole with the poem, mostly, or they appear to me afterward when I see the whole... I don't strain to write; I only do so if the content emerges from me naturally. Later, I can refine and improve, but that also happens naturally, driven by inspiration. Titles are an organic whole with the poem or the collection; they always appear on their own, following the internal logic of the whole.
What is your opinion on the digitization of literature and the influence of social media on the dissemination of poetry?
Social media, the internet, and the digitization of poetry have given me the opportunity to communicate poetry with the world. I used to be very closed off regarding printing a collection of my poems. At the beginning, I wrote love poetry, which I considered my personal intimacy, and I didn't want to publish it, even though some editors pulled me by the sleeve. Later, I transitioned to writing more spiritual poetry, which was what I wanted and intended to share with the world, so I posted it on the internet, mainly on my page and some electronic magazines. Now I'm in a slightly heightened state of energy; I have the support of my group members from the Women's Poetry Club Vlat, which gives me a sense of stability and security, so I can move forward and broaden my horizons, sharing what I have and continuing to write, and embracing new poetic challenges. I believe that the aforementioned achievements of modern society are absolutely essential for the further development of humanity as a whole, for the experience of existence in this moment, and for the growth of consciousness in the literary domain, and globally. Humanity is in a way uniting, and that is the unity of diversity, as a vast, immense wealth offered and provided to us.
Interview by: Ana Stjelja
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