SONGSOPTOK: ALICJA KUBERSKA

SONGSOPTOK: Do you think literature is really essential in our life? If so why? In your opinion, what is the true relationship between life and literature? What is your own experience? And how does this relationship relate to the general history of mankind?

ALICJA: Literature is an essential aspect of our culture. The move from oral to written storytelling is synonymous with the development of civilization. Many have survived from ancient times and inform our knowledge of history. For instance, the popular fairytale about Cinderella originates from ancient Egypt. Many religions base their faith on volumes from the dawn of ancient civilization. Literature educates and stimulates the imagination.

SONGSOPTOK: We would like to know the beginning of the story, i.e. how your upbringing contributed to your own writing. Who were your favorite literary figures during the early period of your life? How they have paved your early routes in literature?

ALICJA: I always loved reading as a child. I devoured nearly all the books in the school library. I annoyed my parents by reading at night under the bedclothes with a torch. Myths and legend always inspired me from classical authors like Homer and Ovid to fairytale maestros like Grimm, Anderson and Hoffman. Little did I know then that I myself would become a writer. In the past I was more interested in my everyday life and career as a worker at a bank. However a big disappointment caused poems to start to flow through my mind like a river of words. My poems were once just my dreams, but now poetry is a part of me. Reading is the best workshop. I like to read poems, especially by the best poets in the World. I learn a lot from them though I have my own style now. I like very much poems of Wisława Szymborska. She won the Nobel Prize in literature. I appreciate also poems of Maria Jasnorzewska-Pawlikowska and Małgorzta Hilar. I studied also poems of our famous poets from the past. I read a lot of poems of the contemporary writers and sometimes they are my inspiration too.

SONGSOPTOK: Do you think that literature also bridges the human world with the Mother Nature? As well as with the present time of our surroundings?

ALICJA: Poetry should be a voice of conscience. We, humans, are part of nature. We cannot be indifferent if our world is being destroyed. I wrote many poems against GMO. I did it for the group of people who fight against Monsato. Some people do not know that genetically modified plants are dangerous for our planet.

Secret GMO

Science in the service of greed

Creates a different world.

It shouts: it’ll be better! cheaper! more!

The mind begs: restrain audacious ignorant,

Who disregard the harmony of nature

And million years of evolution.

It is you,

Who brought to life the killer bees

And destroyed many species of flora and fauna.

Manipulation of genes

Won't create the Garden of Eden.

The game of “God” always brings death

GMO Means Death

The word "sorry" is not enough

The effects of errors are irreversible

There is no forgiveness

For diseases

For suffering

For death

Nobody will hide

Nobody will escape

No one will survive

They sold our lives for pieces of silver

SONGSOPTOK: What are the main events that you think are the major issues that have influenced present day literature?

ALICJA: I do not know. It is hard to answer this question because literature is a kind of art. Here is a poem on this subject

History

History will judge all of us fairly,

It will open the eye of wisdom stored in a triangle.

Man's life will be reviewed carefully, conscientiously.

Osiris will weigh deeds and words on his balance.

Names of the chosen

will be saved in the memory of nations.

Moral opinions will be guarded unyieldingly.

Genius will be appreciated in previously ridiculed works.

The humiliated will be exalted,

the average will fall into oblivion.

on the wall of a museum.

With tears in its eyes, it listens to Viennese music.

It admires the beauty of words in poems

written by once ridiculed poet-paupers.

It barely mentions the names of powerful rulers

in long stories about the humble carpenter from Nazareth.

It marvels It admires a painting of sunflowers at the attitude of a young Indian prince,

who left glory and fortune for enlightenment.

Defender of truth, it is incorruptible and impartial,

It calls a spade a spade,

for it thinks nothing of falsehood, hypocrisy.

It emerges like a rock monolith from the ocean of time.

It is also like eternal wind,

which separates chaff from grain.

SONGSOPTOK: Do you think in this age of information and technology the dimensions of literature has largely been extended beyond our preconceived ideas about literature in general? Now in this changing scenario we would like to know from your own life experiences as a poet, writer and a creative soul; how do you respond to this present time

ALICJA: I love modern technology. Thanks to it I started to exist as a poetess, journalist and editor. I live in a small city and I cannot attend events in our capital city. Thanks to internet I can be in touch with many people. It allows me to show my poems, too.

SONGSOPTOK: Now if we try to understand tradition and modernism in literature, do you think poetry can play a pivotal role relating the two? If so, how? What are your opinions about the role of the poet in bridging the gap, if any, between tradition and modernism?

ALICJA: Every plant has got roots. The same situation is with literature. It develops but it should have good base. In my opinion poetry can be such a bridge. Poetry is like a fresh air and it changes the whole literature. On the other hand poetry is not allowed to forget about tradition.

SONGSOPTOK: Do you think that society is the key factor in shaping you up as a writer. What about your own country? What is the influence of your country & your culture in your writing? Do you believe that all writers are by and large the product of their nationality? Is it an incentive or an obstacle for becoming a truly international writer?

ALICJA: I am from Poland and it can be seen in my poems. I often write about nature which surrounds me. I think that every person should respect its own country and culture. The diversity enriches our writing. Some topic are universal like love. People are similar though different in the same time. This variety is fascinating

SONGSOPTOK: Do you believe creative souls flourish more in turmoil than in peace? Why? Are you a protagonist of "art for art's sake"? Can you please present us with your point of view?

ALICJA: I noticed that prosperity and peace are better time for art and literature. The flourishing of art and science can be seen when society is rich and happy. Poor and hungry people are mainly interested in their basic needs.

SONGSOPTOK: Do you think people in general actually bother about literature in general? Do you think this consumerist world is turning the average man away from serious literature? And do you think poetry or literature can solve any problems in our everyday life? Why should we adhere to it?

ALICJA: The society changes during ages. Now, we live in the “quick age”. People are in hurry, work hard and they like simply entertainments. It does not mean that it was different in the past. Art and literature was always connected with the elites. I can use such a metaphor – the theatre is the same, only the actors wear different costumes.

SONGSOPTOK: Are you a feminist? Can literature play any decisive role in feminism at all? What role can literature play to make our lives better on a day to day basis?

ALICJA: : I am a feminist in a way. I think that women should be treated fairly. I especially do not like when religion is used against them.

SONGSOPTOK: Now if we want to look ahead, do you think that there is an oncoming crisis for literature in general? Will it bring new dimensions in our life ahead? Or do you think that the future of literature is not as bright as it should be?

ALICJA: I am not a fortune – teller. I do not know what will happen in the future. Maybe our grandchildren will travel to other planets but it can happen different scenario too. After the nuclear war they can live in the caves and be illiterate. The future of humanity depends on us. The history shows that after fall of civilization there were “ dark ages”. Everything can happen, so the wisdom and kindness are needed to protect every human being.

Four stamps

Do not wake up the Horsemen of Apocalypse!

Four horses snort, hooves tap.

They are ready to gallop.

War, death, hunger, plague are always together

And ride side by side.

Auschwitz was not a dream.

The demons are born in the dark side of human nature.

The lust for power

The glory of winning

The greed

The fraudulent propaganda