Serbia and Signalism Poetry

MIROLJUB TODOROVIĆ, Serbian poet and artist, was born 1940. in Skoplje. He graduated law at the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade. He is the founder and theoretician of Signalism, an avant-garde literary and artistic movement, active in Serbian and Yugoslav culture, and editor in chief of the International review Signal. Upon his work there were published more than 2000 reviews, articles and essays in journals and magazines and 15 books. His work was also evaluated in three Ph.D. theses. The first one was presented by Dr. Ph. Julian Kornhauser, at University of Krakow, the Department of Yugoslavistics in 1980. The second was presented by Dr. Živan Živković, at University of Belgrade, the Department of Serbian 20th Century Literature in 1991. The third was presented by Dr. Ph. Milivoje Pavlovic at Megatrend University in Belgrade in 2002.

Signalism:

"Signalism is a complex creative movement. Signalist art is a complex art of new civilization. The complexity of Signalism is noticeable in its jaggedness, openness and non-dogmatism. Signalism is not just a method, and even less so a prescribed way of creation, a school. It is not just a visual or just a computer poetry, nor just a discarding the object and reduction of artistic text to a concept, idea, a reduction of text to a blank whiteness of page, nor just an abolition of language and introduction of sign, gesture and sound as communicative elements. Signalism is also in language, in its continuous research (jargon, slang, phenomenological, technological and other forms of verbal poetry), finding out of new contents and forms and, finally, in permeating of all these mentioned communicative elements."

Poetry books:

Planet (1965), Signal (1970), Kyberno (1970), Trip to Astroland (1971), The Pig is an Excellent Swimmer (1971), Staircase (1971), Gift-parcel (1972), Certainly Milk Flame Bee (1972), Thirty Signalist Poems (1973), Bumpkin Shows off, (Slang Poetry,1974), TV Set to Stare at, (Slang Poetry, 1977), Insect on the Temple (1978), Algol (1980), Textum (1981), Brain Soup (1982), Chinese Erotism (1983), Knock-out (1984), A Day on the Hymen (1985), I Become Silent Horror Language Core (1986), I Mount Rosinante Again, (Selected Poems, 1987), Water-snake Drinks Rainwater (1988), Soupe de cervau dans l'Europe de l'Est (1988), St.Vitus Day (1989), Rzav River Neighs Happily (1990), His Thorn Red and Black (1991), Ambassador Dustbin, (Slang Poetry, 1991), Grill from Srem (1991), I Breathe, I Talk (1992), Rosy Lizard Runs Across the Rain (1994), Striptease, (Slang Poetry, 1994), Loud Frog (1994), Virgin Byzantium (1994), Storm Spittle (1995), Tzar Trojan’s Goat Ears (Gestual Poetry, 1995), Planet (1996), Ho (Slang Poetry, 1997), Electric chair (Slang Poetry, 1998), Stars' Trowel (1998), Prescription for liver inflamation (1999), Azure Dream (2000), Shot into Shit (2001), Speech Burning (2002), Phonets and Other Poems (2005), Parallel Worlds (2006), Blue Wind (2006).

Prose books:

I Just Opened my Mail (epistolary novel, 2000), Walked Into my Ear (slang stories, 2005), Diary 1982 (2006), Window (Dreams, 2006), Slang Stories (2007).
Books of Essays, and polemics:Signalism (in English, 1973), Signalism (1979), Zipper for Morons, (Settlement with False Avant-garde) (1984), Cocks from Baylon Square, (Settlement with Serbian Traditionalism, 1986), Diary of Avant-garde (1990), Liberated Language (1992), Play and Imagination (1993), Chaos and Cosmos (1994), Towards the Source of Things (1995), Planetary Culture (1995), Grammatology Thirst (1996), Signalism Yugoslav creative movement (in English, 1998), Miscellanea (2000), Poetics of Signalism (2003), Courses of Neo Avant-garde (2004).

Books for children:

Mouse in Kindergarten (2001), Crazymeter (2003).
Book-works:Fortran (1972), Approaches (1973), Signal-Art (1980), Zlatibor (1990), Forest Honey (1992).

Anthologies (editor):

Signalist Poetry,( “Signal”, 1971), Concrete, Visual and Signalist Poetry, ("Delo", 1975), Mail Art - Mail Poetry, ("Delo", 1980).

Awards:

"Pavle Markovic Adamov" 1995 for poetry and life work; "Oskar Davico" for best book published in 1998 (Star's Trowel); "Todor Manojlovic" 1999 for modern artist's sensibility and "Vuk Aword" 2005 for exceptional contribution in Serbian and pan-Serbian cultural space.

Todorović took part in more than six hundred international collective drawings exhibitions of Concrete poetry, Visual Poetry, Conceptual Art and Mail Art.

Some poems:

Scientific Poetry:

HYDROGEN

In the eye of apparition
By a bluish light
Little
trembling flame
was devouring the darkness

ATOMS

In the field of smokes
a flock of imprisoned birds sleep
If I hear their call
If I shoot at them by star
They will jump out
like secret hinds
into a moved world

ELECTRON

Once he will give me a gold apple
as a gift
Entombed in its
succulent subconsciousness

MACHINES

Machines were catching us
With their sharp gears
And ground slowly meat and bones.
Blood flew away by special drains
For irrigation of carnivore herbs
It was a systematic destruction of our bodies
But our spirit even more curiously
Continued research into stars.

WITH NOODLES CERTENLY
(Computer poetry)

2.
MAY BE I DON’T WANT DON’T FORGET
ZAJECAR RICH SOUP
ACCORDING TO THIS I’LL SPEND SUMMER
IN MARRIAGE HAVE I RIGHT
AT SLAVIJA CALMS DOWN
ACCORDING TO THIS WHILE I’M GOINGG
MAYBE I DON’T WANT IT’S TIME
NEVER DON’T FORGET
FFOR SITTING IT’S TIME
BUT HOW I’LL LOVE

3.
CUT IT OUT OF COURSE
YOU ARE RIGHT DON’T FORGET
WELL TO MIX ON ROAST
ORGANIST I’LL SPEND SUMMER
AT SLAVIJA DON’T FORGET
I’LL HAVE DON’T FORGET
ON DIKE RICH SOUP
STRAIN WHILE I’M GOING
FROM PENALTY LET ME SUGGEST
STRAIN I’LL FLY

BUY ONLY SIGNALIST POETRY

(Technological poetry)

in every house, hall, institution!
new in yugoslav market!
the already known industry of poetry
"miroljub todorovic" has begun with
production (fabrication)
of the most modern poetical texts.
a high-quality poetry is in question
that can be read, watched,
heared, drawn up, exhibited,
roared at meetings, cited,
reproduced in textbooks, put
on walls, parquet, concrete, advertising
wall boards, trains, ships, aeroplanes.
in these products that can not be
even imported for they are rare in the world
an enormous interest exists in
yugoslav and foreign market.
individuals, households, caterers,
institutions, railway, car
industry, projectant organizations,
publishing houses and clinics can ask already in this
month for our new product
signalist poetry.
the new product fabricated with the
most modern devices electronic
calculators and by complicated
mathematical and other exact methods
is of high quality and is not more expensive at all
than the already outdated and exceeded
products of the same kind.

I WANT TO BE A DRUM

i want to be a drum artificial
eyelashes are in fashion
wake up for you will have troubles
with digestive organs
niagara has begun operating
down with europe
live japanese antarctica expedition
do you accept modern fashion
woman always offers hand first
try to exclude thoughts from your head
life in brothels is not same everywhere
what does moscow want in beijing
it doesn't upset us much
the earth's magnetic field has shape of a comet
i admire coats made of camel hair
you have a runner on your stocking
rest on chang khay chek matrasses
while drinking castor oil

Links:

http://www.miroljubtodorovic.com/
http://mtodorovic2.blogspot.com/
http://www.rastko.org.yu/knjizevnost/signalizam/index.php#_rastko

More poetry from India

Dr. Arbind Kumar Choudhary, an editor of the international literary journal KOHINOOR, is one of the distinguished Indo - English poets of first water. He is a regular contributor to a number of reputed literary journals. He was declared Effulgent Star 2003 by the Home of Letters, Orissa. Under the influence of the Classical, the Romantic and the Elizabethan writers, he composes compact poems in rhyme and meter. His trio collections of poems entitled Eternal Voices (2007), Universal Voices (2008) and My Songs (2008) illustrate many of his characteristic ideas and attitudes. Apart from creative works there are half a dozen critical works on Romantic, Victorian and Twentieth Century poets and essayists to his credit. He is the guest editor of Pot-Pourri. This Head of the Deptt. of English, R. C. College, India, has fathered International Association of Poets, Essayists & Novelists(I.A.P.E.N.) & International Haiku Association of India (I.H.A.I.) at Begusarai, India.
Dr. Choudhary's recent project of Encyclopedia of Indian Creative Writers in English that is under active preparation for the first time in India, will be a mile stone in the history of Indian English literature.
He can be contacted at :-
A.K. Choudhary kohnoor@rediffmail.com
arbind442002@yahoo.co.in

Poetry:

1. Poet

O Pneuma ! O Creator of Valhalla !
The earth is full of apnoea.
O Lama ! O Piercer of nebulosity !
Be crony of the generosity.
The gaby of the gully
Inhales fragrance of the poesy
The icy idiocy and intricacy
Deny sage’s delicacy.
Megalomania and monomania
Are moulded by melomania.
O Antenna of fauna’s anathema !
Aesthesia is your aroma.
O Sage ! Sabotage worldly cage.
Watch weltanschauung without wastage.

2. Modern Man

O Owl !
Do not play the foul.
To show white feathers
is modern man's features.

O Bad Blood !
Don't be proud of blue blood.
O Gigolo ! Make a name by deed
Ever be away from broken reed.

The espial of the raptorial
suppresses sparrow's jovial.
The euphism and the flim-flam
bedim duos esteem.

Man is the prize idiot of the earth
while woman has a filthy faith.

3. Love

Love is the fragrance of life.
It blooms only in perfect psyche.
Love is a spiritual inn
Laden with immolation and insaturation.
Love is a mere illusion;
A dark shadow for saturation.
Love laden life is more than Hyacinth
Loveless life is worse than Death.
Drink a dram of this cellar
Where Donor is gainer than Receiver.
How beautiful if love has not made
Love is more beautiful than Life's beatitude.
The fruit of love is glutinous and delicious.
The more one gives, the more one gets.
O Cadger of Love ! Hug a swig of this ocean
Where junction of souls is empyrean.

A poet from India, Gwalior

As the person who takes care of the Maltese Poets Association e-mail account I regularly receive greetings and messages from different poets coming from all over the globe. One of the latest was Indian poet Dr. Amitabh Mitra. I sent him a short e-mail asking him if I could download some of his poetry for my blog and he immediately answered positively.

Photo by Volkmar Dobat of Indophot.

Biographical note:

Amitabh Mitra is a Medical Doctor in a busy hospital in East London, South Africa. A widely published poet in the web and print, Amitabh has been hailed as one of the most popular South African poet writing in English today by the Skyline Literary Review, New York.
Amitabh, now settled in South Africa, uses his experience of social interaction and cultural impact from countries like India, Bhutan and Zimbabwe where he worked under varying conditions, in his art and poetry.
A powerful voice dispersing a reverie of time and heritage, his love poems with a backdrop of feudal Gwalior and Delhi take you on a sentimental journey to old family homes, forts, palaces and places where he grew up.
His unique style of fusing words into almost lyrical dream like images, exploring muted corners of life taken over a suddenrushhourtime, Amitabh brings forth poetry that seems to peep from behind veils and shadows, waylaid in a mind state in Johannesburg and New York, all merging in an unforgettable ecstatic experience.
His first book of poems was published in 1980 under the title of ‘Ritual Silences’.
‘A Slow Train to Gwalior’ is a CD of his ten most popular poems recited against a background of African and Indian traditional music. Brought out by Harp Records, South Africa, this poetry CD weaves a desire into a steady pattering of rain, a voice that would almost allure you to yet another stealth of a strangertime.
His first show of poems, drawings, visuals and prints, juxtaposition of words, lines and colors was on show at The Ann Bryant Art Gallery, St. Marks Road, East London from 12 July to 28 July 2005.
Dr. Mitra edits ‘The Hudson View’ an international print poetry journal published from New York, USA
He is the Chairperson of the East London Fine Arts Society.

Poems:

Darfur

Suddenly a baby cries

Malnourished

Maltreated

And ravaged

Men woman and children

Hang by their

Skin to

Mirages

the desert burns the skull

of all reasons

Storms that sweep

Into their eyes

Locks up

Within corneas

Daring death to open them

Darfur has no word

Darfur has no meaning

Darfur has deaths

The baby squeaks

Because only

He has the pride to

Know

When the Janjaweed

Are coming

Its time then

The mirages are slashed open

By flashing swords and

Faceless marauders

Screams will be a welcome whirlwind

Chasing the sun again.

One Day

I wait for you each day

with the changing of seasons, the smell

in our mango orchard and

the turbulence of your hair where I once

basked the stealth in the eye of a desire.

As a boy I raced

the train everyday with my

friends looking at the receding

distance

and the parting of the last carriage

till a horizon lifted it once again in the sky.

and then you came one day, Aavantika

suddenly

with the camel trains at sunset behind

the lumbering fort

treading the colors of your

garara and the jingle of ghungroos

on a bare feet river

flowing on parched pebbles

and eyes that had held together so

long

the distance

again.

Old Delhi Days

Another wintry day

petals over petals

of quiet wind

hiding a warmth from these streets of

old delhi

where fables had once been

strangled

in the lunacy of a crowded

moment

and you today

going alone

somewhere

on a rickshaw

in the midst of a mist

unaware

of streets that have long

surrendered

to the frost on

your lips

the old man

fort

holding a respite

of hurts in a sky of

sewn blue

haunted

I see you turn around

suddenly

catching the freeze

in your grip

as the rickshaw catches another lane

another day

in wintry

old delhi.

Visit link: http://www.amitabhmitra.com/

Video poetry: http://www.amitabhmitra.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=154&Itemid=41