1. Who is Sabahudin Hadzialic as a person? His origins, place of birth, pastime? Sabahudin Hadzialic had a country. He was born in a county called Yugoslavia and today lives in country called Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was once a part of Yugoslavia. None of this was his fault. The country he lives in today was once a part of Yugoslavia under the same name, but as a federal unit. Today, on the territory of now former Yugoslavia (since 1991) six (6) new states were formed. Twenty years after the breakup of former Yugoslavia, and fifteen years after the terrible war in this region, none of the newly formed states did not reach the gross national product of former Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia. No, we do not want to recreate any form of obnoxious piece of art driven by ethnicity in an artificial form of federation consisting of peoples and states. No ! I, as a writer, honour the decision of people and state to live, the best that they can, in what they call their own, regardless of the name. I am not Yugo-nostalgic. I am only people-nostalgic. Simply, I cannot but think that long time ago, in that terrible, narrow-minded and rotten political system we were better as people. Contradictio in adiecto ? No, because you can find the answer in one of my aphorisms: Socialism was a rotten system. Capitalism brought it to the end. Sabahudin Hadzialic is Bosnian, that is to say a Muslim from Bosnia and Herzegovina. But first and foremost, Sabi is human and then all the rest. Nation is historic category and I have a saying: if someone can prove to me the nationality of amoeba ( and amoeba is the predecessor of all living things) I will burn myself alive at the nearest square. On the other hand, we just need to wait for the end of history to see if anyone who has nationalistic tendencies will be remembered. I think not !
2.From where comes your interest for culture and poetry?
I think that the answer is in the question. Well, anything human sticks with me. My opinion is that we are all here for a reason, starting from the fact that we all carry presuppositions of a creative process, an inspiration. Simply, our social surroundings, our outlook and how we understand the reality lead our thoughts to certain hopes and activities. Culture, art, poetry, writing all is a part of human creation aimed to enrich the messages we want to leave or will leave to the world, to the humanity. I think that, and I cannot but say that I was not inspired by their writing, I was influenced by the witters like Mihail Bulgakov (Russia), Charles Bukovski (USA), Witold Gombrowicz (Poland) and Walt Whitman (USA) but also, domestic authors (ex-Yu): Danilo Kis, Ivo Andric i Mesa Selimovic. I hope that one day my writing will motivate people so that they start to appreciate art and literature in general, to look for not only their literary but also human direction, in the works of contemporary writers. What I want to say is that it is not enough to be ‘good’ writer and/or poet. It is important to be a good man, after all. But this river is wide and deep. And we need to cross it. And the rivers should be crossed. Only a few will cross over. On the other side is the paradise made of hopes in the world of possible directions. Human, first and foremost.
3. What are your main activities today?
Methodologically tangible and in short: To live a life like a man (human). Well, let me explain. As you on Malta have people who, at a certain period of their life, were green, then yellow and then red, so that today they are looking for the reason d’etre in blue; we had the very similar experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in all the present states formed on the territory of former Yugoslavia. Let me explain, or at least try: There is a saying that everything changes except the rock; the change that evolves because one is adjusting to the time and environment where one lives should not be at the expense of ones humanity, sincerity , openness and goodness. The opposite happens in this country. Well, just look how expression of religious feeling damaged religion per se: Religion (regardless which one we are talking about) is advocating goodness, gentleness, justice, fairness, openness and kindness. So we have never had so much pious people and so much thievery at the same time. Another one Contradictio in adjecto ! The fact is that the word Balkans when translated from archetypal language means ‘The Blood Mountain’ says it all. But, this is not what I want to talk about now. Well, my main activities are focused towards good deeds. Not only through literature. You may want to read yourself on the following links (in English as well):
http://humanitariansabi.blogspot.com/ and/or
http://srcezadjecufbih.tripod.com/ and/or
http://sabimariefrancois.blogspot.com/2010_01_01_archive.html
And of course, as a independent artist, and the member of Association of writers of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Association of Journalists of B&H (and from the beginning of this year I am the Ambassador of B&H of the POETAS del MUNDO:
http://www.poetasdelmundo.com/verInfo_europa.asp?ID=7203 I edit two on line magazines. One of them is published as a yearly edition : DIOGENES pro-culture magazine (the first yearly edition was promoted at POETRY MARATHON held in Sarajevo on 21 March 2011 to mark a Word Poetry Day: http://diogen.weebly.com/2132011---world-poetry-day.html ).
So, www page of DIOGENES pro-culture magazine is http://diogen.weebly.com and it promotes culture and art. DIOGENES pro-culture encompasses two other magazines DIOGENES pro-art where we represent the artists from around the globe and DIOGENES pro-youth where we represent young poets.
The other magazine that I edit, although I say, that there is no difference between me as an editor-in-chief and the others, is MaxMinus, an online magazine for political satire, humour , caricature and comics in the Balkans: http://maxminus.weebly.com . I think that here you have a complex person who is a poet by vocation, and loves prose mixed with satire. Although my love poems were published in the Anthologies around the world. I am also a freelance editor of DHIRA publishing house in Switzerland: http://dhirasbk.weebly.com/ .
4. Can you give us some information about your writings and publications? What is your favourite genre ? Why ?
When being interviewed for the local media (please view entire interview given to BH MAGAZINE http://www.bhmagazin.com/interview/1149.html ) I often said: When I was twenty I was the editor on Radio Sarajevo, when I was thirty I was the owner of the first private owned newspapers In Bosnia and Herzegovina, when I was forty I had already published a dozen of books and now at the age of fifty (poetry and prose) I am represented in a number of compilations, magazines throughout the world in English, Spanish, German, Albanian, Italian and the languages of the Balkans, that is the South Slav habitat. My books could be found in the libraries around the world, from New York Public Library in the USA on the Northern Hemisphere all the way to the homes in Australia on the Southern Hemisphere.
Well, the best would be to visit http://sabihadzi.weebly.com and judge for yourself. There you can view more than hundred video records of my performances around the globe, as a writer of poetry and prose, as well as journalist: http://sabahudinhadzialicvideo.blogspot.com .
And last but not least, I published dozen of books, six books of poetry, one haiky, aphorisms and a drama, a book of political and literature essays, and a book of aphorisms and a book of short stories. I am represented in the poetry anthologies in Canada, France and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Also in anthologies of aphorisms of the Balkans and Bosnia and Herzegovina. I edit and write book reviews. Recently Plain View Press form Texas, USA published ISHTAR SONGS and I was one of the writers selected to do the book review. Ishtar Songs was an Anthology of Iraqi poetry from ‘70s to present days http://www.plainviewpress.net/gallery2/pages/Ishtars-Songs.html .
There are some plans to publish Anthology POETS FOR WORLD PEACE, Volume 3 in Canada and India where I am co-editor alongside my colleague and writer Dr. Ram Sharma from India. Forty five poets were selected to be represented, one of them being Patrick Summit from Malta.
It is not easy to answer the second part of your question that refers to my favourite genre. The literature, the way I see it, is the art of the words. The words form poems, stories, aphorisms, inspirational sayings , texts of all kinds, dramas, commentaries, novels, essays….I think that it all depends on time of the creation. Within the inspiration guided by lyrics, I create a number of poems, and on the other side I deliver variety of prosaic texts that inspired by its sub-genres. I do not want to say that I prefer any genre at the expense of the other. How successful I am as the author within the many layers I have is best demonstrated by this year’s award of Ivo Andric’s Academy form Belgrade.
The Jury, presided by Radomir Smiljanic, one of the bards of Serbian literature, having read my LITERARY TRIOLOGY (aphorisms, short stories and poems) unanimously voted for the award. TRIOLOGY was published in 2010. This prestigious award is named after the author, born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1961. His name is Ivo Andric.
The Jury’s decision based on the Literature Trilogy (poems: The Sisyphus’ Struggle, stories: The Country Without Consciousness and aphorisms: Lost Souls, published y Dhira, KUsnacht, Switzerland 2010) is:
“The poetry of Sabahudin Hadzialic in his book Sisyphus’ Struggle is laden with complex concepts depicting struggle for the human side of mankind amidst daily issues alternating it with the idea of love memories. Hadzialic’s poetic idea is focused: it is post-modern, urban poetry of a man in search for the meaningful life….The book The Country Without Consciousness represents a joint aim – stripping of myths we struggle with in our daily lives, while often using a range of allegories, hyperbolas and our own expectations all underlined with a satire. In Lost Souls, a book dedicated to aphorisms, Hadzialic uses aphorisms and thoughts as currency, he introduces humour and satire, he tries and succeeds to influence others with the way he understands the world he lives in hoping that his influence will inspire readership to strive for the bigger and better things.
As one can see in Andric’s writing, Hadzialic in his literature conveys a message, he warns, inspires; he demonstrates that the literature stems from the everyday life of a man and then a poet and writer, that it stems from his core-the human core."
The award will be presented to me on 26 October 2011 in Belgrade, Serbia on the very same day when Ivo Andric was awarded the Nobel Prize in Stockholm 50 years ago. This award does not only belong to me as a writer, it is an award for Bosnia and Herzegovina, for all its writers, my contemporaries, regardless whether they are Moslems, Catholics or Orthodox. It is for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina , after all.
5. What are the main themes in your poetry ?How does the past war in the ex-Yugoslavia territory reflect itself in your writings ?
Topics are hidden in human mind, they emerge from hopes and internal struggles. As a person who loves and respects, I find my inspiration in people and nature around me with the aim to promote sustainability and prosperity of the mankind, I think that my themes are grouped around what makes us human: love, truth, , envy, hatred, arrogance, justice, morality………Although I answered in part the second part of your question in the answers provided so far, I think that, being an integral part of the Bosnian society , I deeply feel and interpret the events from the recent war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. But, as a person who wrote during the war ‘No man No Island’ (quoting No man No Island from Ernest Hemingway) I have to say that the war, on one side, brought a positive. You may be wondering – how this could be ? Well, it is only then that one can see people in their banality, greed, hatred and you ask yourself – how this could be possible. I can say this because I am a transparent person, this is my strength and some would say my weakness. I don’t know. You can track what I thought before the war, during the war and after the war. I think that I can quote here the answer I gave to BH MAGAZINE back in 2009.:
Q: When looking at the writer or journalist as an individual you brand him as an outsider or traitor. Each national elitist circle wants the truth, regardless of the fact that it is based on how aggressive you are in putting the arguments through, not on how strong are the arguments. Who are the outsiders and traitors?
A: I would not entirely agree with your statement. To answer your question I will put through my hypothesis that it is possible to be individualist in the arena of literature and journalism and ‘not only’ with the aim to be outsider of traitor. Polarization never appealed to me. Even in questions. If you live in a state where there is prosperity stability, expertise and hope anything could be achieved. Unfortunately, not on this planet. Well, well the population of B&H is the same as of a London suburb, while the area is the same as a part of South France. And we want to think that we are important. Manchester United soccer games are viewed by millions of people while they watch about us only when we are killing each other, right? And of course, we are here ruled by ‘ muscular ‘arguments not by the powerful arguments, as the president of the Council of Ministers is a person who was a member of six different political parties so far, the emerging writers in their ‘60s, journalists ready to write absolutely anything to glorify the new leaders today, and then to dethrone them tomorrow without having critical thought to see in the first place that they were not leaders at all. Good question, well asked and the answer is simple: All of us are outsiders and traitors. At the moment when we agree with them…’those who plant black and white truths’ and at that very moment we become exactly that. It does not make any difference if this is being done by the communists, nationalists or neoliberals.
We cannot be anything else while we live in the system of upside-down values, the system that was established in the couloirs of the house of Rothschild’s, Kissinger’s, Brzezinski’s, Cheney’s and Committee 300. The New World Order abolishes the right of individual needs, of communities, of peoples. And it promotes the supremacy of new vision of World Government where we in Bosnia (and Herzegovina) are the by-the-way experiment of their disjointed, individual and pretentious thoughts. I am anti-globalist. I am human. Who looks at the consumer society as a society where your basic needs will be met? The needs to live. And then we come across PR and Marketing, although these are two different terms, and this is the answer to your question. As an addition to what I already said: p.s. in the question itself.”
Yes, in my writing you can clearly see the reflection of the environment I live in. Now I am focused on love, devotion, anticipation, aspirations, happiness… and write poetry inspired by these elements.
6. You are a person who believes in poetry as unity. Can you elaborate in regards to this statement?
The answer is very simple and it could be found in the Manifesto of the POETS del MUNDO http://www.poetasdelmundo.com/verManif_ingles.asp?ID_Manifiesto=128 as a poet and a man I not only read, but live in accordance with these principles. Let me clarify: Poetry is a message expressed through verse – the message of a poetry that unifies and not hate – that wraps and not exposes – that loves but not owns. This is the unity of poetry within my understanding of poetry that I try to achieve in my poems.
7. You also believe in giving opportunities to others to express themselves? You believe in giving, more than taking? How is this related to your DIOGENES pro-culture magazine?
Great observation, thank you. I think that giving the opportunities to the others to express their thoughts, in this case literary and artistic, is the expression of ourselves. All that we write, and hand over to the readers urbi et orbi, is not ours, it belongs to the others who read it, watch it, hear it. When we give, we create the opportunity to be given, one day, somewhere. And if I were to be born again, I would not change anything in my writing or the humanitarian work I did. This part of me would not change. Now that we are talking about DIOGENES pro-culture magazine, I believe that the answer is in my introductory article as the editor-in-chief:
WAKENING OF THE POSSIBLE
Within the each editorial of any newspaper, magazine and/or web portal, all editors are trying to describe the use of the title itself and in other words „carrier“ of the sign of the used presumptions of the carrier of the activities which are planned within probable media possibilities. Editor of this site will not do that. Because of the few reasons:
1. This is the free site and magazine of the free-open-minded intellectuals of the area wider than „encircled“. Namely, virtual world gives numerous numbers of possibilities for the communication but in the same time it is of use for the never dried out source for the huge number of information. But, this information, as well all represented here, on this site, will be in the services of the promotion quality of good and/or good quality. „Quality of the good and/or Good of the quality“ in literature, philosophy, world of cartoons and politics and/or information within whole shape of human living called culture and art. The one put aside and possible. Quality one.
2. This is a free magazine, site-web portal of the persons who do not hate and do not want to hate but only to hate impossibility to express/represent the mission of free-open-minded assumed wills. We are human-nostalgic persons who would like to live the life of the free people with appreciation of the other and different one human being. And not to based that on the name he/she caries but only to be based on the character of the assumed „good of the quality and/or quality of the good“ which represents.
3. We do not want renewal any kind of ugly/rude/cruel shape not only of cultural and artistic activity of the special entities shaped up in one artificial shape above all-of some kind super-state of some community of the people and/pr states. No! We respect decisions of the people and states in which they are living at, as much as possible more and in a quality way within their states, whatever they call them and wish to.
4. We would like that all artists of all races, colors, nations, people to join us...in one word from the area of the Planet regardless the language and God they pray to.
5. However, we will never publish anything (and not even allow to be published here) any kind of contents which derogate the human being in any kind of way per se and in other words anything that makes him human being within whole encircled environment of his own.
6. In the same time, DIOGENES is the area of the open free-open.minded dialogue because of the common good, above all. To do good. Because good gives good.
7. Coordination is the mother of the success. We are here to coordinate your talents, hopes, knowledge skills and wishes. We do not want to in any moment above you. Just aside and with you.
I would like to invite you to send us your own works, information and everything you consider the relevant and important for the creation of the possible, quality living and creation. To learn together. Us. And you.
Welcome to our world. But also yours. Because of us. And you.
8. You have been one of the active participants in the Gaeta Mediterranean Poetry Festival 2011. How do you describe such a experience ? Why are such initiatives important in today’s world?
In one sentence: Because of my children ! Firstly, I’d like to thank Giuseppe Napolitano, director of the Association La Stanza del Poeta from Gaeta, Italy, the poet and the Festival organiser and all participants who enriched my soul and secondly I’d like to say that I do not regard it as only the’ initiative’. It is foremost a sublime, subtle creation where poetry helped not only establish friendships, but define humanity as our centre of gravity which is nothing else but us. The poets are the messiahs – they bring words. Only if they use the words for the greater good. Because goodness breads goodness. Within the concept of ‘doing’. And hope. When we speak about initiatives, that is to say creations unified through poetry their meaning is the same as it ever was. Why, you may ask? Because it inspires, enthuses and gives hope that we can live in a different world. Check it out ! View the video record, photos and press releases http://diogen.weebly.com/yacht-med-festival-il-mediterraneo-in-poesia-2011-italia.html They speak more than thousand of words, although Turgenev said : ”There is nothing more powerful…and at the same time noting more weak…than a word”.
Sabahudin Hadzialic
Sarajevo
Bosnia and Herzegovina
08.5.2011.
Poems by Sabahudin Hadzialic:
Sabahudin Hadžialić
REALITY FILMED
Dismal image
of my own imprint in time
that’s real
inside the vision that- isn’t,
is desperately in search for
Her !
…
Queen Elizabeth,
Chatherine, Nikolajevna,
Princess Dianna,
Disappear in front of the eyes
of wild hordes.
…
I remain alone
trembling with trepidation
trying to figure out
what is it that they want.
…
Virtual reality of a surreal film-world
is nothing more than
a treacherous impersonation of a real world
that deceives me
a Servile Servant !
..
She’s gone !
Will she ever come back ?
The question is swept by the wind.
…
I’ll wait for the storm to calm
and try to catch the mistral wind to find a cove,
and search for the place where I met her.
Barefoot and naked.
Back in the day.
On the stage !
STRANGE DREAM
Hands buried in sand
Deep
…..
Blood stained hands.
Both.
…
I try to reach the bottom of the sand pit
digging deep,
feeling pain.
….
Two blue eyes
deep dive
towards you.
Blood shot eyes.
Both.
Carried on the wave of desperate tears,
I try to catch a glimpse of you,
however
you disappeared behind a horizon.
…
Alas !
You drew near, furtively
and embraced
The World !
CONTROL FREAK
While
sipping a glass of white
wine
whiteness splashes
…
engulfed
in a November day.
In what ?
…
In longing
of an accidental sufferer
trying to dash his sadness.
No way.
She doesn’t let him.
…
She even controls
his yearning.
BOHEMIAN SOUL
My lifeless soul
wanders.
….
If you stumble upon it
stay away.
…
Throw a stone.
Perhaps two.
…
If you miss,
I will never forgive you !
In my scattered dreams
I remember
the fire in her eyes.
…
I did not question
this fairytale character
crafted – by me.
…
The one thing that hurt me
was her image
displayed all over.
…
In the underground stations
and
drawn on cable-cars.
…
I walked up to
my owns shadow
and said:
“I will erase you
as if you never existed ?!”
She smiled and walked away,
towards the nearest billboard, and said:
‘You forget, maestro,
that in the moment of my creation
all your intentions died.
The beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
in this case – the spectator!”
I took the brush
and stabbed the hand that created her.
There you are !
MARGARITAS ANTE PORTAS
I am
the reconciliation
of her dreams
…
But her soul
craves peace.
…
The place you are yet to reach,
is the place where your hopes stretch.
…
Hope is the last to die
….
With a bit of luck !
See also link:
http://diogenplus.weebly.com/patrick-sammut.html
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