Anesthetizing the wound and suturing it. Then a sudden transition to athletic games. Movement from one margin to another. Poetry of pain, but also of touch. Although I consider it unemotional, it is possible that readers will find emotions in it.
So, in short, Tanya Bakic describes his new book of poetry, “I Was Adopted by Scottish Communists,” as the opening poem is also titled.
The collection was published by JU Ratković's Poetry Evenings, and includes around 50 poems that were created over the last two years.
Although, he tells Vijesti, being a poet in Montenegro is an impossible mission, with this book Bakić presents strong, provocative and contemporary poetry that does not hesitate to delve into topics that often cause discomfort.
"The main theme is the reaction to the rapid development of technology and society, and the change in the value system in the modern era," the author told Vijesti.
With sharp language, bold and expressive symbolism and authenticity, the poet builds a world in which the marginalized become protagonists, and the poem becomes a space of struggle and belonging, while encouraging and demanding from the reader a courageous confrontation with themselves and reality.
A writer Edin Smailović In the preface, he notes that the author does an excellent job of analyzing the man of this era - confused, frightened, and alienated.
"Through this book of poetry, Tanja Bakić also addresses the most current topics of today: the epidemic of loneliness, decreasing communication between people, artificial intelligence... All of this ultimately leads to a dystopian world that is perhaps much closer than anyone can imagine," emphasizes Smailović.
In a critical review, the writer God's gift Prophet, points out that the "Scottish Communists" in the title are not just a symbol of a political system or ideology, but a metaphor for the search for belonging, acceptance, and identity in a world that often rejects authenticity.
"This is a collection about those who didn't belong, about the margins, about opposites...", Proročić summarizes and adds:
“Tanja Bakić stands out in her poetry with her authenticity and boldness in asking questions that many avoid. Her verses do not seek answers, but rather invite the reader to introspectively question their own beliefs and position in the world. Her poetry exudes rebellion, but also melancholy, reminding us that in a world of constant turmoil and change, beauty and struggle go hand in hand.”
Tanja Bakić talks to Vijesti about the new book, but also about poetry, creativity, translation, music, the state of publishing, and the Montenegrin scene in general.
The title of your new poetry collection immediately arouses curiosity. Besides the fact that it is known to be taken from the poem of the same name, what can you say about who the Scottish communists are for you, how this metaphor was born and what it all entails?
Unlike my previous book of poetry, “Intertext” (2022), which was conceived as a concept, the new book, “I Was Adopted by Scottish Communists,” is far from containing an internal concept or being divided into parts that are connected to a specific goal.
When I was thinking about the title of my new book, “I was adopted by Scottish communists” wasn't my initial option, but rather the different nuances that go with the word “revolution.” In the end, the title certainly turned out to be revolutionary.
The poem of the same name is also the opening poem in this book, and its aim is to symbolically “introduce” or hint at the further course and content, which I find electric, but also elliptical. I hope that future readers of this collection will find those Scottish communists for whom I am searching. Some on p. 5, some on p. 13 or 28, and some in the table of contents, on the cover or back.
In the collection, you touch on important but often neglected topics - loneliness, alienation, technological dystopia, the age of digitalization... How do you approach these topics in poetry without them remaining just a diagnosis of the contemporary world, but also a space for resistance and (quiet) rebellion, as well as personal introspection?
That's what the critics have said so far. And I am glad that this book managed to meet the reactions of critics right from its birth. However, I experience these verses as a soliloquy or silent night conversations with myself, without any hidden intentions to diagnose, criticize reality or call for rebellion. If any of the readers really feel in these verses that they have additional associations, I will be glad, because that would only enrich their interpretative power.
Is there more rebellion and resistance or melancholy in those quiet nighttime conversations with yourself? Also, how interconnected are these poles and emotions, and how do you convey your own attitudes and messages, as well as feelings and reflections, into poetry?
I wouldn't say there's melancholy here. Maybe satire, irony and provocation, but definitely not melancholy. It's possible that there are poetic views expressed that would be close to marginalized groups. I have a greater inclination towards metaphors, and I don't think narration or description are close to me. Maybe that's why I write poetry.
Your poetry evokes some powerful images and a compelling atmosphere, as does the poem after which the book is named - powerful, provocative, multi-layered. Do you believe that poetry today needs to be more radical in order to be loud, to be heard, to resonate with both the external and internal worlds?
Even if it is radical or loud, poetry in Montenegro is quiet and marginalized. Being a poet in Montenegro is an impossible mission. First of all, you are satirized by publishers, who forcefully promote all sorts of novels in all cities in Montenegro, and when they publish your poetry book with little effort, they do not mention any promotions. These same publishers do not even put your poetry book on sale. Most often, it rots in some basement there.
How would you present this collection, what can readers find and feel with it? How was it created and what would you say, how to read it, absorb it, listen to it, how to communicate with it?
In short: Anesthetizing the wound and suturing it. Then a sudden transition to athletic games. Movement from one margin to another. Poetry of pain, but also of touch. Although I consider it non-emotional, it is possible that readers will find emotions in it.
How do you perceive poetry, is it a space of freedom, lyricism, soul, strength? Is it necessary to balance between aesthetics, engagement, style...?
I see poetry as my life and professional calling. It is not difficult for me to distinguish between creative writing and scientific work, because for me both activities are like the front and back - they complement each other.
Poetry is sweating and losing weight. With each new poem, I lose pounds of sweat.
Your work often levitates between the visual and the aural. You also include biographies of musicians in your work, so it's obvious that music is intertwined throughout your work, interests, and creativity. What can you say about that, about the musical and visual arts that enter into your writing?
The visual and the musical were present in my work, but in different ways. During the creation of my previous books, I liked to be in direct communication with the designer about the visual identity. On the other hand, I was always attracted to poets who were visual artists themselves, but also musicians. In terms of the “presence” of music in my poetry, it was rather reflected in the language itself, or rather the syntax, suggesting structures that were not the most grammatically correct. After that, I learned to think grammatically. I would say that my previous poetry book Intertekst is a good example of the communication of the visual and the musical. The visual is given in the cover. And the musical motifs dominate the book, not the syntax.
It seems to me that there are competitions coming up to see which poet has used Chat Gpt the most in their poetry.
Besides the influence on your written work, how important is music in your life and how do you experience it? And what does research on certain figures from that world bring to you, how does it enrich you personally, but also in a creative context?
When I listen to the music I love, I feel that it is not enough for me to just love it, but that I have to explore why I love it. And in the search for answers to these questions and in the context of the various experiences I gain along the way, I remember the saying “Curiosity killed the cat”. Where my head went, what kind of spaces I wandered into, what kind of people I met and what I heard, these are just side stories. Starting from Roger Mejera, Hendriksoveg secret weapon, across the grave Brianna Jones, and until Michael Lindsay Hobbes, son Orsona Wales and the Rolling Stones' music video director, who told me some unusual details about the filming of the video for the song Jumpin' Jack Flash.
How do you perceive the current state of poetry in the region, whether it's publishing, style, or the audience's attitude and support for that segment of art? Given the hyperproduction of content in all directions, but also the lack of attention and focus that results from light content, how can poetry break through as an act of inner, deep communication, but also a way back to art, emotion, and reflection?
Current poetry is experiencing a deep crisis. Its modes of communication are extremely consumerist, “social-networking”, “artificially intelligent”, and hyperproduction has never been greater. On the other hand, the obsession with lobbying for poetry awards has never been greater. The focus is more on how to lobby for poetry awards, rather than how to write a good book. Poets today are remembered more for (lobbied for!) awards, rather than for their verses. Poetry certainly needs a refresh.
Poetry has its own audience. And that's what publishers in Montenegro don't understand when they turn away from poetry books. If they realized that there is a market for poetry, maybe they would change their attitude towards poets.
Contemporary poetry is increasingly present on social media, in visual and stage formats - is this an expansion of its reach or a loss of depth and soul? Additionally, how do you view the influence of new generations of poetic voices and their presence on the stage?
All of this influences future forms of poetry and its presentation. It seems to me that competitions are yet to come in which poet has used Chat Gpt the most in his poetry.
There are no initiatives to translate great Montenegrin authors
You also work as a translator. You have often spoken about the complexity of that process, but how much attention is paid to it on our scene?
The last book I translated was the poetry of Risto Ratković into English, in 2023, also published by JU RVP. I regret that this is the first translation of Risto Ratković's poetry into any foreign language. Some people even contacted me, asking "Why now?". However, I am not the right person to address such comments. There are other institutions and individuals who could have decided on such an undertaking much earlier, but they did not. And to be honest, I have never heard comments about my translation from the perspective of those who need it, i.e. translators, but rather from professors of Montenegrin literature, i.e. from those who do not deal with translation at all.
On the other hand, there are numerous other authors of both Montenegrin modernism and other movements who are also untranslated, and for whose translation there is also no initiative.
Gift poem from the collection
Revolution
The revolution returns with broken teeth
And it smells like blood under the nail
Wake up and watch.
How the living haunt the dead
Crawling under the kitchen table
While to you, the creature
from the phallus and the electric shock,
Kafka is tongue-tied
And teaches you to walk backwards
I forgive your masculinity.
Because I know that when they brought it back
Your borrowed body,
The battery was dead.
And because I know you didn't kill the peacock
Not that he would stop spreading
wings,
But not to be the most beautiful bird
from the yard
Bonus video:
