Numerous visitors to the 19th International Podgorica Book Fair had the pleasure of witnessing the inspiring words of poets and writers in many ways. Gojko Božović during his guest appearance at the official event of the fair, entitled "Conversation with the Author" moderated by Bećir Vuković.
On that occasion, Božović was presented with the “Ogledalo srpsko” award for his poetry collection “Dok tonemo u mrak”, but this is just one award in a series of fruitful careers for this writer and poet. Božović is the winner of numerous poetry awards, as well as the laureate of the “Vitez poziva” award (2019) for his work in the fields of culture, literature and publishing.
Because of these undoubted qualifications, everyone present on Thursday evening in the TC Big Fashion garage was able to listen to Božović about the influence of literature on culture, the future connection between artificial intelligence and human creativity, as well as the very important role of translators in the literary world.
Speaking about book fairs and their cultural importance, Božović said that it seems to him that they have never been as important as they are today because they enable "absolute visibility of books."
"Books, on the one hand, have never been more common in our experience, and technology has enabled books to be found around us in huge numbers, to be produced quickly, and to be written faster and faster. So, a whole inflation of books is being published, but these books are not seen in the public space," warns Božović.
Božović pointed out that certain forms that previously allowed us to make literature visible and accessible have ceased to be effective.
"Literary criticism has lost the influence it once had; it no longer participates, or participates very little, in the fate of books, or in the reader's decision to choose a book. Most often, the most widely read books do not attract critical attention or favor, while books that critics think well of often do not have large circulations," Božović concludes.
Responding to a very important question about the threat of artificial intelligence to the world of books, Božović said that the future of books is certain.
"Artificial intelligence is based on algorithms, on predictable projections, on standardized services, on solutions that are common, that are frequent, that are repeated, and that is all the opposite of literature, and in that sense, the future of literature is not threatened from that point of view," Božović assures the audience.
He, however, said that literature is threatened on the other hand, by the specific digitalization of people and books, which is causing literature to lose a kind of charisma and influence that it has had for a long time.
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