SONGSOPTOK: Why literature or poetry in specific interests you so
much? Do you think literature or poetry
is really essential in our life? If so why?
ANCA MIHAELA BRUMA: Poetry is the language
which can say more and more intensively than any other language implied in
other literary pursuits. It is like a multi-dimensional, involving the readers’
sense, emotions and intelligence. There were poems which literally changed my
perspective upon life, and some of them have like hidden secrets which need to
be unlocked. For me poetry is important as it has that fire in the person’s
life, changing it alchemically, bring new realms to it, through its powers and
rhythms indeed breaking the conscious mind helping it to awaken and nourish it
as well, as if it honours both the known and the unknown in us and the world
itself. Personally for me, poetry is an act of existential leap, illuminating
our life even bringing new breath into it. When I write I like to galvanize the
readers’ attention, shaking and awakening them. With my poetry it is as if I become more human, more fully engaged
with the world.
SONGSOPTOK: How do you relate your own self existence with your literary
life in one hand, and the time around you, in the other. Do you think society
as a whole, is the key factor in shaping you up as a poet, or your poetry
altogether? Or is your poetical journey is actually a spiritual extension of
your whole individuality?
ANCA MIHAELA BRUMA: For me poetry is a
process of self-discovery, the plateau where strong emotions are intensely
expressed, explored and explicated, it is a process of cognitive and emotional
insights. My writings are my own spiritual autobiography, the stages of my own
development, as a thinker and feeler. Projecting it outside I hope to awaken in
others deeper realities of life within themselves. I am a true believer in the
power of the words and the mystery of unlocking latent realities, universes,
thought, emotions. It is supposed to elevate and enrich their lives as well!
I have decided to start writing again in 2014 after many years of not writing, and it came to me like an “explosion”. It is as if the pen “writes” me not the other way around – and I just know, all these years of crystallization came into fruit right now, in a concentrated manner full of hidden meanings and layers after layers.
Society is to be a key factor, in my case when I was only 9 years I registered for an art group, where I was taught the art of poetry. Later on, my studies in art, as well supported this path. A society which believes and fully supports art plays a major role in the development of an individual.
SONGSOPTOK: Do you believe creative
souls flourish more in turmoil than in peace? In recent history, your
motherland Romania had gone through a rough transitional phase of converting
the socio - economic and political system from communism to capitalism. Can you
elaborate your own views upon this issue, how do these historical changes
actually affect the literature of a land.
ANCA MIHAELA BRUMA: During Communism many
authors were subservient to the regime, and that was exploiting the literature
for its own ends. However, there are numbers of authors who challenged the
censorship of the regime. Nothing what happened during a totalitarian regime
was natural, everything became like a response, defence, a desperate reaction
for survival. School of poetry was turned into a propaganda tool in order to
achieve ideological claims and false utopian world.
The post-communism literature gained different connotations, it is meant to express a new rebirth of individuality, it was a tool to express the truth to the world, to understand the vital value for the freedom, of speech and action. A new literary identity is formed after the chaos created by the communism, an identity which chooses to express the grief, torment, loss of its uniqueness, the right to deny censorship or any form of limitation or repression. Poetry after 1989 is characterised by an explosion life, and intense awareness of it, accentuating on the self-discovery and removal of the cultural desert and lack of freedom.
SONGSOPTOK: Would you like to share
with us the literary scenario of your motherland?
ANCA MIHAELA BRUMA: Romanian early
literature was characterized very much by historical one, with lots of
chronicles. 18th century is the awakening time for Romanian literature, plenty
of writers developed their skills while in France and being in tune with the
literary movements in France that time. Romanians was at that quite “pregnant”
with many writers, however the greatest Romanian is considered, even nowadays,
Mihai Eminescu, due to its philosophical approach. He opened the gates for the
modern literature. The period between world war and after the war, knew a time
of great ascension with great authors, followed by a descending curved marked
by the propaganda style of writing during communism time, which lasted for 40
years. After the Revolution in 1989, and removal of communism Romani knows a
new ascending curve, where the expression of freedom in all its forms marks the
writings of most of the authors.
SONGSOPTOK: What are the challenges
one has to face to switch over in a foreign language for her literary work? How
do you feel to write in an adapted language like English?
ANCA MIHAELA BRUMA: Speaking two languages
can be challenging because sometimes I must direct attention to one language
while suppressing interference from the other. Brains of bilingual people
automatically activate both languages even in the contexts where only one is
relevant. However, when I write in English I always keep the Romanian lyricism,
which is so specific to our land. In fact, it is very well know Romanian poetry
is quite hard poetry to be translated due to its high level of lyrical
subtleties.
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?
ANCA MIHAELA BRUMA: The digital medium has
provided the basis for multi-mediality and every day we learn how we can
manipulate in new ways the information. The transformation done by the web is
multi-dimensional, it changes the objects of study and in the same time the
subject who studies it. The changes in time will become grater, as technology
is very fast evolving, and of course with it all other fields. Accessibility
and convenience are top priority benefits.
SONGSOPTOK: 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? 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? I mean the serious literature.
ANCA MIHAELA BRUMA: My type of writing is
not the one which keeps the pulse of society or the world in general, even
though the themes I approach, Love and Life are general ones I see them from
philosophical, mystical point. And for me this is everlasting. I cannot label
myself a social type of writer, but rather “sensually mystic” or mystically
sensual” type of writer. This is my pen trademark, the one with which I feel in
tune with.
Society still cares for literature, not as before, internet nowadays somehow replaced this pleasure. And yes, I do believe consumerism takes away the quality of good literature.
SONGSOPTOK: Do you believe all
writers are by and large the product of their nationality? And what are the
factors which pay dividends and which become obstacles for your ultimate growth
as an international writer even beyond your time?
ANCA MIHAELA BRUMA: We are all the
“products” of our own nationalities, no doubt about it. It is in our DNA,
carrying our own ancestors’ heritage. Each of the nationality carries its own
history which of course impacts on each individual, shaping him/her. Even if I
write in a language which is not my mother tongue, I do carry my own language
characteristics, a very specific poetic lyricism particular in my part of the
world. That makes the approach being different, even enticing for many.
I do not believe there is any obstacle for growth as international writer, if so far you have a strong message out there, you will always find an audience which resonates with your own style, approach, view about things.
SONGSOPTOK: We would like to know
the factors and the peoples who have influenced you immensely in the growing
phase of your literary life. How do you evaluate your contemporaries and what
are your aspirations from the younger generation?
ANCA MIHAELA BRUMA: In terms of poetry
writing, there is an interesting curve in my writing “career”. At initial
stage, just a teenager, I was very much influenced by Romanticism, Realism,
Symbolism, Avant-garde, followed in my university times by Existentialism,
Surrealism, Transcendentalism. Poets and writers influenced me in my own
literary development as well approach of life. Just to mention some at that
time: Dostoevsky, Camus, Kafka, William Blake, Umberto Eco, Leo Tolstoy, Emily
Bronte, Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning, TS Eliot, Plato, Henri Bergson, Jean
Paul Sartre, Victor Hugo, Paul Verlaine, Carl Jung, Immanuel Kant, Johann
Wolfgang Goethe, Henry David Thoreau and so on.
Since early age,
I have always viewed writing poetry as the perfect medium which is able to
depict profound unfathomable complexities of someone’s life or life itself, to
render into words that which is unsayable, that ineffable, which can be truly
deeper than the language itself. Through my writings, as well years of
readings, I always looked to seek something beyond that which was apparent to
others! I was fascinated to see how different aspects of truth were
transfigured by different emotions, how experiences were poetized. I pursued
seeing beauty expressed in all forms of art, not just poetry; creating a
“thirst” within me to explore more and more for the knowledge of the mystery
beneath and beyond it, as a symbol of something greater and higher with its own
power to immortalize the expressions over the years.
During this exploration a huge impact on me had as well the Oriental
philosophies, like Taoism, Zen, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Sufism, Buddhism and
so on, and all these perspectives about life made a huge impact on me and the
way I approach writing nowadays. The time I did not write, for many years, it
was the perfect time for me to incubate and crystallize all these knew
knowledge, together with my own experiences in order to have my own signature
in my own writings.
My aspiration for
the younger generation is simple: to READ more!
SONGSOPTOK: In this patriarchal
society do you think, as a woman you need more free breathing space to uphold
your own personality and liberty? In
this regard we would like to know your own views about present day feminism.
Would you like to be addressed as a feminist?
ANCA MIHAELA BRUMA: I consider my writings
as a tool for women to claim their own feminine powers. My writings try to
overpass what seems to be the humans’ limitations but emphasizing the essence
of a woman, of the Goddess. The main theme, Love, is basically presented as a
transformative experience in life, the energising force of the Universe and
empowering the creative feminine.
As a writer I may not come across as feminist as more as a sensually mystic writer. Even though I am a strong believer of gender equality, with the same civil rights and liberties, this is not the approach I have when I write, pleading for human equality but rather a more wakeup call addressed to women to reclaim their feminine powers for themselves, to become stronger, loveable, therefore a better woman in society. It is a call not to prove to others who they are but for themselves.
SONGSOPTOK: Humanity has suffered
immensely in past, is still suffering around the world. We all know it well.
But are you hopeful about our future? What role can literature in general play
to bring a better day for every human being? In your own words!
ANCA MIHAELA BRUMA: My mission as a writer
is to heal, awaken, inspire for a better world. If all are sending out
beautiful messages of hope and joy, the world will become a better place to
live. Us, the authors are like sacred keepers of the words, whatever we send
out there shall be full of hope, joy and inspirational guidance.
I see the act of writing as an existential leap, delivering people from the habitually or conventionally established world into new horizons of the spirit, and that brings a breakthrough in one’s overall consciousness.
All spiritual traditions teach us about the Power of the Word, and how life changer can be, affecting us and others, ability to change minds and lives forever. As words, thus poetry, have creating force of healing, awakening us from a deep quotidian sleep!
For me, a good poetry is like a magical spell, which carries power, color, vibration, and intent, magnetically charged. Us, the poets, are the alchemists, transforming the emotions, mostly through catharsis, into poetic “spellbinding”. Saying that, we ARE responsible for the words, the ars poetica we deliver to the World and we should consciously choose to cultivate the literature’s curative powers! Using the Art of Words it is as if we practice Magic, and with this, altering the World and shifting its state of consciousness. I am a believer that us, the writers, can bring change and challenge through poetic consciousness!
SONGSOPTOK: Many thanks ANCA for
spending such a wonderful time with us, we would like to conclude this
interview with a personal note, are you satisfied about your own achievements
in your life? What are your plans for future?
ANCA MIHAELA BRUMA: Thank you! My
“achievements” are my own personal developments. Over the years I have added so
many different flavours to my own persona, growing, expanding and hopefully
becoming a better person. In sense of writing I have only one dream: that my
writings indeed will bring power to heal and awaken others. Making a better
world! This is my greatest mission!
[ANCA MIHAELA BRUMA: ROMANIAN POET AND WRITER, LIVING
IN DUBAI]
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