SONGSOPTOK: Do you think literature
is really essential in our life? If so why? In your opinion, what is the true
relationship between life and literature? What is your own experience? And how
does this relationship relate to the general history of mankind?
STEVEN: I’ve often thought
about this question in relation to Shakespeare. If he isn’t essential, who is?
Yet, as much as I love him, I don’t think he is essential to life in general.
Literature gives us pleasure and knowledge, but there are many other avenues to
the same rewards. Especially, if you’d take it all away, remove all literature
or literacy, our lives would be impoverished, but the struggle is to live and
love, not to read.
SONGSOPTOK: We would like to know
the beginning of the story, i.e. how your upbringing contributed to your own
writing. Who were your favorite literary figures during the early period of
your life? How they have paved your early routes in literature?
STEVEN: My mother was a big influence on me. She wrote
poetry, but I don’t remember her ever talking about me being a writer, only
that I should do well in school. I always loved books and spent much of my
little money at the local bookstore. One of the loves of my life was the local
library, where I read as much as I could, even if I didn’t understand. I knew
that, someday, it would come to me and, mostly, it did.
SONGSOPTOK: Do you think that literature also bridges the
human world with the Mother Nature? As well as with the present time of our
surroundings?
STEVEN: Literature can help develop empathy, for
nature as well as people. Without an understanding of history and changes in
the human condition, I think the present would be very difficult to understand.
SONGSOPTOK: What are the main events
that you think are the major issues that have influenced present day
literature?
STEVEN: I think it’s a gradual progression, but surely
computers and the internet have had a great influence on writers. Other than
that, what was the last event of great historical significance? WWII? And that
was a long time ago…
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? 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
STEVEN: Well, literature
and all writing have exploded like an atomic bomb. There is so much access. So
much of an appetite. But I don’t see many changes in forms or content yet.
Literature itself doesn’t seem to have changed much though the traditional
books and magazines must be well on their way to dying. I used to have a large
library of physical books, but I gave them all the St. Lucia National Library
many years ago. Now I have more than 50,000 books stored on two giant hard
drives that can nearly fit in my pocket. I read as much as ever, but it is
almost entirely on screens, not pages. Publishing, of course, has also changed
greatly, though I still prefer the traditional third-party channels rather than
self-publishing, but that’s a good option for many writers.
SONGSOPTOK: Now if we try to
understand tradition and modernism in literature, do you think poetry can play
a pivotal role relating the two? If so, how? What are your opinions about the
role of the poet in bridging the gap, if any, between tradition and modernism?
STEVEN: I am a great believer in tradition in poetry
and fiction, though I throw away most of the rules. So I don’t really see much
of a “gap”, only an evolution forward. Whatever “modernism” is, I don’t concern
myself with it. I simply devote myself to saying the things I feel need to be
said.
SONGSOPTOK: Do you think that
society is the key factor in shaping you up as a writer. What about your own
country? What is the influence of your country & your culture in your
writing? Do you believe that all writers are by and large the product of their
nationality? Is it an incentive or an
obstacle for becoming a truly international writer?
STEVEN: I seldom think in national terms anymore. I
live in two countries, the US and Bolivia, that couldn’t be more different.
I’ve lived and worked in seven other countries, so I think it’s easier for me
to think internationally than it is for some other writers. Of course, my
American culture has had a huge influence on me. In many ways, I will always be
American, even when I write in Spanish, but I would not really want to limit my
audience to any one country.
SONGSOPTOK: Do you believe creative souls flourish more
in turmoil than in peace? Why? Are you a protagonist of "art for art's
sake"? Can you please present us with your point of view?
STEVEN: I know that, for myself, I need both turmoil
and peace – turmoil to have something to write about and peace to do the
writing. I’m a lover of both. I think perhaps you mean “proponent” of art for
art’s sake. I guess I am not. I believe art must seek to help us understand the
human condition, good and evil, life and death.
SONGSOPTOK: 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? And do you think poetry or literature can solve any problems in our
everyday life? Why should we adhere to it?
STEVEN: I am of two minds
on this. I am constantly amazed by how many people all over the world read and
take literature seriously. Africa and India, in particular, seem to me to
contain huge pools of people who love poetry and fiction and reading in
English. I love their fresh perspective and enthusiasm.
At the same time, in the Western world, we now
see a huge backlash of anti-intellectualism, especially in the polling booth.
The people who control America, the UK, and are starting to take Europe, don’t
read and seemingly don’t care about knowledge. They operate by instinct and
hate. I see this as a dangerous situation that poetry and literature don’t seem
up to the task of solving.
SONGSOPTOK: Now if we want to
look ahead, do you think that there is an oncoming crisis for literature in
general? Will it bring new dimensions in our life ahead? Or do you think that
the future of literature is not as bright as it should be?
STEVEN: I see the oncoming
crisis as one of population and the environment. The world will become warmer.
Growth will be impossible or almost impossible to stop. The oceans will rise.
Food and water will become scarce. Billions will die. We seem to have barely
started solving the problems. That crisis will affect everything, literature
included.
STEVEN W. BAKER: My beautiful
Bolivian wife and I now live in Florida, near our children and grandchildren.
It’s wonderful to get to spend more time with them and get to know them all
again after years of traveling. My wife teaches, and I do almost nothing but
write. I begin the see the end of the road I am on, and
that drives me to work as hard as I can. I still have much to try to say.
We sincerely
thank you for your time and hope we shall have your continued support.
Aparajita
Sen
(EDITOR)
Songsoptok
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