We are talking to Juzef Šostakovski, literary historian, journalist, doctor of humanities, about the state of poetry of the Vilnius Region.
Juzef Šostakovski works in the Museum of Władysław Syrokomla in Bareikiškės. Apart from educational and cultural functions, the museum has the mission of promoting young poets from the Vilnius Region by publishing their works. The museum has issued an anthology of 15 young artists titled ‘W zakolu Wilii‘ in 2016. In general, the museum issues one or two such publications annually. It is a very thorough help in promoting and popularizing our talents, our poetry and prose of the Vilnius Region.
There are literary museums all around the world. They may not be that popular as museums of arms or ethnographic ones. But literary museums bring the viewer or the listener into the amazing world of the reality of writing and poetry. Young people who come to the museum in Bareikiškės are affected by the atmosphere of the museum and of that era - the mid-nineteenth century when Władysław Syrokomla was creating. Such visit in the museum is very valuable, it helps to know a lot about the literature. Moreover, the museum is the centre of the meeting of poets, it replaces literary cafes popular in Vilnius in pre-war times. ‘Our ‘literary cafes’ are organized 5-6 times per year. Lots of people attend such meetings. Creators read their poems, discuss a lot, meet new people, create a new quality of poetry, here people get a load of intellectual energy. During those meetings we also present our new items, issued by the museum’ says Šostakovski.
European quality
We have young Polish authors of an international scale. We can mention the poet from Vilnius Daniel Kraičinski. He is the author of the debut collection of poetry ‘Posłuchać krzyku ryb’ issued in 2015. Other great authors are Romuald Mečkovski, Vojciech Piotrovič, Henryk Mažul, Juzef Šostakovski, Alicija Rybalko, Apolonija Skakovska.
Good poem
How can we describe a good poem? And what is the difference between the poetry in the Vilnius Region and in Poland?’ According to Juzef Šostakovski, the special feature of the Vilnius Region poetry is its vividly expressed sensitivity.
Poetry also functions as a therapeutic mean, it teaches a human to be sensitive and creative.
How does the situation of the poetry of the Vilnius Region look like nowadays?
Šostakovski happily states, that the poetry is in a very good state. There are lots of young talented authors like Daniel Kraičinski, Tomas Tamošiūnas, Daniel Rogoža, sisters Agnieška and Mažena Mackoit. They are the treasure of our country. We have to be proud that they live and create here in Lithuania.
Young people write mostly about love, of course. It is a permanent feeling. But they also mention social problems like hatred in the world, suffering of other people.
How do young people become poets?
They are talented. They have poetry in their genes. One cannot study to become a poet, one needs to be born as a poet. Nevertheless, such talents need to be nurtured, mainly by the closest people and teachers, who should also pay attention to language mistakes and similar things.
According to Šostakovski, contemporary literature creators of the Vilnius Region know what a literary work is, what a poem is. And this is the most important in the process of creating. Poems cannot be destroyed, they are eternal.
There are lots of literary talented young people in the Vilnius Region nowadays. But we have to keep in mind that literary writings are a long process. The existence of a literary environment is a must. It cannot be created artificially, it has to be natural.
Another issue, as Šostakovski states, is the lack of local literary critics. They would prevent the occurrence of the literature of questionable values. Journalists, librarians or teachers of the Polish language could become such critics.
Old generation will eventually pass away and we can do nothing about this. But it is a great luck that we still have good young authors thanks to whom the Polish poetry of the Vilnius Region will continue to grow.
Juzef Šostakovski
PhD of Humanities, literary historian and journalist. He was born on 1st July 1953 in Liubeliškių village in the Vilnius district in Lithuania. Šostakovski is the author of the following collections of poetry: ‘Nie ucz się domu’ (1992), ‘Czerwone gile’ (1994), ‘Wiersze z listów’ (1994). He has also published: ‘Między wolnością a zniewoleniem. Prasa w języku polskim na Litwie w okresie od września 1939 do 1964 roku’ (2004), ‘Literatura staropolska’ (2007), ‘Wilno i okolice. Przewodnik literacki‘ (2012), ‘Śladami pamięci‘ (2012), ‘Literatura Oświecenia’ (2015).
Pavel Kobak
‘This project is co-financed from the funds granted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.‘
