Political voice of the poetry festival
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by Marzena Romanowska
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 18, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL-Breyten Breytenbach, a man who says he can peacefully 'sleep next to words,' was among the guests at this year’s International Istanbul Poetry Festival. A compelling figure not only for his writing, Breytenbach is a political activist sensitive to issues others want to avoid
This year’s International Istanbul Poetry Festival, which concluded Saturday, brought some controversial declarations along with its poems. "If you are asking me if I am still a terrorist, the answer is yes," South African writer Breyten Breytenbach told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
Among the numerous poetry masters this year’s event brought to the city, Breytenbach is likely one of the most interesting personalities, a man known not only for his writing, but also for his rich political biography. During a stay in France, he married a woman of Vietnamese origin, a union that Ğ according to the discriminatory laws of his home country Ğ constituted a criminal offense. Unable to return to South Africa, he established a resistance group fighting against apartheid in exile. Captured during an illegal visit to the country, he spent seven years in prison.
A citizen of the world
It is not difficult to find a relationship between those events and Breytenbach’s opinions on world politics. Although he is not, in a strict sense, stateless, he does not associate himself with any particular country. "States are very stupid organizations," he told the Daily News at one of the festival events, "But the European Union is not a bad way of weakening the state, which loses some of its structures." Increased autonomy at the local level Ğ whether within a state or another organization Ğ improves the larger unit, Breytenbach said. But such a change can make the majority in a particular country feel as if they are experiencing the beginning of the state’s breakup. He added that current examples of countries facing difficulties in developing diversity could be seen especially in China, but also in European states such as Spain or France.
Breytenbach said he doesn’t feel attached to any particular state organism, but feels at home in many places at the same time Ğ including Istanbul. "It’s not pretentious, but welcoming and accommodating; it doesn’t have a sense of prohibition," he said. Among his favorite cities, he also mentions Berlin and Barcelona, which seems to have the atmosphere of Paris 40 years ago.
Language, Breytenbach said, is a manifestation of cultural diversity, and in a diverse society with multiple languages, the majority often feels threatened. But he himself is not afraid to use the words of any particular language. "I’m abusing words all the time," he said. "But they are also far more powerful than we think. They talk to one another, even if we think we know the language."
A Renaissance man
Operates both within poetry and prose, Breytenbach admits that his difficulties in sticking to one particular type of writing often lead to disputes with his publishers. "It’s all about the rhythm," he said. "Poetry is involving language as a material. It has the magical intention of celebrating, of invoking higher spirits, while prose is all about meaning and the object itself."
Breytenbach is also a painter, and he said this type of art is actually much more pleasant than writing, though both disciplines share commonalities: "Texture, colors, pattern-making." His painting sometimes even inspires his poems. "Writing down what you see is enough for a poem," he said, giving Bosch’s work as an example of descriptive painting, "Sometimes I combine poetry with painting [on the canvas]. But I would never write one about my own work of art."
Among the numerous poetry masters this year’s event brought to the city, Breytenbach is likely one of the most interesting personalities, a man known not only for his writing, but also for his rich political biography. During a stay in France, he married a woman of Vietnamese origin, a union that Ğ according to the discriminatory laws of his home country Ğ constituted a criminal offense. Unable to return to South Africa, he established a resistance group fighting against apartheid in exile. Captured during an illegal visit to the country, he spent seven years in prison.
A citizen of the world
It is not difficult to find a relationship between those events and Breytenbach’s opinions on world politics. Although he is not, in a strict sense, stateless, he does not associate himself with any particular country. "States are very stupid organizations," he told the Daily News at one of the festival events, "But the European Union is not a bad way of weakening the state, which loses some of its structures." Increased autonomy at the local level Ğ whether within a state or another organization Ğ improves the larger unit, Breytenbach said. But such a change can make the majority in a particular country feel as if they are experiencing the beginning of the state’s breakup. He added that current examples of countries facing difficulties in developing diversity could be seen especially in China, but also in European states such as Spain or France.
Breytenbach said he doesn’t feel attached to any particular state organism, but feels at home in many places at the same time Ğ including Istanbul. "It’s not pretentious, but welcoming and accommodating; it doesn’t have a sense of prohibition," he said. Among his favorite cities, he also mentions Berlin and Barcelona, which seems to have the atmosphere of Paris 40 years ago.
Language, Breytenbach said, is a manifestation of cultural diversity, and in a diverse society with multiple languages, the majority often feels threatened. But he himself is not afraid to use the words of any particular language. "I’m abusing words all the time," he said. "But they are also far more powerful than we think. They talk to one another, even if we think we know the language."
A Renaissance man
Operates both within poetry and prose, Breytenbach admits that his difficulties in sticking to one particular type of writing often lead to disputes with his publishers. "It’s all about the rhythm," he said. "Poetry is involving language as a material. It has the magical intention of celebrating, of invoking higher spirits, while prose is all about meaning and the object itself."
Breytenbach is also a painter, and he said this type of art is actually much more pleasant than writing, though both disciplines share commonalities: "Texture, colors, pattern-making." His painting sometimes even inspires his poems. "Writing down what you see is enough for a poem," he said, giving Bosch’s work as an example of descriptive painting, "Sometimes I combine poetry with painting [on the canvas]. But I would never write one about my own work of art."