Danijela Trajković

Danijela Trajković (1980) is a poet, writer, translator, reviewer and the editor of A Too Powerful Word journal. She holds an MA in English Language and Literature from the Faculty of Philosophy in Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia. Her work has been translated into Russian, Spanish, Romanian, Arabic, English, Bulgarian, Czech, Slovakian, Bengali,Turkish, Macedonian, Uzbek, Hungarian and published in journals, newspapers and anthologies worldwide, such as ‘World Poetry Almanac 2017-2018“, (Mongolia), „Balkan Poetry Today“ (UK, 2018), 'Atunis Galaxy Anthology - 2019' (USA), "Desde Isla Negra al Oriente" (Chile, 2019). Danijela’s first book ‘22 Wagons’ (selected and translated Anglophone contemporary poetry) was published by Istok, Academy of Arts, Knjaževac, Serbia, 2018.

On "What Are the Guards Talking About in the Dark" by Arvind Joshi

Arvind Joshi is a poet based in Delhi and writes in both English and Hindi. His published works are Songs From Delhi (2002) and Main Astronaut Soon (2014).

Joshi’s poetry book What Are the Guards Talking About in the Dark, as a manuscript won the first place, sharing it with Nenad Trajković, a poet from Serbia, at the European Facebook Poetry Festival Competition, based in Serbia, run by Radovan Vlahović, a poet and writer. The book brings thirty four poems, written in free verse, but also in rhyme. What this poet’s thoughts occupy mostly are silence, the time after midnight, other people’s conversations, etc. The poet is not focused only on himself, but being curious by his nature, even though not young anymore, he still wants to know what is going on around him, what other people do, think, what the things around him think. So, the focus is basically on others, but in a strong connection with the poet.

(...) and want to know badly / what / people and things / they talk about. / what / are the stories / that can still / walk about / and disturb the silence? (What Are the Guards Talking About in the Dark). Arvind Joshi in his poetry shares with the readers some beautiful images of the place and the time he listens to other people’s talks, walks, movements, not all of them necessarily during the night when the poet enjoys his cigarettes and sounds, but as well he shares with them the images of summer days, memories, doing absolutely nothing. The poet shows that he is not in a hurry, he always has time, which can make us, the modern people, living in the world of fast speed and very often in a hurry, think how could we do the same thing that is of great importance for us, how to slow down with our lives and give us a chance to hear other people’s conversations, how to get closer to the people around us, how to have the time for others, but also for ourselves to relax, how to be more human, still keep being a modern one. (...) then i drive to the farthest mall /without touching the brakes at all / and listen / to the broken conversation around me / as i wait, unhurried, / for my coffee. (I do Intricate Things With My Hands) or (...) Light my cigarette and listen / To her sing. / For hours, hours. (On a Perfect Afternoon).

That the poet is well aware of the events in the world claims a sympathetic poem of his,

Refugee Prayer

may the sea

near each town

have water enough

to swim

but never enough

to drown.

Arvind Joshi writes about love above all, love for yourself, love for others, love for beloved person, love for life. Through philosophical point of view, as we can especially expect from an Indian poet, Joshi puts many questions, but gives the options of solutions to us to find them out, therefore his poetry remains poetry of task, thinking, putting the brain of a reader to work, travel, seeking his / her inner being and dream. Arvind Joshi’s poetry is the poetry of offering its readers not a new way of seeing themselves and life but one of the ways they could choose, cause the poet by his poetical words tried to teach, to give some lessons to the generations that are coming. The poet wants us always to dream, as he does, as none of us should stop cause as Joshi says:

(...) some dreams survive only

till you know

they can't come true.

and some only

till you know they can. waiting for the traffic jam

to open up, love,

when you look up at the sky,

which one of the two dreams

you reckon

am i? (An Igloo on the Planet Pluto).

Reviewed by Danijela Trajković

A Poet Has No Moral

a poet has no moral questions. his mind lives in the ear. his soul in the eye. his life follows the life of a song played between conversations. i ask for no explanations. before sleeping, you switch off and i, switch on the light. if it's simple, it must be right.

Arvind Joshi