Africa-Press – Angola. The director of Mayamba Editora, Arlindo Isabel, deplored, this Thursday, in Luanda, the little investment in publishing poetic literary works, compared to narrative fiction, due to the fact that people seek out books of this genre less.
In an interview, on the occasion of World Poetry Day, which is celebrated today, he justified the decrease in demand for poetry books in bookstores as being at the base.
He said that the low demand is associated with poor preparation and knowledge of the language on the part of readers, to understand the messages conveyed by the poets.
Therefore, the academic also understands that to understand poetry it is essential to master the language.
“At the speed the world is moving, there is very little in-depth knowledge of the language and poetry is in a dimension that requires other preparation”, he stated.
In his opinion, this happens because “people today probably don’t want to be bothered by things that involve a lot of work, as they are short-sighted”.
As an example, said Arlindo Isabel, what is said in a narrative fiction text, often in a paragraph, in poetry can be said in one word or a very short sentence.
Regarding the way of writing poetry today, compared to the past, he considered it impossible to pinpoint a better period, because each context generates good and bad poets, as well as good and bad tastes.
But, he warned that “art is that which survives and goes beyond the boundaries of time, whether in content or form, and whenever there is a quality or sense of beauty to sum up what we call art, there is poetry.”
The writer pointed to holding more exhibitions focused on poetry, debates in the media and the creation of more reading spaces, as ways to promote this literary genre.
He also highlighted the organization of poetry recitals in various places, especially in schools, to promote and transmit to children the taste for appreciating and producing poetry.
In turn, writer José Luís Mendonça considers that poetry written in the past had musicality, coming from rhyme, features that are currently lost, due to new currents and trends.
According to the poet, not everything that is published with poetic intention is poetry. And nowadays, there is a “tremendous” illusion among older and younger authors when they think they are writing poetry.
Regarding the massification of poetry, he said, this is a claim that is, in principle, legitimate, however, each person’s vocation must be taken into account.
“Each person has their own experience, way of breathing the universe, which is why the massification of any type of art involves prior identification of the person’s tendencies”, he explained.
World Poetry Day is celebrated every year on March 21. The date was created at the 30th General Conference of UNESCO on November 16, 1999, to honor poetry, promote the diversity of languages and intensify exchanges between cultures.
On World Poetry Day, the diversity of dialogue, the free creation of ideas through words, creativity and innovation are celebrated.
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