MILAN TODOROV: POEZIJA DANAS, REČ NA OTVARANJU MEĐUNARODNOG FESTIVALA POEZIJE 2026.

 

Milan Todorov

POEZIJA – NAŠE VREME DUHOVNOG TRAJANJA

Pre svega želim da pozdravim pesnike iz zemlje i inostranstva, uvažene goste i vas, cenjena publiko. Želim, takođe, da pozdravim i ovo naše neobično vreme u kome — iako je to još uvek nedovoljno poznato — svetski poznate ličnosti osnivaju književne klubove, a visoka moda lansira proizvode ukrašene literarnim klasicima. Dior je predstavio nove verzije torbi ukrašene koricama Džojsovog „Uliksa“ i stihovima Volta Vitmana. Modna kuća Coach i njen dizajner Stjuart Vivers proizveli su minijaturne priveske koji su postali čitljive mikro-verzije knjiga — od „Znam zašto ptica u kavezu peva“ Maje Andželou, do „Razuma i osećajnosti“ Džejn Ostin...

Čitanje, dakle, iznova postaje popularno (ma koliko to delovalo pomodno i paradoksalno) upravo zato što se mladi ljudi danas suočavaju sa ogromnim egzistencijalnim pritiskom, kao posledicom globalne krize i užasnih ratova. Kada se spoljašnji svet raspada, čovek nagonski traži čvrst oslonac u unutrašnjem.

Ali, festival na kome učestvujemo nije samo niz čitanja, već pre svega susret — susret različitih jezika, kultura i iskustava.

Birajući temu za otvaranje ovog međunarodnog pesničkog festivala pod uredništvom našeg uvaženog pesnika Jovana Zivlaka, kolebao sam se između više mogućih pravaca. Odlučio sam se za temu koja bi se mogla odgonetati pod naslovom: „Poezija – naše vreme duhovnog trajanja“.

Ovaj naslov nosi misao da poezija nije pasivno bekstvo od sveta, već aktivan način da čovek sačuva svoje unutrašnje vreme u dobu opšte ubrzanosti. Živimo u eri u kojoj algoritmi izračunavaju naše želje, a kratke poruke i brzi utisci mrve našu pažnju. Sve je podređeno brzini i funkcionalnosti. Poezija se tome ne suprotstavlja bukom i transparentima, već tišinom.

Muzikolozi kažu da muziku ne čine samo tonovi, već i tišina između njih. Poezija je upravo to: umetnost pauze, dah koji nam omogućava da udahnemo duboko u svetu koji nas guši. Ona vraća rečima njihovu izvornu težinu, a čoveku njegovo unutrašnje, nelinearno vreme. Dok se sve meri brzinom, poezija se meri dubinom i osećanjem bezobalne slobode. Tom beskrajnom slobodom ona sa lakoćom premošćuje granice država, jezika i kultura.

U dobu koje teži perfekciji mašina i veštačkih odgovora, poezija ostaje poslednje utočište ljudske nesavršenosti, sumnje i iskrenog traženja. Kultura jednog naroda ne opstaje zahvaljujući arhivama i statistici, već zahvaljujući pesnicima koji su umeli da u nekoliko stihova sačuvaju ono što istorija redovno zaboravi — emociju, trag i unutrašnju drhtavicu bića.

Možda ne možemo promeniti svet jednom pesmom, ali svaka istinska pesma može promeniti čoveka koji je pročita. A kada se promeni jedan čovek, svet više nije sasvim isti.

Poezija ipak nije patetični junak iz prošlosti niti heroj teškog srca, ali nije ni nemešta posmatračica koja se bezvoljno prepušta slabostima sveta. Njena misija nije da donese jeftine bajke čitaocima novog doba; umetnost njene čarolije ne sadrži gotove manifeste za bolji način života. Ali nam je zato danas potrebnije nego ikada da neprekidno pričamo priču o tome kako smo i gde izgubili moć da govorimo istinu.

Nastaviti život u ovakvom svetu bez poezije nalik je hodanju po skliskom ledu i u debelom mraku kroz nepoznat predeo, bez vodiča i bez kompasa.

Sami i ranjivi, svoju hrabrost, slobodu i duhovnost možemo ponovo otkriti samo kroz upornost i prkos poezije. Zbog toga poeziji — iako često frustriranoj, potisnutoj na margine i potcenjenoj — pripada samo jedno mesto: centralno mesto u samom srcu društva.

Danas prisustvujemo njenom stalnom ponovnom rađanju, transformaciji i obnovi. Nikako ne bi trebalo da se plašimo da je ova priča završena ili prevaziđena. Poezija je veština sa jasnim stavom, nepristajanje na zaborav i samo kucajuće srce čovekovog duhovnog trajanja.

OPENING REMARKS AT THE INTERNATIONAL POETRY FESTIVAL

POETRY – OUR TIME OF SPIRITUAL ENDURANCE

Milan Todorov

First of all, I would like to extend a warm welcome to the poets from our country and abroad, to our distinguished guests, and to you, dear audience. However, I would also like to acknowledge the era we live in—an era in which, though perhaps not yet widely known, world-renowned figures are founding book clubs and haute couture fashion houses are launching products adorned with literary classics. Dior has introduced new handbag editions emblazoned with the covers of Joyce’s Ulysses and the verses of Walt Whitman. The fashion house Coach and its designer Stuart Vevers have crafted miniature bag charms that have become readable micro-versions of books—ranging from Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings to Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility...

Reading, then, is becoming popular once again (however trendy and paradoxical that may seem), precisely because young people today face immense existential pressure stemming from global crises and harrowing wars. When the outer world fractures, man instinctively seeks a firm anchor within.

Yet the festival we are participating in is not merely a sequence of readings; it is, above all, an encounter—a meeting of different languages, cultures, and shared experiences.

In choosing a theme for the opening of this international poetry festival, curated by our esteemed poet Jovan Zivlak, I hesitated among several possible paths. I ultimately settled on a theme that could be decoded under the title: “Poetry – Our Time of Spiritual Endurance.”

This title embodies the thought that poetry is not a passive escape from the world, but an active way for a human being to preserve their inner time in an age of total acceleration. We live in an era where algorithms calculate our desires, and short messages and fleeting impressions fragment our attention. Everything is subordinated to speed and functionality. Poetry does not oppose this with noise or banners, but with silence.

Musicologists say that music consists not only of tones, but also of the silence between them. Poetry is precisely that: the art of the pause, the breath that allows us to inhale deeply in a world that suffocates us. It restores to words their original weight, and to man his inner, non-linear time. While everything else is measured by speed, poetry is measured by depth and a sense of boundless freedom. Through that infinite freedom, it effortlessly bridges the borders of nations, languages, and cultures.

In an age that strives for the perfection of machines and automated answers, poetry remains the last sanctuary of human imperfection, doubt, and sincere searching. The culture of a nation endures not through archives and statistics, but thanks to poets who knew how to preserve in a few lines what history so often forgets—emotion, a trace, and the inner tremor of being.

Perhaps we cannot change the world with a single poem, but every genuine poem can change the person who reads it. And when a person changes, the world is no longer entirely the same.

Poetry, however, is not a sentimental hero from the past, nor a heavy-hearted champion, but neither is it a passive bystander that listlessly surrenders to the weaknesses of the world. Its mission is not to offer cheap fairy tales to readers of a new age; the magic of its art contains no ready-made manifestos for a better way of life. But what we do desperately need today is to continuously tell the story of how and where we lost the power to speak the truth.

Continuing life in such a world without poetry is like walking on slippery ice in dense darkness through unfamiliar terrain, without a guide and without a compass.

Alone and vulnerable, we can rediscover our courage, freedom, and spirituality only through the persistence and defiance of poetry. That is why poetry—though often frustrated, pushed to the margins, and underestimated—belongs in only one place: at the very center, in the heart of society.

Today, we are witnessing its constant rebirth, transformation, and renewal. We should by no means fear that this story has come to an end or become obsolete. Poetry is an art with a clear stance, a refusal to forget, and the very beating heart of man’s spiritual endurance.