INTERVIEW OF MARIA TERESA LIUZZO BY THE ALGERIAN JOURNALIST TURKIA LOUCIF

(Maria Teresa Liuzzo)

(Turkia Loucif)

Q. 1) Please tell us about yourself. 

A. 1) I was born in Calabria, the Italian region that was once called "Italy First," and later gave its name to Italy, along with Rome, "Caput Mundi"—the cradle of civilization for the world. While my peers played with dolls, trains, and toy soldiers, I was busy reading and writing. I also loved drawing and painting. I had the opportunity to frequent the "Noblesse Oblige" and meet the cream of Central European culture: internationally renowned artists, actors, opera singers, and directors. Actors like Lee Van Cliff, directors like De Sica, Fellini, and Rossellini, and opera singers like Pavarotti, Maria Callas, Mario Del Monaco, and many others.

Q. 2) Please tell us your beginning with writing.

A. 2) At about six years old, I began writing poems and short stories, but my secret dream was to one day write a novel. The dream came true, and in 2019, my first novel, "...And Now I'm Speaking!", was published. It was immediately translated into English by Giulia Calfapietro and then by Sara Russell, daughter of Irishman Peter Russell (several times nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature) and cousin of the famous philosopher Bertrand Russell. Peter Russell himself took an interest in my writing, calling me—at the presentation of my book "Apeiron"—"a poetic and prophetic voice." The book had a preface by Professor Romeo Magherescu of the University of Craiova. Professor Peter Russell subsequently edited the preface to my book "Humanity" and translated "Genesis" into English with parallel texts, with an introduction by scholar Mauro D'Castelli. Since my first publication, I have enjoyed considerable visibility in national newspapers, such as "America Oggi," "Il Ponte Italo-Americano," "Il Sole 24 Ore," and hundreds of international literary magazines. I have admired Arab writers since I was a child and have been in contact with many of them. A few years ago, I gave an interview to the renowned Egyptian journalist Hamdy Elmelegi, which was also broadcast on the most important Egyptian channel in the Middle East and published in Italian and foreign newspapers. Among the many names I remember is Mohamed Akalay, who translated many of my poems and was a contributor to the international culture magazine Le Muse, of which I am the Editor and Managing Director. Among the prestigious authors is Professor Hassan Ezzat, who has translated and presented Egyptian poets and my poetry at the University for Foreigners in Reggio Calabria, masterfully translating them. One of my books, "Danza a ritmo di rime," was presented in Morocco and translated by Professor Non Eddine Mansouri, and was published by the Moroccan University under the editorship of Mohamed Ellaghafi. It was later presented on television on Morocco's first television channel.

Q. 3) Have you ever participated in any competitions? Feelings and passions?

A. 3) Reading was and still is my greatest passion. It was like discovering the other side of the world, and perhaps ever since then, even though the times were different, I wondered if our society would ever emerge from its reckless spiritual and civil adolescence. Nor would I have thought that years later we would "find" child exploitation when we went to the moon, leaving behind a cemetery of the buried alive, living skeletons, and wounds on Earth. To find, in a civilized and modern world, the existence of Waste Pickers (creatures invisible to the eyes of the world). We find ourselves in Kenya among the walking dead, eating and breathing the chronic and deadly toxicity of landfills that are open-air mountains, all for pennies, rummaging for hours in that deadly cemetery of rubble in search of pieces of plastic to recycle, while elsewhere the shameful and ignoble supporters of genocide celebrate. From a young age, I had a keen sense of justice and truth: the two cornerstones that hold the world together. Today, my country's cultural history is not what it once was, rich in values, love, and passion. Creative minds and great writers are in short supply (an anomaly that doesn't just affect Italy); it's a loss of values that affects all nations. It's well known that weak minds often become confused because their only interest is to show off. Rare are the writers and poets who resist toxic relationships and the intrigues of lowlifes, who, for the sake of appearances and aware of their own mediocrity, lose everything by becoming slaves to their tormentors. Although generous, intelligent, and affectionate, I was also reserved, rigorous, and ruthless in defending the values of life and justice: the two faces of truth that cannot and must not be imbued with slander by mercenaries wearing the mask of ambiguity. I don't believe in competitions; you can't judge a poet by a single poem, but by their entire oeuvre. I've won first place in competitions I'd never entered, and I've never even collected a prize, not even a cash one. CULTURE is knowledge, it's quality, not quantity; it's not a game where the important thing is to participate, to enrich oneself through exchanges of opinions; it has become an unfair and pointless competition. The fanatics of the moment pretend to be interested in the authors, most of whom are deluded and naive; both parade across the stage like mannequins seeking a printed "certificate" that will make them "shine" like a broken glass; they don't perceive the real dangers, including hunger, the worst ancestral enemy, and then there's war with its scourges. Superficial and selfish people who don't think about the great problems, difficult, if not impossible to solve, that grip the world. They don't hear the cries of children, nor do they see death in their eyes, which are larger than their faces. No one wants to accept the truth for what it is: masters, vassals, abuse, and lies. They use others to exercise their power, to gain visibility that passes for generosity but is only self-interest. It makes no sense to appear without being, to use artificial intelligence to make translations that sign in their name without even bothering to read, leaving errors and horrors like chemtrails in space. Yet the recklessness and evil they live and operate in makes them happy; they seem to have emerged from a hellish gathering, ridiculing anyone who comes within range.

Q. 4) Please tell us the values of literature and the commitment on an intellectual and human level.

A. 4) They ignore that only a poet can translate another poet; the better the poet, the higher the yield. No one pays attention to these things; they applaud without reading. Today, the more you look, the less you see. There is no honest competition. When you can't outdo others, you throw poison, you invent lies, the executioner becomes the victim, but truth is the daughter of pride and manages to survive and fight in a web of dwarves and gossips. In what is evident to everyone, merit no longer exists; words are stones thrown into the "State" of justice. There are pseudo-publishers who until a few years ago were cleaning stables, and "imaginary" maniacs who recycle fake talents, but a true literary figure has no need of "business procurers" because he or she is capable of understanding the values of literature. Instead, they employ inexperienced, opportunistic, and violent people who not only plagiarize and "steal" the work of others, passing it off as their own, but also relentlessly cast a bad light on those they can never surpass. This sinister behavior has nothing to do with culture. Social media is like weapons that should only serve for self-defense, but those who possess them have no other purpose than to kill. We often encounter this network of dwarves, servants, and informers, consolidated servants of multiple masters. They wear a thousand masks, but they don't love peace, they have no respect for children, nor for hunger, nor for death. They possess only demonic eyes. While the world burns and children starve, we can no longer reconcile science and spirituality, which allowed us to "see" beyond our own gaze, revealing the blindness of times gone by. It is well known that when faced with an inconvenient figure, engaged on an intellectual and human level, and as such "non-recyclable," "diversity" (the hyper-connected process) seeks to erase the subject's name and activity with a clean slate—because today's culture, or almost everything, is founded on the "ontology of lies." The professors are jesters or phantom scholars who often haven't even published a book. Added to this delusion of omnipotence is climate chaos, cultural disintegration, digital floods, all devoid of balance and direction. Humanity is unscrupulous, predators who sink their claws before the "egg" hatches. The "sun" of consciousness has faded, tainting the metamorphosis of knowledge. Today we have sunk into an unparalleled cultural delirium. We have given way to the demons of ignorance and oblivion. But Dante, Leopardi, Manzoni, Verdi, Puccini, Michelangelo, the Colosseum, and the soon-to-be-built "Bridge over the Straits of Messina," which will connect Calabria with the entire world, will never die. We must prevent our planet from becoming increasingly impoverished, and let us not exaggerate by remembering that Christ was ultimately alone on the Cross. Music and Poetry are the great beauty of humanity, the only absences from which we can draw the fuel to spread the Science of the Spirit. Society is divided in two. One side loves beauty and interiority, the other is now ensnared by the emptiness of consumerism. The same goes for Philosophy, which seeks to move in the Socratic manner, concretely. Many of us are celebrating the funeral; who cares about educating themselves to ignite the Logos? They rush like madmen to New Age courses, peppered with a thousand practices, except to awaken the Logos. They try like tightrope walkers to achieve their goals with their super-ally technology. - But what are we surprised about? All the zeros need crutches to "appear" not to be someone. Let them continue watering the asphalt, while roses bloom from the tears that flow down the chest.

Q. 5) Have you ever participated in book fairs?

A. 5) The "sun" of consciousness has faded, tainting knowledge. What can I say? For me, writing is life. Wherever clones of modern intellectual laziness dawn, true creativity is frightening where creation remains the fixed point, as "Divine necessity and not chance." It contrasts with evil, which does not need to shed its skin to be warned. It imposes atrocities and turns itself into a victim, accusing others of "bloody" slander using cunning and effective methods, feeling righteous, even bullying an innocent, a "differently abled." What Orwell described in 1984 is happening today, before our eyes. Fate awaits in horror, while the monster's horrifying dreams die. Words are broken on the lips, shadows loom large, the future wears darkness. The wise king does not call buffoons to his court. He knows that the shameful sign of impotence must be avoided like its enemies. So it is with the process of an aesthetic experience when one is drawn to an enchanting starry sky, and poetry captures and seduces with its naturalness and characteristic vitality. The soul sings in its relationship with the absolute, transforming our body and mind into a temple. Gazes are freed from chains, tears extinguish the fire of pain, ribs burst open like windows, where the hell of bones has long gravitated. If we don't interrogate our own consciences and right the wrongs we've done, we risk living in a world of puppets, of psychopaths and violent people, devoid of the wisdom that guides the awakening of the consciousness of a physical body. They have forgotten universal values, human relationships, their function within ourselves, between wanting, feeling, thinking. They continue to ignore the profound diversity within unity, so their conscience never awakens, never grows, never develops, never evolves. My books have been adopted in schools of all levels in my city and province. I have never participated in book fairs, which I believe are more of interest to the publisher than the author, as people read little and don't buy because they know they will never open the "unfortunate book-object," waiting for some kind soul to lovingly and attentively carry it to the shelf or study of their home. It is destined to remain as merchandise on display. I consider books part of my soul and I protect them as if they were creatures, my children; I don't like to display them as merchandise. Reading means being in company, confiding as one does with a human being, because in the ink there is life, and the tragedy of time and space, both of the writer and the poet. People ignore the relationship between spirit and matter; they are zombies in a universe of dust. There is so much moral misery! There are no voices reciting in great theaters, but "voices screaming in the wilderness." Even in Italy, our poets are being killed, because silence kills more than the sword, threatening to erase eight hundred years of history. Cultural globalization has almost won, not by reciting but by imitating. But I am certain that those of us who love great poetry, like me, will recover our cultural identity with a surge of pride and rediscover the memory of the precious poetry that the whole world envies us, of our wonderful Italy, with Rome "Caput Mundi." We will not allow it to hibernate or be dragged into a tormented silence. The world gets worse as it ages, and social media is nothing more than a mad centrifuge that drags us from one place to another, like a wild beast before devouring its prey. But like any epochal change, it will not be destined to last forever. It is clear that the social, political, and cultural degradation of many unfortunate poets advances like a typhoon. And nothing makes a country more unworthy than its cultural decline.

Q. 6) What do books mean to you? Are there any we can discuss?

A. 6) Those who survive certain events do not conclude but begin. Some books are a constant stimulus through their richness of voices, landscapes, history, philosophy, anthropology, psychology, and psychiatry. Human suffering serves to strengthen and stimulate our ideological beliefs, but also to understand life from its most absurd and inhuman perspective. In these pages, we encounter the eternal sacrifice of those who love, who manage to weave with threads of light the paths of darkness that obscure unions and humanitarian connections. At the heart of my books is the human and the divine. It is a process of death and resurrection that has lasted for millennia. Everything ends and begins again, otherwise the very sight on earth would be extinguished, like a dropped bomb that, in falling, would be capable of obliterating an entire city. Vulgarity, cruelty, and indifference are the principal evils that devour good; envy is the gangrene of humanity. Evil always makes noise (weapons, missiles, epidemics, famine, and death); good acts in silence. Even small gestures (which make a difference) can change the world; doing much for the innocent, the victims of war, the marginalized, despite the actions of an increasingly ruthless power. But hope does not surrender to evil, the strength of the heart enlightens the mind, despair does not yield to malice and gives way to responsibility. Where the meaning is most complete, the word sprouts, becoming chlorophyll in its powerful simplicity.

Q. 7) Tell us about the great culture and your publications. 

A. 7) The rare, incredible patience of a few exceptional people should be "cloned" for what it manages to combat on a material and moral level. If there is a shred of humanity left in each individual, we should cry Enough! to floods, human and environmental catastrophes, and abolish servility to others, even if, often, even the evil that seemed defeated resurfaces. The time when a mature conscience is still far away. Materialism has established dogmas. Those who have personal experience are branded "mad" by the ferocious "materialist inquisition" for having dared, through their gaze, to go beyond matter. "There are more things in heaven and earth, dear Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy" (thus Shakespeare in Hamlet).

I have published 18 books of poetry and 5 "Formation" novels, essays, articles, reviews, short stories, editorials, and translated foreign authors from five continents into Italian. Of the five novels published in several foreign languages, and soon in Russia, two directors are working on a film about Neorealism. I have been published in Italian and international magazines with glowing reviews of my literary and human endeavors. I have been translated into 32 languages, and over a thousand articles discuss my cultural work, which encompasses 55 years of work, sacrifice, and fame. Great culture is wounded and dying, and attempts are being made to erase talents who seek to break free from imposed norms. The family, the nucleus of society, is nonexistent, indoctrinated by social media and communication scams. Zombies are replacing geniuses. Evil is rampant, and the truth is inconvenient. Silence is worse than hell. We are experiencing the anorexia of the century; we are beyond the impossible. Evil is in the norm; it is the tragic bad habit of our time. No one looks at nature with a living conscience; the talent of selfishness reigns supreme, the mad rush to a ferocious corporate standardization based on censorship and hypocrisy. But we must never surrender to these "beasts," never give up expressing our personal talent in the name of vengeance and unconscious retaliation. The highest art is immortal, as is the love of creativity. And no matter what, there are always exceptions that prove the rules. No to involution; every human being is capable of implementing the lifeblood of art, the culture of beauty, of the sacred, of the inextinguishable. Dark evil remains; Cain is ever present among us, Judas follows him, the misery and death that envelop much of the world toasting before tombs and mass graves, from the genocide in Gaza to universal culture. "There sighs, tears, and other woes resounded through the starless air, so that at the beginning I wept." (Dante Alighieri, Inferno, Canto III). Other works of mine are ready to be published, as are many other important ones I've been working on for years. What more can I add? Forgive me for a few small literary secrets, lest I spoil the surprise! We want to delude ourselves that the world is different and that what is happening is just a bad dream.

For this reason, I never stop raising my eyes to the sky, making a wish for every fallen star (the night of San Lorenzo is approaching), and reflecting on planetary influences. The celestial vault captivates with its indescribable sublimity. Through the constellations of the Zodiac, one can gain a glimpse of the "hierarchies." Our ignorance is another world in our unconscious relationship with the unconscious. If this were achievable, a supreme and incomparable level of communication would be achieved, one that would triumph over decay; but the world is given no chance to break the chains of hatred and interrupt the cycle of bloodshed. Words sob in the womb, and the heart has no voice to distract the pain. The Humanity of values represents the concreteness of metaphysics.

Massimo Cacciari has shown us that one can ignore the monstrosity of which man is capable with a higher value: humility, beauty. "In praise" of Mary—the Woman—the great intellectual quotes Nietzsche: "Above the vapors and filth of human baseness there is a higher and clearer humanity {...} one belongs to it not because one is more gifted or more virtuous or more loving than the men below, but because one is colder, clearer, more far-sighted, solitary."

Interview of Mohamed Ellaghafi by Hassane Yarti

[Mohamed Ellaghafi]

[Hassane Yarti]

Mohamed Ellaghafi is the founder and current president of the Moroccan Creators University, as well as the founder of the National Poetry Award in Morocco. Over his career, he has published more than fifteen books, including poetry collections and short stories. His work has graced significant national and Arab poetry forums, solidifying his reputation as one of the pioneers of modern poetry in Morocco. His literary journey began in the early 1980s when he founded the "Five Senses" poetry movement, an artistic endeavor that aligned with the trajectory of modernity in Moroccan literature. Ellaghafi’s works have transcended borders, being translated into several languages, including English, French, Persian, German, Albanian, Italian, and Korean.

First of all, how does Mohamed Ellaghafi introduce himself to the reader?

Mohamed Ellaghafi: I am a human being striving to affirm my humanity through writing and serving the universe in a humane way. My journey in cultural struggle has spanned over forty years, and in all this time, my focus has always been on exploring and expressing the depths of human experience. Writing is my way of communicating with the world, and it’s through this medium that I seek to make my humble contribution to the betterment of our collective existence.

As both a writer and a human being, do you see any distinction between the two roles?

For me, there is no distinction between being a writer and being a human. Writing is an intrinsic part of my humanity. The opposite of this is the ignorance that some people have toward life and its true essence. To write is to live, to feel, to understand, and to express. It is an extension of being human. Therefore, to separate the two would be to misunderstand the fundamental nature of what it means to be alive.

Can you tell us about your very first text? What sparked the inspiration that has carried you to this day?

My first text was an incomplete love letter. I wrote it with the intent of sending it to a girl who captivated my thoughts, but in the end, I never sent it. I wasn’t satisfied with my style back then, so I kept refining my words. This process of writing and rewriting evolved into personal reflections and later into structured classical texts. It was in 1984 that I founded the "Five Senses Club" for poetic creativity, marking the formal beginning of my literary journey.

Do you consider your audience when you write? What type of reader do you envision following your work?

To be honest, I never think about the reader when I write, and I still don’t concern myself with this notion. My writing is deeply personal; it’s a reflection of my inner world, my daily life, and my psychological states. Interestingly, even though I write for myself, it often resonates with others as if I am expressing their own thoughts and feelings. This connection is unintentional but perhaps inevitable when one writes authentically.

How do you approach language in your poetry? How do you master it to lead it directly toward the poem?

In the early stages of my career, I believed that writing came to me naturally, as if the poet had special rituals and a unique kind of madness. This was during the years of rebellion and ideological writing. However, my perspective has since evolved. Now, I see writing as an integral part of my being. It’s not something that I summon or control; rather, it’s a mutual process where I write and am written by the language. There’s no need for ritual or madness—writing is as natural as any daily instinct.

Has literary criticism been fair to your work?

I believe the first person to write about my work was the great philosopher and poet, Dr. Mohamed Aziz Lahbabi, in the early 1990s. His article appeared in Al-Alam newspaper, and his recognition of my work was deeply meaningful. Since then, many other prominent voices have discussed my literary journey, and I am proud of this recognition. However, I have never sought validation or flattered anyone for praise. The attention my work has received has always come as a surprise, which, in my view, is a form of genuine recognition without any pretense.

How do you assess the current Moroccan literary scene?

I compare the Moroccan literary scene to the broader Arab and Western landscapes. There are creators who work with deep awareness and meticulous study, laying the foundation for a literary project that deserves attention and praise. These individuals are contributing significantly to our cultural heritage. On the other hand, there are those who have been influenced only by what they see on social media. These individuals often write without depth, believing in the superficial validation of random comments and likes. It’s a mixed scene, but there is certainly a core of serious, dedicated writers who are making important contributions.

Can you share any details about your upcoming literary projects?

Yes, we have several projects in the pipeline, which we will announce soon. These include my personal creative works and also some global associative initiatives that I believe will surprise and invigorate the cultural scene. These projects are still under development, but I’m confident that they will make a significant impact when they are unveiled.

Any final words?

I would like to express my gratitude to my friend, the poet and translator Hassane Yarti, who is also the director of Barcelona Literary Magazine. Thank you for this opportunity to share my thoughts and experiences.

[Interview by: Hassane Yarti 

Writer, Poet, Translator and Editor]

INTERVIEW/ASTRIT LULUSHI BY MARIA TERESA LIUZZO

INTERVIEW WITH THE FAMOUS WRITER ASTRIT LULUSHI - JOURNALIST - ''THE VOICE OF AMERICA''

 

ISSUED TO MARIA TERESA LIUZZO - EDITOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL CULTURE MAGAZINE ''LE MUSE'' (ITALY)

 

[Astrit Lulushi]

[Maria Teresa Liuzzo]

Astrit Lulushi's work is monumental, complex and articulated. It unfolds over a very long period of time and is characterized by creative vision and originality. Its main characteristic is versatility. He is, in fact, a Writer, Essayist, Literary and Art Critic, Philosopher, Historian, acute and very talented poet, journalist of ''LA VOCE DELL'AMERICA'' (Washington). We are faced with a total intellectual who makes our thoughts go to Ungaretti, Montale, but also to Baudelaire, Pound, Eliot. The overall activity is linked to a centre, visible and occult, which also constantly tends towards the conquest of poetry: transversally in the different forms of Scripture; of art in general; of the very current theories on discontinuity, not only at a sub-atomic level, and on the constitution of matter, to the unification of the unity of being, therefore also psychological, touching on the sphere of the absolute. At the same time, the forces and action of time are revealed: it does not matter if the Heraclitean panta rei and the eternal Parmenidean immobility oscillate. Everything is dynamically wrapped in a universalizing vertigo which, due to the effect of the word, takes on immortal mobility. In the body of readings we encounter some literary ancestry and ''Leitmotifs'' with Lee Masters in the Spoon River Anthology, an operation that is not easy, but even risky because it establishes a comparison with a masterpiece of world literature. But Lulushi emerges with extreme vigor and dignity, above all by imposing the original features of his language. An interior landscape formed in his life of travel and escape when he emigrated to America. For his culture he remains an enigma in the eyes of his readers and researchers today. He knows that a life of tragedy guarantees the best of writing and goodness.

A character, Lulushi, who from the outdated point of view in the Nietzschean sense, when he reaffirms the values is against the contemporary ''philistines'' who condition and pollute contemporary literature - and in contrast to the mediocrity, which seems to prevail in the writing as a whole, of art in general. Here we cannot dwell on everything, but neither can we remain silent about a Work which stands out - in our humble opinion - as a milestone, due to the consequence of an absolute genius like Plato. Astrit Lulushi's revelation of Plato seems to us to be a brilliant and extremely useful operation. His writing represents a clear autonomous example that contains the spirit and meaning of the original work intact and adheres perfectly to our cultural and human contemporaneity. He exposes his conception of time as he perceives it in the course of his existence, biographical and creative, which, however, in him coincide and arrive naturally and paradoxically, through the acceptance of every relativistic principle, of the indistinct space-time sphere shaping each of his works and above all poetic ones with somatizing principles dating back to ERNST MACH (1838 - 1916) for his scientific and philosophical culture and for his aerodynamic, unveiled writing that goes into earthly and terrestrial space, to the truth; to MAX PLANCK (1858 - 1947) for his genius which, when discovered, creates beauty and wonder; PLATO (427 BC - 347 BC) how he deduces and investigates the Knowledge of Love and Politics around the world of ideas, myths and Parmenidean doctrine. What is looking at universal silence if not having a soul? (FEDOR IVANOVIC TYUTCEV).

Astrit Lulushi does not consider thought as materiality, but far from animality and is far from that pathological collectivity that craves dominance, ambiguity and annihilation, as happens in society where the god of money counts and not the intelligence of the honest . In a violent society under philanthropic appearances in which everyone is aimed at realizing themselves as a material subject and making their dark neurons win. The writer's verses, his novels, his discoveries, his philosophy will be immortal where thought becomes high poetic and narrative creation; his questioning of the meaning of existence, of the impossibility of grasping the mystery. We reflect on the progressive and unstoppable loss that has brought about the contempt of man, which still today, in the third Millennium, proceeds without recovery, or a fake recovery.

 

Interview

 

Q. What role does writing have in contemporary society for you?

A. In any art, there must be two initial gifts: Talent and Experience. I don't know to what extent, but they have to be there. I started writing late and put it off for so many years. When I finally started, I felt like I had nothing to lose and that I might as well tell the truth. My life changed and in the new world there were many things that many in Albania had never heard of, because they lived isolated like in a prison.

The material stays in your body for a long time before you start writing. The books I wrote took time because I had to find the right place to write. America has become my second country and anxiety my second language. I think in Albanian and write in Albanian and for Albanians.

 

Q. You as a scrupulous and intelligent observer. His eye is a magnifying glass that communicates between reality and dreams. Tell us about this aspect.

A. It's like forever: one has many, many chambers in the brain that make one big room. That's the nature of the art form and that's what's happening now. Only the small room has become large. Anyone can write. It's just like in school, children learn to put words together into sentences; then they connect them, make them coherent with other sentences, so that they can be expressed both in writing and orally. But saying that anyone can become a poet or writer is like saying that anyone can compose a sonata. In any art, there are two initial gifts that must be there: Talent and Experience. I don't know how much there has to be, but there has to be.

 

Q. In your writings, in addition to the themes that speak of myth and justice, you often refer to God and the Holy Scriptures.

A. Why not? After all, the first man is God's creation, despite the fact that there are many in the public who say otherwise - especially our now older generation. We were born, educated and raised in the half of the world that was communist and atheist. At the beginning, when I came out of the communist hell, the first thing I asked was to give me a Bible - a very heavy book both in paper consistency and in thoughts and which have great value for a person like me.

 

Q. Your works are rich in teachings and are in constant comparison with the way of understanding life of yesterday and today.

A. True, it's as you say. These are lessons that I have learned during my life and I try to pass them on to young people. The reason I write them in Albanian is that my people need it as a basis to understand more than what they have been indoctrinated with. I am sorry and compassionate to them to the point of pity. They were proud but had a little to show.

 

Q. Your works are historical, ethical and social documents of great depth, which combine psychological and sociological aspects with characters that your mind describes with emotional tension.

A. I make a distinction between a very effective fiction, which lets the words flow beautifully, and so on. I write differently than some people. You really have to press the material to get something out of it, and not just take every sentence in the book and graft it on. It made me feel a little like I was reading someone. David Foster Wallace, he always said, "I can't play that game. I wish I could, but I can't."

Young people have a saying: "kill in your lane." This is a very important principle of writing. You need to figure out what you can't do, block it out, and focus on what works.

 

Q. I had an enthusiastic impression of your extraordinary works. Do you think you have entered the heart and soul of the creative trend, its fluctuating reality with a critical spirit?

A. For everything, man has two opinions: negative and affirmative. One of the first sayings comes from a diary written by Søren Kierkegaard in 1835: There are two possible situations: you can do this or that." My honest opinion and friendly advice is this: do it or don't do it, you will regret it either way. So, once again, don't expect concrete answers, talent and life experience remain the basis of writing, as in everything else. What I need to clarify is “do what you need to do, not what you need to know.”

Interview of Eminent Writer Maria Teresa Liuzzo, Taken by Irma Kurti

[Interviewee : Maria Teresa Liuzzo From Italy]

[Interviewer : Irma Kurti From Italy]

Can you please introduce yourself?

I was born in Saline di Montebello Jonico and live in   Reggio di Calabria (Italy). I am President of “Lirico- Drammatica” Association “P. Benintende''; – Journalist -Editor- Chief Director of the Literary Magazine “LE MUSE''- Writer - Doctor of Psychology at Leibniz University in Santa Fe (New Mexico, U.S.A.), Modern Literature and Philosophy Teacher. I am a correspondent for many head newspapers as the “Il Ponte Italo-Americano'' (The Italian American Bridge), USA and “Nuova Corvina'' EUROPA.

 

What is the name of your most popular book, project, or upcoming events?

All of my writings (articles, essays, poems and novels) have achieved considerable circulation. My literary production, ever since the first volume of poems published, i.e. 'Radici (Roots/Poems of Childhood)', has been covered by great names in Italian and foreign literature, from Prof. Maria Luisa Spaziani (Nobel Prize candidate) to the famous British poet Peter Russell (defined as 'The Last of the Great Moderns' by the great Thomas Fleming and also a six-time Nobel Prize candidate). It was precisely Peter Russell who presented my book 'Apeiron' at the 'F. Cilea' Municipal Theatre of Reggio Calabria, prefaced my volume 'Humanity' and presented and translated, with facing text, the volume 'Genesis'.

* Asking me which is my most beautiful book is equivalent to asking a mother whom of her children is the most beautiful, because books are my own body, my flesh and blood, my prison and my freedom: they are shroud and memory.

*  Important projects include the making of a neo-realist film based on the now famous and successful trilogy of novels, which is also being translated in Japan and China. One of the two directors involved is translating the second volume 'Don't tell me I loved the wind!' into English. The plans are many and, like future events, are in God's hands, as no one can foretell the future or have a prior encounter with destiny.

[Writer Maria in Her Study Room]

Have you won any awards, certificates, honors, stickers, or any other accomplishments you want to share with the world?

I don’t trust the contests, in principle, I think that they are childish and piloted. This is the main reason I didn’t go to receive the prizes I won in the contests, where I didn’t even ask to participate, nor I thought to be present or get any kinds of assignments. Rather, I consider among the most significant honors received to be the Honoris Causa degrees with teaching faculty in US universities and those conferred by the Prime Minister's Office for culture and publishing. 

I wish to share peace, joy, hope, truth without 'stretch marks', honesty without hypocrisy with the world. I dislike mafia behaviors and pathetic carnivals.

 

What are your hobbies?

My hobbies are writing and being a 'missionary'. I have dedicated much of my life to the needy persons through my human, educational and psychological support, with deeds and not words.

[Writer Maria in Contemplation Posture]

What is the best thing about your accomplishments?

The nicest thing is to stay away from the spiral of hatred that leads to the death of the spirit – where the Creativity (writing) is the expression of Sacred Molecular (Parmenide). The endless Dream is the emotion of silence is to feel the sea heart beating in my chest, to see the flower hatching, to feel the sun kissing me, hearing the sacred breathing of nature into the voices of the time. They are the joy of existing “just because I found what is in my deep inside”, and leave the darkness away from my shoulders, as Lao -Tzu said. It pains me think about those who, because of their unbridled and sneaky running to be famous, they forgot to have a look beyond the barbed wire, to the egoist peoples that think to brag and weaving prices “baked by thunder” of the arrogance of certain media poker which snort in order to search a water throne. About the hatred there will be nothing left but a monster imprisoned by its tail. These “fellows” that says good and scratch badly, don’t think to millions of deaths under the rubble, or to the children that have just a brick for sky. They go on struggling in a war for a “piece of paper” at the service of countless matryoshka dolls, and forgive pick the nicest flower that’s the LIFE. They didn’t realize that originality has no lookalike and all the rest is just a copy. On the meandering wickedness, only love give sense to the life. 

 

You have published numerous books up to now. What do they represent for you?

My books had traveled for me; in the last thirty years they have reached the far India, America, Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe. They had been my legs, my mouth. I never loved walkways just like “a good evening showgirl.” 

[Writer Maria in Another Posture]

Is there any opinion that you want to share with our readers?

I do not need to discredit anyone to stand out. I consider those who do so to be stinging people, and I am inspired by pity for the human miseries that wear the treacherous habit of the lowest slander. I dedicate precious time to my magazine of International Culture, known and appreciated throughout the world. On its pages the best Central European and world criticism has 'passed'. I prefer quality, quantity is made up of scraps and leaves time to find its own. My works have been appreciated worldwide by critics of high value and undoubted professionalism. 

I am a free spirit and I leave you with my motto: ''Above me only God and the stars, after me the flood!". Like Confucius, I wait on the riverbank to see 'the corpse of my enemies' pass by.

 

[Translated Into English by Francesco Di Rocco & Irma Kurti]