Interview With Romanian-Born Poet SOAR Searching For The Grail Of Happiness

I had the pleasure to be interviewed by one of the coolest art magazines in Berlin and I am more than pleased to share the result with you. Thank you to the editors and their efforts! I hope you will enjoy the read!
Soar

SOAR, born in Romania, has travelled extensively and has lived in Berlin since 2002. Shes not content to just write rhyming couplets, but is sworn to help us find the route to happiness. indieRepublik interviewed her.

indieRepublik: Give us five words that most closely describe your literary style.

SOAR: Over time, I came across different attributes from my readers: Classic. Feminine. Refined. Intellectually erotic. Musical. But if I were to choose a word to associate my work with, I would like it to be meaningful. That is what I hope to bring to the world through my creative input.

indieRepublik: Why do you write?

SOAR: Because I believe in people. Because I believe that nothing is what it is but its something that can become if we put faith and work into it, especially if the purpose is worth it. There is nothing more beautiful than sharing feelings, positive emotions, reviving good memories or awakening wishes, especially in the current socio-political context in which we are all entangled. I believe that the message of hope and love should never be silenced, disarrayed, delayed or unsent; and if I evoke a smile or a tear through the manifestation of my literary work, then my message has been reached. A touch of life is more than enough purpose for me.

indieRepublik: Your writing is a lot about love can you describe what you mean when you use the word love?

SOAR: You might regret having asked this question, as I could go on for pagesI know that we, writers, are tempted to write more and easily about anything (especially abstract), but to be honest in the case of love, I do more than I say/write, even though I dedicate a lot of poems and stories to this particular value, more as a reminder of its strength and beauty, rather than a place to metaphorically hide my bashfulness in. I believe love is so important in life, that words alone wont do it justice. I prefer practising it rather than idealizing or theorizing it, because to me it is the greatest purpose of life and undoubtedly the sheer rendering of the word happiness.

indieRepublik: You talk about love as an extra dimension something that one might move through, the same way as you move through time and/or space can you tell us what you mean by that? How you understand it?

SOAR: Within the time-space-love frame, love is a dimension of universal weight and power which influences and reshapes the other two through its subjectively enhanced conventions. Time is modelled, elapsed, constantly compressed and extended by the pace of feelings, while space becomes a mere formality to pinpoint emotions throughout their journey.

When we look back at our lives, from an early age to the wrinkles of senectitude, all that we remember is the intensity of the emotions we experienced through our life which shaped our moments (time), refilling our inner and outer expanses (space). We remember feelings in front of a building or during a particular event in time, we remember words, looks, things engendering emotions, finally we save only the kisses and the hugs which gave worth to our lives. Cinema Paradiso is one of the movies that springs to mind because it mainly synthetizes the shape of happiness in life according to my beliefs.

Nevertheless, love is not the most important ingredient in my writings, although it becomes the grail of happiness to find only if we learn how to appreciate it. The ingredients in my writings are all those small stones that make the solid rock for love against fluctuations and wavering conditions: trust, care, loyalty, friendship, respect, appreciation, hope, especially hope.

Anyone can do the sex, but can they do the rest?

indieRepublik: You also talk about this perspective as through the mirror of love and its core of passion define passion are you talking about physical passion or something more along the lines of The Passions of Christ?

SOAR: I do not deal with anything religious in my work. I leave that task to the priests, ministers and popes By passion, I mean everything that we put into motion to achieve the target of our beliefs through every effort, sacrifice, concession, compassion or unconditional offering of feelings. They all pertain to passion and it would be very superficial to just envisage the physical aspect of it.

Anyone can do the sex, but can they do the rest? For it is the rest that makes the difference. A passionate person to me is never someone who is a good lover. Rather someone who passionately protects all the elements implemented and needed to achieve a goal (in this case love) and to assure its perdurance, from the hardest forgiveness to the hottest expression of love-sharing. The physical spice is the desired plus which completes the harmony. And who doesnt want to have a harmonious relationship?

I take eroticism in potions, I play hide and seek with it and veil it under the expression of my deepest beliefs.

indieRepublik: How does eroticism play into your perspective on love? Does it play an important part in your perspective and/or your work?

SOAR: Yes please, but Never too much (Luther Vandross). I see eroticism like honey accents in culinary arts, the needed and indispensable detail to make the difference on meaningful apparel. Eroticism, just like love, needs to be one-of-a-kind. It is not to be mishandled and misused anywhere, anyhow. I take eroticism in potions, I play hide and seek with it and veil it under the expression of my deepest beliefs. I flirt with it with disguised lust in and through my art. I place it somewhere between palpable reality and fantasized imaginary and allow my reader to make his/her own vision of it so that wonders can ensue.

indieRepublik: And as much as we all love a bit of eroticism, is it there more for the purposes of titillation, or does it play a deeper role?

SOAR: The only deeper role that I see about eroticism, as I said above, is that I consider it unique and therefore it should be used with a needed amount of respect at the right time, with the appropriate poem/story in mind. My muse is always essential in defining its extent. If I were to think at the clichs of it being a means of self-exploration and/or a means to be outside of the comfort zone, it is not something I associate with. Eroticism to me is that plus of a Martini drink (stirred, unspoiled by gin, but served with a lush olive on the side), on a summer day when you gaze into someones eyes, which allows you to appreciate its exquisiteness on a sunset bench, becoming beyond question the most amazing experience to enjoy at fast heartbeats.

I owe to my country the most beautiful values which were genuinely and strongly instilled in me one by one, from the soulful Moldavian romanticism to the righteous Transylvanian acumen.

indieRepublik: You grew up in Romania has this affected your perspective? Do you feel Romanian, or European, or.?

SOAR: I believe I took the best out of my country and I want to believe I honour its quintessence on foreign lands through my entire being. I owe to my country the most beautiful values which were genuinely and strongly instilled in me one by one, from the soulful Moldavian romanticism to the righteous Transylvanian acumen (my family stems from both these regions). Knowing all the time my roots and bearing with me a sense of faithfulness has helped me throughout my exploration years in the European Meccas, without losing myself nor my individuality at any time during the immersion process.

My soul is Romanian, my lifestyle is Italian, my job is German, my passion is French and my heart is English.

However, I cannot say I am 100% Romanian. I have never felt that way either. My dedication for foreign languages and cultures was present at a very early age in my life (at the age of 7, I already knew that my future career would be all about languages) and I have always been attracted to international places and people, the more unknown, the more interesting and worth discovering. If I were to define myself based on the languages and cultures that had an impact on my life I would say that my soul is Romanian, my lifestyle is Italian, my job is German, my passion is French and my heart is English.

Dracula, stray dogs, gypsies

indieRepublik: I think that a lot of Western Europeans dont know much about Romania apart from what they/we see in the media what are we missing?

SOAR: There are some stereotypes, both positive and negative about my country which were gladly exploited by the media in the past decades, especially with the occasion of our integration in the EU: Dracula, stray dogs, gypsies (with all the related confusion between Roma, Romani and Romanian see disambiguation* below), virgin landscapes, hospitality, traditions, tasty food, rich culture.

Yet the first quote that comes to mind about my people is: The Romanian was born poet. We have incredible literature, unfortunately not all translated into other languages and a unique historical and cultural heritage unexplored and unknown on an international scale.

My country is that secret treasure you will be surprised to discover if you venture in search of things that are out of the ordinary. From the sea to the mountains and caves, from the super hospitable peasant sacrificing his best chicken for your dinner, to the sophisticated city life, where you can party all night long, you will find everything you can imagine as versatility and gaiety define us. Give us a chance, you will not regret it.

My country is that secret treasure you will be surprised to discover if you venture in search of things that are out of the ordinary.

indieRepublik: What do you want to achieve with your writing?

SOAR: I integrated this reply in the why do I write question, when I said that a touch of life is more than enough purpose to me. I hardly believe that an artist from any field, passionate about his/her work, would search for fame or material recognition. That would be welcome but its not the goal of transposing ones soul into art to share them with the entire world. Soul needs soul appreciation, which can go from a smile to influencing the course of someones life. It is the reason why I wrap hope and positivity in my writings because thats what I want to achieve in peoples lives should I ever have the power to touch them if only with my words and the practice thereof.

I wrap hope and positivity in my writings because thats what I want to achieve in peoples lives.

indieRepublik: Whats the title of your latest book and where can we find it?

SOAR: My latest book is called Colours of life and it can be found on Amazon or directly through my website

The next book will be my first collection of short stories in a multilingual release and I am very excited about this book, especially because it will be accompanied by a small surprise. I cant wait to share it publicly by this Christmas.

indieRepublik: Closing thoughts / anything else you want to tell us?

SOAR: Thank you for this opportunity to make me part of your great environment. And thank you for putting your efforts into supporting independent artists like myself by creating multiple spaces for our words, actions and visions.

*Disambiguation: Roma = gypsies living throughout Europe and the USA, speaking Romani (an Indo-Aryan language). Romanian = a native or inhabitant of Romania/ the official language spoken in Romania.

Soar is an international poet and storyteller living in Berlin, author of four books on the themes of love, human values, life and positive thinking. Currently a new book and a vinyl are in development, under the project Poetry-in-Motion, by Soar.
The author is a member of the Society of Authors (UK), Poets&Writers (USA) and collaborates with international magazines in Germany, Italy, UK, Romania, USA and Australia (Decanto The Poetry Magazine, Enigma, Lastbench, Flash Literary Journal, Women Move the Soul, Indie Spirit Magazine, Mrkische Allgemeine, BW Polyglott BD Magazine, Schwbische Zeitung, Woman@Work Magazine, The Munich Eye, The Berlin Eye, Terpress Urbana, Confluente literare, 600 Second Saga, Ginosko Literary Journal, AntipodeanSF, Indie Berlin, Jazz-dis-junction, The Next Review). She also organizes the yearly charity event Love for UNICEF, where every downloaded book/poem/story at the end of each year goes to the benefit of Child Survival and Development Program.
Soar graduated from the universities in Romania, France and Germany and she finished her master studies in International Relations and Diplomacy in The United Kingdom. She lectures and performs poetry and stories on different themes and from fresh perspectives to various artistic events in Europe.
Further enquiries and booking for interviews, readings, artistic events:
www.soaring-words.com
info (at) soaring-words.com

Tags from the story
poetry, romania

Written By
Noel Maurice

Original link: https://indie-republik.com/en/art/interview-romanian-born-poet-soar-searching-grail-happiness.html

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